Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday
In the early Church this was the only Saturday on which fasting was permitted (Constit. Apost., VII, 23), and the fast was one of special severity

Catholic Encyclopedia. . 2006.

Holy Saturday
    Holy Saturday
     Catholic_Encyclopedia Holy Saturday
    In the primitive Church Holy Saturday was known as Great, or Grand, Saturday, Holy Saturday, the Angelic Night, the Vigil of Easter, etc. It is no longer, like Maundy Thursday, a day of joy, but one of joy and sadness intermingled; it is the close of the season of Lent and penance, and the beginning of paschal time, which is one of rejoicing.
    By a noteworthy exception, in the early Church this was the only Saturday on which fasting was permitted (Constit. Apost., VII, 23), and the fast was one of special severity. Dating from the time of St. Irenaeus, an absolute fast from every kind of food was observed for the forty hours preceding the feast of Easter, and although the moment assigned for breaking the fast at dawn on Sunday varied according to time and country, the abstinence from food on Holy Saturday was general.
    The night of the vigil of Easter has undergone a strange displacement. During the first six or seven centuries, ceremonies were in progress throughout the entire night, so that the Alleluia coincided with the day and moment of the Resurrection. In the eighth century these same ceremonies were held on Saturday afternoon and, by a singular anachronism, were later on conducted on Saturday morning, thus the time for carrying out the solemnity was advanced almost a whole day. Thanks to this change, special services were now assigned to Holy Saturday whereas, beforehand, it had had none until the late hour of the vigil.
    This vigil opened with the blessing of the new fire, the lighting of lamps and candles and of the paschal candle, ceremonies that have lost much of their symbolism by being anticipated and advanced from twilight to broad daylight. St. Cyril of Jerusalem spoke of this night that was as bright as day, and Constantine the Great added unprecedented splendour to its brilliancy by a profusion of lamps and enormous torches, so that not only basilicas, but private houses, streets, and public squares were resplendent with the light that was symbolic of the Risen Christ. The assembled faithful gave themselves up to common prayer, the singing of psalms and hymns, and the reading of the Scriptures commentated by the bishop or priests. The vigil of Easter was especially devoted to the baptism of catechumens who, in the more important churches, were very numerous. On the Holy Saturday following the deposition of St. John Chrysostom from the See of Constantinople, there were 3000 catechumens in this church alone. Such numbers were, of course, only encountered in large cities; nevertheless, as Holy Saturday and the vigil of Pentecost were the only days on which baptism was administered, even in smaller churches there was always a goodly number of catechumens. This meeting of people in the darkness of the night often occasioned abuses which the clergy felt powerless to prevent by active supervision unless by so anticipating the ceremonies that all of them could take place in daylight. Rabanus Maurus, an ecclesiastical writer of the ninth century (De cleric. Instit., II, 28), gives a detailed account of the ceremony of Holy Saturday. The congregation remained silent in the church awaiting the dawn of the Resurrection, joining at intervals in psalmody and chant and listening to the reading of the lessons. These rites were identical with those in the primitive Church and were solemnized at the same hours, as the faithful throughout the world had not yet consented to anticipate the Easter vigil and it was only during the Middle Ages that uniformity on this point was established.
    H. LECLERCQ
    Transcribed by Robert B. Olson Offered to Almighty God for the gifts of piety and devotion for all members of His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


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  • Holy Saturday — Holy Ho ly, a. [Compar. {Holier}; superl. {Holiest}.] [OE. holi, hali, AS. h[=a]lig, fr. h[ae]l health, salvation, happiness, fr. h[=a]l whole, well; akin to OS. h?lag, D. & G. heilig, OHG. heilac, Dan. hellig, Sw. helig, Icel. heilagr. See… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Holy Saturday — (Latin: Sabbatum Sanctum ) is the day after Good Friday. It is the day before Easter and the last day of Holy Week, in which Christians prepare for Easter.On this day the church commemorates the time that Jesus Christ lay in the tomb and that he… …   Wikipedia

  • Holy Saturday — n. the Saturday before Easter …   English World dictionary

  • Holy Saturday — the Saturday in Holy Week. [1350 1400; ME] * * * ▪ Christianity also called  Easter Vigil,         Christian religious observance that ends the Lenten season, falling on the day before Easter Sunday. The early church celebrated the end of Lent… …   Universalium

  • Holy Saturday —    This name (from the Latin Saturni dies, meaning Saturn s day ) refers to the day before Easter. Holy Saturday is part of the Paschal Triduum …   Glossary of theological terms

  • Holy Saturday — /hoʊli ˈsætədeɪ/ (say hohlee satuhday) noun the Saturday in Holy Week …  

  • Holy Saturday — noun the Saturday before Easter; the last day of Lent • Hypernyms: ↑Christian holy day …   Useful english dictionary

  • Holy Saturday — noun Date: 14th century the Saturday before Easter …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Holy Saturday — noun The Saturday immediately after Good Friday and before Easter …   Wiktionary

  • Holy Saturday — noun the Saturday preceding Easter Sunday …   English new terms dictionary

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