Encyclopedia of Feasts and Occasions

Palm Sunday and the Holy Pascha Week

Palm Sunday and the Holy Pascha Week

Let us receive Christ as a King and invite Him to cleanse our temples.
The Covenant Thursday Liturgy.
The Lord’s kingship over us is total, not partial.
Preparation for the Liturgies through repentance.
Meditations on palm branches.
The Holy Pascha is a period of vigilance and precision.
The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.
A period of meditation on redemption.
Symbols of the olive branches.
The Holy Pascha Week is a week of love.
The General Funeral and its emotions.
Following the steps of Christ.
The spirituality of the Holy Pascha Week.
A time of contrition and thanksgiving.
A period of spiritual storage.
A week of watching and reading.
Do not lose your spiritual feelings outside the church.
Nor during the feast and the Holy Fifty Days.

Palm Sunday is one of the Lord’s feasts, in which the Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem as a King amidst the love, shouts, and welcome of the crowds. We celebrate this day as a feast, receiving Him with hymns of joy as a King over us—a spiritual King, not an earthly one as the Jews desired.
We receive Him as King over our hearts, minds, emotions, and our entire lives.
On this blessed day, we surrender all that is within us to the Lord so that He may reign over us, refusing that any of our members—tongue, hand, eye, heart, or senses—should rebel against the Kingdom of Christ.
And we do not want to celebrate this feast ritually only, but practically as well.

Let us remember that on this day, the Lord cleansed the temple. In this, we see a spiritual symbol of cleansing our hearts and bodies, which are temples of God, as St. Paul the Apostle said: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16–17).
Let us remember the holiness of our personal temples on the day Christ cleansed the temple.
Let us ask Him to cleanse our temples, even with the same severity He used on that day, if we do not come to Him with love and do not walk in purity of life out of love for goodness. Let us accept that the Lord may deal with us sternly for our own good. And if we are unable to purify ourselves, let Him do this work of purification in us in the way He sees fit. We do not fear the whip of the Lord but rather say to Him:

“O Mighty One, holding the whip in Your hand, while love fills Your tearful eyes…”

We beseech Him to cleanse our temples so that we may be worthy of His reign over them.
The heart over which the Lord reigns is a pure heart. But the impure heart testifies against itself that the Lord does not reign there—it is not a Palm Sunday heart. It has not received Christ as King nor allowed Him to cleanse His temple.
The Lord’s kingship over us must be complete, not partial.
The smallest part within you that is not owned by the Lord exposes your whole life to ruin. It is a passage through which Satan enters to destroy your entire life. Therefore, on Palm Sunday, search your heart: what part of you does the Lord not yet possess? And how can you surrender it to Him?

On Palm Sunday, they greeted the Lord with palm branches. What spiritual meaning does this hold?

Palm Branches

1. The palm branches we use are taken from the heart of the palm tree. Even the vendors call out, “Your heart, O Christian.” This heart we offer to God, who said, “My son, give Me your heart.” (Proverbs 23:26).

2. The heart of the palm is new and white—two traits that suit a pure heart: the white heart renewed by baptism. For the palm heart represents new birth, described by the Apostle as “newness of life” (Romans 6:4) and “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

3. In addition to being the palm’s heart, new and white, it is also soft and pliable, surrendering itself to its maker to be shaped as he wishes.
   Thus, it gives us a lesson in submission—the life in which a person leaves himself in God’s hands to act as He wills, in perfect obedience, like soft clay in the potter’s hands, forming it into a vessel of honor (Romans 9:21).
   We have become accustomed to weaving the palm heart beautifully into shapes like a cross, an offering, or a heart—all carrying deep meanings and symbols.

4. The palm also reminds us of the tree to which the righteous are likened: “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.” (Psalm 92:12).

5. Perhaps it is likened to the palm for its height and its continual upward growth toward heaven.
   The palm continually grows, rising year by year—a symbol of the righteous man who continually grows spiritually, with ever-increasing stature, while his roots deepen and strengthen, enabling him to bear all this height.

6. The palm stands firm though the wind may blow.
   Storms may shake it but cannot uproot it, for it is well-rooted, though slender in appearance.

