Holy Saturday service at Advent is a brief, quiet, and reflective liturgy found on page 283 of The Book of Common Prayer. It marks the time when Jesus’ body lay in the tomb and commemorates his descent to the dead. It is a simple service of scripture readings, prayers, and psalms (often Psalm 130 or 31), without Eucharist.
Key Features of the Service:
- A Day of “Waiting”: The service focuses on the ultimate sabbath, a day of longing for life in the midst of death.
- Duration: Often a brief 15–20 minute, simple, and contemplative service, held in the morning or early afternoon.
- The Funeral Anthem: A central part is the anthem “In the midst of life”.
- No Eucharist: Holy Saturday is a day of fasting and waiting, which concludes at sunset, often leading into the Easter Vigil.
Note: While the daytime service is short and quiet, the evening often marks the “Great Vigil of Easter,” a very different, dramatic service that begins with a new fire and celebrates the resurrection.
0 Comments