Easter Vigil
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The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this service that people (especially adults) are baptized and that adult catechumens are received into full communion with the Church. It is held in the hours of darkness between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Day – most commonly in the evening of Holy Saturday – but is considered to be the first celebration of Easter Day since, the Christian tradition considers feasts to begin at sunset of the previous day.
In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, the Easter Vigil is the most important Mass of the liturgical year as well as the first celebration of the Eucharist during the fifty-day long celebration of Easter, and is marked by the first use since the beginning of Lent of the word "Alleluia", a distinctive feature of the liturgy of the Easter season. Similarly, in Eastern Orthodoxy, the Divine Liturgy which is celebrated during the Easter Vigil is the most elaborate and important of the ecclesiastical year. The Easter Vigil has enjoyed a substantial revival among the Lutherans, having been abandoned at the Reformation.
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[edit] Roman Catholicism
In the Roman Catholic tradition, the Easter Vigil consists of four parts:
- The Service of Light
- The Liturgy of the Word
- Christian Initiation and the Renewal of Baptismal Vows
- Holy Eucharist
The vigil begins after sunset on Holy Saturday outside the church, where a fire is blessed by the celebrant. This new fire symbolizes the radiance of the Risen Christ dispelling the darkness of sin and death. The Paschal candle is blessed and then lit. This Paschal candle will be used throughout the season of Easter, remaining in the sanctuary of the church or near the lectern, and throughout the coming year at baptisms and funerals, reminding all that that Christ is "light and life."
Once the candle has been lit, There follows the ancient and dramatic rite of the Lucernarium, in which the candle is carried by a priest through the nave of the church, itself in complete darkness, stopping three times to chant an acclamation such as 'Christ our Light' or 'Light of Christ', to which the assembly respond 'Thanks be to God'. This ceremony was once common in the Church and often occurred at Vespers. Some congregations have restored this practice at Vespers, but it is most commonly seen at the Easter Vigil.
As the candles is processed through the church, all baptized Roman Catholics present (i.e. those who have received the "Light of Christ") receive candles which are lit from the Paschal candle. As this symbolic "Light of Christ" spreads throughout those gathered, the darkness is decreased.
Once the candle has been placed on its stand in the sanctuary, the lights in the church are switched on and the assembly extinguish their candles (although in some churches, the custom is to continue the liturgy by candlelight for some time longer).
The deacon or a cantor now chants the Exultet (also called the "Easter Proclamation" or "Paschal Praeconium"), after which the people take their seats as the liturgy of the word begins.
The Liturgy of the Word consists of seven readings from the Old Testament, although it is permitted to reduce this number for pastoral reasons. The account of the Israelites' crossing of the Sea of Reeds is given particular attention in the readings since this event is at the centre of the Jewish Passover, which Christians believe Christ's death and resurrection is the fulfillment of. Each reading is followed by a psalm and a prayer relating what has been read in the Old Testament to the Mystery of Christ. After these readings conclude, the Easter Vigil proper is finished and the Mass of the Resurrection begins. The Gloria in Excelsis Deo is sung for the first time since the beginning of Lent and the church bells are rung. The celebrant removes his cope and puts on a chasuble and the candles are lit on the altar (In the pre-Vatican II rite, the statues, which have been covered during Passiontide, are unveiled at this time). The opening collect is read. A reading from the Epistle to the Romans is proclaimed, followed by the chanting of psalm 118. The Alleluia is sung for the first time since the beginning of Lent (or, in the pre-Vatican II rite, since Septuagesima). The Gospel of the Resurrection then follows, along with a homily.
After the conclusion of the Liturgy of the Word, the water of the baptismal font is solemnly blessed and any catechumens or, in some cases, candidates for full communion are initiated into the church, by baptism and/or confirmation, respectively. After the celebration of these sacraments of initiation, the congregation renews their baptismal vows and receive the sprinkling of baptismal water. The prayers of the faithful (of which the newly baptised are now a part) follow.
After the prayers, the Liturgy of the Eucharist continues as usual. This is the first Mass of Easter Day. During the Eucharist, the newly baptised receive Holy Communion for the first time. According to the rubrics of the Missal, the Eucharist should finish before dawn.
[edit] Eastern Orthodoxy
In the Eastern Orthodox Church the service runs as follows with some minor local variations:
- The Midnight Office is served on Holy Saturday shortly before midnight.
- All the lights in the church are extinguished. A new fire is struck in the altar and distributed to the people. All the clergy and the people exit the church and process three times around it while singing a hymn.
- Before the front doors of the church, ideally at the stroke of midnight, the chief celebrant gives the exclamation for the beginning of Matins. The clergy followed by the people sing the Paschal troparion and the Paschal greeting "Christ is risen!" "Truly He is risen!" is exchanged for the first time. To the singing of the troparion, everyone enters the church.
- The rest of Matins is celebrated according to special Paschal rubrics.
- The Paschal Hours are sung.
- The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is celebrated as usual, but with special features in commemoration of the feast.
