Holy Saturday services begin on Friday evening with Vespers. The Church commemorates the burial of Christ the Saviour and His descent into hell to save the righteous who had died before His work of redemption.

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, with Pilate's permission, took down Christ's body from the cross, anointed it with fragrant myrrh, wrapped it in a new shroud, and placed it in a new tomb hewn out of the rock in the Garden of Gethsemane. The women, His followers, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was overwhelmed with grief and whose heart was pierced with sorrow, were present at the laying of His body in the tomb.

After His body had been laid in the tomb, the Jews sealed it with a large stone and set a guard, fearing that the disciples might steal the body and claim that He had risen. They refused to accept that the Lord of life was in the tomb, but would soon be glorified through the miracle of the resurrection.

For the Church, Holy Saturday is the 'most blessed seventh day', when the Word of God lies as a dead man in the tomb and at the same time saves the world and opens the tombs of the righteous to eternal life.

On the morning of Holy Saturday, the Vespers Divine Liturgy is celebrated. At this time the priests change from their dark vestments to their bright Easter vestments. They give communion to the elderly and the physically weak or ill who cannot wait until the Easter midnight service on Saturday night. The curtains of the Royal Doors to the altar are also changed. During the service, the priest throws flowers from the shroud to the faithful as an expression of joyful anticipation of the glorious resurrection".

In the evening, the festive Easter service begins, leading into the early hours of Christ's resurrection.