DESCRIPTION

This very singular procession has its preambles in the oath of silence that the Brothers take in the Hermitage of San Bartolomé. From there the Tercio de Nazarenes, carrying torches, heads towards the Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, whose doors, in response to the call that the Brotherhood makes with its guiding cross, open so that the crowd waiting in the square Receive the Passage of "Jesus opening the doors of Hell" on your way out.

After the reading of the Holy Saturday Homily on the same steps of the Basilica, the procession starts moving announced by the ringing of the bell that leads it. As it already happened in the Procession of Silence, also for this Parade the public lighting will remain off, as well as the interior of the houses along the route.

In that setting, typical of the Middle Ages, El Paso, in the light of the fire from its four cauldrons and to the sound of a single muffled drum, whose monotonous cadence is only interrupted by the voices of a choir that interprets sacred chants in the planned places, he travels his itinerary to pick himself up when the first light of dawn is close.

PECULIARITIES, INTEREST OF THE SHOW AND RECOMMENDATIONS

After a few minutes of reflection, with hardly any respite from the sensations provoked by the entrance of the Procession of the Holy Burial, the spectator prepares to experience another unrepeatable moment; and thus, under the darkness of Holy Saturday morning, the Procession of Christ's Descent into Hell will take place; constituting by itself a benchmark of our Processions, being the only Procession in the entire national territory that represents this dedication. The importance of this ciezan contribution to the context of the Spanish Processions is evidenced by the replica of this Procession that has been carried out since 2007 in Archena (also sponsored by the corresponding Brotherhood of Souls of Archena (Murcia), which arises following the model of the Ciezana Brotherhood), or due to the fact that the theological justification that allowed the Seville Brotherhood of El Sol to join the official roster for Holy Week in Seville in 2010 was provided precisely by the Brotherhood of Souls of Cieza, which made available at the disposal of the Andalusian corporation all the documentation that they used to have their statutes approved in the Diocese of Murcia-Cartagena.

For any visitor it is necessary to already be in the Plaza, around 3 in the morning, when, in the midst of darkness, the Third of Nazarenes arrives led by a tree-guide cross and goes to the portico of the Basilica. The three blows of the cross on the door of the Basilica make it open and the impressive carving of Jesus Opening the Gates of Hell (Hernández Navarro, 2001) appears on a throne that represents, with a gouge, different scenes from the sacred scriptures (Soriano Talavera, 2001). Once in the Plaza and after listening, under a heartrending silence, the brief Homily on Holy Saturday, the Procession begins. The spectator must then go towards the Wall (where the 19th century wall joins the 15th century Fortress) to enjoy the high point of the Procession, when the procession descends towards the Segura River. Then the game of shadows that is created by the light of the torches of the Nazarenes and the fire that emanates from the cauldrons of the throne on the stones of the Wall, together with the austerity and sobriety of the burlap tunics, the silence of the parade - only broken by the occasional interpretation of choral music-, by replicating the bell of souls that opens the procession next to the cross, and the incessant and penetrating smell of incense, recreates in an amazing and impressive way a penitential atmosphere that allows the viewer to move in time and forge a memory of the moment that will hardly be forgotten and that certainly lacks references in the context of national passion.

Thus concludes, this morning, a unique and unrepeatable story in which, in just twenty-four hours, it is represented from the condemnation of Christ to his Descent into Hell, passing through his Passion, Death and Burial with the participation of all the people de Cieza, delivered unreservedly to his Big Day.

ITINERARY

Plaza Mayor, Hoz, Bajada al río, Subida del río, Rincón de los Pinos, Pinos, Larga, Empedrá, Barco, Hoz and Plaza Mayor.

TIME

3:00