From the Desk of Donna Williams Smith, D.Min.
IN THE Christian church, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter is observed with special solemnity as a time of devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ. In the Greek and Roman liturgical books, it is called the Great Week because God did great deeds during this week. THE NAME Holy Week was used in the 4th century by St. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, and St. Epiphanius of Constantia.
ORIGINALLY, only Good Friday and Holy Saturday were observed as Holy days. Later, Wednesday was added, in commemoration of the day on which Judas plotted to betray Jesus. By the beginning of the 3rd century, the other days of the week had been added as holy days. The pre-Nicene church—i.e., before the First Council of Nicaea in 325—concentrated its attention on the celebration of one great feast on the night between Saturday and Easter Sunday morning. This feast was celebrated as the Christian Passover, the Jewish holiday commemorating the Hebrews’ liberation from slavery in Egypt. 1
1 Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (Retrieved March 25, 2025). Holy Week. Encyclopedia Britannica.