7. The palm represents asceticism, contentment, and endurance.
   It endures thirst, heat, and cold. You may leave it long without water, yet it survives. Hence, it is the queen of desert plants—and the food of hermits. It reminds us of St. Abba Onuphrius, who lived on dates in the wilderness, and of St. Paul the First Hermit, whose garment was made of palm fibers or leaves.

8. The palm is a fruitful and beneficial tree.
   Its fruit (dates) provides great nourishment and can be preserved long without spoiling.
   Thus, the righteous is like it in vitality and usefulness, and in many other symbolic ways. In this manner, they received Christ with palm branches full of such meanings.

They also received Him with olive branches.

1. The olive symbolizes peace, since the dove carried an olive branch to our father Noah, announcing that the floodwaters had receded from the earth.

2. The olive reminds us of the oil which symbolizes the Holy Spirit—from it came the sacred anointing oil (Exodus 30:24–25).

When you carry olive branches, do you remember that you have peace with God?
Do you truly receive Christ with joy, or do you stand against Him, like those who opposed Him, because something within you refuses His teaching?

A very important matter you should deeply consider on Palm Sunday is the General Funeral and the emotions you feel during its prayers.

The General Funeral
The Church holds it for the souls of those who may depart during the Holy Pascha Week. During this prayer, every person should be ready to meet his God, for no one can guarantee even one more day of life. Thus, one stands in church as though praying for himself, or for relatives and friends who have passed away, or thinking in general about the vanity of the world and the importance of eternity.

When the feast ends, from the evening of Palm Sunday begins the Holy Pascha Week.

The Holy Pascha Week
The Holy Pascha Week is the holiest week of the entire year—with its deep hymns, selected readings, prayers, sermons, and memories of the final days of Christ’s earthly life. It carries profound pain and impact.
He who does not benefit spiritually from the Holy Week will not easily benefit at another time!
It is a reservoir of spiritual richness for the whole year. It includes important Liturgies—if one misses one, he can attend another: Palm Sunday, Covenant Thursday, Holy Saturday, and finally the Resurrection.
Let each person prepare to receive Communion during this sacred period with a heart full of spiritual feelings.

The Covenant Thursday Liturgy is the foundation of all Liturgies. In it, we remember the first Communion of the disciples.
It is also the shortest Liturgy and is preceded by the Lakan, symbolizing the cleansing of the Apostles’ feet (John 13:10). Almost all devout people partake of Communion on this holy Thursday unless prevented by circumstances beyond their control. It is the Holy Thursday—and the next most sacred Thursday is the Ascension Thursday.

People prepare for the Liturgies through repentance, for Holy Week is a week of repentance.
A true and living heart cannot tolerate sin during this week, knowing that every sin is pain to Christ—and we have already caused Him enough pain. Therefore, the Holy Pascha Week is marked by great caution and precision, for sin becomes even uglier when committed during sacred days.
He who sins during holy days adds indifference to his sin—showing contempt for the holiness of the days and revealing that his heart is unmoved by the spiritual atmosphere requiring reverence and awe.

During Holy Week, believers abstain from all delicious foods.
They refrain even from plant-based foods that are sweet or rich. Many also avoid all cooked foods, eating nothing made with oil. Most devout people eat only bread and salt; if their health is weak, they add a little seasoning.
He who refrains from food in such a way should also refrain from all sin. Looking upon Christ’s suffering, he feels convicted, knowing that “we all like sheep have gone astray… and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6).
Thus He became “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29).
He offered Himself as an atonement for our sins (1 John 2:3)—the Just for the unjust.

Holy Week is a week of meditation, especially on atonement and redemption.
The subject of redemption is profound and worthy of contemplation and preaching—not only doctrinally, but even more from the perspective of divine love: “For God so loved… that He gave.” (John 3:16). “We love Him because He first loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10).
Thus, we look at the Crucified One as the sacrifice of love.
In this way, Holy Week becomes a week of love between God and humanity.
We love Him who loved us and died for us while we were under the sentence of death, “dead in sins.” (Colossians 2:13). While we were dead, He bore death for us, paid our debt, and gave us life in Himself. While we were “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3), He drank the cup of wrath on our behalf to the last drop.
He loved us while we were unworthy, forgave us freely, and saved us by His grace (Ephesians 2:5).

