But surely the prohibition on Alleluias is on Alleluias in the liturgy, not outside the liturgy.
Agreed. I've never warmed up to some fellow Episcopalians' apparent view that the "A-word" is not to be uttered or even thought of until the Great A-Word during the Great Vigil.
... It seems to me that having the choir refrain from singing Alleluias as it practices Easter music kind of misses the point of why Alleluias are not said or sung in the liturgy during Lent; it risks turning the practice of avoiding the word Alleluia into A Thing Unto Itself.
Exactly. Rehearsal is rehearsal. If you don't practice it as you mean to perform it, you run the risk of messing it up.
I must say that this sort of thing is totally not part of our tradition. Even Lent itself doesn't always get much of a look-in (though I make sure it does). But not singing "Alleluia" during rehearsals does sound a bit overboard to me. You might as well say, in those traditions which are strict about only singing Christmas carols from the Midnight Service onwards, that we won't rehearse any of them before the Big Day - which would be silly.
I considered asking this on the crafty thread or the liturgical thread, but here I am. Our church fell out of making palm crosses for Palm Sunday when the rector at the time didn't like them for some reason. I'm thinking of making them again this year and I found directions for them so that's not a problem. I'm pretty sure our current priest won't mind. But the thing is that I don't want to wait until the last minute to make them. My question is: does anyone know about how long they would stay fresh sealed in a container in a refrigerator? Thanks.
Not very long. They need to be a little green to weave into crosses. We (a Baptist church of all things) will be doing around 250 with various schools this year
I once wrote a paper on practice verses (many, many moons ago for a reading party when I was a student). There were some that were pretty rude! But of course the idea was that you only sang the sacred words in actual worship. I like the verses which remind you of the name of the tune and have often sung "The name of this tune is called York" to myself.
I (being a liturgy nerd with a retentive memory for obscure facts) remember a 'notes and queries' comment in the Church Times (back in the 1960s) stating authoritatively that 'incense is used in three cathedrals'. I think I can remember which three but let's have a competition to guess.
Resurrecting this oldish post because I confess I am curious about which were the three smelly cathedrals in the sixties?
I'm still guessing Wakefield was one. Less confident guesses: Truro, Portsmouth.
I considered asking this on the crafty thread or the liturgical thread, but here I am. Our church fell out of making palm crosses for Palm Sunday when the rector at the time didn't like them for some reason. I'm thinking of making them again this year and I found directions for them so that's not a problem. I'm pretty sure our current priest won't mind. But the thing is that I don't want to wait until the last minute to make them. My question is: does anyone know about how long they would stay fresh sealed in a container in a refrigerator? Thanks.
Not very long. They need to be a little green to weave into crosses. We (a Baptist church of all things) will be doing around 250 with various schools this year
My idea was to use fresh, green palm fronds to make the crosses a few weeks before Palm Sunday and then refrigerate the crosses that I'd already made. But even refrigerated, you are probably right that they wouldn't be very green if I made them too early. And around here people would be a bit startled by dry, brown crosses on the day.
Making the crosses on the afternoon beforehand can be a great occasion of fellowship for the entire family. Even young children soon pick up the knack of it.
Making the crosses on the afternoon beforehand can be a great occasion of fellowship for the entire family. Even young children soon pick up the knack of it.
The school children here do - very few of them would have even seen a cross before making it
I (being a liturgy nerd with a retentive memory for obscure facts) remember a 'notes and queries' comment in the Church Times (back in the 1960s) stating authoritatively that 'incense is used in three cathedrals'. I think I can remember which three but let's have a competition to guess.
Rather than guessing I searched the Church Times archives and found the answer in the 23 January 1959 issue. The three cathedrals are Chichester, Wakefield and Chester.
I (being a liturgy nerd with a retentive memory for obscure facts) remember a 'notes and queries' comment in the Church Times (back in the 1960s) stating authoritatively that 'incense is used in three cathedrals'. I think I can remember which three but let's have a competition to guess.
Rather than guessing I searched the Church Times archives and found the answer in the 23 January 1959 issue. The three cathedrals are Chichester, Wakefield and Chester.
And that wasn't accurate because it was used at St Albans at that time.
I have a miscellaneous question on church ritual/ceremony so I hope I can ask it here. I'll be upfront and say it's research for something I've written but hopefully I won't incur the dreaded Homework Rule. It might also be fun to talk about experiences along the way.
