From midday until late at night the parishes carry their flower-covered Epitaphs through Corfu Town to funeral marches; the cathedral's comes last, at about 22:00. Next: Friday 30 April 2027.
When: Good Friday, two days before Orthodox Easter. Where: Old town, the Mouragia and the Spianada.
Dozens of Epitaphs, each with its choir and band, one after another.
The Epitaph, the bier of Christ, is decked with flowers in every church and carried out with its choir, a philharmonic band playing funeral marches, banners, candles, schools and scouts. The first leave around midday, among them the Pantokrator's in Kampiello, and the processions follow one another through the afternoon and evening. The last and largest, the Metropolitan cathedral's, sets out at about 22:00 with Venetian lanterns and the town's three oldest bands. Saint Spyridon's own Epitaph is carried round inside his church on Friday evening and goes out with his relics on Holy Saturday morning.
On the Spianada and the Liston for the cathedral's, in the lanes for the rest.
The processions wind through the old town's lanes all afternoon, some of them out along the Mouragia seafront to the Spianada. The cathedral's crosses the Spianada and passes the Liston, whose arcade lights turn purple for the night, its bands playing pieces such as Albinoni's Adagio and Mariani's Sventura.
For the cathedral's, find a place by the Liston by 21:30.
Each parish sets its own hour, and the programme shifts a little from year to year; the municipality and the local press publish it in Holy Week. In 2022 the first left at 12:30 and the cathedral's at 22:00.
A funeral, not a parade: quiet, candles and respect.
Good Friday is the most solemn day of the Orthodox year and a public holiday. Locals follow their parish's Epitaph with lit candles, and you can join in with one. Don't cut across a procession, keep your voice low and leave the flash off. The old town stays crowded until the cathedral's procession ends, late at night.
Checked on 14 November 2026.