Triduum Sacrum

In her book, Worship Without Words, Patricia Klein observes that liturgical worship reflects the monarchy of the Roman Empire (and more importantly, the Kingdom of God) which was the hierarchical social structure which Christianity was born into. But monarchy is a concept that is often foreign to our modern, democratic paradigm. In the same way, in our word-based, information saturated age symbolism and mystery are often lost on us. So I have collected a few thoughts to help you interpret the liturgical actions of the days ahead. Some may be new to liturgical worship and these concepts may seem foreign. Others have been going through these liturgies for many years. Wherever you are approaching this week from, I trust that greater understanding will only enrich our corporate (and your personal) experience of worship.

The Triduum Sacrum (roughly meaning the 3 Holiest Days of Holy Week) are upon us, they are the apex of the liturgical year. Beginning tonight with Maundy Thursday and continuing through Holy Saturday (when the Great Vigil of Easter is held) we prepare for the greatest of all celebrations, Easter Sunday.

On Maundy Thursday (from the Latin mandatum, meaning mandate) we remember Christ’s final instructions to the 12, his demonstration of love and humility in the washing of their feet and the institution of the Sacrament of the Kingdom in the Last Supper. In

this service we will take time to wash one another’s feet in obedience to Christ’s words, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.”

After the service proper is complete we fade into silence and observe the stripping of the altar. This practice (like many in the Church) serves 2 purposes: first, it allows us to take down the Holy Week decorations in order to make way for those of the Feast which will soon follow. But secondly, it serves a symbolic purpose to strip away any vestige of a celebration and prepare for the starkness and desolation of Good Friday. The altar stands in the church as a symbol of God’s presence (this by the way is why the priest and servers bow in reverence when they approach it). As a symbol of Christ then it reminds us of his stripping and beating that occurred in the night watches between Thursday and Friday.

Accompanying the stripping of the altar is the setting of the watch. After departing the upper room Jesus went out to the Garden to pray and begged his companions to watch and pray with him. Thus on Maundy Thursday we end in silence with the opportunity for those who wish to remain and pray a while, watching with the Savior.

Good Friday is one of only two prescribed fasts within the Anglican calendar (Ash Wednesday being the other). On this day we remember all of the events that accompanied the sacrifice of the Son of God for the sins of the whole world. On Good Friday everything is done in solemnity, a symbol of the mourning each of us should have over the death of our friend and Savior, as it was our sins that drove him to this dramatic act of Atonement. The service begins with prayer as people and clergy alike enter in silence. As we focus on the Passion through the readings and the sermon, we also bring to the foot of the Cross all the needs of the world in prayer through the solemn collects (an old English word for prayers that serve to collect our hearts and minds and focus them on the particular intercession).

After this we have

the opportunity to focus with reverence upon the symbol of Christ’s suffering and death, the symbol which brings us life – the Cross. A cross is brought in and processed to the front of the church while the people sing anthems and hymns extolling the greatness of the Sacrifice. We receive Communion on Good Friday, but since a celebration seems inappropriate, we receive from elements that are consecrated the night before and held in reserve for this occasion.

As we come forward to receive Communion there is opportunity to pause (for as long as is necessary) before the cross, reverencing Christ and praying before it. Concluding with a prayer, the service ends as it began as we leave in silence.

Holy Saturday is the fulfillment of the ancient Jewish Sabbath. This is the day God once again rested from His Labor as our Lord’s body rested in the grave – his earthly work now complete. It should be for us therefore a day of rest and a day of anticipation. In stricter observances (such as the Eastern Orthodox) it is a day for continuing the Good Friday fast which is usually broken at sundown with the beginning of the Easter Vigil.

The Great Vigil of Easter is the first anticipatory celebration of the Resurrection. Traditionally begun after sundown (when the ancients accounted the beginning of the next day) the Vigil begins with the sanctuary darkened. The priest, other clergy and servers begin the service outside the sanctuary, pounding on the doors which are then opened, a symbol that through the Resurrection of Christ, the Gates of Hell were trampled and the Gates of Glory have been opened to all. The procession enters and declares:

Dear friends in Christ: On this most holy night, in which our

Lord Jesus passed over from death to life, the Church invites

her members, dispersed throughout the world, to gather in

vigil and prayer. For this is the Passover of the Lord, in which,

by hearing his Word and celebrating his Sacraments, we share in

his victory over death.

The Vigil then proceeds with the lighting of the Paschal Candle. A symbol of the new life in Christ; it will burn in the sanctuary now until the feast of Pentecost in 50 days. The candle is processed to the front of the sanctuary and then the celebrant sings the Exultet, and ancient hymn calling on all of heaven and earth to join with the Church in giving praise to God for the finished work of Christ. While this hymn is sung the entire congregation are welcomed to light their own individual candles from the flame as a sign that in Christ we too share in the newness of His resurrection life.

The service proceeds with an extended liturgy of the Word. In keeping with this night as a celebration of the Christian Passover, we remember. The readings trace the entire history of God's saving acts from the Creation of the World, through the Fall of humankind, The Flood, Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, Israel's Deliverance at the Red Sea and then several passages from the Prophets which turn our focus toward the Hope of God's ultimate redemption of His people in Christ. In our parish each of these readings is not only read by a narrator but artistically and theatrically interpreted to us to make the story ever fresh and resonant. Despite its length, children absolutely love this service and in many ways it is for them. Just as the father of the household recounts the saving acts of God each year in the Jewish Passover, so we as the community of Christ are recounting for our children and our children's children God's ultimate plan of deliverance.

After this we celebrate baptism as the Sacrament whereby one is covered by the Blood of the Lamb. In the absence of baptismal candidates we still pause to re-affirm our baptismal covenant, remembering that we too have been buried with Christ in His death and raised with Him who is our life.

After all of this anticipation it is finally time to celebrate the unveiled radiance of resurrection glory. The Celebrant shouts out the first Easter greeting, "Alleluia, Christ is Risen!" And the whole congregation responds, "The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!" And the first Eucharist of Easter proceeds; the fulfillment of the Passover meal where Christ endowed it with new meaning declaring, "This is my body...This is my blood of the NEW COVENANT" So we obediently partake in remembrance of all of His saving work as we have passed through these days of prayer, servanthood, death and now finally, resurrection. In our parish the Vigil is a great celebration filled with music, energy and by the time its all said and done, probably even some dancing.

In many ways Easter Sunday seems self explanatory. This should be the greatest celebration of the entire year. The church is decorated with color as a joyful contrast to the blackness of Friday and as a symbol of the new life that the resurrection of Christ has breathed into the world. This is the day that changed all of history! The death of Christ is fulfilled in His Resurrection as the Orthodox hymn proclaims, “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death!” Come ready to celebrate!