My question is: do most Anglican churches still observe an all-night vigil followed by a dawn service on Easter Day? And if you've attended one, what was it like?
I've done some research already. My particular interest is Avebury and in 2016 they observed an all night vigil followed by a procession and dawn service, but they haven't done so since so I'm wondering if the practice is rare or fading away.
I know of churches that have an all-night Vigil (aka Watch) on Maundy Thursday (ending on Good Friday morning), but I've never heard of an all-night Vigil on Easter Eve -- though the full Easter Vigil service can last about three hours, so maybe it feels like it goes on all night!
I know of churches that have an all-night Vigil (aka Watch) on Maundy Thursday (ending on Good Friday morning), but I've never heard of an all-night Vigil on Easter Eve -- though the full Easter Vigil service can last about three hours, so maybe it feels like it goes on all night!
Thank you for replying.
The information I have for Avebury is in a PDF copy of the church newsletter. the relevant parts say:
"HOLY FIRE at AVEBURY 8 pm
Night Prayer and the lighting of the fire followed by an overnight vigil in church. The fire will be walked across to the LONG BARROW just before dawn (40 minute walk)."
and
"Avebury - Easter Day Dawn Service at Galtee More Farm, Beckhampton, followed by breakfast"
I also have an account of the dawn service for the following year but it doesn't appear to have been preceded by an all-night vigil.
Such an All-Night Vigil + Dawn Service was commended by the late +Michael Perham (in his book Liturgy Pastoral and Parochial of 1980 or thereabouts), but he recognised that it was not really possible for most parishes.
A late-ish evening Vigil/first Eucharist on Holy Saturday, or a 'Sunrise Service' on Easter Sunday at yawn o'clock are more usually found, but not necessarily in every parish!
My impression is that most C of E churches do not observe an all night Easter Eve vigil. I strongly suspect that it was almost unknown after the reformation until the 1850s but became more common with the Oxford Movement. It is likely that it is more common in the Catholic tradition in the C of E, and probably urban rather than rural settings.
Such an All-Night Vigil + Dawn Service was commended by the late +Michael Perham (in his book Liturgy Pastoral and Parochial of 1980 or thereabouts), but he recognised that it was not really possible for most parishes.
A late-ish evening Vigil/first Eucharist on Holy Saturday, or a 'Sunrise Service' on Easter Sunday at yawn o'clock are more usually found, but not necessarily in every parish!
Thank you. Avebury had a sunrise service in 2017 and 18 and one is scheduled for 2019. They take place at the West Kennet Long Barrow which is about 5,000 years old. I suppose having an actual tomb adds to the occasion.
My impression is that most C of E churches do not observe an all night Easter Eve vigil. I strongly suspect that it was almost unknown after the reformation until the 1850s but became more common with the Oxford Movement. It is likely that it is more common in the Catholic tradition in the C of E, and probably urban rather than rural settings.
Thank you. Avebury is tiny and very rural. Having an actual tomb to process to (West Kennet Long Barrow) adds to the event so that may explain the popularity.
We have sometimes had lighting of the fire and prayers on Saturday evening, or a sunrise service on Easter morning, but never an all night vigil, in recent years anyway.
This year, neither is happening. I don’t know of anywhere round here doing an all night vigil.
Given the elderly nature of many congregations, I guess most people want to be in bed. Many won’t go out after dark.
I'm under the impression that away from monastic orders, they are fairly recent rather than a C19 Anglo-Catholic development, probably borrowed from Orthodoxy rather than Rome. Rather more would like to, but relatively few churches can get enough people together fit and enthusiastic enough to manage the whole night, rather than late evening and/or something at sunrise.
@Enoch - I think it was only fairly recently that the Roman Catholics (and therefore Anglicans of that persuasion) allowed an evening Mass, so Easter Vigils tended to take place (at wearisome length) earlier on Holy Saturday.
The 'Dawn' or 'Sunrise' service on Easter Day seems to be fairly popular amongst MOTR and Evangelicals (at least in the C of E), and may not necessarily include Holy Communion. Anecdotal evidence, perhaps, I admit.
Our Place (small urban A-C) last had an Easter Vigil/First Mass (on Holy Saturday evening) some 12 years back, at which there was a congregation of 6.....
These days, we preface the Easter Day Mass with the Blessing & Lighting of the Paschal Candle, and have the Renewal of Baptismal Vows in place of the Creed. This is, as it happens, what +Perham suggested small churches might usefully do if the full works were not possible!
