Editing Palm Sunday (section)

===Eastern and Oriental Christianity===
[[File:Palm-sunday.jpg|thumb|upright|Small crosses woven from blessed palms are often distributed at churches on Palm Sunday.]]

Palm Sunday, or the ''Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem'' as it may be called in [[Orthodoxy#Christianity|Orthodox Churches]], is one of the [[Twelve Great Feasts]] of the [[liturgical year]]. The day before Palm Sunday, [[Lazarus Saturday]], believers often prepare palm fronds by knotting them into crosses in preparation for the procession on Sunday. The [[antependia|hangings]] and [[vestments]] in the church are changed to a festive color – most commonly green.

The [[Troparion]] of the Feast (a short hymn) indicates that the resurrection of [[Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]] is a prefiguration of Christ's Resurrection:

{{Blockquote|<poem>O Christ our God
When Thou didst raise Lazarus from the dead before Thy Passion,
Thou didst confirm the resurrection of the universe.
Wherefore, we, like children,
carry the banner of triumph and victory,
and we cry to Thee, O Conqueror of death,
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is He that cometh
in the Name of the Lord.</poem>}}

In the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)|Ukrainian Orthodox Church]], [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church|Ukrainian Catholic Church]], [[Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church|Ruthenian Catholic Church]], [[Poland|Polish]], [[Bavaria]]n and [[Austria]]n [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]], and various other [[Eastern Europe]]an peoples, the custom developed of using [[pussy willow]] and other twigs like box tree instead of palm fronds because the latter are not readily available that far north. There is no canonical requirement as to what kind of branches must be used, so some Orthodox believers use [[olive]] branches.

Whatever the kind, these branches are [[blessing|blessed]] and distributed together with candles either during the [[All-Night Vigil]] on the Eve of the Feast (Saturday night), or before the [[Divine Liturgy]] on Sunday morning. The [[Great Entrance]] of the Divine Liturgy commemorates the "Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem", so the meaningfulness of this moment is punctuated on Palm Sunday as everyone stands, holding their branches and lit candles. The faithful take these branches and candles home with them after the liturgy, and keep them in their [[icon corner]] as an ''evloghia'' (blessing).

In Russia, [[donkey walk]] processions took place in different cities, but most importantly in [[Novgorod]] and, from 1558 until 1693, in Moscow. These were prominently featured in testimonies by foreign witnesses and mentioned in contemporary Western maps of the city. The [[Patriarch of Moscow]], representing Christ, rode on a "donkey", actually a horse draped in white cloth. The [[Tsar of Russia]] humbly led the procession on foot. Originally, Moscow processions began inside the [[Moscow Kremlin|Kremlin]] and terminated at Trinity Church, now known as [[Saint Basil's Cathedral]]. In 1658 [[Patriarch Nikon]] reversed the order of procession. [[Peter I of Russia|Peter I]] in the 1720s, as a part of his [[Church reform of Peter I|nationalisation of the church]], terminated the custom. It has been occasionally recreated in the 21st century.

In [[Oriental Orthodox]] churches, palm fronds are distributed at the front of the church at the sanctuary steps. In India the sanctuary itself is strewn with marigolds, and the congregation proceeds through and outside the church.

<gallery widths="200" heights="200" perrow="5" caption="Palm Sunday in Eastern and Oriental Christianity">
File:Wjatscheslaw Grigorjewitsch Schwarz 002.jpg|Palm Sunday procession, Moscow, with Tsar [[Alexis of Russia|Alexei Michaelovich]] (painting by [[Vyacheslav Schwarz]], 1865)
File:Engraving of Red Square & Kremlin (Moscow, 1654).jpg|The Palm procession in Moscow, 1654, showing the original rite of the Russian church with a [[donkey walk]]
File:Palm sunday.JPG|[[Oriental Orthodox|Orthodox]] congregation in India collects palm fronds for [[procession]]: men on left of sanctuary in the photo; women collecting fronds on right of sanctuary, outside photo.
File:Цвети, улазак Христа у Јерусалим (Church fresco - Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Bitola).jpg|[[Eastern Orthodox]] fresco in Nativity of the Theotokos Church, [[Bitola]], [[Republic of North Macedonia]]
</gallery>