"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
What Is Easter Vigil?
Easter Vigil also called the Paschal Vigil is a liturgy held in traditional Christian churches celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Traditionally, during this liturgy inquirers and catechumens are baptized and received into full communion with the Church. Because days are biblically viewed to begin at sunset, Easter Vigil is held in the hours between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Day, normally in the evening of Holy Saturday or midnight, and is the first celebration of Easter.
Easter Vigil closes the Lenten season and begins the week of celebrating Christ's resurrection. It is the completion of a 40-day-long adherence to Lent, wherein the faithful typically restrict their diets and emphasize repentance during this time. The observance commemorates the final day of Christ's death, which is traditionally associated with his triumphant descent into hell, known as the Harrowing of Hades. Then concludes with a celebration of Christ's resurrection, the Son of God rising from the grave on the third day as prophesized.
"And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise." (Luke 24:5-7)
This Easter service is observed in Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Oriental Orthodox churches. Let's look at what the Easter Vigil entails for the different churches of Christianity.
Easter Vigil for Protestants
Lutheran Church - The Easter Vigil, like the Christmas Vigil, stayed a common worship service in the Lutheran churches during and following the Reformation. It was usually observed in the early morning hours of Easter Sunday. As in most Lutheran services of this time, the local spoken language was used in combination with traditional liturgical Latin texts.
Anglican Church - Although the Easter Vigil is not ubiquitous in the Anglican Communion, its use has become far more standard in recent decades. Previously it was only frequently observed in parishes of the Anglo-Catholic tradition, having been abandoned at the Reformation and recovered by the 19th-century Tractarian movement.
Methodist Church - In Methodism, the Easter Vigil is the first service of Eastertide. The liturgy contained in The United Methodist Book of Worship divides the Easter Vigil into four parts:
- The Service of Light
- The Service of the Word
- The Service of the Baptismal Covenant
- The Service of the Table
Easter Vigil for Catholics
The Roman Missal states: "Of this night’s Vigil, which is the greatest and most noble of all solemnities, there is to be only one celebration in each church. It is arranged, moreover, in such a way that after the Lucernarium and the "Exsultet", The Easter Proclamation (which constitutes the first part of this Vigil), the Holy Church meditates on the wonders the Lord God has done for his people from the beginning, trusting in his word and promise (the second part, that is, the Liturgy of the Word) until, as day approaches, with new members reborn in Baptism (the third part), the Church is called to the table the Lord has prepared for his people, the memorial of his Death and Resurrection until he comes again (the fourth part)."
In the Roman Rite liturgy, the Easter Vigil consists of four parts:
- The Service of Light
- The Liturgy of the Word
- The Rite of Baptism (Consecration of the water of baptism and bestowal of the sacrament of baptism if there are catechumens. Renewal of the baptismal vows by the whole congregation)
- Liturgy of the Eucharist
The vigil begins between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Sunday, where an Easter fire is ignited and the Paschal candle is blessed then lit. This Paschal candle will be utilized throughout the season of Easter, staying in the sanctuary of the church, and throughout the forthcoming year at baptisms and funerals, representing that Christ is "light and life".
Easter Vigil for Orthodox Christians
In Orthodoxy, the "Easter Vigil" is more commonly known as the Paschal Vigil, as Easter is known by its Latin root name of Pascha.
The Old Testament readings are:
1. Genesis 1:1-13; 2. Isaiah 60:1-16; 3. Exodus 12:1-11; 4. Jonah 1:1-11; 5. Joshua 5:10-15; 6. Exodus 13:20-15:19; 7. Zephaniah 3:8-15; 8. 1 Kings 17:8-24; 9. Isaiah 61; 10. Genesis 22:1-18; 11. Isaiah 61:1-9; 12. 2 Kings 4:8-37; 13. Isaiah 63 14. Jeremiah 31:31-34; 15. Daniel 3:1-68.
It is during these readings that catechumens may be baptized and chrismated, the order of which is given in the Book of Needs and is performed while most of the faithful and clergy remain in the church for the readings, the newly baptized being led back into the church during the singing of "As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (sung in place of the Trisagion).
This liturgy recites the Harrowing of Hell, at which time, according to Orthodox belief, the righteous dead were raised from Hades and entered into Heaven. This Good News of Christ's triumph over death, the Church teaches, was shown only to the departed at that time. God's revelation to the living occurred when his tomb was found empty "very early in the morning, on the first day of the week" (Mark 16:2) and this vigil narrates that finding of the empty tomb.
The Resurrection - Mark 16:1-8
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back--it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you." And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Also observed is the Passover of the Law, which according to the Gospel of John, was on the Sabbath when Christ lay in the tomb, and among the Old Testament readings is the account of the Exodus out of Egypt, that reading concluding with the antiphonal chanting of the Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1-19).
In Jerusalem, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch receives the Holy Fire and thereafter celebrates the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Sepulchre (meaning "empty tomb") of Christ on the very location where his body lay at the time of His Resurrection.
Read more about the Orthodox understanding of the Pascha Vigil from Holy Ascension Orthodox Church.
Sources:
The Descent of Christ into Hades - Christianity.com
Easter Vigil - Wikipedia
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