Missed the Edit window, but I see from my 1956 edition of Ritual Notes that the former rite was replaced at around that time by something much more like that in use today, at least in general outline.
Following RCC practice, the actual Mass was not supposed to start until midnight, but (by permission of one's Bishop) could be celebrated earlier in the evening - again, a practice followed in some Anglican churches today.
Our nearest F-in-F neighbours have their Vigil at 9pm on Holy Saturday, but I gather that it is always a long-drawn-out affair.
We don't do a vigil. There is a 5.30 service on Easter morning which starts with the lighting of the fire. Then blessing of the new Paschal Candle, insertion of the nails into it and then it's lit by the fire. A procession into the darkened church and only candles in use until all is suddenly bright light at the tenth reading (or is it eleventh, I've forgotten), saucepans banged, church bell rung etc.
On a different topic. Madame and I went to the local Catholic church for a low Mass at 9.15 to mark the Annunciation. No similar Anglican service within cooee, and don't worry, we are known there and don't take communion. What surprised me was that we said the Gloria. AFAIK, Annunciation is a Lenten day unlike Sundays and even then, we neither sing or say the Gloria. Any thoughts?
My understanding is that in the Roman Rite, the Gloria is always sung (or said) on the Feasts of St. Joseph (which always falls in Lent) and of the Annunciation (which usually falls in Lent), and the color on both days is white rather than violet.
Thank you. At the 9.15 service, usually only Tuesdays to Fridays, more often than not the Gloria does not make an appearance. It did not on St Joseph's day and so we didn't notice its absence as a Lenten observance. Both days were white which we would have expected.
I am used to an evening vigil with bonfire on the Saturday evening at the main church followed by a dawn service with bonfire on Easter Sunday followed by breakfast at a smaller church within the same team. The lit Paschal candles from the dawn service are processed into the main Sunday service at all the churches.
I have seen an all night vigil as a church youth activity - several times in different places - not so much prayer, as activities and sleep over. These vigils often ended in cooking breakfast for the congregation at the dawn service (barbecued bacon on the Paschal Fire bonfire) and/or selling things they'd made for charity. Not sure I've seen it happen recently.
On a different topic. Madame and I went to the local Catholic church for a low Mass at 9.15 to mark the Annunciation. No similar Anglican service within cooee, and don't worry, we are known there and don't take communion. What surprised me was that we said the Gloria. AFAIK, Annunciation is a Lenten day unlike Sundays and even then, we neither sing or say the Gloria. Any thoughts?
We celebrated St Joseph last week, and the Annunciation yesterday, with Low Masses which did indeed include the Gloria and the Creed. Father NewPriest sported a nice festal chasuble (gold, rather than white) which was made for him by a lady of his previous parish.
No Gospel Acclamation A-word, though - 'Praise to you O Christ, King of eternal glory' - as per usual in Lent.
Thank you so much for your replies. I admit I am surprised that it is such a recent thing and not surprised that it's not widely popular. Your replies don't particularly change how I've described the vigil but they will change how my character perceives it. Far from being a continuation of an ancient rite it will be a relatively recent thing introduced by the trendy vicar (cliche, I know, sorry ) which may actually have been what happened at Avebury as they haven't repeated the vigil they held in 2016.
The Wikipedia article on the Easter Vigil is pretty good.
In the Church of England it certainly couldn’t be called the continuation of an ancient rite, given the hiatus of several centuries. It would be likely to be described by the Vicar as the reintroduction or recovery of an ancient rite.
John Buchan had clearly either witnessed or seen a full account of how it played out in Greek culture, and used it in a 1914 short story ‘Basilissa’, before recycling it in his 1926 novel The Dancing Floor (in America The Goddess from the Shades). These give an interesting view on it from the point of view of a fairly rationalist Presbyterian mind probably influenced by The Golden Bough.
The Wikipedia article on the Easter Vigil is pretty good.
In the Church of England it certainly couldn’t be called the continuation of an ancient rite, given the hiatus of several centuries. It would be likely to be described by the Vicar as the reintroduction or recovery of an ancient rite.
John Buchan had clearly either witnessed or seen a full account of how it played out in Greek culture, and used it in a 1914 short story ‘Basilissa’, before recycling it in his 1926 novel The Dancing Floor (in America The Goddess from the Shades). These give an interesting view on it from the point of view of a fairly rationalist Presbyterian mind probably influenced by The Golden Bough.
