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Passiontide (in the Christian
liturgical year The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and wh ...
) is a name for the last two weeks of
Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Jesus, temptation by Satan, according ...
, beginning on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, long celebrated as Passion Sunday, and continuing through
Lazarus Saturday , observedby = Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Christians , date = Variable , date = , date = , date = , relatedto = Raising of Lazarus, Great Lent, Palm Sunday , frequency=Annual Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the Ea ...
. The second week of Passiontide is
Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
, ending on Holy Saturday.


History

"Passiontide" refers to the last two weeks of Lent. According to Cyril of Scythopolis, during this time the monks of the East, who had chosen the desert for a severer mode of life, returned to their monasteries. In certain countries, such as Brazil and Italy, it is seen as the beginning of the
Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
observances. The ''Viernes de Dolores'' ( Friday of Sorrows) is a solemn pious remembrance of the sorrowful
Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...
on the Friday before
Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...
held in the fifth week of Lent. In the Orthodox Church, the Fifth Saturday of Great Lent is known as the Saturday of the Akathist, when the "Akathist to the Theotokos" is sung at Compline.


Observance

In the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, Western Rite Orthodoxy,
Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
, and in
Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...
churches, all
crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (La ...
es and images may be covered in veils (usually violet, the
color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
of vestments in Lent) starting on Passion Sunday: "The practice of covering crosses and images in the church may be observed, if the episcopal conference decides. The crosses are to be covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord's passion on
Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Holy ...
. Statues and images are to remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil." (Specifically, those veils are removed during the singing of the ''
Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins) ...
''.) The veiling was associated with Passion Sunday's Gospel (), in which Jesus "hid himself" from the people. In the
Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass (liturgy), Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in Editio typica, typical editions of the Roman Missal published from ...
, Psalm 42 (43) is omitted at ferial Masses until Holy Thursday inclusive, as is the short doxology (''
Gloria Patri The Gloria Patri, also known as the Glory Be to the Father or, colloquially, the Glory Be, is a doxology, a short hymn of praise to God in various Christian liturgies. It is also referred to as the Minor Doxology ''(Doxologia Minor)'' or Les ...
'') at the Introit and the Psalm ''Lavabo'' at Mass. It is likewise omitted in Psalm 94 at
Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning. The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated ...
, and the responds at
Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning. The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated ...
,
Prime A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...
,
Terce Terce is a canonical hour of the Divine Office. It consists mainly of psalms and is held around 9 a.m. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the third hour of the day after dawn. With Sext, None and Compline it belongs to the so-called "Litt ...
,
Sext Sext, or Sixth Hour, is a canonical hour of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is held around noon. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the sixth hour of the day after dawn. ...
, None, and
Compline Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer service (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times. The English ...
. Also, the Preface for Lent gives way to the Preface of the Holy Cross unless a festal or votive Mass is celebrated for which a proper preface is assigned. In the 1955 Holy Week revisions, Passion Sunday was formally renamed from ''Dominica Passionis'' or ''Dominica de Passione'' ("Sunday of the Passion") to ''Dominica I Passionis'', "First Sunday of the Passion" or "First Sunday of Passiontide". Palm Sunday, formerly ''Dominica in Palmis'' ("Sunday in Palms") became ''Dominica II Passionis seu in Palmis'' ("II Sunday of the Passion or in Palms"). Since the revision of the
General Roman Calendar The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These cel ...
in 1969, the name "Passiontide" is no longer used for the last two weeks of Lent, although the former usage is somewhat preserved in the formal name for the Sunday before Easter, "Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion". However, the Preface called that of the Passion of the Lord I (The Power of the Cross) is used in the fifth week of Lent and the Preface of the Passion of the Lord II (The Victory of the Passion) is used on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week. Passiontide is observed in many provinces of the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
, for example in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
. In the ''
Common Worship ''Common Worship'' is the name given to the series of services authorised by the General Synod of the Church of England and launched on the first Sunday of Advent in 2000. It represents the most recent stage of development of the Liturgical Move ...
'' liturgy, material proper to Passiontide is used from Evening Prayer on the Eve of the Fifth Sunday of Lent to the evening of Easter Eve. Such "proper material" includes prefaces to the
Eucharistic Prayer The Anaphora is the most solemn part of the Divine Liturgy, or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, a thanksgiving prayer by virtue of which the offerings of bread and wine are believed to be consecrated as the body and blood of Christ. This is the ...
, special orders for
Morning Prayer Morning Prayer may refer to: Religion * Prayers in various traditions said during the morning * Morning Prayer (Anglican), one of the two main Daily Offices in the churches of the Anglican Communion * In Roman Catholicism: ** Morning offering of ...
and Evening Prayer, and seasonal material for Night Prayer and
Prayer During the Day Prayer During the Day is a liturgy of the Church of England from the service book ''Common Worship''. Along with Night Prayer (or "Compline"), it is a daily prayer service to supplement Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. The Church of England' ...
. Although the Sarum Use used crimson as the liturgical colour for the whole of Passiontide, ''Common Worship'' recommends continuing in purple (or Lenten array) throughout the fifth week of Lent, changing to red for
Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
.


