Good Friday services include the Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday and the Stations of the Cross. In many Roman Catholic and Orthodox services there is also the Veneration of the Cross. There are periods of prayers interspersed with quiet times for worshippers to reflect and meditate, or to pray silently on their own. Meditations often focus on the seven last sayings of Jesus, spoken from the Cross.
"From a purely human point of view Good Friday seems a sad day, but from the point of view of faith, it is a victory feats. So while we acknowledge that our own sinfuness is what Christ died to release us from, nevertheless we do not spend time beating our breasts but beating the drum of His triumph. In the Liturgy of the Lord's Passion we proclaim that Christ has taken on all the evil and sin of humanity, including even death, and has emerged victorious and triumphant. We lift the cross on high as the banner of our triumphant king."
(Taken from the 'Holy Week' brochure of St. Alban's Church of England, Cayman Islands.)
Site Link: http://www.churchofenglandcayman.com/
The Book of Common Prayer Good Friday Service.
Site Link: http://www.bcponline.org/SpecialDays/friday.html
Good Friday Liturgy from the Washington National Cathedral.
Video Link: http://www.nationalcathedral.org/exec/cathedral/mediaPlayer?MediaID=MED-5KM8T-5G000R&EventID=CAL-5HP6L-SJ000J
Service Leaflet: http://www.nationalcathedral.org/pdfs/GF20120406.pdf
Easter Triduum: A Liturgical Look.
Information Site Link: http://www.cyberfaith.com/calendar/triduum.html
Saturday, 7 April 2012
Good Friday: Views from around the world.
Enclosed are some photographs from Good Friday services, celebrations, and moments from around the world.
The site address for the source of these photographs is included.
The site address for the source of these photographs is included.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Christian pilgrim at prayer inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem on Good Friday.
Roman Catholic clergy praying inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.
A Good Friday procession inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.
Christians at worship in Rio de Janiero, Brazil early on Good Friday.
A Good Friday procession in Haiti passing the Presidential Palace.
Pakistani Christians in procession on Good Friday.
Pope Benedict XVI during the Good Friday services in Rome.
Pope Benedict in prayer during the Good Friday services.
Pope Benedict XVI during Good Friday services.
Exhausted worshipper inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchure in Jerusalem.
Site Source Link: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/06/4395883/good-friday-around-the-world.html?mi_rss=Photo%20Galleries
Good Friday: Stations of the Cross.
Every Friday groups of pilgrims and local Christian residents take to the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem to follow the Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Cross. The fourteen 'Stations of the Cross' mark significant steps along the road that Jesus took on that first 'Good Friday', as he was marched from the Antonia Fortress, the place of his condemnation and flogging, to the site of His crucifixion at Golgotha, the 'place of the skull', Calvary, and on to His brief resting place in the new-hewn rock tomb nearby.
By His death and resurrection, Jesus redeemed mankind by taking on the weight of the sins of the world, accepting death freely as an offering, and by rising again to life on the 3rd day, thereby forever breaking the chains of sin and death, and giving believers the hope of sharing in the everlasting life of God our Father.
The Stations of the Cross.
1. Jesus is condemned by Pontius Pilate.
2. Jesus receives his Cross.
3. Jesus falls under the weight of the Cross.
4. Jesus meets his mother.
5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the Cross.
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
7. Jesus falls a second time.
8. Jesus speaks to the daughters of Jerusalem.
9. Jesus falls a third time.
10. Jesus is stripped of his garments
11. Jesus is nailed to the Cross.
12. Jesus dies on the Cross.
13. Jesus is taken down from the Cross
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb.
Link: http://www.holylandnetwork.com/jerusalem/via_dolorosa/via_dolorosa.htm
By His death and resurrection, Jesus redeemed mankind by taking on the weight of the sins of the world, accepting death freely as an offering, and by rising again to life on the 3rd day, thereby forever breaking the chains of sin and death, and giving believers the hope of sharing in the everlasting life of God our Father.
The Stations of the Cross.
1. Jesus is condemned by Pontius Pilate.
2. Jesus receives his Cross.
3. Jesus falls under the weight of the Cross.
4. Jesus meets his mother.
5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the Cross.
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
7. Jesus falls a second time.
8. Jesus speaks to the daughters of Jerusalem.
9. Jesus falls a third time.
10. Jesus is stripped of his garments
11. Jesus is nailed to the Cross.
12. Jesus dies on the Cross.
13. Jesus is taken down from the Cross
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb.
Link: http://www.holylandnetwork.com/jerusalem/via_dolorosa/via_dolorosa.htm
A group from St. George's College and Cathedral praying the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, April 17th, 1987 in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Friday, 6 April 2012
Maunday Thursday Ceremonies.