Thank you Brother James. I'll check out Buchan's novel.
Avebury also do something called a "Celtic Service" on a Wednesday (Woden's day!!) which suggests they are a little adventurous/odd compared to many churches.
... Avebury also do something called a "Celtic Service" on a Wednesday (Woden's day!!) which suggests they are a little adventurous/odd compared to many churches.
Not particularly. It probably includes a simple liturgy from the Northumbria Community between Morpeth and Alnwick. What's called Celtic Christianity is very popular these days.
It won't have anything to do with Woden who was a pre-Christian god of the Anglo-Saxons and nothing to do with the Celts.
Not particularly. It probably includes a simple liturgy from the Northumbria Community between Morpeth and Alnwick. What's called Celtic Christianity is very popular these days.
It won't have anything to do with Woden who was a pre-Christian god of the Anglo-Saxons and nothing to do with the Celts.
Sorry, I was teasing a little. There is a strong pagan vibe at Avebury but I wasn't proposing it's invaded the church. What is interesting is that the (faux?) historicism of Celtic Christianity should find a place at Avebury when much of the visible remains of the stone circle date from the extensive rebuilding work in the 1930s. It suggests that both the Christian and pagan aspects of the village are harking back to ancient times, even if they have to largely reinvent those ancient times.
On a different topic. Madame and I went to the local Catholic church for a low Mass at 9.15 to mark the Annunciation. No similar Anglican service within cooee, and don't worry, we are known there and don't take communion. What surprised me was that we said the Gloria. AFAIK, Annunciation is a Lenten day unlike Sundays and even then, we neither sing or say the Gloria. Any thoughts?
The logic would be that the Annunciation trumps Lent. That seems reasonable to me.
Just so. IRRC, the Feasts of St Joseph (19th March) and the Annunciation (25th March) are really the only ones that trump Lent, unless one of them actually occurs in Holy Week, or Easter Week, in which case it has to wait until well after Easter.
This year, we were enabled at Our Place to mark both on their appropriate days. The Faithful Few were doubtless thereby edified!
One of the advantages of retirement is being able to get to mid-week services such as these. A disadvantage of living where we do in the diocese, there is no Anglican church we can easily get to for a service.
Due to the fasting laws in the RC church the various ceremonies of the Easter Triduum were held for centuries at times which might seem bizarre to us now.
Maundy Thursday Mass (including the Mandatum in cathedrals )would be held in the early morning and the faithful would spend the rest of the day (in towns at least !) visiting the splendid altars of repose. At least seven churches were recommended for visits.
On Good Friday the Liturgy (Mass of the Presanctified) would be held early in the morning followed for the faithful by various 'pious devotions' such as the Way of the Cross in different versions or the Seven Last words from the Cross, a devotion which lasted from 12 noon to 3pm( a devotion ,although initiated by Jesuits, which became very popular with Anglicans).
The Easter vigil would be so timed that the anticipated Mass of the Resurrection would begin about 12 noon,which was then considered to be the end of Lent.
All this changed in the early 1950s when pope Pius XII changed the fasting laws and encouraged and later mandated the various ceremonies to take place, generally at the times, that those who know and care about such things, will know.
It was important that the Easter vigil as well as the Mass of the Resurrection should take place during the night and the ceremonies were timed that the Festive Mass would start about midnight. At that time the Vigil was considered a penitential vigil with penitential Lenten colours,giving way to the festive Mass in white vestments.
Again in the last almost 70 years there have been significant changes.The midnight Mass did not attract large numbers of people and the vigil was felt to be a bit long, especially when it was all in Latin. Nowadays the Easter vigil should start after dark or again before sunrise. The vigil , although long, is considerably shortened and the whole ceremony is in white festive vestments with the vigil running seamlessly into the Mass.
Anglican churches are in no way obliged to follow the Roman calendar or the Roman instructions,but many will take a bit of this and a bit of that and adapt as suitable for their own needs.
We know that early Christians would generally celebrate the eucharist (to be more safe) during the night and finishing by sunrise. Sunrise ceremonies at Easter are common amongst Christians.A lot of Presbyterian churches here in Scotland will have sunrise ceremonies followed by an Easter breakfast.It is permitted in the RC church to have the Easter vigil in the early hours of Easter Sunday ending with the Mass celebrated in the light,but I have never heard of it actually being done.
