Great and Holy Wednesday commemorates the woman who anointed Christ with costly perfume and Judas Iscariot’s agreement to betray Him. These two events stand side by side in the Gospel of Matthew, and the Church places them together to show us the stark difference between love and betrayal.
It’s the last of the first three days of Holy Week. You’ve probably heard the Bridegroom service sung on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Wednesday continues that pattern but shifts the focus. We’re no longer just waiting and watching. Now we’re seeing the Passion unfold.
The Woman and the Traitor
Matthew 26 tells the story. A woman comes to Jesus in Bethany with an alabaster jar of expensive ointment. She pours it on His head. The disciples grumble about the waste, couldn’t that money have gone to the poor? But Jesus defends her. “She has done a beautiful thing to me,” He says. She’s preparing His body for burial.
John’s Gospel identifies her as Mary of Bethany and names Judas as the one who complained loudest about the cost. John adds a detail: Judas kept the money bag and used to steal from it. Right after this scene, Matthew tells us, Judas went to the chief priests and asked what they’d pay him to hand Jesus over. Thirty pieces of silver.
The Church doesn’t let us miss the contrast. One person gives everything out of love. Another sells his Lord for pocket change. One acts in faith, anointing the One who will die. The other acts in greed, setting that death in motion.
The hymns for Wednesday drive this home hard. They’re not subtle. “She rejoiced to pour out what was precious; he made haste to sell the One who is above all price.” The woman is freed by her repentance. Judas becomes a slave to the enemy.
The Services
Most Antiochian parishes serve the Bridegroom Matins on Tuesday evening (which is liturgically Wednesday morning, Orthodox services work that way). You’ll hear the troparion again: “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching.” It’s a call to stay awake, to not be caught unprepared when Christ comes.
The Gospel reading at this service is John 12:17-50, where Jesus speaks about His coming death and the crowd reacts to the raising of Lazarus. It’s all building toward Thursday night.
Wednesday evening often includes the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. This is the service where we receive Communion from the Gifts consecrated on Sunday, since we don’t celebrate the full Divine Liturgy during Holy Week. It keeps the penitential character of these days while still letting us commune.
Holy Unction
Here’s where Wednesday becomes especially important for many Orthodox Christians. Most parishes offer the Sacrament of Holy Unction on Wednesday evening.
If you’re coming from a Protestant background, you might think anointing is only for people who are dying. That’s not how we see it. Holy Unction is for healing, body and soul. It’s one of the Church’s mysteries, a real sacrament where something happens. Seven Gospel passages are read. Seven prayers are said. The priest anoints you with blessed oil on your forehead, hands, and sometimes other places.
The timing matters. We celebrate this sacrament on the day we remember the woman anointing Jesus for His burial. She prepared Him for death. He prepares us for life. The oil she poured out in love becomes the oil we receive for healing. It’s the Church’s way of connecting our need with His gift.
People sometimes ask if you have to be sick to come. No. The service is for everyone who needs God’s mercy and healing, which is all of us. If you work a rotating shift at the refinery and can’t make it Wednesday evening, don’t worry, some parishes offer it at other times during Lent or by appointment. But the traditional day is Holy Wednesday.
Why This Day Matters
Great and Holy Wednesday is when Holy Week stops being about waiting and becomes about choosing. You can’t stand neutral anymore. The woman chose Christ. Judas chose silver. The hymns ask which one you’ll be.
It’s also the last chance to catch your breath before the intensity of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. After Wednesday, every service becomes longer, more solemn, more focused on the Cross. If you’re going to make it to confession, get anointed, or settle your heart before the Passion, Wednesday’s the day.
St. Michael’s typically serves Holy Unction on Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM during Holy Week. Come if you can. Bring your kids, they can be anointed too. The service takes about an hour. You’ll hear the Gospels, smell the oil, feel the priest’s hand on your forehead making the sign of the Cross. You’ll stand with the woman who loved much and was forgiven much.
And you’ll be ready for what comes next.
