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[[Image:Epitaphios procession.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Priests carrying an epitaphios in a [[Holy Friday]] procession at the [[Monastery of Our Lady of Balamand]].]] An '''epitaphios''' (also called the ''Epitaphios Thrinos'', or ''epitaphion'', or ''epitaphioi'', in Russian ''plaschanitsa'', in English ''The Winding Sheet'') is a large cloth [[Iconography|icon]] used during the services of [[Holy Week|Great Friday]] in a commemoration of the death of [[Christ]] on the cross.
In this icon, Christ has been removed (or ''unnailed'') from the [[cross]] and his body is being prepared for burial. Shown around the body, and mourning his death, are his mother, the [[Theotokos]] and Virgin Mary; [[Apostle John|John the beloved]] [[disciple]]; [[Joseph of Arimathea]]; and [[Mary Magdalene]]. [[Nicodemus]] and others may also be displayed. Sometimes, the body of Christ appears alone, as if in state.
