Asking the Clergy: How can worshippers celebrate Holy Week?
Michael T. Sniffen, John Klingel and Francis J. Maniscalco address the Holy Week. Credit: Joe Pellicone; Nilus Klingel; CNS/Paul Haring
Holy Week, among the most sacred times of the year for Christians worldwide, begins with the March 24 celebration of Palm Sunday by Roman Catholics and Protestants, and in late April by Orthodox Christians. This week’s clergy discuss how believers can fully take part in worship leading up to the observance of Christ’s crucifixion and death on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Archpriest John Klingel
Rector, St. Andrew’s Orthodox Church, Dix Hills
The Orthodox Great and Holy Week runs this year from April 28 to May 4, with Easter on May 5. It concludes a six-week fast from meat, dairy, fish (shellfish being permitted) and oil. During this time, we embark on an intensified effort at prayer, reading, almsgiving, Confession, reception of Holy Communion and active attendance at services. The fast extends to entertainments such as television, the internet, concerts, films and vacations. Great and Holy Week, its culmination, immerses one in an intense experience of Christ’s passion, beginning with His Entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The Bridegroom services focus on Christ as the Divine Spouse on the first three days of the week, the Mystical Supper on Thursday and the crucifixion, death and burial on Friday. The Lamentations, celebrated that evening, are an unforgettable moment of grief in which the Resurrection makes a small but significant appearance in the hymnography and readings. The faithful carry and then walk beneath an icon depicting Christ’s body having been taken down from the cross, reminding them of the forgiveness of sin that pours forth from this life-giving source. Together, we pass over from death to life, from bondage to sin to the freedom of the Gospel.
The Rev. Msgr. Francis J. Maniscalco
Retired Pastor, St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church, West Hempstead
The Catholic faithful are offered during Holy Week the most wonderful worship experiences of the year. Carrying palms in procession on Palm Sunday makes the worshipper a participant in Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. Hearing the narrative of his suffering and death prepares for the liturgies to come. The Holy Thursday liturgy recalls Jesus’ sharing with his apostles the bread and wine of his Last Supper, which he identifies as his own body and blood to be sacrificed for humanity on the cross the next day. Not only recounted but often reenacted is Jesus’ incomparable example of humble service by washing the feet of his disciples. The Cross is solemnly carried into the church on Good Friday and venerated as the instrument of the proof of Christ’s love, of which there is no greater. Holy Week concludes on Holy Saturday evening in a church shrouded in darkness, which gives way to the light of the risen Christ symbolized by the Paschal Candle. Out of the darkness of death comes hope for new life for the world. Besides these glorious ceremonies, on Monday of Holy Week the Sacrament of Penance is available much of the day as a spiritual preparation for Easter, especially for those returning to church after a period of absence.
The Very Rev. Michael T. Sniffen
Dean, Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City
The tradition of Holy Week finds its roots in the late 4th Century when a sister named Egeria documented her pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In Holy Week, Christians of different traditions across the world participate in solemn and sacred rites that connect us to each other and the Living God through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. From Maundy Thursday through Easter Day, one continuous service is celebrated, called The Triduum. The washing of feet, the breaking of bread, the Way of the Cross, the lighting of the new fire and eventually the first Mass of Easter guide us through the Paschal mystery. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again! At the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, Christians of all traditions along with visitors of all faiths, and none, are welcome to experience the transforming power of Holy Week. Join us as we contemplate the connections between sacrifice and redemption and remind each other of the Good News that love conquers despair. In a world where suffering cannot be avoided, Holy Week celebrates the truth that joy comes in the morning. God meets us where we are and rescues us from death.
