Passiontide

Passiontide(in the Christianliturgical year) is a name for the last two weeks ofLent,beginning on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, long celebrated asPassion Sunday,and continuing throughLazarus Saturday.It commemorates thesuffering of Christ(Latin passio = “suffering” ). The second week of Passiontide isHoly Week,ending onHoly Saturday.

Passiontide
A cross veiled during Passiontide in Lent (Pfarrkirche St. Martin inTannheim,Baden Württemberg,Germany).
Observed by	Anglicans Eastern Catholics Eastern Orthodox Lutherans Moravians Oriental Orthodox Roman Catholics Methodists
Type	Christian
Begins	Passion Sunday
Ends	Holy Saturday
Date	Last two weeks ofLent
Related to	Holy Week,Paschal Triduum

Passiontideand other named days and day ranges around Lent and Easter in Western Christianity, with the fasting days of Lent numbered

History

"Passiontide" refers to the last two weeks of Lent. According toCyril 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 theHoly Weekobservances. TheViernes de Dolores(Friday of Sorrows)is a solemn pious remembrance of the sorrowfulBlessed Virgin Maryon the Friday beforePalm Sundayheld in the fifth week of Lent.

In the Orthodox Church, the Fifth Saturday of Great Lent is known as theSaturday of the Akathist,when the "Akathist to the Theotokos" is sung at Compline.

Observance

Lenten shrouds

Statues and icons veiled in violet shrouds for Passiontide inSt Pancras Church, Ipswich(in Catholic churches in England, paintings are also veiled)

Main article:Lenten shrouds

In theRoman Catholic Church,Western Rite Orthodoxy,Lutheranism,and inAnglo-Catholicchurches, allcrucifixesand images may be covered in veils (usually violet, thecolorof 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 onGood Friday.Statues and images are to remain covered until the beginning of theEaster Vigil."(Specifically, those veils are removed during the singing of theGloria.) The veiling was associated with Passion Sunday's Gospel (John 8:46–59), in which Jesus "hid himself" from the people.

Tridentine Passiontide

In theTridentine Mass,Psalm 42 (43) is omitted at allMasses(unless a feast is observed) untilHoly Thursdayinclusive, as is the short doxology (Gloria Patri) at the Introit and the PsalmLavaboat Mass. It is likewise omitted in Psalm 94 atMatins,and the responds atMatins,Prime,Terce,Sext,None,andCompline.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.

The reform of Passiontide since 1955

Passion Week is a name for the week beginning onPassion Sunday,as the Fifth Sunday of Lent was once called in theRoman Rite.In the 1955 Holy Week revisions, Passion Sunday was formally renamed fromDominica PassionisorDominica de Passione( "Sunday of the Passion" ) toDominica I Passionis,"First Sunday of the Passion" or "First Sunday of Passiontide". Palm Sunday, formerlyDominica in Palmis( "Sunday in Palms" ) becameDominica II Passionis seu in Palmis( "II Sunday of the Passion or in Palms" ).

Since the revision of theGeneral Roman Calendarin 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.

However, even beforePope John XXIII'sCode of Rubrics(1960) changed the name of this Sunday from "Passion Sunday" (Dominica de Passione)to "First Sunday of thePassion"(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 theRoman Missalbecame "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 orPalm Sunday"(Dominica II Passionis seu in Palmis).The week beginning on that Sunday continued to have a distinctive name, "Holy Week"(" 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 the1969 revision,Passiontide ceased to be a separate liturgical season and became the Fifth Week of Lent, followed by Holy Week.

Anglican Passiontide

Passiontide is observed in many provinces of theAnglican Communion,for example in theChurch of England.In theCommon Worshipliturgy, material proper to Passiontide is used fromEvening Prayeron the Eve of the Fifth Sunday of Lent to the evening of Easter Eve. Such "proper material" includes prefaces to theEucharistic Prayer,special orders forMorning Prayerand Evening Prayer, and seasonal material forNight PrayerandPrayer During the Day.Although theSarum Useused crimson as theliturgical colourfor the whole of Passiontide,Common Worshiprecommends continuing in purple (or Lenten array) throughout the fifth week of Lent, changing to red forHoly Week.

Furthermore, until the introduction of the new Harmony of the GospelReadings for Holy Weekin 1969, English-speaking members of theMoravian Churchused the name "Passion Week" for Holy Week, a week much more closely associated with thePassion of Christ.

Music for Passiontide

Much music has been written for Passiontide. TheGregorian chantcomposed for theFirst Sunday of Passiontideexpresses two main themes: the expectation of Easter and the suffering that will be endured on Good Friday. The Introit "Iudica Me Domine" (Ps. 42 [43]), 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 [138]) 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 cantatashave been composed to texts in a variety of languages, taking as their theme the hours or days before theCrucifixion of Christ.Many settings have been made of theLatinpoemStabat Mater,which describesMarystanding 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 theTenebraeservice have been set by a variety of composers.

Several composers have set to music the sevensayings of Jesus on the cross.Heinrich Schützcomposed a cantata,Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz,c. 1645.Joseph Haydnwrote seven string quartets,Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze(The seven last words 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) byJames MacMillan.

See also

• Friday of Sorrows
• Lazarus Saturday
• Sorrowful Mother of Warfhuizen