Passion Week

Passion Week is a name for the week beginning on Passion Sunday, as the Fifth Sunday of Lent was once called in the
Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while di ...
. However, even before
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...
's
Code of Rubrics The Code of Rubrics is a three-part liturgical document promulgated in 1960 under Pope John XXIII, which in the form of a legal code indicated the liturgical and sacramental law governing the celebration of the Roman Rite Mass and Divine Offic ...
(1960) changed the name of this Sunday from "Passion Sunday" (Dominica de Passione) to "First Sunday of the Passion" (Dominica I Passionis), the liturgical books gave no special name to this week, referring to the days in it simply as "Monday (etc.) after Passion Sunday", which in Pope John XXIII's edition of the
Roman Missal The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of th ...
became "Monday (etc.) after the First Sunday of the Passion". In Pope John XXIII's revision, not only the Sunday that had previously had the exclusive name of Passion Sunday but also the following Sunday referred in their names to the Passion. The latter became the "Second Sunday of the Passion or
Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...
" (Dominica II Passionis seu in Palmis).Missale Romanum 1962
, p. 130
The week beginning on that Sunday continued to have a distinctive name, "
Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
" ("Hebdomada sancta") (previously, "Great Week", "Hebdomada major", but referred to in English as Holy Week), and the first days in it were called "Monday (etc.) of Holy Week", not "Monday (etc.) after the Second Sunday of the Passion or Palm Sunday". In the 1969 revision, Passiontide ceased to be a separate liturgical season and became the Fifth Week of Lent, followed by Holy Week. Until the introduction of the new Harmony of the Gospel ''Readings for Holy Week'' in 1969, English-speaking members of the
Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...
used the name "Passion Week" for Holy Week, a week much more closely associated with the
Passion of Christ In Christianity, the Passion (from the Latin verb ''patior, passus sum''; "to suffer, bear, endure", from which also "patience, patient", etc.) is the short final period in the life of Jesus Christ. Depending on one's views, the "Passion" m ...
.


Music for Passiontide

Much music has been written for Passiontide. The
Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe dur ...
composed for th
First Sunday of Passiontide
expresses two main themes: the expectation of Easter and the suffering that will be endured on Good Friday. The Introit "Iudica Me Domine" (Ps. 42 3, the Gradual "Eripe Me Domine" (Ps. 139), and the Tract "Saepe Expugnaverunt" (Ps. 128) all express the theme of the persecution of the just man. The Offertory on the other hand "Confitebor" (from Ps. 137 38 concentrates on the hope of ultimate victory and vindication. The Communion antiphon "Hoc Corpus" is taken directly from the Gospels and has a eucharist theme fittingly adapted to the liturgical moment that it accompanies, but it also calls to mind the impending Passover meal, which will serve as the setting for the Last Supper. Passion cantatas have been composed to texts in a variety of languages, taking as their theme the hours or days before the
Crucifixion of Christ The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consider ...
. Many settings have been made of the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
poem Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meaning ...
'' Stabat Mater'', which describes Mary standing in front of the Cross watching her son die (the Feast of the Seven Dolours of the Blessed Virgin is observed on Friday in Passion Week), and the lessons from the Tenebrae service have been set by a variety of composers. Several composers have set to music the seven
sayings of Jesus on the cross The sayings of Jesus on the cross (sometimes called the Seven Last Words from the Cross) are seven expressions biblically attributed to Jesus during his crucifixion. Traditionally, the brief sayings have been called "words". The seven sayings a ...
.
Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...
composed a cantata, '' Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz'', c. 1645.
Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have le ...
wrote seven string quartets, '' Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze'' (The seven last wods of our Redeemer on the cross) which also appeared in other arrangements. ''The Seven Last Words from the Cross'', a cantata for choir and strings was composed in 1993) by James MacMillan.


See also

* Friday of Sorrows *
Lazarus Saturday , observedby = Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Christians , date = Variable , date = , date = , date = , relatedto = Raising of Lazarus, Great Lent, Palm Sunday , frequency=Annual Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the Ea ...
* Sorrowful Mother of Warfhuizen


References

{{Authority control Catholic liturgy Lent Holy Week