Bishop of London preaches at Bray anniversary service
London Festival of Contemporary Church Music
Bishop of Stepney steams ahead on post-Easter trip
Paintings unveiled to put vocations in the frame
New Deacon for St Clement and St James, Notting Dale
Vicar of Primrose Hill to Become Bishop of Stockport
Punk Photographer Captures the Easter Story
The 21st-century church musician
Church welcomes transitional Gift Aid relief
Bishop of Willesden runs Religion Awareness Seminar for Westminster Police
Launch of Home Base Supported Lodgings
Coptic Iconography at Sacred Space Gallery
Christians welcome BBC's Passion series
Shadwell youth group showcases new film
Art offers calm to stressed souls in credit-squeezed City
17/03/08
What is Easter and how is it celebrated in the Church of England? Find out more here.
The date of Easter Sunday changes every year. In the period leading up to it the Church prepares for this, its most holy day, with traditions based on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Individual churches differ in how they celebrate this time. Some of the most widely practised are explained here.
Lent is a time of preparation and penitence before Easter. Lent is a season in the Church’s calendar because of the ancient practice of preparing candidates for their Baptism at Easter. It lasts for forty days (excluding Sundays) and is traditionally a period when people deepen their understanding of their Christian calling by undertaking prayer, study or service to the community. Ash Wednesday marks the first day. It is so called because of the Church’s tradition of making the sign of the cross on people’s foreheads, as a sign of penitence and of Christian witness. The ash is made by burning palm crosses from the previous year and is usually mixed with a little holy water or oil.
Palm Sunday marks Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The scene is recalled by the use of palm crosses and often by a procession through the streets. Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week.
During Holy Week we remember the last days of Jesus’ earthly life; each event contributes to the whole, eventually leading to the crucifixion and resurrection.
Maundy Thursday sees the start of the Holy Three Days which leads to Easter itself. The readings during Holy Communion tell of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet as an example of humility, love and mutual service. It is the night of the Last Supper, when Jesus gave thanks to God, blessed bread and wine and shared it with his disciples: the basis for Holy Communion as practised by the Church ever since.
In many churches Maundy Thursday will be the last time Holy Communion is celebrated until Easter. As a symbol of Christ’s stripping prior to crucifixion we remove much of the church’s decoration and altar and church are left bare. Often the Blessed Sacrament – the consecrated bread and wine – is reserved in a side chapel, which for tonight is Gethsemane, the garden where Jesus prayed and was later arrested. We then wait, as did the disciples, in a night-time vigil.
Christ is crucified. Between noon and 3pm we hear readings and preaching about the Cross. The Cross is venerated in the tradition of the earliest Christians. The Sacrament is brought back from the side chapel and the congregation is invited to receive Communion. We leave the church in silence and wait, perhaps experiencing the same sorrow as Jesus’ first disciples.
The vigil begins with a darkened church. Outside a fire is burning and from that a single, large candle is lit, representing Christ as the light of the world. As it is brought into the church the darkness is dispersed and the congregation light their own candles as a sign of sharing in the new life of Christ. In many places the Easter Proclamation is sung in celebration of the Resurrection.
The service then moves into a period of reflection on readings from the Old Testament recounting God’s saving acts, contemplative psalms and collects. Following this the church is filled with the sound of bells and music and the Gloria in Excelsis Deo – a hymn of God’s praise – is sung, leading into the triumphal ‘alleluia’ of the Gospel of the Resurrection.
Later, we are reminded of our own Baptism and our baptismal promises are renewed. Often the congregation is sprinkled with holy water as a sign of Baptism. The Eucharist then continues in celebration of the first Easter.
Easter Sunday is the focus and culmination of Lent and Holy Week. On it we celebrate Christ’s resurrection and it is the greatest feast day of the Church. The churches are resplendent with flowers and the bells peal in celebration.
The Bishop of London’s Lent Lectures - Tracing the Drama of Holy Week: Preparing for the Resurrection Life
Easter 2008: modern images for teaching in primary schools
The Faith of the Church of England
Subscribe to our Newsletter