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From Palm Sunday to the Glorious Resurrection. This page will help guide you through the steps of our Lord Jesus Christ as we progress through the Holy Pascha Week. You’ll find everything you need to participate, understand, and to fully benefit from Holy Week.

Daily Guides
10 steps to help you benefit from Holy Week
10 steps to help you benefit from Holy Week

The Lectionary of Holy Week

This English Holy Week Lectionary is a collection of scripture readings appointed for each day of the Holy Week. Use this PDF to follow  the services throughout the week.

Also available as an iBook for iPhone or iPad 

Lectionary of Holy Week Preview
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Church Tradition

During Holy Week, the Church embodies the entire Passion of Christ. Just as the early Christians did in Jerusalem, we gather within the church building to reenact and pray through the events of that sacred week. These early Christians would visit and pray at each site where the events had originally taken place.

Recognising the profound significance of Holy Pascha Week, the early Church dedicated this time entirely to the Lord, engaging in intense ascetic practices such as fasting, prayer, metanias, and vigil. Adhering strictly to a diet of bread and salt, they abstained from all cooked foods and desserts, believing it improper to taste anything sweet while commemorating the Lord’s suffering. To minimise distractions, they avoided cooking, with many fasting completely from Good Friday until the Easter service, spending their entire week in the church.

Emperor Theodosius, a devout Christian ruler, declared a universal holiday during Holy Week, enabling everyone, whether in government or private sectors, to come together in prayer and devotion. Even prisoners were released to participate in the Church’s ceremonial prayers.

Our Church meticulously schedules prayers and readings to mirror the sequence of events leading to the crucifixion. The hymns, sermons, and meditations are so detailed and enlightening that catechumens can learn the entire story of Christ’s passion in just this one week.

Church Setting 

In accordance with the Old Testament law, sin offerings were burned outside the camp to prevent the congregation’s sins from defiling it (Leviticus 4:12, 21). Christ, embodying this principle, bore the sins of the world outside Jerusalem. Similarly, the Church mirrors the Old Testament and Christ’s ultimate sacrifice by holding all Holy Pascha prayers outside the altar. Instead, these prayers take place in the middle section of the church.

Access to the Altar is restricted during this week to symbolise that Christ’s suffering and crucifixion occurred outside of Jerusalem. As St. Paul teaches, we spiritually step outside the conventional bounds of worship: “Let us go forth therefore unto Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Hebrews 13:13). This act of not approaching the sanctuary during Holy Pascha serves as a reminder of the heavens being sealed prior to the crucifixion.

Our journey with Christ begins anew each Covenant Thursday as we partake in the mystical Supper, symbolically re-entering the sanctuary. From there, we follow the path of Christ’s in Jerusalem.