Holy Saturday 2025

The Harrowing of Hell, by Duccio di Buoninsenga, 1308-11

R. Recessit pastor noster, fons aquae vivae, ad cujus transitum sol obscuratus est; * nam et ille captus est, qui captivum tenebat primum hominem: hodie portas mortis et seras pariter Salvator noster disrupit. V. Destruxit quidem claustra inferni, et subvertit potentias diaboli. Nam et ille.

R. Our Shepherd hath departed, the font of living water, at Whose passing the sun was darkened; * for he that held the first Man captive, was himself taken: today our Savior hath broken asunder the doors and bars of death. V. Indeed, he destroyed the fortress of hell, and overthrew the powers of the devil. For he that held. (Tenebrae of Holy Saturday, fourth responsory)

Two Ancient Prophecies of Holy Saturday

Of the many ruptures which the 1955 reform of Holy Week introduced into the Roman Rite, one of the most violent is the reduction of the twelve prophecies read at the Easter vigil to four, and the elimination of all the baptismal rituals from the vigil of Pentecost, including the repetition of six of these prophecies. This entailed the complete removal from the entire Roman liturgy of two Old Testament passages that are cited many times by the Church Fathers in connection with the Paschal mystery.

Detail of a Christian sarcophagus of the Constantinian period (ca. 305-35), known as the Sarcophagus of Adelphia, discovered in the church of St John in Syracuse, Sicily, in 1872. From left to right are shown: the Sacrifice of Isaac; the healing of the man born blind; the multiplication of the loaves and fishes; and the raising of the son of the widow of Naim. (Image from Wikimedia Commons by Davide Mauro; CC BY-SA 4.0)

The first is Genesis 22, 1-18, the story somewhat inaccurately known as the Sacrifice of Isaac, who is, of course, not actually sacrificed in the end. (Jewish tradition calls it “the binding of Isaac.”) The oldest known sermon on Easter, the Paschal homily of St Melito of Sardis (ca. 170), refers to this as a prefiguration of the Sacrifice of another Son:

“Thus if you wish to see the mystery of the Lord, look at Abel who is likewise slain, at Isaac who is likewise tied up (59), … And he bore the wood on his shoulders, going up to slaughter like Isaac at the hand of his father. But Christ suffered. Isaac did not suffer, for he was a type of the passion of Christ which was to come… (frag. 9)”

Likewise, his contemporary St Irenaeus:

“Righteously also do we, possessing the same faith as Abraham, and taking up the cross as Isaac did the wood, follow (Christ). … For Abraham, according to his faith, followed the command of the Word of God, and with a ready mind delivered up as a sacrifice to God his only-begotten and beloved son, in order that God also might be pleased to offer up for all his seed His own beloved and only-begotten Son, as a sacrifice for our redemption.” (Adversus Haereses, 4, 5, 4)

The foolishness of deleting this reading was realized and corrected in the Novus Ordo, which restored it to the Easter vigil, albeit with one of the optional shorter forms that plague the post-Conciliar lectionary. The shorter form permits the omission of much of what makes the story so dramatic, the part where Isaac says to his father, “where is the victim for the holocaust?”, and Abraham replies, “God will provide himself a victim for an holocaust, my son.” Hopefully, in arranging the celebration of the Easter vigil, people will treat the Word of God with more respect than the members of the Consilium did.

The Vision of Ezechiel, 1630, by Francisco Collantes (Madrid, 1599-1656); Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.

The second, Ezekiel 37, 1-14, was accepted by the Church Fathers from the most ancient times as a prophecy of the resurrection of the body at the end of the world, and hence of the Resurrection of Christ that makes this possible. Again St Irenaeus:

“Now Isaias thus declares (26, 19), that He who at the beginning created man, did promise him a second birth after his dissolution into earth: ‘The dead shall rise again, and they who are in the tombs shall arise, and they who are in the earth shall rejoice. … ’ And Ezekiel speaks as follows: ‘And the hand of the Lord came upon me, and the Lord led me forth in the Spirit, and set me down in the midst of the plain, and this place was full of bones. And He caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were many upon the surface of the plain very dry. And He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I said, Lord, Thou who hast made them dost know. And He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and thou shalt say to them, Ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord to these bones, Behold, I will cause the spirit of life to come upon you, and I will lay sinews upon you, and bring up flesh again upon you, and I will stretch skin upon you, and will put my Spirit into you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. … ’ ” (Adv. Haer. 5, 34, 1)

This passage is cited to the same effect by Tertullian, St Cyprian and St Ambrose in the West, by Origen, St Cyril of Jerusalem and St John Chrysostom in the East, among many others.

