Among the gems that have been uncovered in our work for The Lutheran Missal, one shines with particular brightness: the compilation reading from Zechariah which beautifully weaves together a string of prophecies concerning our Lord’s passion. That the Holy Spirit foretold the events of the Crucifixion is no surprise to Christians familiar with Psalm 22…
Sources A quick note that the Vigil of Easter, as we know it today, does not appear in its entirety in any of the Lutheran sources surveyed, though, as with other days in Holy Week, some of the chants and texts do make an appearance. Blessing of the New Fire The Easter Vigil does not…
I had hoped to put this up two days ago, but I have been happily preoccupied with our first Holy Week in which we have services Monday through Wednesday. Preliminary Notes on Sources In the interest of clarity, the services and ceremonies described below are not necessarily found in their entirety in any of the…
Having dealt with the peculiarities of Palm Sunday in the last post, we are going to skip over Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week for the time being, given the rather less frequent observation of these masses in comparison with Maundy Thursday. Three Masses of Maundy Thursday Near the beginning of the Middle Ages,…
With Holy Week rapidly approaching, it seems only appropriate to offer some response to the many and repeated queries about the rites and ceremonies of Holy Week. Given the complexity of the subject and the unfinished state of our research, it would seem to be unwise to try and even give some sort of provisional…