Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives. A man rides down toward the holy city on a donkey, amid a crowd that shouts, that throws cloaks onto the road, that waves palm branches. The cries rise up: "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" It is the triumph of a king. And yet something doesn't add up in this picture. This king has no army. This king has no crown. This king has no gold. He has a donkey — the animal of the humble, the animal of the poor — and he has a crowd that in a few days will call for his death. It is the most paradoxical of all triumphs: a king who enters his capital city to die there.
The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem — in Greek Eisodos tou Kyriou eis Ierousalim, known in the liturgical tradition as Palm Sunday — is one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, the Dodekaorton. As a movable feast, it is celebrated on the Sunday immediately preceding Orthodox Pascha, thereby opening Holy Week — the most solemn week of the liturgical year. It is one of the two feasts of the Dodekaorton that, along with Pentecost, does not celebrate the Resurrection during its Sunday service — a sign of its particular gravity.
Hosanna: the word that contains the whole mystery
Before entering the theology of the feast, let us pause at the word the crowd shouts at Christ's entry into Jerusalem, that the Church takes up in every Divine Liturgy, and that children chant while carrying their branches: Hosanna.
This word comes from the Hebrew Hoshia-na — hoshia (save, deliver) + na (please, now) — and means literally: "Save us, we beseech you!" or "Save now!". It is a cry of supplication drawn from Psalm 118 (117 in the Septuagint numbering), the great Passover psalm of Israel: "Save us, O Lord! O Lord, grant us success!" (Ps 118:25)
In the mouth of the Jerusalem crowd, this word carries a double meaning. It is simultaneously a supplication — save us, O Messiah! — and an acclamation — glory to you who have come to save us! Orthodox liturgy has preserved both dimensions together. To sing "Hosanna" on Palm Sunday is at once to welcome the Christ who comes and to ask him to keep coming — never to stop entering our lives, our inner city, our personal Temple.
There is something moving about the fact that this Hebrew cry of supplication passed directly and untranslated into every Christian liturgical language — Greek, Latin, Church Slavonic, Arabic, English. The Liturgy preserved the original cry, as though no translation could exhaust its freight of longing and hope.
The paradoxical king: triumph without weapons, glory in humility
The Orthodox theology of the feast is built entirely around a paradox that the Troparion expresses with striking precision: Christ enters Jerusalem as a king — but of a kingdom that is not of this world. He fulfills point for point the prophecy of Zechariah (Zech 9:9): "Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey." Three strange qualifiers for a king: righteous, victorious, humble. This is not the usual order of earthly royalty.
The Church Fathers commented at length on the choice of the donkey. In antiquity, kings rode warhorses for their military triumphs. The horse stands for power, speed, conquest. The donkey stands for peace, slowness, service. In choosing the donkey, Christ publicly declares what kind of king he is: a king whose victory does not come through violence, whose triumph is not won by force, whose glory lies not in weapons but in love unto death.
The Orthodox tradition also emphasizes the connection between the Entry into Jerusalem and the raising of Lazarus, celebrated on the preceding Saturday — "Lazarus Saturday." Both services share the same Troparion, and the liturgy never truly separates them: it is because Christ raised Lazarus that the crowd came to receive him in triumph. And it was precisely this triumph that led the chief priests to decide to kill him. The resurrection of a dead man had triggered the death of the Living One.
The two entries: historical and liturgical
What makes Palm Sunday unique in the Orthodox liturgical year is that it is not simply a commemoration of a past event. Orthodox liturgy does not contemplate the Entry into Jerusalem as a concluded affair — it makes it present, it makes it current. On every Palm Sunday, Orthodox faithful are not spectators of Jesus' procession toward Jerusalem: they are part of that procession.
The Troparion of the feast expresses this clearly: "And we, like children bearing the symbols of victory, cry out to you, O Vanquisher of death." This "we" does not refer to the crowd of the year 30 AD. It refers to the faithful of every year, in every place, who hold their branches in their hands and cry Hosanna. The Entry into Jerusalem did not happen once: it happens on every Palm Sunday in every Orthodox church throughout the world.
This understanding of the liturgy as an actualization of the mystery of salvation stands at the heart of Orthodox sacramental theology. The liturgy is not a theater in which what happened is replayed — it is a space in which past and future converge in an eternal present, in which the faithful are contemporaries of Christ. In carrying their branches, the Orthodox do not merely commemorate: they participate.
The Gospel account: four witnesses
The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem is one of the rare episodes in Christ's life reported by all four Gospels — Matthew (21:1–9), Mark (11:1–10), Luke (19:28–40) and John (12:12–19) — a sign of its central importance in the faith of the early Church.