It was on Maunday Thursday that Christ, the Lamb of God, gave Himself into the hands of those who would slay Him. It was also on this day that Christ our God instituted the Holy Eucharist, so that we who eat His flesh and drink His blood may proclaim His Holy Sacrifice and be partakers of His Resurrection, and at the last day, may reign with Him in heaven. Additionally, Christ showed us by example, the perfect example of living a Christian life, that of service to others. Christ took a towel and washed the feet of the disciples. He told His disciples to do to others as He has done for us.
Following the celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Maunday Thursday, the Blessed Sacrament is carried to the Altar of Repose, representing our Lord's departure for the Garden of Gethsemane. It is there that the clergy and the people will keep watch with our Lord, giving answer to the question: "Could you not watch one hour with me?" In response to Jesus' request, for centuries Christians have kept watch throughout the night of Maunday Thursday and into the morning of Good Friday.
In 1987 members of the clergy and congregation of St. George's Cathedral and College, Jerusalem made their way to the Garden of Gethsemane. They joined hundreds of other Christian witnesses who went there to pray and to keep watch. Later, some of these moved on in prayer, following the path that Jesus would have taken on His way to the house of Caiaphas, and His trial before the Jewish leaders of the Sanhedrin.
The altar in the church is stripped. Since the altar symbolizes Christ, the "stripping of the altar" symbolizes the abandonment of Jesus by his disciples and the stripping of Jesus by the soldiers prior to his crucifixion. Gone are the flowers, the candles, the altar cloths. The Cross is either removed or covered by a black or purple cloth. It will remain in this state until it is time to prepare for the Easter Vigil.
The question that Jesus asked the soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemene is a question for all people, for all time. It is a question that helps either focus us, or freeze us in our uncertainty. "Whom do you seek?" Or, in a more plain form of everyday English, "Who are you looking for?" That is the question around which our lives take root, blossom, and ultimately bring forth fruit. If and when we are able to answer on our own, "Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour", then and only then will our live have meaning and purpose. It goes hand-in-hand with that other essential question that Jesus posed to His disciples - "Who do you say that I am?" By the end of Easter we should all be able to answer that question.
Following the celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Maunday Thursday, the Blessed Sacrament is carried to the Altar of Repose, representing our Lord's departure for the Garden of Gethsemane. It is there that the clergy and the people will keep watch with our Lord, giving answer to the question: "Could you not watch one hour with me?" In response to Jesus' request, for centuries Christians have kept watch throughout the night of Maunday Thursday and into the morning of Good Friday.
In 1987 members of the clergy and congregation of St. George's Cathedral and College, Jerusalem made their way to the Garden of Gethsemane. They joined hundreds of other Christian witnesses who went there to pray and to keep watch. Later, some of these moved on in prayer, following the path that Jesus would have taken on His way to the house of Caiaphas, and His trial before the Jewish leaders of the Sanhedrin.
The trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin.
Image Site Link: http://www.rswoodford.co.uk/year7/lentsanhedrin.html
The altar in the church is stripped. Since the altar symbolizes Christ, the "stripping of the altar" symbolizes the abandonment of Jesus by his disciples and the stripping of Jesus by the soldiers prior to his crucifixion. Gone are the flowers, the candles, the altar cloths. The Cross is either removed or covered by a black or purple cloth. It will remain in this state until it is time to prepare for the Easter Vigil.
Psalm 21 (22):The Stripping of the Altars
Sung by the Schola of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary.
The question that Jesus asked the soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemene is a question for all people, for all time. It is a question that helps either focus us, or freeze us in our uncertainty. "Whom do you seek?" Or, in a more plain form of everyday English, "Who are you looking for?" That is the question around which our lives take root, blossom, and ultimately bring forth fruit. If and when we are able to answer on our own, "Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour", then and only then will our live have meaning and purpose. It goes hand-in-hand with that other essential question that Jesus posed to His disciples - "Who do you say that I am?" By the end of Easter we should all be able to answer that question.
The Seder Meal.
A Seder Meal is a Christian Passover meal. It begins with symbolic foods and a form of service based closely on the traditional Jewish Passover ceremony.
The symbolic foods are:
4 glasses of grape juice for the 4 promises God gave the Israelites:
I will bring you out of Egypt
I will free you from slavery,
I will save you by my own hand, and
I will take you to be my people and I will be your God.
Parsley represents new life, dipped in salt water, it represents their tears.
Matzoh the unleavened bread – represents the haste in which the Israelites were forced to leave the land of Egypt
Horseradish (bitter herb) represents the bitterness of the long period of captivity and slavery in Egypt
Haroset (chopped apples and walnuts with cinnamon and honey) represents the mortar used to make bricks, the work the people were forced to carry out.
Lamb bone/lamb, represents the Passover lamb (Jesus).
Egg represents the offering brought to the temple (doves).
A Seder Meal base on the traditional Passover Meal.