Unsurprisingly, both readings are also found in the Byzantine Rite on Holy Saturday, although not at the same ceremony. Genesis 22 is the tenth of the fifteen prophecies read at the Vesperal Divine Liturgy, which also shares with the Roman Rite, wholly or in part, readings from Genesis 1, Exodus 12, the book of Jonah, Exodus 14, and Daniel 3. (These last two are much longer in their Byzantine version, and have canticles attached to them, as they do in the Roman Rite. The Byzantines also read the whole book of Jonah, as the Ambrosians do at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper.)

Ezekiel 37, on the other hand, is read at Orthros of Holy Saturday, one of the most beautiful services of the year, commonly called Jerusalem Matins. This is the only day on which Orthros ends with a special synaxis of three readings: Ezekiel 37, 1-14; 1 Corinthians 5, 6-8 and Galatians 3, 13-14 (as a single reading, titled to the former); and Matthew 27, 62-66, which tells of the setting of the guards at the Lord’s tomb.

Today is Holy Saturday on the Julian calendar, and this post is in part an excuse to use a video of one of my favorite things about the Byzantine Rite, pertinent to the day, a special setting of this reading. This recording was made at the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, seven years ago. (The first few times I attended this service, I knew barely a word of Church Slavonic, and had no idea what was happening most of the time. It was sung rather more slowly than it is here, and the cantor used a score with all the notes printed out, rather than a lectionary, so I thought it was some kind of solo motet, a lamentation for the Lord’s death.)

This English version is also very beautiful; the prophecy is preceded by a chant from a Psalm called a prokimen, like most Scriptural readings in the Byzantine Rite other than the Gospel.

This recording skips the Epistle and its prokimen, and goes straight to the Alleluia before the Gospel (one of the most beautiful in the repertoire), which has a very interesting feature. The three verses between the repetition of Alleluia are taken from the beginning of Psalm 67: “Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered, and let those who hate him flee from before his face. As smoke vanishes, so let them vanish, as wax melts before the fire. So let the sinners perish at the presence of God, but let the righteous be glad.”

At the beginning of Orthros of Easter, these same verses are said between repetitions of the Paschal tropar, “Christ is risen from the dead, having trampled death by death, and having given life to those in the tombs.” But to these is added a fourth verse, from Psalm 117, “This is the day which the Lord hath made: let us be glad and rejoice therein”, the same verse which is said at every Hour of the Roman Office during the octave. This arrangement is then repeated at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, and at Vespers, and so on through the rest of the week until the Divine Liturgy of Bright Saturday.

UPDATE: about ten minutes ago, the YouTube channel of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church posted this video of the completed live stream of its Easter night service, celebrated by Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv at the Golden-Domed Monastery of St Michael. Even thought it is 4¾ hours long, it would probably take me even longer to write a complete description of everything that happens, so suffice it to say that the feature described in the preceding paragraph occurs for the first time, at the beginning of Orthros, at 52:40.

To all our readers who follow the Julian calendar, we wish you a most blessed feast of the glorious Resurrection - He is truly risen!

