| 3550 Southwest Loop 820, Fort Worth, TX 76133 Phone: 817-926-8277 -- Fax: 817-926-8278 Preschool: 817-923-2040 email: st.christophers@att.net |
St. Christopher Episcopal Church
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To Know Christ and Make Him Known
| A Look at Our Church Seasons and Holy Days - Holy Week |
Holy Week is the last week in Lent. During Holy Week, the events of our Lord’s passion
and death are specially commemorated in preparation for the glorious celebration of the
Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Holy Week begins with the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday. A special liturgy begins
with a procession of the congregation and the blessing of the palms, commemorating the
triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The Gospel reading is the complete story of the
Passion, done at St. Christopher as a dramatic presentation. The service underlines the
contrast between the crowd’s joyous greeting of their king and then their condemnation of
him—the contrast between shouts of “Alleluia” and “Crucify him!” (More....)
On Monday and Tuesday in Holy Week, services with special collects and lessons deal with
the themes of suffering and coming glory. On Wednesday, the church starts out in candlelight
for the Tenebrae service. The word ‘tenebrae’ is Latin for shadows. The purpose of the
service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion story. (More....)
Thursday in Holy Week is called Maundy Thursday, from the Latin for commandment:
(After Jesus washed the feet of the disciples he said “A new commandment I give you, that
you love one another.”) Foot-washing is included in St. Christopher’s liturgy. The Eucharist
commemorates the first Eucharist at the Last Supper. The service ends in complete silence
with the stripping of the altar, in recognition of the despair and death to come. (More....)
Friday, Good Friday (“good” = a day or season observed by the church) commemorates
the Crucifixion. In the early church pieces of the True Cross were revered at this service.
The cross over the altar is draped in black. The Solemn Collects date back to the 4th
century and are an early form of the Prayers of the People. (More....)
Holy Saturday was once a day of fasting in preparation for the Great Vigil of Easter and for
baptism. No Eucharist is celebrated, but the Prayer Book provides for the reading of the
Passion and an anthem from the Burial of the Dead. The Great Vigil lasted in the early
church from sundown Saturday until cockcrow on Sunday. Now shortened, it still rehearses
the pivotal events of the Old and New Testaments: the Passover (the Pascha) is related to
our release from sin and new life in baptism. At St. Christopher the Vigil begins in darkness,
with lighting of candles.
The color for Holy Week is red to symbolize the blood of martyrdom.
and death are specially commemorated in preparation for the glorious celebration of the
Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Holy Week begins with the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday. A special liturgy begins
with a procession of the congregation and the blessing of the palms, commemorating the
triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The Gospel reading is the complete story of the
Passion, done at St. Christopher as a dramatic presentation. The service underlines the
contrast between the crowd’s joyous greeting of their king and then their condemnation of
him—the contrast between shouts of “Alleluia” and “Crucify him!” (More....)
On Monday and Tuesday in Holy Week, services with special collects and lessons deal with
the themes of suffering and coming glory. On Wednesday, the church starts out in candlelight
for the Tenebrae service. The word ‘tenebrae’ is Latin for shadows. The purpose of the
service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion story. (More....)
Thursday in Holy Week is called Maundy Thursday, from the Latin for commandment:
(After Jesus washed the feet of the disciples he said “A new commandment I give you, that
you love one another.”) Foot-washing is included in St. Christopher’s liturgy. The Eucharist
commemorates the first Eucharist at the Last Supper. The service ends in complete silence
with the stripping of the altar, in recognition of the despair and death to come. (More....)
Friday, Good Friday (“good” = a day or season observed by the church) commemorates
the Crucifixion. In the early church pieces of the True Cross were revered at this service.
The cross over the altar is draped in black. The Solemn Collects date back to the 4th
century and are an early form of the Prayers of the People. (More....)
Holy Saturday was once a day of fasting in preparation for the Great Vigil of Easter and for
baptism. No Eucharist is celebrated, but the Prayer Book provides for the reading of the
Passion and an anthem from the Burial of the Dead. The Great Vigil lasted in the early
church from sundown Saturday until cockcrow on Sunday. Now shortened, it still rehearses
the pivotal events of the Old and New Testaments: the Passover (the Pascha) is related to
our release from sin and new life in baptism. At St. Christopher the Vigil begins in darkness,
with lighting of candles.
The color for Holy Week is red to symbolize the blood of martyrdom.