Easter

The great fifty days of Easter.

Easter Day is the oldest and greatest feast of the Christian Church. It's also thought of as the First Sunday of Easter and the following Sundays are numbered accordingly.

Easter is also a season, and again it is the oldest liturgical season in our Church year. This season is called The Fifty Days of Easter which in turn can be referred to as Eastertide. The Fifty Days both celebrates the resurrection of our Lord, and anticipates the Feast of Pentecost which marks the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Church, to form it and empower it to continue the ministry of Jesus in the world. Therefore readings are from the Book of Acts which tell us of the early Church, and the gospel passages tell us of Christ's resurrection appearances, along with reminding us of Christ's teaching about expectations for the life of the Church, along with instruction on the anticipated giving of God the Holy Spirit. The large Paschal Candle is kept in the Sanctuary and lit at every service until Evensong is done on the Feast of Pentecost as a reminder of Christ's resurrection. Vestments and church hangings are white because white is the liturgical colour to mark our Lord Jesus Christ and aspects of his life and ministry.

With all this in mind, we are on our way to Pentecost!