Christ, coming from Bethany where he had raised Lazarus a few days earlier, sends two disciples to fetch a donkey and her colt tied at the entrance of a village. This precise instruction — "you will find a donkey tied" — is presented by Matthew as the fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy. As Jesus descends the Mount of Olives on this animal, the crowd is immense. Some spread their cloaks on the road, others cut branches and throw them before him. It is a spontaneous royal reception from below — not from the court, not from the Temple, not from the authorities, but from the people.
Significantly, the Gospel of Luke notes that when Pharisees ask Jesus to silence his disciples who are shouting Hosanna, he answers: "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." (Lk 19:40) This response says that the praise of Christ is inscribed in the very nature of things — that it cannot be silenced, however hard people may try. All of creation calls its Creator to enter his own city.
Dates of Orthodox Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a movable feast: its date changes every year according to the date of Orthodox Pascha. It always falls on the Sunday immediately preceding Pascha — seven days before it. The next celebration will take place on Sunday, April 25, 2027.
| Year | Orthodox Pascha | Palm Sunday |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | April 16, 2023 | April 9, 2023 |
| 2024 | May 5, 2024 | April 28, 2024 |
| 2025 | April 20, 2025 | April 13, 2025 |
| 2026 | April 12, 2026 | April 5, 2026 |
| 2027 ← next | May 2, 2027 | April 25, 2027 |
| 2028 | April 16, 2028 | April 9, 2028 |
| 2029 | April 8, 2029 | April 1, 2029 |
The gateway to Holy Week
Palm Sunday is not only a great feast in its own right: it is the gateway into Holy Week — the Orthodox Holy Week (Strastnaya Sedmitsa in Church Slavonic, Megali Evdomada in Greek), the liturgically densest and most solemn week of the entire Christian year.
From the following Monday, the services follow one another with mounting intensity: Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are devoted to the great Gospel readings about Christ's final days in Jerusalem. Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist, with the reading of the Twelve Passion Gospels at the great night service. Holy Friday is the day of the Crucifixion — strict fasting, the Epitaphios and the Lamentation. Holy Saturday is the quietest and most mysterious of all: Christ lies in the tomb, and the liturgy holds this waiting in an almost unbearable tension until the explosion of joy in the Paschal night.
The palm branches stand in relation to Holy Week as the portal of a cathedral stands to the whole building: one cannot enter into the mystery of Pascha without passing through the paradoxical joy of the Entry into Jerusalem. The feast says: rejoice — but know that the joy must pass through death before it opens into the glory of the Resurrection.
The liturgy of Palm Sunday
The celebration of Palm Sunday begins on Saturday evening with Great Vespers, celebrated after the Divine Liturgy of Lazarus Saturday. The night service (Orthros of Sunday) includes the reading of the Gospel of the Entry into Jerusalem and the blessing of branches — the festive highlight of the celebration, during which the faithful hold their blessed branches or pussy willows in their hands.
The Divine Liturgy of Palm Sunday is celebrated on Sunday morning. The Epistle is taken from Philippians 4:4–9 — Saint Paul's invitation to joy and peace — and the Gospel is that of John 12:1–18, which combines the anointing at Bethany with the Entry into Jerusalem.
The Troparion of Palm Sunday is one of the most recognized and most sung in the entire Orthodox calendar:
"By raising Lazarus from the dead before Your Passion, You confirmed the universal resurrection, O Christ God. Like the children with the palms of victory, we cry out to You, O Vanquisher of death: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"
— Troparion of Palm Sunday, Tone 1, Orthodox liturgical tradition
The Kontakion of the feast unfolds the same mystery in a more contemplative register:
"Enthroned in heaven, O Christ God, and on earth riding upon a colt, You received the praise of the angels and the hymn of the children who cried out to You: Blessed is He who comes to call back Adam."
— Kontakion of Palm Sunday, Tone 6, Orthodox liturgical tradition
The liturgical color of Palm Sunday is green — the color of branches, life and spring renewal — or white and gold depending on local tradition. It is one of the two feasts of the Dodekaorton at which the customary Sunday Resurrection hymns are not sung. The Apodosis (leave-taking) of the feast is celebrated on Holy Wednesday.
Palms, willows and pussy willows: the plants of the feast
The tradition of blessed branches is one of the most universal and beloved in Orthodox piety. The plants used vary considerably by region and culture, each carrying its own significance.
In Mediterranean countries — Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt — palm fronds and olive branches are blessed, in direct connection with the Gospel narrative. In Slavic traditions — Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Romanian — where palms do not grow, the faithful bring pussy willows (verba in Russian) — the first spring branches, signs of the resurrection of nature after winter. This parallel between the return of life in nature and Christ's victory over death is deeply poetic and theologically rich. The budding branch says that death does not have the last word.
The blessed branches are brought home and kept throughout the year — often placed behind an icon, in the sacred corner of the household. In some traditions they are burned the following year and their ashes mixed with those of Ash Wednesday — a gesture that closes the liturgical year's cycle by interweaving death and resurrection.