Durandus on Holy Saturday

Just as God, when the works of the creation of the world were completed in six days, as you know, on the seventh day rested from all the work which He had done (Genesis 1,1 – 2, 2, the first prophecy of the Easter vigil); so also in the sixth age, the works of re-creation being completed, according to what the Lord said when He was hanging on the Cross, “It is completed”, in the seventh age, He rested. For when His soul had left the passibility of the body, in a certain sense, He rested, and further, He slept in the tomb; therefore, this day is called the Sabbath, which means ‘rest’. And its particular name is Holy Saturday, since … it signifies the rest of Christ from the work of re-creation at the end of the sixth age; or else because of the rest of Christ, in Whose death we are sanctified. It is also called “Holy” because of baptism, which takes place on this day, on which the Church’s new progeny is sanctified. (William Durandus, Rationale Divinorum Officiorum, VI.8.1)

The Dead Christ, by Philippe de Champaigne (1602-74), before 1654; public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.

Sacred Art for Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday

Here are some images for these three days for your mediation. First, Good Friday: The crucifixion of Christ, an illumination by the Master of St. Veronica (German, active about 1395 - 1415).

I chose this for the beautiful flow in the lines of drapery around the forlorn figure of Our Lady. The artist has eliminated any sense of depth, as a more conventional iconographer would, by putting the blue and gold patterned background around the figures. The flatness is deliberate, the lack of three dimensionality in the image evokes heaven which is outside time and space.

Next, we have what in the Byzantine Rite Churches is called the Resurrection Icon, and in the Roman Church might also be referred to as the Harrowing of Hell. This image speaks of Christ’s descent in Hades and so is appropriate for Holy Saturday.

A Western rendering of the same, by the 15th century Italian artist Fra Angelico.

There is a fascinating account of the development of this image in Aidan Hart’s excellent book Festal Icons, which I recommend everyone to read if they can. He describes how the prototype for the iconographic image actually appeared first in Rome in the 8th century (perhaps with great influence from Byzantine Christians who were present there at the time). He suggests that one reason that the prototype of the Resurrection in this form was so late in emerging was that it was developed to reinforce the assertion, against the heresies of monothelitism and monoenergism, which were prevalent at the time, that Christ descended into hell as the single person, in two natures, divine and human. The image shows the Resurrected Christ bodily descending into Hell to draw out those who might be themselves bodily resurrected. It is therefore as much an icon of the resurrection of mankind as it is of Christ. Adam and Eve are present, and typically Christ, the new Adam, reaches down to draw up the old Adam. He has trampled down the doors of Hades and discarded the instruments of his death, such as the nails. In the iconographic version, there might also be present Kings David and Solomon, St John the Baptist, Abel the Just shown as a young man with a shepherd’s crook, Isaiah, and other patriarchs and prophets.

I like the connection between the good shepherd, Abel from the book of Genesis, and Christ, the Good Shepherd, and the shepherds who observe the Nativity as a thread that runs through these Biblical events.

The Fra Angelico version has the devil skulking away stage left!

This image makes the transition into Easter itself. In the words of the Exultet, the hymn sung in the Easter Vigil:

This is the night, when Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld. Our birth would have been no gain, had we not been redeemed.

Illustrated scrolls of the Exultet, such as the Barberini Exultet Roll created in Italy in the 11th century have the Harrowing of Hell to illustrate these lines.

Finally we have a Resurrection image, which developed in the Roman Church from about the 12th century onwards. Here is an English relief carving in alabaster from the 14th century.

Christ emerges from the tomb, trampling on the guards as he does so, again by Fra Angelico.

Holy Saturday 2022

The Harrowing of Hell, by Duccio di Buoninsenga, 1308-11

R. Recessit pastor noster, fons aquae vivae, ad cujus transitum sol obscuratus est; * nam et ille captus est, qui captivum tenebat primum hominem: hodie portas mortis et seras pariter Salvator noster disrupit. V. Destruxit quidem claustra inferni, et subvertit potentias diaboli. Nam et ille.

R. Our Shepherd hath departed, the font of living water, at Whose passing the sun was darkened; * for he that held the first Man captive, was himself taken: today our Savior hath broken asunder the doors and bars of death. V. Indeed, he destroyed the fortress of hell, and overthrew the powers of the devil. For he that held. (Tenebrae of Holy Saturday, fourth responsory)

Holy Saturday 2021 Photopost (Part 2)

Just in time for the last day before the Ascension, here, finally, is the last photopost from Holy Week, which also includes some images of Easter Sunday. Including Palm Sunday, this series has had well over 600 photographs from churches over all the world, roughly comparable to the number we had in 2019. Considering that we had almost no photoposts last year, I think this is an encouraging sign that the good work of evangelizing through beauty will continue apace, so once again, many thanks to everybody who contributed. God bless, and get your cameras ready for Pentecost!

