THE LITURGIES OF HOLY WEEK
These notes were prepared some years ago by the then Diocesan Liturgical Committee.
Particular attention is given here to the rites for Palm Sunday and the Triduum (Maundy Thursday to Easter Day). On the weekdays of Holy Week it is customary for there to be a celebration of the Eucharist each day, possibly with an address. The Office of Tenebrae from the Latin word for shadows, or darkness, is becoming increasingly popular. A form of Tenebrae for Wednesday evening in Holy Week is provided in the Book of Occasional Services 1994 of ECUSA, Seabury Press.
Additional seasonal material for the celebration of the Eucharist in Passiontide is provided in Enriching the Christian Year, published by SPCK. This material enables the Eucharists of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week to focus particularly on the cross.
The key Liturgies of Holy Week - Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Eve / Easter Day - should all contain an element of movement by both Celebrant and People.
On Palm Sunday, as we recall our Lord's entry into Jerusalem, the movement within the crowds is evoked by a procession. To process to the main place of worship on Palm Sunday from a gathering point some distance from the place of worship can be a powerful act of Christian witness. The sight of a congregation on the move, singing hymns such as: 'Make way, make way', 'Ride on, ride on', All glory, laud and honour', 'We have a king', certainly draws attention. A processional cross may lead the procession, better still a donkey! If you are using a cross, rather than a processional one, why not knock a more life-sized one together, draped with a red cloth, and with a crown of thorns nailed to it.
Maundy Thursday recalls the gathering in the upper room and the movement after supper to the garden where our Lord underwent his agony. Why not try and emphasise the sense of gathering at the Eucharist by moving around your building. Have a space for the Liturgy of the Word, move nearer and then around the altar for the Liturgy of the Sacrament. Not forgetting the Washing of Feet which appears immediately after the breaking open of the word and before the prayer of approach. After the celebration of the Eucharist, if the Sacrament is being reserved for Good Friday, the congregation can follow the Celebrant in procession to the altar of repose to express the movement from the upper room to the garden. If reservation is not part of the tradition, a movement to a place of quiet for a vigil of silent prayer would be a moving end to the liturgy. An Agape meal which fell into disuse after the seventh century but has seen a revival via the non-conformist tradition, may be an appropriate way to celebrate Maundy Thursday. A form is included in LHWE, page 97.
Good Friday. The Liturgy of Good Friday reminds us of the journey of Christ along the Via Dolorosa. Reflecting our Lord's journey carrying the cross, a large wooden cross can be carried into the Church. Movement to and from the cross - as Mary and John stood at its foot on the first Good Friday and then went away after Jesus had been taken down and laid in the tomb, can be reflected by the congregation and coming forward to touch / venerate or pray in silence at the foot of the cross before returning to their places.
The Easter Liturgy. Again, movement is a key element of this liturgy. Following the model of LHWE, the vigil readings precede the lighting of the New Fire, or if the Roman model is followed, the readings follow the Exsultet. But to have the vigil readings in one part of the building and then to move outside for the lighting of the fire adds drama to the liturgy. The Paschal Candle, symbolising the risen Christ, is let from the new fire and carried into the darkness of the church and the light shared amongst the congregation. The gathering of the congregation around the Paschal Candle for the Exsultet, then moving to hear the Liturgy of the Word, following the Candle to the place of baptism, and possibly moving with the Paschal Candle nearer to the altar for the Liturgy of the Sacrament, sees the people of God following the new pillar of fire of the new covenant.