HOLY WEEK (i8 o,ucls cry&An, &ryia or Twv ayiwv, ii7Porbaryias, alrpaKTos, also i)Epac RraOn,uaTwv, i77.tfpac o-Tavpiavcau hebdomas [or septimana] major, sancta, authentica [i.e. canonizata, du Cange], ultima, poenosa, luctuosa, nigra, inoificiosa, mut

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HOLY WEEK (i8 o,ucls cry&An, &ryia or Twv ayiwv, ii7Porbaryias, alrpaKTos, also i)Epac RraOn,uaTwv, i77.tfpac o-Tavpiavcau hebdomas [or septimana] major, sancta, authentica [i.e. canonizata, du Cange], ultima, poenosa, luctuosa, nigra, inoificiosa, mut a, crucis, lamentationum, indulgentiae), in the Christian ecclesiastical year the

week

WEEK (from A.S. wicu, Germanic *wikon, probably=
change
- CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)
, turn)

immediately preceding Easter. The earliest allusion to the custom of marking this

week

WEEK (from A.S. wicu, Germanic *wikon, probably=
change
- CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)
, turn)

as a whole with

special

SPECIAL

observances is to be found in the

Apostolical

APOSTOLICAL

Constitutions (v. 18, 19), dating from the latter half of the 3rd century A.D.

Abstinence

ABSTINENCE (from Lat. abstinere, to abstain)

from wine and flesh is there commanded for all the days, while for the Friday and Saturday an absolute fast is enjoined.

Dionysius

DIONYSIUS
DIONYSIUS (c. 432–367 B.C.)

Alexandrinus also, in his canonical epistle (260 A.D.), refers to the six fasting days (Ei; Tcov v'17lYTECWV i)jtpae) in a manner which implies that the observance of them had already become an established usage in his time. There is some doubt about the genuineness of an

ordinance

ORDINANCE
ORDINANCE, or ORDONNANCE

attributed to

Constantine

CONSTANTINE

, in which

abstinence

ABSTINENCE (from Lat. abstinere, to abstain)

from public business was enforced for the seven days, immediately preceding Easter Sunday, and also for the seven which followed it; the Codex Theodosianus, however, is explicit in ordering that all actions at law should cease, and the doors of all courts of law be closed during those fifteen days (1. ii. tit. viii.). Of the particular days of the "

great

GREAT

week " the earliest to emerge into

special

SPECIAL

prominence was naturally Good Friday. Next came the Sabbatum Magnum (Holy Saturday or Easter Eve) with its vigil, which
in the early church was associated with an expectation that the second advent would occur on an Easter Sunday.
For details of the ceremonial observed in the Roman Catholic Church during this week, reference must be made to the Missal and Breviary. In the Eastern Church the week is marked by similar practices, but with less elaboration and differentiation of rite. See also EASTER, GOOD FRIDAY, MAUNDY THURSDAY, PALM SUNDAY and PASSION WEEK.

End of Article: HOLY WEEK (i8 o,ucls cry&An, &ryia or Twv ayiwv, ii7Porbaryias, alrpaKTos, also i)Epac RraOn,uaTwv, i77.tfpac o-Tavpiavcau hebdomas [or septimana] major, sancta, authentica [i.e. canonizata, du Cange], ultima, poenosa, luctuosa, nigra, inoificiosa, mut

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