Site Link for photo: http://www.georgiabulletin.org/local/2010/04/01/rcia_sedermeal/
Students at St. Andrew the Apostle School enjoy a Seder Meal.
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Tenebrae.
Tenebrae, which means shadows or darkness, is an ancient service traditionally observed on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings of Holy Week. The service consists of chanted psalms and scripture readings. As each is completed, one of the fifteen candles is put out, eventually leaving the Church in darkness. The candles are arranged usually in a plain triangular candelabra know as a 'hearse'. The service begins with the 15 candles being lit, but put out one-by-one after each psalm, until only one remains. The encroaching darkness of Tenebrae helps us to recall the desolation of Jesus, abandoned and left alone in the darkness of the night in the Garden of Gethsemane, when his friends could not stay awake to watch with Him as he prayed, alone at the trials before King Herod and Pontius Pilate, betrayed by Judas, one of the twelve, denied by Peter at the house of Caiphas, and alone on the cross as He cried out "Why hast thou forsaken me?" We think also of the three hours of physical darkness that fell over the earth at His crucifixion, when it seemed that the power of darkness had conquered all. The final light, the Jesus Candle, is left burning although it is removed and hidden from sight. A period of silence follows, broken by a loud noise. It reminds us of the earthquake which shook the ground at His death. Finally, the lit candle is brought back to its place, reminding us that Christ rose again from the dead on the 3rd day. The congregation leaves in silence. We are asked to contemplate the spiritual darkness of our own sin and our sin as the reason for the Lord's Passion.
(Taken and adapted from the brochure, 'Travel Through Holy Week With Christ' from the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, Charlottetown, PEI.)
Site Link: http://www.stpeter.org/cathedra.html
(Taken and adapted from the brochure, 'Travel Through Holy Week With Christ' from the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, Charlottetown, PEI.)
Site Link: http://www.stpeter.org/cathedra.html
Photo Link: http://pastorfergus.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/news-links-and-prayers-for-march-18-to-april-8-2/
Westminster Cathedral Choir - Te Deum laudamus.
Site Link:
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
Greek Orthodox 'Foot Washing' Ceremony.
The Orthodox Patriarch plays the pivitol role in the traditional and ancient ceremony of 'Foot Washing' that takes place on Holy Thursday in the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. The courtyard and rooftop areas above are jammed with devout Christians or curious onlookers who have spent many hours holding a place there from early morning, in order to be part of that marelous service. The ceremony has its origins in the 'Last Supper' in the upper room. There Jesus demonstrated the need for the disciples to be servants to the needs of others as He set the example by washing the feet of the disciples following the breaking of bread. It was at the 'Last Supper' that He instituted the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, one of the chief means by which believers receive abundant Grace that slowly transforms them through faith, into the likeness of Christ. These two things took place on 'Maundy Thursday'. The word 'Maundy' comes from the Latin word "mandatum" which means 'command'. In essence, Maunday Thursday is a commemoration also of our Christian duty to serve others.
The Orthodox Foot Washing Ceremony, Thursday, April 16th, 1987.
The Orthodox Patriarch washes the feet of fellow Orthodox clergy in the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.
Orthodox Foot Washing Ceremony, Holy Thursday, April 16th, 1987.
Palm Sunday in Jerusalem.
I arrived in the Holy Land early on the morning of Palm Sunday, April 12th, 1987. A Shurut ride from Ben Gurion airport brought me to St. George's College in time for the beginning of the 8 a.m. celebration of the Holy Eucharist in the Cathedral. After that, I joined a group from the Cathedral and College and walked in the annual Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage, the home of Lazarus, to the Church of the Holy Seplucher. There were over 5,000 Christian pilgrims who took part in this walk. Easter was extra special that year as the date of Easter for both the Eastern and Western calendars coincided. The city was crowded with visitors from around the world, but in particular with pilgrims from Crete and Cyprus.
A view of the Palm Sunday procession as it crossed the top of the Mount of Olives, en route to the Old City of Jerusalem. Many participants carried palm branches and crosses, and sang hymns and songs of praise during the walk.
A view of the Old City of Jerusalem from the western slope of the Mount of Olives, during the Palm Sunday procession.
The Palm Sunday procession as it crossed the Kidron Valley which separates the Mount of Olives from the Old City of Jerusalem.
In the background are the Church of All Nations and, higher up on the slope of the Mount of Olives, the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene.
The Palm Sunday procession headed to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, entering the Old City through St. Stephen's Gate (Lion's Gate).
Many tens of thousands of well-wishers and onlookers lined the route of the procession shouting encouragement, singing hymns of praise, snapping photographs, some waving palm branches.
See many excellent photographs of Christians in the Holy Land at the link below the following photograph:
A young Palestinian Christian on Palm Sunday.
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