Some people may be familiar with the Easter baskets of food which are taken to the church by various Slav groups, mainly Polish, to be blessed on the afternoon of Holy Saturday. This is a popular custom in RC churches here with significant numbers of Polish parishioners and, of course, it goes back to a time when Lent ended at 12 noon on Holy Saturday.
Similarly there is an early morning (sunrise) Mass on Easter Sunday well attended by Polish people which starts with a procession of the Blessed Sacrament round the church. It is a much easier Mass for people to follow and not as long as the Easter vigil and Mass .It harks back to the medieval custom of returning the Sacred Host to its place in the church after it had been removed during good Friday.
On a different tack indeed it is the case that St Joseph's day(19th March) and Annunciation of the Lord (25th March) trump Lent in the Roman liturgy. Some people may have noticed that St Patrick's day, in Ireland at least ,trumped even the Second Sunday of Lent.
I have a miscellaneous question about Pentecost, with particular regard to the way it is, or could be celebrated in church.
Bear in mind I am starting from a position of ignorance, but this seems to be the key bit:
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.
But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”
Now, I read that as God granting the apostles the ability to speak in other languages but I have also seen a suggestion that the apostles already knew these languages and the passage illustrates their diverse backgrounds. For me, the former is more convincing in context while the latter only really works if you start from a position of rationalising apparent miracles.
So, miraculously acquired foreign language skills or an indication that apostleing was an equal opportunities employment?
Your thoughts welcome as it has an impact on how I describe something in a scene I've written.
FWIW, Colin Smith, I would be of the view that getting hung up on whether the former explanation or the latter is "correct" or "accurate" is missing the point (though I agree that "as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability" seems inconsistent with the second explanation). In my view, the key part is not that the apostles could speak a variety of languages; rather, the key part is that the others there all heard their own languages. In other words, it's the hearing, not the speaking, that the story really turns on.
As a general rule, I think it's a mistake to expend too much energy thinking through the mechanics of a miracle, and whether the explanation is natural or supernatural. The thing to expend energy on is what the miracle (however it came about) signified to those who witnessed it.
FWIW, Colin Smith, I would be of the view that getting hung up on whether the former explanation or the latter is "correct" or "accurate" is missing the point (though I agree that "as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability" seems inconsistent with the second explanation). In my view, the key part is not that the apostles could speak a variety of languages; rather, the key part is that the others there all heard their own languages. In other words, it's the hearing, not the speaking, that the story really turns on.
As a general rule, I think it's a mistake to expend too much energy thinking through the mechanics of a miracle, and whether the explanation is natural or supernatural. The thing to expend energy on is what the miracle (however it came about) signified to those who witnessed it.
Ahhh. Yes. Very good point. Thank you.
I got the reversal of Babel element but hadn't picked up that the emphasis is on them being heard.
I've written a scene describing a service where the vicar starts reciting the passage and then chosen members of the congregation join in and recite it in a variety of foreign languages. But, as you indicate, that misses the point.
I've written a scene describing a service where the vicar starts reciting the passage and then chosen members of the congregation join in and recite it in a variety of foreign languages. But, as you indicate, that misses the point.
But in my experience, it's a very common thing to do on Pentecost.
I've written a scene describing a service where the vicar starts reciting the passage and then chosen members of the congregation join in and recite it in a variety of foreign languages. But, as you indicate, that misses the point.
But in my experience, it's a very common thing to do on Pentecost.
Ah, well, in that case! Looks like my scene is good to go. Thank you so much.
Comments
Agreed. I've never warmed up to some fellow Episcopalians' apparent view that the "A-word" is not to be uttered or even thought of until the Great A-Word during the Great Vigil.
Exactly. Rehearsal is rehearsal. If you don't practice it as you mean to perform it, you run the risk of messing it up.
Not very long. They need to be a little green to weave into crosses. We (a Baptist church of all things) will be doing around 250 with various schools this year
I'm still guessing Wakefield was one. Less confident guesses: Truro, Portsmouth.
My idea was to use fresh, green palm fronds to make the crosses a few weeks before Palm Sunday and then refrigerate the crosses that I'd already made. But even refrigerated, you are probably right that they wouldn't be very green if I made them too early. And around here people would be a bit startled by dry, brown crosses on the day.
The school children here do - very few of them would have even seen a cross before making it
Rather than guessing I searched the Church Times archives and found the answer in the 23 January 1959 issue. The three cathedrals are Chichester, Wakefield and Chester.
