Holy Week and Easter Timetable
All are warmly invited to journey with us through the solemn beauty and profound hope of Holy Week at St. John’s Cathedral. At the heart of this sacred time is the Holy Triduum—the “Three Days” that span from the evening of Maundy Thursday through Good Friday and culminate in the Great Vigil of Easter on Holy Saturday. These liturgies form one continuous act of worship, drawing us into the mystery of Christ’s Last Supper, Passion, death, and Resurrection. We hope you will join us for these deeply moving services as we walk together from darkness into light.
On Palm Sunday, March 29 there will be one service at 10:00 a.m. We will gather in front of the Cathedral to bless palms, then process around the block as followers of Jesus, singing and committing ourselves to walk his path. Members of our congregation will read the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. The service will end quietly.
For Tenebrae on Wednesday, April 1 at 7.00 p.m., under the direction of Dr. Christopher Gravis, St. John’s Cathedral Arts will present François Couperin’s Leçons de Ténèbres, sung by sopranos Stefanie Moore and Natalie Buickians, accompanied on viola da gamba by Marilyn Winkle and on continuo organ by Dr. Zachery Neufeld. Admission is free.
On Maundy Thursday, April 2 we will gather at 7:00 p.m. to commemorate Jesus’ Last Supper with his friends—washing feet as was the tradition, breaking bread, sharing wine, and enjoying a delicious vegetarian meal.
For Good Friday, April 3 our services will change this year. There will be one service from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.; however, you are welcome to come and go as your schedule permits. At 12:15, 1:15, and 2:15 p.m., there will be offerings of word, music, and prayer. During the first hour, you will hear the Passion chanted by three members of the Cathedral Choir. During the second hour, a homily and prayers will be offered; during the third hour, you are invited to venerate the cross, receive Communion from the reserved Sacrament, and lay a rose at the burial icon of Christ in the Lady Chapel before departing. You are invited to join us for the full three hours. In between the spoken and sung elements of the service, there will be silence for prayer, along with musical offerings by cellist Dustin Seo, Artistic Director of Laós Chamber Music.
On Holy Saturday, April 4 at 7.00 p.m., we will celebrate the Great Vigil of Easter with the lighting of the Paschal Candle from the new fire, the chanting of the Great Litany, the telling of salvation history, the movement from darkness to light, a glorious baptism, and the presence of the Risen Christ.
On Easter Sunday, April 5 at 10.00 a.m. there will be one joyful service at 10:00 a.m., featuring brass and timpani. The Rt. Rev. John Harvey Taylor will celebrate and preach. An Easter egg hunt will follow the service for our children, and the Easter Bunny is expected as well. Together, we will sing and rejoice in the Risen Lord — Christ among us, here and now.
