Holy Week Retrospective

On Monday of Holy Week I attended a small service of Holy Communion at noon in a side-chapel at Trinity. There were about a dozen or so in attendance.

It is typical in today's Episcopal churches for the celebrant to stand behind the altar during Holy Communion, facing the people in the pews. During the Middle Ages the priests stood between the people and an altar that was placed against the wall, facing the same direction as the people, so that the people could see only their backs. (Thus, the intricate design on the back of many older priestly vestments.) Since the 1960's the celebrants of Holy Communion have increasingly faced the people behind a free-standing altar that has been moved away from the wall of the church; this arrangement is thought to be more personal and more reflective of a view of the priesthood of all believers.

However, this small side-chapel at Trinity is set up according to the old design of space. And, therefore, the priest says prayers to God with her back to the people, facing the same way as the people. You might think that it would be difficult to hear the priest and seem impersonal. But services in the small chapel are quite intimate. And I find this arrangement meaningful in its own way. The priest who faces the same way as the people is seen as one among the people, offering prayers as a representative of the people. In this way she is not praying to us or offering bread and wine to us, but to God. While I prefer the newer arrangement of space, I also find this ancient way of doing things quite powerful.

On Tuesday of Holy Week I attended a service of Evening Prayer. It seems that the 5:30 time was bad for most career people, since I was the only other person present besides the priest. Nonetheless, wherever two or more are gathered in Christ's name....

Thursday of Holy Week is called Maundy Thursday and is a remembrance of the Lord's Supper. The service concludes with the church, and especially the altar, being stripped bare of all decoration. The decoration is already sparse during Lent, but everything is taken away at this point. The stripping was concluded in complete darkness and silence with a wooden door to the sanctuary being slammed loudly. This stripping functions as a transition to Good Friday.

Good Friday remembers Christ's crucifixion. A service called "The Seven Last Words of Christ" is somewhat self-explanatory. The service lasted three hours (12:00-3:00 p.m.) corresponding to the hours Jesus was on the cross; each "word" included prayers, silence, a short sermon, and a hymn.

On Saturday night at 7:30 after sundown was the first service of Easter--the Easter Vigil. We gathered outside and each of us carried a small candle lit from the large Paschal candle. The entire church processed into the dark building silently, the light growing greater as each person entered. With the space lit only by our candles we sat listening about God's mighty deeds in the Hebrew Bible, including God's creation of the earth, God's provision of a sacrificial ram in Isaac's place, God's deliverance of Israel from oppression in Egypt, and God's reviving of the valley of dry bones. Our own stories were grafted into God's own stories.

Historically, the climax of the Easter Vigil was the time of baptism. The Easter Vigil was thought to the be the most appropriate time of the year for baptisms. While this is being revived today in the church, there were actually no baptisms during the Easter Vigil at Trinity this year. However, we did have a renewal of our baptismal vows. The resurrection of Christ was proclaimed. There was a reading of Romans 6 and Matthew 28 followed by a sermon and Holy Communion. This was perhaps one of the most beautiful worship services I have ever attended.

On Sunday morning I served as an acolyte at the 11:15 service. The festivity of Easter was especially apparent in contrast to the somber tone of Lent. It is very meaningful for me to experience, not so much emotions, as diverse tones of worship. Repentance, festivity, and anticipation are among some of the different tones set in the liturgy of the ancient church.