And that wasn't accurate because it was used at St Albans at that time.
My question is: do most Anglican churches still observe an all-night vigil followed by a dawn service on Easter Day? And if you've attended one, what was it like?
I've done some research already. My particular interest is Avebury and in 2016 they observed an all night vigil followed by a procession and dawn service, but they haven't done so since so I'm wondering if the practice is rare or fading away.
Thank you for replying.
The information I have for Avebury is in a PDF copy of the church newsletter. the relevant parts say:
"HOLY FIRE at AVEBURY 8 pm
Night Prayer and the lighting of the fire followed by an overnight vigil in church. The fire will be walked across to the LONG BARROW just before dawn (40 minute walk)."
and
"Avebury - Easter Day Dawn Service at Galtee More Farm, Beckhampton, followed by breakfast"
I also have an account of the dawn service for the following year but it doesn't appear to have been preceded by an all-night vigil.
A late-ish evening Vigil/first Eucharist on Holy Saturday, or a 'Sunrise Service' on Easter Sunday at yawn o'clock are more usually found, but not necessarily in every parish!
Thank you. Avebury had a sunrise service in 2017 and 18 and one is scheduled for 2019. They take place at the West Kennet Long Barrow which is about 5,000 years old. I suppose having an actual tomb adds to the occasion.
Thank you. Avebury is tiny and very rural. Having an actual tomb to process to (West Kennet Long Barrow) adds to the event so that may explain the popularity.
This year, neither is happening. I don’t know of anywhere round here doing an all night vigil.
Given the elderly nature of many congregations, I guess most people want to be in bed. Many won’t go out after dark.
I think @Bishops Finger and @Puzzler have probably got it about right.
The 'Dawn' or 'Sunrise' service on Easter Day seems to be fairly popular amongst MOTR and Evangelicals (at least in the C of E), and may not necessarily include Holy Communion. Anecdotal evidence, perhaps, I admit.
Our Place (small urban A-C) last had an Easter Vigil/First Mass (on Holy Saturday evening) some 12 years back, at which there was a congregation of 6.....
These days, we preface the Easter Day Mass with the Blessing & Lighting of the Paschal Candle, and have the Renewal of Baptismal Vows in place of the Creed. This is, as it happens, what +Perham suggested small churches might usefully do if the full works were not possible!
Following RCC practice, the actual Mass was not supposed to start until midnight, but (by permission of one's Bishop) could be celebrated earlier in the evening - again, a practice followed in some Anglican churches today.
Our nearest F-in-F neighbours have their Vigil at 9pm on Holy Saturday, but I gather that it is always a long-drawn-out affair.
I have seen an all night vigil as a church youth activity - several times in different places - not so much prayer, as activities and sleep over. These vigils often ended in cooking breakfast for the congregation at the dawn service (barbecued bacon on the Paschal Fire bonfire) and/or selling things they'd made for charity. Not sure I've seen it happen recently.
We celebrated St Joseph last week, and the Annunciation yesterday, with Low Masses which did indeed include the Gloria and the Creed. Father NewPriest sported a nice festal chasuble (gold, rather than white) which was made for him by a lady of his previous parish.
No Gospel Acclamation A-word, though - 'Praise to you O Christ, King of eternal glory' - as per usual in Lent.
In the Church of England it certainly couldn’t be called the continuation of an ancient rite, given the hiatus of several centuries. It would be likely to be described by the Vicar as the reintroduction or recovery of an ancient rite.
John Buchan had clearly either witnessed or seen a full account of how it played out in Greek culture, and used it in a 1914 short story ‘Basilissa’, before recycling it in his 1926 novel The Dancing Floor (in America The Goddess from the Shades). These give an interesting view on it from the point of view of a fairly rationalist Presbyterian mind probably influenced by The Golden Bough.
Thank you Brother James. I'll check out Buchan's novel.
Avebury also do something called a "Celtic Service" on a Wednesday (Woden's day!!) which suggests they are a little adventurous/odd compared to many churches.
It won't have anything to do with Woden who was a pre-Christian god of the Anglo-Saxons and nothing to do with the Celts.
Sorry, I was teasing a little. There is a strong pagan vibe at Avebury but I wasn't proposing it's invaded the church. What is interesting is that the (faux?) historicism of Celtic Christianity should find a place at Avebury when much of the visible remains of the stone circle date from the extensive rebuilding work in the 1930s. It suggests that both the Christian and pagan aspects of the village are harking back to ancient times, even if they have to largely reinvent those ancient times.
