Take a step each day
Holy Week and Easter at Guildford Cathedral
For centuries, Christians have found that the one of the most moving ways of encountering the depth of God’s love for the world is to approach Holy Week as a journey, taking steps each day in a devotional pattern that includes a liturgical act of worship.
Whether or not you have done this before, we would encourage you to come to the Cathedral for a service each day between Palm Sunday and Easter Day: joining the triumphal entry in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, walking with Jesus through his final days in Holy Week, standing close by in his passion and death, and rejoicing with overwhelming amazement as the disciples make their discovery of the empty tomb on Easter Day.
Below you will find some of the special services that will be taking place and we invite you to join us on our journey through the week. The Cathedral Choir will be singing at each of the services, unless otherwise indicated.
Those services indicated by an asterisk* will also be live streamed (more detail on the Services pages)
Palm Sunday | 24 March
10.30am |The Liturgy of Palm Sunday
6.00pm | Service of Music and Readings for Passiontide*
As we begin Holy Week we gather for this evening of reflective readings with music chosen to complement words of scripture which prepare us to walk with Jesus during his last days.
Holy Monday and Tuesday | 25 and 26 March
5.30pm | Choral Evensong
8.30pm Sermon from our Holy Week preacher
9pm Said Compline
Holy Wednesday | 27 March
5.30pm | Choral Evensong
8.30pm Sermon from our Holy Week preacher
9pm Said Compline
Maundy Thursday | 28 March
7.00pm | Eucharist of the Last Supper
with foot-washing followed by The Watch (until 9.30 pm) *
The evening of Maundy Thursday marks the beginning of the ‘Triduum’, the Great Three Days. From this point, the Church’s worship is a continuum through to the evening service on Easter Day.
This evening we begin with a note of thanksgiving as we celebrate the gift of the Eucharist, instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper. In John’s gospel we read an account of this meal, where Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and instructed his followers to do the same for each other. This will be re-enacted as the bishop kneels to wash the feet of volunteers. As Jesus moves on to Gethsemane and his subsequent betrayal and arrest, we strip the cathedral of adornments and move to the ‘garden of repose’ for The Watch. Those who wish to linger and pray may do so until 9.30 pm.
Good Friday | 29 March
10am | The Way of the Cross
This accessible service designed for children and families explores the story of Good Friday with engaging activities and hot cross buns.
12 noon – 3pm | The Three Hours Liturgy of Good Friday
Participation in the Triduum (The Great Three Days) continues today with the Liturgy of Good Friday, in which we prayerfully reflect upon the time during which Jesus hung on a cross to die. People are welcome to come for as long as they wish and to leave at any point, or to stay for the whole time.
…interspersed by congregational singing.
1.30pm | The Good Friday Liturgy*
The Cathedral Choir joins the gathering for this traditional reflective Good Friday service during which a large wooden cross is carried into the Nave. Some of the consecrated bread and wine from the service last night was left on the altar as a reminder of Jesus’ time in the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest. This will be consumed today.
5.30pm | Choral Evensong*
Those familiar with this choral service will discover a solemn, pared-down, unaccompanied version for Good Friday, in keeping with the desolation and confusion experienced by Jesus’ disciples following Jesus’ death and burial.
Easter Eve | 30 March
7.00pm | Easter Eve Service with Baptism and Confirmation
Holy Saturday is traditionally kept as simple as possible – the Great Silence – within which we meditate on the dark tomb in which the body of Jesus was laid.
From Earliest times Christians have gathered through the night of Easter to recall the story of God’s saving work from creation to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We gather together to do the same and to proclaim with those first disciples that ‘Jesus is risen!’ – celebrating with those to be baptised and confirmed their turning from darkness to the light of Christ. This is the first Eucharist of Easter and is an immensely moving service. All are welcome.
Easter Day | 31 March
7.30am | Morning Prayer
8.00am | Holy Communion
According to the Book of Common Prayer (said).
9.45am | Cathedral Eucharist on Easter Day*
The Easter candle that was first lit on Easter Eve is brought into the service as we continue to praise God for the resurrection of Jesus Christ and give thanks for the new life and hope that we have in him.
6.00pm | Festival Evensong*
Our worship on this great festival, and of the Triduum, concludes with this joyous service and a rousing traditional Song of the Church – the Te Deum.