At a glance: The week leading to Easter, beginning with Palm Sunday; dates follow the community’s Easter calendar.
Why begin with Palm Sunday?
Mark 11:1–11 describes Jesus entering Jerusalem amid public acclamation. Palm Sunday invites readers to consider expectations about kingship and deliverance. The events that follow complicate a simple story of triumph. Read the narrative’s movement from welcome toward conflict, rather than treating the procession as an isolated celebration.
What happens on Thursday?
Holy Thursday, often called Maundy Thursday in English-speaking churches, recalls the last supper. Luke 22:14–20 connects the meal with Jesus’ impending death. John 13 places foot-washing and a command to love at the centre of the evening. Services may include Communion and foot-washing, but practices and understandings of Communion differ.
Why include silence and waiting?
The crucifixion and burial lead into Holy Saturday before the Easter celebration. In Mark 15:42–47, the burial is attended to concretely: a body, a tomb and people who see where Jesus is laid. The Christian reading holds grief and hope together. It need not hurry past the experience of loss to reach a reassuring conclusion.
Which service should a visitor choose?
A local schedule is the best guide. Roman Catholic worship identifies the Triduum from Thursday evening through Easter Sunday, while Anglican and Eastern Orthodox communities have their own sequences. Read a Gospel passage before attending and ask about participation. These narratives must never become a pretext for blaming Jewish people collectively. Jesus and his earliest followers were themselves Jewish, and the accounts require historical and literary context.
Sources & further reading
- Mark 11 and Mark 15The entry into Jerusalem and, later, the death and burial narrative.
- Luke 22 and John 13Read the supper and foot-washing in their respective Gospel settings.
- USCCB: Easter TriduumThe Roman Catholic sequence from Holy Thursday evening to Easter Sunday.
- Church of England: Holy WeekAnglican worship resources, including care in interpreting the Passion narratives.
Editorial explanations reviewed 20 October 2026. Independent specialist review remains pending. Biblical narratives, historical conclusions and theological interpretation should be distinguished.