This year, we were enabled at Our Place to mark both on their appropriate days. The Faithful Few were doubtless thereby edified!
Maundy Thursday Mass (including the Mandatum in cathedrals )would be held in the early morning and the faithful would spend the rest of the day (in towns at least !) visiting the splendid altars of repose. At least seven churches were recommended for visits.
On Good Friday the Liturgy (Mass of the Presanctified) would be held early in the morning followed for the faithful by various 'pious devotions' such as the Way of the Cross in different versions or the Seven Last words from the Cross, a devotion which lasted from 12 noon to 3pm( a devotion ,although initiated by Jesuits, which became very popular with Anglicans).
The Easter vigil would be so timed that the anticipated Mass of the Resurrection would begin about 12 noon,which was then considered to be the end of Lent.
All this changed in the early 1950s when pope Pius XII changed the fasting laws and encouraged and later mandated the various ceremonies to take place, generally at the times, that those who know and care about such things, will know.
It was important that the Easter vigil as well as the Mass of the Resurrection should take place during the night and the ceremonies were timed that the Festive Mass would start about midnight. At that time the Vigil was considered a penitential vigil with penitential Lenten colours,giving way to the festive Mass in white vestments.
Again in the last almost 70 years there have been significant changes.The midnight Mass did not attract large numbers of people and the vigil was felt to be a bit long, especially when it was all in Latin. Nowadays the Easter vigil should start after dark or again before sunrise. The vigil , although long, is considerably shortened and the whole ceremony is in white festive vestments with the vigil running seamlessly into the Mass.
Anglican churches are in no way obliged to follow the Roman calendar or the Roman instructions,but many will take a bit of this and a bit of that and adapt as suitable for their own needs.
We know that early Christians would generally celebrate the eucharist (to be more safe) during the night and finishing by sunrise. Sunrise ceremonies at Easter are common amongst Christians.A lot of Presbyterian churches here in Scotland will have sunrise ceremonies followed by an Easter breakfast.It is permitted in the RC church to have the Easter vigil in the early hours of Easter Sunday ending with the Mass celebrated in the light,but I have never heard of it actually being done.
Some people may be familiar with the Easter baskets of food which are taken to the church by various Slav groups, mainly Polish, to be blessed on the afternoon of Holy Saturday. This is a popular custom in RC churches here with significant numbers of Polish parishioners and, of course, it goes back to a time when Lent ended at 12 noon on Holy Saturday.
Similarly there is an early morning (sunrise) Mass on Easter Sunday well attended by Polish people which starts with a procession of the Blessed Sacrament round the church. It is a much easier Mass for people to follow and not as long as the Easter vigil and Mass .It harks back to the medieval custom of returning the Sacred Host to its place in the church after it had been removed during good Friday.
On a different tack indeed it is the case that St Joseph's day(19th March) and Annunciation of the Lord (25th March) trump Lent in the Roman liturgy. Some people may have noticed that St Patrick's day, in Ireland at least ,trumped even the Second Sunday of Lent.
Yes!
Bear in mind I am starting from a position of ignorance, but this seems to be the key bit:
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.
But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”
Now, I read that as God granting the apostles the ability to speak in other languages but I have also seen a suggestion that the apostles already knew these languages and the passage illustrates their diverse backgrounds. For me, the former is more convincing in context while the latter only really works if you start from a position of rationalising apparent miracles.
So, miraculously acquired foreign language skills or an indication that apostleing was an equal opportunities employment?
Your thoughts welcome as it has an impact on how I describe something in a scene I've written.
It is a reversal of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Babelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Babel. The point is that those who had been separated were no longer separated.
As a general rule, I think it's a mistake to expend too much energy thinking through the mechanics of a miracle, and whether the explanation is natural or supernatural. The thing to expend energy on is what the miracle (however it came about) signified to those who witnessed it.
Ahhh. Yes. Very good point. Thank you.
I got the reversal of Babel element but hadn't picked up that the emphasis is on them being heard.
I've written a scene describing a service where the vicar starts reciting the passage and then chosen members of the congregation join in and recite it in a variety of foreign languages. But, as you indicate, that misses the point.
Hmm. I'll need to have a think.
Ah, well, in that case! Looks like my scene is good to go. Thank you so much.