Easter Vigil

The original twelve Old Testament readings for the Easter Vigil survive in an ancient manuscript belonging to the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

This Paschal candle will be used throughout the season of Easter, remaining in the sanctuary of the church or near the lectern, and throughout the coming year at baptisms and funerals, reminding all that Christ is "light and life".

Once the candle has been lit, it is carried by a deacon through the nave of the church, itself in complete darkness, stopping three times to chant the acclamation 'Light of Christ' (Lumen Christi), to which the assembly responds 'Thanks be to God' or 'Deo Gratias'.

The deacon, priest, or a cantor now chants the Exsultet (also called the "Easter Proclamation" or "Paschal Praeconium"), after which the people sit for the Liturgy of the Word.

The account of the Israelites' crossing of the Red Sea may never be omitted, since this event is at the centre of the Jewish Passover, of which Christians believe Christ's death and resurrection is the fulfillment.

On 9 February 1951, Pope Pius XII issued decree Dominicae Resurrectionis,[8] instituting several changes to the Easter Vigil in an experimental basis.

The Liturgy of the Word consisted of twelve readings, for the most part without responsory chants: the seven mentioned above except the fourth and seventh, plus the account of the Flood (Gen 5–8) as the second; followed by a different one from Ezekiel (37:1-14), plus Isaiah 4:1-6, Exodus 12:1-11 (the introduction of the Paschal rites, also read then on Good Friday but now on Holy Thursday), Jonah 3:1-10, Deuteronomy 31:22-30, Daniel 3:1-24.

In virtue of the 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, this form may, under certain conditions, still be used because of its inclusion in the 1962 Roman Missal of Pope John XXIII.

The devastation caused by the Thirty Years' War led to a decline in worship culture in the Lutheran Churches in Germany.

The liturgical movement that arose in the German Lutheran Churches after World War I rediscovered the Easter Vigil in its reformational form.

[10] In an article from 1934 for the Liturgical Conference of Lower Saxony and for the Berneuchen Movement, Wilhelm Stählin appealed to fellow Lutherans for an Easter service on early Easter Sunday or on Holy Saturday night using elements from the Missal, the Orthodox tradition and from reformational service orders.

[11] This movement within the German Lutheran Churches contributed to a revival and revision of the Roman Catholic order for the Easter Vigil by Pope Pius XII in 1951.

The "Agende II" for the Evangelical Lutheran Churches and Parishes in Germany from 1960 gave the "Osternacht", German for "Easter Vigil", a normative form.

It is characterized by a number of Gregorian chants, medieval and reformational hymns which have been in use in German worship services for centuries.

In North America the Lutherans, similarly to the Anglicans, have in many places returned to the observance of the Easter Vigil [including the restoration of the blessing of the new fire].

[13] The four-part structure of the Vigil is retained, though in the TEC rite the service of baptism may follow immediately after the readings from the Old Testament.

[14] The liturgy contained in The United Methodist Book of Worship divides the Easter Vigil into four parts:[14] The Service of Light begins in silence outside of the church building in the nighttime.

Following the hearing of the "record of God's saving deeds in history", the Gospel lesson is proclaimed by the minister.

Commencing two hours before sundown according to the written rubrics,[15] although generally in the late morning in actual practice,[16] is great vespers with the Divine Liturgy.

It is during these readings that catechumens may be baptized and chrismated, the order of which is given in the Book of Needs (Ευχολόγιον; Требникъ) and is performed while most of the faithful and clergy remain in the church for the readings, the newly baptised being led back into the church during the singing of "As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (sung in place of the Trisagion).

[18] This liturgy recounts the Harrowing of Hell, at which time, according to Orthodox theology, the righteous dead were raised from Hades and entered into Paradise.

Although this vespers liturgy begins Sunday in the usual manner, including the resurrectional stichera of the first tone, the feast of Pascha begins in the middle of the night, at the time Christ rose from the dead, while the text of and rubrics for Saturday's liturgy are found in the Triodion, the Lenten liturgical book.

Before the Gospel reading, in place of the "Alleluia" sung at every other Liturgy of the year, is a prokeimenon during which, in the Russian tradition, all vestments and decorations of the church are quickly and dramatically changed from black to white.

At the closing of this vespers/liturgy is a modified artoklasia at which bread, wine, and dates or figs are blessed and partaken of by the faithful as sustenance for the remainder of the fast.

Traditionally, the principal liturgy which corresponds to the Easter Vigil in Eastern and Western rites would be conducted in the early hours of the morning, typically at around 3 a.m. on Sunday.

In many cities, however, the liturgy is conducted after 6:00 p.m. on Saturday; this is also the case for practical reasons in former Christian lands of the Oriental Orthodox rite which now have Muslim majorities.

In a loud voice, the chief celebrant announces to the congregation, “Dearly beloved, I bring you all news of great joy.

Our Lord Jesus Christ has resurrected from the dead and defeated His enemies.” Amid the ringing of the hand-bells and church-bells, the congregation responds, "Truly, we believe that He rises!” This is done three times.

The Easter Procession follows, in which the entire congregation, holding lighted candles, participates with the celebrants and the altar servers.

At the end of the liturgy, instead of the normal touching by the Chief Celebrant's hand of the foreheads of each member of the congregation in blessing, the Easter Cross is used.