Holy Week is a time to follow Christ step by step—
“Let us go forth to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.” (Hebrews 13:13). We follow His every movement, listen to His words, and sing our praises to Him in love, saying: “Thine is the power, the glory, the blessing, and the majesty forever and ever.”

Christ should fill our thoughts deeply throughout this week—not only our thoughts but our hearts and actions as well.
We express our feelings through the visible rites, entering into “the fellowship of His sufferings” (Philippians 3:10).
The church is draped in black everywhere. The sanctuary is closed except during specific hours on Thursday and Saturday. No one sits in the sanctuary stalls—all are outside the veil, clergy and laity alike. The prayers are chanted in sorrowful tones unique to this week. There is no Agpeya or petitions except those of the Pascha. All worshippers live in asceticism and fasting. The church’s rites differ from all the world’s—it is a unique week, focused entirely on one theme: the Passion of Christ.

He bore our pains and sorrows on the Cross, as Isaiah said: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows… He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:4–5).
It is only fitting that we stand with Him in remembrance of His sufferings—with all our hearts, senses, and minds—trying to forget everything except His Passion and the sins that caused it.

Thus, Holy Week is an appropriate time to remember all our sins—the sins Christ bore on our behalf, so we might not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Let us remember them to repent, humble ourselves, and offer them to the Lord to erase by His blood, as we say to Him: We are the ones deserving crucifixion and death and pain, but Yours is the power and glory and blessing and majesty forever and ever, Amen.

As we present our sins, let us also offer our thanksgiving for His great redemption.
We thank Him for His incarnation and self-emptying, for His love that made Him take our nature and become in the likeness of man (Philippians 2:7–8).
We thank Him for bearing our shame and for His grace in all His goodness, remembering His gifts one by one.

Holy Week is also a week of watching with Christ, apologizing for the three disciples who could not watch with Him for one hour (Matthew 26:40).
We watch with Him all week—five hours of prayer by day and five by night. Sometimes we spend the whole night in prayer (as on the Eve of the Apocalypse), and sometimes the whole day (as on Thursday and Friday). We have no occupation except sitting beside the Lord, following His story hour by hour.

Therefore, Holy Week is also a week of reading—a week for the Holy Bible.
We read not only the passages about His Passion and final week but also the four Gospels, Revelation, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and all hymns and prayers from the Old Testament—every prophecy about the Lakan, and about Christ’s sufferings, with matching psalms.
These are very concentrated readings that fill us with the Word of God in all its depth.
We need to follow these readings with meditation so they enter our understanding and hearts, transforming into feelings and a deeper relationship with the Lord. Each day has its special meditations and sermons, as in the writings of St. Jacob of Serugh. Many books have been written about Holy Week, its rites, readings, and meditations.

I hope this holy week does not lose its impact on your heart.
May your spirituality during it be full of seriousness, and may your feelings be bound to Christ’s sufferings and the great salvation He brought to humanity.
Let this Pascha period be one of repentance, reconciliation with God, and a new beginning.

I offer you two very important pieces of advice, dear reader:

1. Let your emotions outside the church be like those inside!
   Inside the church, you are moved by its spiritual rites, readings, and hymns—your heart is protected, your emotions sanctified, and perhaps the devil cannot fight you there. But he waits for you outside to steal your spiritual fruits and strip you of all that grace has given you.
   Therefore, outside the church, beware of vain talk, fruitless discussions, and gatherings that lead to lukewarmness and loss of spiritual fervor.

2. Beware also lest you lose in the feast and the Fifty Days what you have gained during the fast!
   Guard your spiritual treasure—do not waste it through careless living as the prodigal son did (Luke 15:13). Set firm spiritual rules you never cross or challenge. Consider the fasting days as spiritual training, not for temporary virtues but for permanent spiritual growth.

I wish to congratulate you on the Holy Pascha Week.
For congratulations are not only for feasts, but fasts are even more worthy of them for their spiritual depth.
May you all be well every year.

—
Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Al-Watani Newspaper on April 27, 1986

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