St Cuthbert’s Parish – Blackpool, England (Easter Sunday)

St Mary – Conshohocken, Pennsylvania (FSSP)

From one of our favorite photographers, Allison Girone, starting with a particularly good shot from above.

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Holy Saturday 2021 Photopost (Part 1)

I had planned on posting these yesterday, to coincide with Holy Saturday on the Julian calendar, but my wifi router had a rough week, and was having none of it. Things are back to normal (I hope), and I will do my best to finish this year’s Easter photopost series within the week. Once again, to all those who celebrate the Resurrection today, we wish all the blessings of the Paschal season. He is truly risen!

St Mary’s Oratory – Wausau, Wisconsin (ICRSP)

Tradition will always be for the young.

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Byzantine Music for Holy Saturday

On the Julian Calendar, today is Holy Saturday, one of many days on which the Slavic choral tradition shines especially brightly. In the Byzantine Rite, the evening ceremony of Holy Saturday consists of Vespers joined to the Divine Liturgy of St Basil; it is often anticipated to the morning, since the night time celebration of the Resurrection can be very long indeed. (The latter consists of the reading of the Acts of the Apostles, an hour called the Midnight Office, which has a special form done only on Holy Saturday, a procession, Matins, Prime and the Divine Liturgy.) After the usual beginning (the introduction, Psalm 103, and the Litany of Peace), a series of hymns are sung between verses of Psalms 140, 141, 129 and 116, as at every Vespers, while the church is incensed. The entrance is done with the Gospel book and censer, and the daily Vesper hymn Phos hilaron is sung, followed immediately by 15 prophecies. (In practice, many places make a selection.)

1. Genesis 1, 1-13
2. Isaiah 60, 1-16
3. Exodus 12, 1-11
4. The Book of Jonah
5. Joshua 5, 10-15
6. Exodus 13, 20 - 15, 19
7. Sophoniah 3, 8-15
8. 3 Kings 17, 8-24
9. Isaiah 61, 10 - 62, 5
10. Genesis 22, 1-18
11. Isaiah 61, 1-9
12. 4 Kings 4, 8-37
13. Isaiah 63, 11 - 64, 5
14. Jeremiah 31, 31-34
15. Daniel 3, 1-57, and the Song of the Three Children

For the last part of the final prophecy (58-90), the reader continues as before, while the choir sings the refrain, “Sing to the Lord and exalt Him unto all ages!”, as heard here. (The same is done with the sixth reading from Exodus, once the reader reaches the beginning of the Canticle of Moses at verse 15, 1.)

After the prophecies, a small litany is sung, followed immediately by the chant “As many of you as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ, alleluia.” (Galatians 3, 27) This replaces the normal chant of the Trisagion (“Holy God, Holy mighty...”) on all of the days traditionally dedicated to Baptism, such as Epiphany and Pentecost. In the following video, it begins at 0:52.

The reader and choir chant a Prokimen as usual before the Epistle, Romans 6, 3-11; however, on this day alone, there is no Alleluia between the Epistle and Gospel. Instead, Psalm 81 (82 in the Hebrew numbering) is sung with the final verse, “Arise, O God, judge thou the earth: for thou shalt inherit among all the nations.” as the refrain. The full Psalm is appointed to be said in the liturgical books, but it may be shortened, as in this recording from the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow, which has only the first three verses.

Reader: Arise, O God, judge thou the earth: for thou shalt inherit among all the nations. Choir repeats.
Reader: God hath stood in the congregation of gods: and being in the midst of them he judgeth gods. Choir repeats Arise, O God.
Reader: How long will you judge unjustly: and accept the persons of the wicked? Choir repeats Arise, O God.
Reader: Judge for the needy and fatherless: do justice to the humble and the poor. Choir repeats Arise, O God.
Reader: Arise, O God... (Choir repeats.)

