The Great Vigil of Easter

The Great Vigil, when observed, is the first service of Easter Day. It is celebrated at a convenient time between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Morning.

In the darkness, fire is kindled …

~from the opening rubrics for the Great Vigil in the Book of Common Prayer

The Easter Vigil, as contained in the Prayer Book, is based upon one of the earliest known liturgies of the church, dating to at least the second century. In the early church (and still today in the Eastern Orthodox churches), it was a true vigil that lasted throughout the night, with multiple readings culminating in baptisms and the first eucharist of Easter. Our celebration at St. Timothy's will be more modest; however, the structure of the service will remain that which has formed the principal liturgy of the church for two millennia.

The liturgy begins after sunset with the kindling of a new flame, from which the Paschal Candle is lighted. This candle burns throughout the Great Fifty Days of Easter (it is also lighted at every baptism and every burial, regardless of when in the year they occur). The congregation bears candles lighted from the same, and the Deacon (or a person appointed) chants the Exsultet—an ancient hymn-prayer, which praises God for the victory of Christ’s resurrection. The faithful are then invited to “hear the record of God’s saving deeds in history” in the scriptures that follow, leading up to the joyful proclamation of the Resurrection and the Easter Gospel.

It is one of the curiosities of language that English speaking countries are alone in using the word Easter for this central Christian celebration. In almost every other language, the term for this day is the same as that used for the Jewish Passover—Pascha. More than any other liturgy, the Great Vigil makes this connection explicit to draw us into “the paschal mystery.” In the words of the late Marion Hatchett, one of the chief editors of the Prayer Book, “In the Great Vigil of Easter we celebrate and make present the pivotal events of the Old and New Testament heritage, the passover of the Hebrews from the bondage of slavery in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land, the passover of our Lord Jesus Christ from death, and our own passover from the bondage of sin and death to the glorious liberty of new life in Christ Jesus.”

This is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave...