The Great Vigil of Easter Across Our Diocese

The Great Vigil of Easter dates from at least the second century, and it is described in Hippolytus’s Apostolic Tradition. The candidates for baptism spent the night in vigil, where they listened to readings and instructions. At cockcrow, the baptismal water was blessed and the candidates were baptized.

The present day liturgy is intended as the first (and arguably, the primary) celebration of Easter in the BCP (pp. 284-295). It is also known as the Great Vigil. The service begins in darkness, sometime between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter, and consists of four parts:

• The Service of Light (kindling of new fire, lighting the Paschal candle, the Exsultet)
• The Service of Lessons (readings from the Hebrew Scriptures interspersed with psalms, canticles, and prayers)
• Holy Baptism or the Renewal of Baptismal Vows
• The Eucharist.

Through this liturgy, the BCP recovers an ancient practice of keeping the Easter feast. Believers would gather in the hours of darkness ending at dawn on Easter to hear scripture and offer prayer. This night-long service of prayerful watching anticipated the baptisms that would come at first light and the Easter Eucharist. Easter was the primary baptismal occasion for the early church to the practical exclusion of all others. This practice linked the meanings of Christ’s dying and rising to the understanding of baptism. For a video introduction from The Episcopal Church click HERE.

Find a church near you to attend the Great Vigil of Easter

5:00 PM
St. Philip’s, Annapolis & St. Luke’s, Eastport MD,
Gathering at 730 Bestgate Rd, Annapolis, 21401

6:30 PM
St. John’s Parish, Hagerstown, and the Episcopal Churches of Washington County,
Gathering at 101 South Prospect Street, Hagerstown 21740

7:00 PM
All Saints, Frederick, 106 W. Church Street, Frederick, 21701
Cathedral of the Incarnation, 4 E University Pkwy, Baltimore, 21218
Emmanuel, Bel Air, 303 N. Main Street, Bel Air, 21014
Memorial, Baltimore, 1407 Bolton St, Baltimore, MD 21217
St. Francis, Timonium (Easter Vigil is in Spanish), 2216 Pot Spring Road, Timonium, 21093
St. Mary’s, Abingdon, 1 Saint Mary’s Church Road, Abingdon, 21009
St. Mark’s, Highland, 12700 Hall Shop Rd, Highland, MD 20777

7:30 PM
St. Anne’s, Annapolis, 2 Church Circle, Annapolis, 21401
St. Bartholomew’s, Baltimore, 4711 Edmondson Ave, Baltimore, 21229
St. George’s, Hampstead, 2324 Cape Horn Rd, Hampstead, 21074

8:00 PM
Grace and Saint Peter’s, Baltimore, 707 Park Avenue, Baltimore, 21201
St. Martin’s in-the-Field, Severna Park, 375 Benfield Road, Severna Park, 21146
St. Peter’s, Ellicott City, 3695 Rogers Ave, Ellicott City, 21043