The candles lit near the beginning are held by the people throughout the entire service, just as is done by the newly baptized. At some convenient moment, normally following Matins, the Easter Homily of St. John Chrysostom is proclaimed. Following the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy blessed eggs dyed red are usually distributed to the people for the breaking of the fast, and baskets of food for the feast that follows are blessed with holy water. The service is generally finished by about 3:00 a.m.
[edit] Oriental Orthodoxy
[edit] Indian Orthodox Church
In the Indian Orthodox Church the Vigil begins in the evening after the service on Good Friday. The faithful spend time in the church reading from the scriptures and singing hymns.
The Church celebrates this most important festival in the church calendar, as per the Gregorian Calendar.
Traditionally, the principal service which corresponds to the Easter Vigil in Eastern and Western rites would be conducted in the early hours of the morning, typically at around 3 a.m. on Sunday. It is still the case in many parts of Kerala, the southern state in India where Christianity is believed to have been brought by St Thomas the Apostle in the first century. In many cities, however, the service is conducted after 6:00 p.m. on Saturday; this is also the case for practical reasons in former Christian lands of the Oriental Orthodox rite which now have Muslim majorities.
Easter marks the change in the set of prayers said and sung before the Eucharist. From Easter to the Feast of the Cross on September 14, the prayers follow the Liturgy of Easter.
Traditionally the Prayers of the Night and Midnight hours are said. Then follows the most dramatic moment in the service, the Announcement, when all the lights in the church are extinguished other than from the Altar candles and those held by those serving at the Altar. The Veil separating the sanctuary from the congregation is drawn aside. The chief celebrant stands in the centre of the sanctuary, holding a cross covered in a red embroidered cloth. This is the cross which has been used in the Good Friday service for the procession commemorating the Carrying of the Cross to Calvary and then ritually embalmed and buried in a small coffin-shaped box behind the Altar, to commemorate the Burial. The chief celebrant is flanked by the altar-servers, holding candles and hand-bells. In a loud voice, the chief celebrant announces to the congregation, “Dearly beloved, I bring you all news of great joy. Our Lord Jesus Christ has resurrected from the dead and defeated His enemies.” Amid the ringing of the hand-bells and church-bells, the congregation responds, "Truly, we believe that He is risen!” This is done three times.
The Easter Procession follows, in which the entire congregation, holding lighted candles, participates with the celebrants and the altar servers. The cross, covered in the red veil, used in the Announcement, is carried in procession around the church. The hymn sung during the procession describes Christ's answer to Mary Magdalene, when she sees him at the tomb and mistakes him for the gardener:
- O Mary! I am the Gardener truly,
- I am the One, Who established Paradise.
- I am the One Who was killed,
- I am the One Who entered the grave.
- Touch Me not, for I have not ascended to the Father.
- That I have gloriously arisen from that grave,
- Give thou this good news to the disciples.
Following this, the chief celebrant "celebrates" the Cross, by blessing the four directions while the Trisagion is said.
The chief celebrant gives the Kiss of Peace, commemorating Christ's wishing peace on the Apostles. This is passed on to the congregation. On this day alone the Kiss of Peace is given twice.
Prayers of the Morning hours follow, and the Holy Qurbana is then conducted as usual.
Since Easter also marks the end of the Great 50-day Lent the Service of Reconciliation (Shubhkono) is also held on this day. Special prayers are said.
At the end of the service, instead of the normal touching by the Chief Celebrant’s hand of the foreheads of each member of the congregation in blessing, the Easter Cross is used.
From Easter to the Feast of Ascension, the Easter Cross is moved from the centre of the church to a stand inside the sanctuary. This stand, called Golgotha, is itself shaped as a large cross. The Easter Cross is set on its head and the whole structure looks like a Patriarchal Cross. It had been set up in mid-Lent in the centre of the church and the faithful would kiss the cloth covering it while entering and leaving the church.
[edit] Anglican Communion
Although the Easter Vigil is not universal in the Anglican Communion, its use has become far more common in recent decades. Formerly it was only common in parishes in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, having been abandoned at the Reformation and recovered by the 19th-century Tractarian movement.
The service, as provided for example in the current version of the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA), the Book of Alternative Services of the Anglican Church of Canada and the draft "Times and Seasons" volume of the Church of England's Common Worship, follows more or less the same form as the Roman Catholic service described above, with some variations in texts and ritual. The four-part structure of the Vigil is retained, though in the ECUSA rite the service of baptism follows immediately after the readings from the Old Testament. Confirmations occur only when the bishop is present, because, in the Anglican tradition, only a bishop may administer confirmation.
[edit] Lutheran Churches
Similarly to the Anglican, the Lutherans have in many places returned to the observance of the Easter Vigil. The recent service books of both the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America assume the service as normative.
In the Lutheran Service Book, the Altar Book, the Vigil is comprised of the Service of Light with the Exsultet; the Service or Readings with up to 12 readings; the Service of Holy Baptism at which candidates may be baptized, the baptized confirmed, and the congregation remember its Baptism into Jesus; the Service of Prayer, featuring an Easter litany; and concluding with the Service of the Sacrament, at which the Holy Eucharist is celebrated.
