St Simon’s Episcopal Church, 1522 Highway 138 NE, Conyers, GA 30013       tel: 770 483 3242/2036   

email:  info@stsimonsconyers.net    Web Administrator lmaher@stsimonsconyers.net        Webmail

Holy Saturday, or Easter Eve as it is sometimes called, is a day of silence and prayer on which we remember Christ in the tomb. The lamp or candle which burns in the church to denote the presence of Christ is put out. There is no Eucharist but we may use a simple liturgy of the word with readings commemorating the burial of Christ. After sunset or early in the morning on Easter Sunday, we may celebrate the Easter Vigil.

Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Just as the prophecy about the Messiah in Zechariah 9:9 says, he is mounted on a humble donkey, to show the humility of the kingdom he proclaims.


We hear the story of the crowds cheering and laying palm fronds before his donkey’s feet as they welcome him — the same crowds who will bay for his death in just five days’ time. It reminds us that we are like them: we tend to want God on our own terms.


Our priest blesses and distributes palm leaves outside the church. We make a solemn procession into the church, bearing the palms with us. The service includes a reading of the Passion: the story of Christ’s capture, sufferings and death on the cross.

Palm Sunday

Holy Monday through Holy Wednesday

Jesus also spoke to the disciples on this day about the destruction of Jerusalem and the signs of the last day.


Holy Wednesday may be called “Spy Wednesday”. This is the day that Judas Iscariot agreed to show the priests where Jesus could easily be captured.

Maundy Thursday

  1. ✤In some churches, all the bells are rung during the Gloria; then they and the organ fall silent until the Easter vigil


  3. ✤Another custom is for the priest to wash the feet of 12 paupers in imitation of Christ washing the feet of the disciples


  5. ✤At the Eucharist, enough of the host is consecrated for use on the following day, Good Friday


  7. ✤The altar is stripped and any crosses remaining in the church may be removed or veiled


  9. ✤During the night, vigil may be kept in the church in memory of Christ’s last vigil

MAUNDY MONEY

The British monarch traditionally gives silver coins to selected citizens on Maundy Thursday.


The first recorded instance of distributing alms on this day occurred in 1210 when King John gave money, food and fuel to the poor during the Maundy service at Knaresborough in Yorkshire.


In later ceremonies, the money consisted of specially minted silver pennies, whose number equalled the age of the monarch.


Today, Maundy silver is given to recipients who are chosen not for poverty but for religious or charitable acts. All are elderly.


This year, Queen Elizabeth II

gave Maundy coins to 85 men and 85 women at a ceremony in Westminster Abbey

Anglicans remember Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem by processing into church on Palm Sunday, carrying palm fronds or similar large leaves. This English congregation couldn’t get real palm fronds - but they are very proud of their real donkey!

Monday through Wednesday of Holy Week are also called “Holy” but they are not major feasts. Holy Monday is thought to commemorate the cleansing of the temple, when Jesus overturned the tables of the moneychangers.

Holy Tuesday remembers the day when the Pharisees (churchmen) tried to trick Jesus into making a blasphemous remark.

Christ Driving the Moneychangers from the Temple

Oil on board, Michael Smither, 1972, New Zealand

Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper that Christ took with his apostles and at which he instituted the Eucharist.

The word “maundy” comes from the Latin for “to give”, “to entrust” or “to order”. It is usually translated as “commandment” and refers to the great commandment that Jesus gives the disciples after supper, as they walk to Gethsemane: “...that you love one another ... even as I have loved you ...” John 13:34-35

Good Friday

Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus on the cross. It is a day of mourning, reverence and meditation on Christ’s obedience unto death. There is no Eucharist today though communion may be distributed, using the bread and wine reserved from Maundy Thursday. The only sacraments observed today are Penance and the Anointing of the Sick. The altar remains bare. If the font contains holy water, it is emptied until the Easter Vigil.

Holy Saturday