HOLY WEEK AT ST. THOMAS

Paschal Triduum ~ The Great Three Days

Welcome to St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church this Holy Week as we celebrate these three sacred days that make up the Triduum. For centuries upon centuries Christians have been retracing these last steps of the Christ. According to tradition, these last three days cannot be separated from one another so we celebrate them as one liturgy. You will notice that from Maundy Thursday through the Great Vigil there are no dismissals, only pauses. From the intimate humble service we offer each other on Maundy Thursday to our time spent in contemplation at the foot of the cross on Friday to the new light piercing the darkness at the Feast of Resurrection on Saturday, these services stand as one. It is our hope at St. Thomas that these services will invite you deeper into the awe and mystery of Christ’s passion, crucifixion and resurrection.

MAUNDY THURSDAY

The intimate gesture of washing feet on Maundy Thursday is one of the ancient and universal rites in the Christian Church. It reminds us all of the humility necessary to be ministers to one another. The rite has its origin in the Gospel of John. John does not have an account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper, instead it provides a testamentary account of eucharistic living in which Christ bids Christians to share with others the unselfish love and service that he gives to us. ‘For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you’ (John 13:15).  This evening, we remind ourselves of this vocation to love and serve through the washing of each other’s feet.

This evening concludes with the stripping of the altar and a procession of the reserved sacrament, the outward and visible sign of Christ, to the Altar of Repose. The sacrament will lie in state through the night. Parishioners are invited to keep vigil through the night until Good Friday.

 Good Friday

Good Friday is the most solemn day in the church year. Our one great liturgy began last night with Maundy Thursday. It began with an opening acclamation, but had no dismissal, recalling the disciples’ abandonment of our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane. Today we begin without an acclamation, and leave again without a dismissal, holding ourselves within the entire Three Great Days of the Paschal Triduum. Our service today brings to the foot of the cross where we behold the crucified Lord.

Easter Vigil

Throughout the centuries and around the world many Christians have considered the Easter Vigil to be the holiest night and most sacred liturgy in our Church year. The Easter vigil begins in darkness outside the sanctuary, as we stand in the shadow of the cross and the bleak, dark emptiness of Christ’s death. In that darkness, the Church gathers and kindles a new fire. The new fire, a new light, signifies the leaving behind of the old and the anticipation of resurrection, new life and re-birth. Into this fire we symbolically cast those things that have impeded our ability over the past year to receive God’s grace; and we resolve to receive God’s gifts anew in the Church year before us.

From this new fire we light the Paschal candle representing the Light of Christ. As we sit in darkness we hear, recall and claim the stories of creation and our salvation history, the stories of God’s eternal and enduring love and saving work. As we claim these stories, we remember who we are and we once again re-constitute the Church. Following these stories, we remember of baptism and our passage with Christ from death to life as we renew our baptismal vows.

At this point, the joyous celebration of the resurrection begins: The presider declares “Alleluia! Christ is risen!” Bells begin to ring; the organ sounds; the lights come up; the altar candles are lit to illuminate the Lord’s Table; and we burst into song, rejoicing as we mark the Church’s passage with Christ from the paschal fast to the paschal feast with first celebration of the Eucharist.

This is the night when we are enveloped by the symbols of our faith – darkness, light, fire, water, bread and wine. This is the night in which we are made one with Jesus as we participate in his death and resurrection. This is the night when we experience the moment where life conquers death once and for all.