The Great Vigil of Easter

“Dear friends in Christ: On this holy night, in which our Lord Jesus passed over from death to life, the Church invites her members, dispersed throughout the world, to gather in vigil and prayer. For this is the Passover of the Lord, in which, by hearing his Word and celebrating his Sacraments, we share in his victory over death.” (The Book of Common Prayer, p 285)

My uncle, an Episcopal priest, told me once, “Everyone does Christmas and Easter backwards. We really should go to church on Christmas Morning and Easter Eve rather than the other way around.” I don’t entirely agree. You’ve heard me say before, “you can’t break church,” and I don’t believe that we get it “wrong” by going Christmas Eve and Easter Morning. And, I understand what Uncle Chip meant.

In the Jewish tradition, nightfall is the beginning of a new day. When it gets dark on Holy Saturday, it is truly Easter Sunday. In the early church, the Great Vigil of Easter, a service that began when the sun went down on Holy Saturday, was the holiest and biggest service of the year. This was the chief service for public baptisms, and it was the service during which those who had been separated from the church could be welcomed back in.

The Great Vigil of Easter, in our Episcopal expression of its modern form, follows an ancient pattern. We will start a fire on the patio and use it to light the Paschal Candle (the light of Christ.) We will follow the candle into the dark church where the Exsultet is sung, an ancient hymn of praise and thanksgiving. Still in darkness, we will hear a series of readings summarizing God’s saving work throughout the Hebrew scriptures (Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zephaniah). After the readings we will renew our Baptismal vows and be asperged (sprinkled) with holy water as we ring in the celebration of the resurrection as the altar candles are lit and all the lights come on.

With the lights on, we will then celebrate the first Easter Eucharist of the year. As a practical matter, the service will follow the pattern of a regular Sunday morning, beginning with the Salutation, “Alleluia. Christ has risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia,” and the Collect. What this means is that the Great Vigil is not a short service. The first three parts – service of light, lessons, and baptism – are in addition to, not in place of, other parts of a standard Holy Eucharist.

It is a long service. And it is a deeply moving, powerful, and beautiful service. If you haven’t attended an Easter Vigil before, I invite you to consider it.