During this chant, the clergy change from dark to bright vestments, and the dark coverings of the altar, the icon stands, etc., are replaced with bright ones. Its theme, that Christ receives as His inheritance the nations which come into the Church in the Sacrament of Baptism, is continued in the Gospel, the whole of Matthew 28: the first report of the Resurrection to the women who come to His tomb (1-7), His appearance to them (8-10), the bribing of the guards (11-15) and His commission to the Apostles (16-20) to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

On Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday, the regular Cherubic hymn “Let us, who mystically represent the Cherubim” is replaced with a different chant; the hymn for the latter was originally the daily Cherubic hymn of the Liturgy of St James. This version is also from the choir of the Novosspasky Monastery.

“Let all mortal flesh keep silent, and stand with fear and trembling, and in itself consider nothing of earth; for the King of kings and Lord of lords cometh forth to be sacrificed, and given as food to the believers; and there go before Him the choirs of Angels, with every dominion and power, the many-eyed Cherubim and the six-winged Seraphim, covering their faces, and crying out the hymn: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.”

Another very beautiful version according to an arrangement by Fr Ludwig Pichler SJ, from Holy Saturday 2018 at the Russian College in Rome, where he served as the director of the choir from 1948-2009. (At 3:50, the first part is repeated from “for the King of kings...” My less-than-great hand-held camera could only do 8:11 of video, so unfortunately this breaks off at the word “Seraphim.”)

During the anaphora, a hymn to the Virgin Mary is sung; the regular hymn “It is truly worthy” is substituted on a number of major feasts by a chant from Orthros. On Holy Saturday, it reads as follows. “Weep not over me, Mother, as Thou beholdest me in the tomb, Thy Son whom Thou didst conceive in the womb without seed; for I shall rise and be glorified, and as God, shall unceasingly exalt in glory them that magnify Thee in faith and love.”

To all Christians who celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord tomorrow, we wish you a most blessed Feast of All Feasts - He is truly risen!

Holy Saturday 2021

Behold how the just man dieth, and no one perceiveth in his heart; and the just men are taken away, and no one considereth; the just man has been taken away from before iniquity, * and his memory shall be in peace. V. Like a lamb before his shearer he kept silent, and opened not his mouth; He was taken away from distress, and from judgment. And his memory shall be in peace. Behold how the just man dieth... (Tenebrae of Holy Saturday, 6th responsory.)

The Entombment of Christ, Rogier van der Weyden, 1450

R. Ecce quomodo moritur justus, et nemo percipit corde: et viri justi tolluntur, et nemo considerat: a facie iniquitatis sublatus est justus: * Et erit in pace memoria ejus. V. Tamquam agnus coram tondente se obmutuit, et non aperuit os suum: de angustia, et de judicio sublatus est. Et erit in pace memoria ejus. Ecce quomodo moritur justus...

Photopost Request: The Sacred Triduum and Easter

As we traditionally do, we will plan on having a whole series of photoposts of your Holy Week liturgies, with individual posts for Tenebrae, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. As always, we are glad to receive images of the OF, EF, Eastern Rites, the Ordinariate Use, etc., including any part of the liturgy. Please send your photographs to photopost@newliturgicalmovement.org, and remember to include the name and location of the church, along with any other information you think important.

Please read this! – I would ask people to do a few things to make it easier for us to process the photos. The first is to size them down so that the smaller dimension is around 1500 pixels. The second is to send the pictures as zipped files, which are a lot easier to process, (not links, and not as photos attached to an email). The third is to not mix photos of one ceremony with those of another, and to put the name of the ceremony (“Tenebrae”, “Holy Thursday”, “Good Friday”, “Holy Saturday”, and “Easter Sunday”) as the subject of the email. Your help is very much appreciated.

Here are just a few highlights from 2019, starting with the altar of repose at the cathedral of St Paul in Birmingham, Alabama.

