The Fourth Sunday of Easter (or the Fourth Sunday of Eastertide) is the fourth Sunday of the Easter season, being the day that occurs three weeks after the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

celebration of

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

Western Christianity

Tridentine Catholicism (pre-1970)

In the

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Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

of the

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, this day was officially known as the Third Sunday after Easter. It was also nicknamed Jubilate Sunday due to the

incipit The incipit ( ) of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of Musical note, notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin an ...

("Iubilate Deo") of the introit assigned to this day. The full text of the introit in its original

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was: "Iubilate Deo, omnis terra, allelúia: psalmum dícite nómini eius, allelúia, allelúia, allelúia. Dícite Deo, quam terribília sunt ópera tua, Dómine! in multitúdine virtútis tuæ mentiéntur tibi inimíci tui." This introit is based on (which is now more commonly called Psalm 66 in accord with the Hebrew numbering used in modern Bibles). For a brief period of time (1847–1911), this Sunday was also celebrated as the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church. In 1911, this feast day was moved to the following Wednesday, where it remained until it was suppressed altogether in 1955.

Post-Vatican II Catholicism (1970–present)

In the 1970 revision of the ''

Roman Missal The Roman Missal () is the book which contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Roman Rite, the most common liturgy and Mass of the Catholic Church. There have been several editions. History Before the Council of Trent (1570) ...

'', this day was designated the "Fourth Sunday of Easter," and the "Iubilate Deo" introit for this Sunday was swapped with that of the preceding Sunday. The preceding Sunday's Gospel reading was likewise moved forward to this day. Because this Gospel reading is the parable of the

Good Shepherd The Good Shepherd (, ''poimḗn ho kalós'') is an image used in the pericope of , in which Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23 and Ezeki ...

, the Fourth Sunday of Easter is now also known as Good Shepherd Sunday (a name formerly given to the Third Sunday of Easter to which the reading was originally assigned). In 1964,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

established a World Day of Prayer for Vocations to coincide with Good Shepherd Sunday, now celebrated on the Fourth Sunday of Easter. For this reason, this day is also known in the Catholic Church as Vocations Sunday. The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

also celebrates Vocations Sunday on this day.

Lutheranism

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

composed three church cantatas for the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

celebration of Jubilate Sunday. These cantatas incorporated the readings traditionally prescribed for this day: the epistle () and the Gospel (). * ''Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen'', BWV 12, April 22, 1714 * ''Ihr werdet weinen und heulen'', BWV 103, April 22, 1725 * ''Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal'', BWV 146, May 12, 1726, or April 18, 1728 In the Revised Common Lectionary currently used by many Lutherans, the Gospel reading is the

passage.

Eastern Christianity

In the

Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...

, this day is called the Fourth Sunday of Holy Pascha, and is also called the Sunday of the Paralytic due to the Gospel passage () read on this day.

References