So what is the Easter Triduum? And why don't we count it as four days? The Easter Triduum is a single "event" celebrating the mystery of Christ's passion, death and resurrection, i.e., the basis for the Christian faith. In this, the Easter Triduum is the most significant period of the church year.

The Triduum begins at sunset on Maundy Thursday and ends at sunset on Easter, so we are talking about three 24-hour periods. Why? We are counting the days as the Hebrews did, beginning and ending at dusk. The three days of the Easter Triduum, therefore, are Day #1 from dusk on Maundy Thursday to dusk on Good Friday; Day #2 from dusk on Good Friday to dusk on Holy Saturday; and Day #3 from dusk on Holy Saturday to dusk on Easter Sunday.

Day #1: The Last Supper to the Crucifixion
The first day of the Triduum begins with remembrance of the "Last Supper", the Passover meal that Jesus shared with his disciples in the upper room. Judas left the assemblage during the meal, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, and the remaining disciples went with him. Judas betrayed Jesus. Jesus was arrested and spent the night being tried. Sometime after daybreak, Jesus was taken to Golgotha where he was crucified and died. He was buried in the tomb just before sunset on Friday. This is why we strip the altar and the chancel at the end of the Maundy Thursday service. We take the symbols of Christ's presence and remove them, leaving empty space. We wash the altar just as one would to prepare a body for burial. We allow ourselves to enter symbolically into the grief and emptiness the disciples must have experienced when Jesus, the symbol of their hope, was taken from them.

Day #2: The Tomb
On the second day, Jesus' body rested in the tomb. This would have been the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday). Although there is a liturgy in the prayer book for Holy Saturday (the name given to the daylight hours), we have chosen to let the church be silent, tomblike and still. Personal prayer is encouraged while there is light but there is no formal liturgy offered, just the echo of Good Friday and the shock of earlier events.

Day #3: The Resurrection
On the third day, which the Hebrews called the "first day of the week" (or Sunday as we would know it) Jesus rose from the grave. But remember that the third day begins at sundown on Saturday. The Easter Vigil and the first Eucharist of Easter, take place Saturday night, the beginning of that third day. We move from darkness into light, from death to new life, from brokenness and loss, to triumph and life everlasting. The Easter Vigil has been called the Queen of the Liturgy because of its drama, beauty and depth. The bodily Resurrection of our Lord is the event that makes Christianity more than simply good teaching or a satisfying system of ethics. In the Vigil we are reminded that when Christ rose he pulled us up from the clutches of sin and death toward a life full of meaning and without end.

The tradition of the Easter Triduum in the church is a single celebration that lasts from the Maundy Thursday service to the Easter services on Sunday morning.

At the Maundy Thursday service we hear the story of the Last Supper, the betrayal, and the arrest. At the end of the service, the altar is stripped and washed. Lights in the church are dimmed. There is no processional at the end because the Triduum celebration does not end; it will continue until Sunday.

The Good Friday service begins in silence with no processional because, remember, it is a continuation of the celebration that began on Thursday. The readings are about the crucifixion. Again, the service ends with silence and there is no procession out.

The Easter Vigil begins in darkness with the lighting of the Paschal candle and, from it, the congregational candles. This service includes the Baptism Ceremony and the Eucharist. The lights are turned up just before the Eucharist and the music is joyful as we remember Christ's resurrection. This joyous celebration continues on Easter morning with the Sunday services.