Solemn Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the church of St Eugène in Paris, home of the mighty Schola Sainte Cécile.

The incensation of the Blessed Sacrament during the Mass of the Presanctified at the church of the Holy Innocents in New York City.

The burial shroud of Christ during Vespers of Good Friday at the Byzantine Catholic Church of St John the Baptist in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

A particularly nice Tenebrae hearse at the Oratory of St Gianna in Tucson, Arizona.

The lighting of the Paschal reed at St Mary’s Parish in Kalamazo, Michigan.

The blessing of the baptismal font at the Damenstiftkirche, home of the FSSP apostolate in Munich, Germany.

Durandus on Holy Saturday

Just as God, when the works of the creation of the world were completed in six days, as you know, on the seventh day rested from all the work which He had done (Genesis 1,1 – 2, 2, the first prophecy of the Easter vigil); so also in the sixth age, the works of re-creation being completed, according to what the Lord said when He was hanging on the Cross, “It is completed”, in the seventh age, He rested. For when His soul had left the passibility of the body, in a certain sense, He rested, and further, He slept in the tomb; therefore, this day is called the Sabbath, which means ‘rest’. And its particular name is Holy Saturday, since … it signifies the rest of Christ from the work of re-creation at the end of the sixth age; or else because of the rest of Christ, in Whose death we are sanctified. It is also called “Holy” because of baptism, which takes place on this day, on which the Church’s new progeny is sanctified. (William Durandus, Rationale Divinorum Officiorum, VI.8.1)

The Dead Christ, by Philippe de Champaigne (1602-74), before 1654; public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.

Holy Saturday 2019 Photopost (Part 2)

We finally come to the last of this year’s photoposts of the Triduum; I hope our readers will take encouragement in seeing how young both the clergy and servers are in these pictures, and how many servers there are in several of them. So much progress has been made in bringing the love of the Catholic liturgical tradition to the younger generations, but so much more needs to be done, so continue to pray, and evangelize through beauty!

Cathedral of the Holy Rosary - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Holy Saturday 2019 Photopost (Part 1)

Our Holy Week photopost series continues with images of the liturgies of Holy Saturday. How good it is to see the return of the triple candle, representing the three Marys coming to the tomb of Christ! Many thanks once again to those who sent them in; we will have one more of these before we move on to Easter Sunday itself. Evangelize though beauty!

St Mary’s Parish - Kalamazoo, Michigan

Blessing of Easter baskets

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Holy Saturday 2019

The Harrowing of Hell, by Duccio di Buoninsenga, 1308-11

R. Recessit pastor noster, fons aquae vivae, ad cujus transitum sol obscuratus est; * nam et ille captus est, qui captivum tenebat primum hominem: hodie portas mortis et seras pariter Salvator noster disrupit. V. Destruxit quidem claustra inferni, et subvertit potentias diaboli. Nam et ille.

R. Our Shepherd hath departed, the font of living water, at Whose passing the sun was darkened; * for he that held the first Man captive, was himself taken: today our Savior hath broken asunder the doors and bars of death. V. Indeed, he destroyed the fortress of hell, and overthrew the powers of the devil. For he that held. (Tenebrae of Holy Saturday, fourth responsory)

Holy Saturday 2018 Photopost (Part 3)

We finally come to the last of this year’s photoposts of the Triduum! Preparing these almost always involves making some hard choices about which of many beautiful images to publish, and this set was particularly vexing in that regard. (Deo gratias!) As always, we are very grateful to everyone who sent these in.

Holy Innocents - New York City

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Holy Saturday 2018 Photopost (Part 2)

We continue our Holy Week photopost series with more of your Easter vigil ceremonies. I hope our readers will take encouragement in seeing how young both the clergy and servers are in these pictures, and how many servers there are in several of them. So much progress has been made in bringing the love of these ancient ceremonies to the younger generations, but so much more needs to be done, so continue to pray, and evangelize through beauty!

St Mary, Mother of God - Washington, DC

  St John Chrysostom Melkite Greek-Catholic Church - Atlanta, Georgia

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