The Holy Friday Idiomelon Σήμερον κρεμᾶται ἐπὶ ξύλου

Liturgical History between Jerusalem and Constantinople

Abstract

Σήμερον κρεμᾶται ἐπὶ ξύλου (“Today, he is hung upon wood”) is among the most widely disseminated hymns for the commemoration of Christ’s passion to have emerged from the Christian East. One of twelve idiomela of the late antique Holy Friday liturgy of Jerusalem, it was transmitted in Greek, Georgian, and Syriac, entered the Constantinopolitan Triodion, and survives to this day in the Byzantine rite. Despite its enduring popularity, the hymn remains little studied. This article contextualises the hymn within the history of liturgical development, confirms the existence of a shorter original Greek text, and documents the development of a longer version.