What is Holy Week?

What is Holy Week about and what do we do to experience it?

The observance of Holy Week as the most sacred time of the year within the church has been known in the western world since the fourth Century through the writings of a woman religious, Egeria, who visited the Holy Land from her community in Spain. She and other pilgrims from the Latin West and the Greek East descended on Jerusalem to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and remember his work on our behalf through a series of Worship services in the places where he experienced his last week before the crucifixion. She tells us of special devotions for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and the Feast of the Resurrection. Traditional churches in Europe and the Byzantine Empire have followed this outline since that time. The Book of Common Prayer, 1979 formalized these liturgical practices through the inclusion of special services called Proper Liturgies for the Triduum, (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in Holy Week). This year we will take our own path through the Way of the Cross as detailed below. Come to as many of these services as you can. They will deepen your faith and inspire your response to God’s call in Jesus Christ.