Palm Sunday in English-speaking Orthodox communities
In the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, Orthodox parishes of various jurisdictions celebrate Palm Sunday with particular joy and visibility. Unlike many of the more obscure feasts in the Orthodox calendar, Palm Sunday resonates instantly with the surrounding culture — even non-churchgoing neighbors recognize the sight of children leaving church with palm fronds or pussy willows. In many parishes, the blessing of branches after the Divine Liturgy spills outside, with families gathered in the churchyard in the spring sunshine, children waving their branches, the scene forming a small visible witness to the feast in the wider neighborhood. In Russian and Serbian communities, pussy willows are the beloved plant of choice — often brought from parishioners' own gardens — while Greek and Antiochian communities tend toward palm fronds woven into crosses by the priest before the Liturgy. For many converts to Orthodoxy in English-speaking countries, Palm Sunday is the first great feast they encounter — the Hosanna hymns, the branches, the unmistakable festive atmosphere making it one of the most accessible and memorable entry points into Orthodox liturgical life.
The iconography of the Entry into Jerusalem
The icon of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem is one of the most festive in the entire Orthodox calendar — a rare icon in which one almost perceives the noise of the crowd and the movement of the procession.
At the center, Christ sits on the colt in a royal but simple posture — no sign of outward power, no weapon, no military escort. His right hand is raised in the gesture of blessing toward the city. Before him, Jerusalem is outlined with its walls and towers. To the left, the apostles follow him in procession. To the right, the crowd receives him: adults throw their cloaks, children wave palm branches and even climb trees — an allusion to Zacchaeus, who had climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus (Lk 19:1–10).
The Mount of Olives rises behind Christ like a natural backdrop, recalling that he descended from there and will ascend back to it at the Ascension. The simultaneous presence of the royal palm (the Messiah's triumph) and the humble donkey (the suffering servant) in the same icon concentrates into a single image the entire paradox of the feast: glory and humility, triumph and sacrifice, acclamation and the Cross to come.
FAQ — Frequently asked questions about Orthodox Palm Sunday
Why do Orthodox Christians use pussy willows instead of palms?
In countries where palms do not grow — particularly the Slavic countries — tradition has substituted pussy willows for palm branches. This choice is not merely practical: the willow is one of the first trees to bud in spring, and its soft catkins symbolize the renewal of life after winter. The parallel with the Resurrection of Christ and the return of life in nature after the long Lenten winter is theologically apt and liturgically beautiful.
Why is the Resurrection not commemorated on Palm Sunday?
Palm Sunday is one of the only two Sundays in the Orthodox liturgical year — alongside Pentecost — on which the customary Resurrection Troparia are omitted. The reason is theological: this Sunday is entirely devoted to the mystery of the Entry into Jerusalem and the opening of Holy Week. The Resurrection is certainly implied — the Troparion alludes to it through the mention of Lazarus' resurrection — but it is not directly commemorated. The Church postpones the full proclamation of the Resurrection to the Paschal night.
What is the connection between Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday?
These two feasts form an inseparable liturgical pair in the Orthodox tradition. Lazarus Saturday (the eve of Palm Sunday) commemorates the raising of Lazarus by Christ — the event that, according to the Gospel of John, triggered the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Both services share the same Troparion, and the hymns of each constantly reference the other. The raising of Lazarus is presented as a prefiguration of the Resurrection of Christ and an immediate cause of the events of Holy Week.
When is the next Orthodox Palm Sunday?
The next Orthodox Palm Sunday is Sunday, April 25, 2027, seven days before Orthodox Pascha on May 2, 2027.
How does one prepare for Palm Sunday?
Preparation includes attending the Divine Liturgy of Lazarus Saturday (the preceding Saturday), Great Vespers on Saturday evening with the blessing of branches, and the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning. Confession and Holy Communion are recommended. It is traditional to bring branches — palms, olive branches or pussy willows depending on the region — for the blessing. Reading the Gospel of John (chapter 12) on the events of the week before the Passion prepares the heart to enter Holy Week.
To enter Jerusalem is to enter Holy Week
The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem is a feast of joy — but a joy that knows what it costs. The branches in the hands of the faithful are not merely signs of celebration: they are the expression of a choice. To welcome Christ as he enters is to accept that he enters all the way — to the Cross, to the tomb, to the Resurrection. One cannot receive Christ on Palm Sunday and abandon him on Good Friday.
In 2027, all Orthodox Christians throughout the world will celebrate this Palm Sunday together on April 25, carrying their branches, singing their Hosanna and entering the holiest week of the year. It is an invitation to walk with Christ toward Jerusalem — knowing where this road leads, and knowing that this road does not end at the tomb.
"By raising Lazarus from the dead before Your Passion, You confirmed the universal resurrection, O Christ God. Like the children with the palms of victory, we cry out to You, O Vanquisher of death: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"
— Troparion of Palm Sunday, Orthodox liturgical tradition
