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112-630: The San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites is a Holy Week re-enactment of Christ's Passion and Death which takes place in Barangay San Pedro Cutud , San Fernando , Pampanga in the Philippines . It includes a passion play culminating with the actual nailing of at least three penitents to a wooden cross atop the makeshift Calvary. Every year on Good Friday or the Friday before Easter a dozen or so penitents - mostly men but with

224-699: A Lovefeast on Good Friday as they receive Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday . Communicants of the Moravian Church practice the Good Friday tradition of cleaning gravestones in Moravian cemeteries . Holy Saturday is the day between the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection. As the Sabbath day , the Gospel accounts all note that Jesus was hurriedly buried in a cave tomb after his crucifixion, with

336-405: A Persian general at the hands of Athenians in about 479 BC: "They nailed him to a plank and hung him up ... this Artayctes who suffered death by crucifixion." The Commentary on Herodotus by How and Wells remarks: "They crucified him with hands and feet stretched out and nailed to cross-pieces; cf. vii.33. This act, supposedly unusual on the part of Greeks, may be explained by the enormity of

448-630: A choir inside the open doors of the church sings the Miserere by Manoel Dias de Oliveria, while the black box is brought inside the church, and people come in to kiss the human-sized figure of Christ. Processions on Tuesday and Wednesday stop at different chapels at each of which a large painting portrays episodes of the Way of the Cross and a related hymn is sung at each. On Thursday morning the Chrism Mass

560-794: A church). The Mass of the Lord's Supper commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus with his Twelve Apostles , "the institution of the Eucharist , the institution of the priesthood , and the commandment of brotherly love that Jesus gave after washing the feet of his disciples." All the bells of the church , including altar bells, may be rung during the Gloria in Excelsis Deo of the Mass (the Gloria

672-444: A cross is made of posts (plural) and nails and that the arms of the crucified are outstretched. Speaking of the generic execution cross, Irenaeus ( c.  130–202 ), a Christian writer, describes it as composed of an upright and a transverse beam, sometimes with a small projection in the upright. New Testament writings about the crucifixion of Jesus do not specify the shape of that cross, but subsequent early writings liken it to

784-468: A crucifixion was an execution, it was also a humiliation, by making the condemned as vulnerable as possible. Although artists have traditionally depicted the figure on a cross with a loin cloth or a covering of the genitals, the person being crucified was usually stripped naked. Writings by Seneca the Younger state some victims suffered a stick forced upwards through their groin. Despite its frequent use by

896-537: A drama is performed by the youth. Crucifixion The crucifixion of Jesus is central to Christianity and the cross (sometimes depicted with Jesus nailed to it ) is Christianity's preeminent religious symbol . His death is the most prominent example of crucifixion in history, which in turn has led many cultures in the modern world to associate the execution method closely with Jesus and with Christian spirituality. Other figures in Christianity (such as

1008-399: A final thrust through the throat. The corpse was left on the cross for three days. If one condemned to crucifixion died in prison, his body was pickled and the punishment executed on the dead body. Under Toyotomi Hideyoshi , one of the great 16th-century unifiers, crucifixion upside down (i.e, sakasaharitsuke ) was frequently used. Water crucifixion ( mizuharitsuke ) awaited mostly Christians:

1120-813: A harmony of the Gospel stories, responding to the actions in hymns, prayers and litanies, beginning on the eve of Palm Sunday and culminating in the Easter Morning or Easter Sunrise service begun by the Moravians in 1732. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, complete: Palm and Passion Sunday (Latin Dominica in Palmis de Passione Domini ). Traditionally, Palm Sunday commemorates the Triumphal entry into Jerusalem described in all four canonical gospels . As described in these accounts, Christ's entry into Jerusalem

1232-618: A plank", together with anaskolopizo ( ἀνασκολοπίζω " impale "). In earlier pre-Roman Greek texts anastauro usually means "impale". The Greek used in the Christian New Testament uses four verbs, three of them based upon stauros ( σταυρός ), usually translated "cross". The most common term is stauroo ( σταυρόω ), "to crucify", occurring 46 times; sustauroo ( συσταυρόω ), "to crucify with" or "alongside" occurs five times, while anastauroo ( ἀνασταυρόω ), "to crucify again" occurs only once at

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1344-588: A practice also kept in other denominations. In the Catholic Church, on this day the private celebration of Mass is forbidden. Thus, apart from the Chrism Mass for the blessing of the Holy Oils that the diocesan bishop may celebrate on the morning of Holy Thursday , but also on some other day close to Easter, the only Mass on this day is the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper , which inaugurates

1456-1056: A rope. The "Cutud Lenten Rites" has been registered in the Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory of the Philippines called 'Pinagmulan.' The move was initiated by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts , the main cultural agency of the Republic of the Philippines. The rites may be nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists , where 3 other Philippine intangible heritages have already been inscribed. Holy Week Holy Week ( Koinē Greek : Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς , romanized:  Hagía kaì Megálē Hebdomás , lit.   'Holy and Great Week')

1568-404: A square shaft 10 millimetres ( 3 ⁄ 8  in) across. The titulus would also be fastened to the cross to notify onlookers of the person's name and crime as they hung on the cross, further maximizing the public impact. There may have been considerable variation in the position in which prisoners were nailed to their crosses and how their bodies were supported while they died. Seneca

1680-461: A stake, or affixed to a tree, upright pole (a crux simplex ), or to a combination of an upright (in Latin, stipes ) and a crossbeam (in Latin, patibulum ). Seneca the Younger wrote: "I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to the ground; some impale their private parts; others stretch out their arms on the gibbet". Crucifixion

1792-401: A tree, not dedicated to any particular gods, and flogging him to death. Tertullian mentions a 1st-century AD case in which trees were used for crucifixion, but Seneca the Younger earlier used the phrase infelix lignum (unfortunate wood) for the transom ("patibulum") or the whole cross. Plautus and Plutarch are the two main sources for accounts of criminals carrying their own patibula to

1904-982: Is chanted or recited. Tenebrae liturgies are celebrated by some parishes of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church , the Polish National Catholic Church , the Lutheran Churches , the Moravian Church , the Anglican Communion , the Methodist Churches , and Western Rite Orthodoxy within the Eastern Orthodox Church . Maundy Thursday (also known as Holy Thursday) commemorates the Last Supper , where Christ lays out

2016-402: Is a wickedness; to put him to death is almost parricide. What shall I say of crucifying him? So guilty an action cannot by any possibility be adequately expressed by any name bad enough for it." Frequently, the legs of the person executed were broken or shattered with an iron club , an act called crurifragium , which was also frequently applied without crucifixion to slaves. This act hastened

2128-403: Is believed by the archeologists to confirm the use of this method in ancient Rome. The length of time required to reach death could range from hours to days depending on method, the victim's health, and the environment. A theory attributed to Pierre Barbet held that, when the whole body weight was supported by the stretched arms, the typical cause of death was asphyxiation . He wrote that

2240-533: Is celebrated, with a blessing of the oils. Good Friday afternoon ceremonies are followed by the week's main spectacle of the Taking Down from the Cross in front of the cathedral followed by the Funeral Procession of Our Dead Lord. The drama shows Christ being taken from the cross and placed in a coffin, which is then taken around to the accompaniment of the "Song of Veronica". On Saturday morning

2352-446: Is customary to have a blessing of palm leaves or other branches, for example olive branches. The blessing ceremony includes the reading of a Gospel account of Jesus humbly riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, reminiscent of a Davidic victory procession, and people placing palm and other branches on the ground before him. Immediately following this great time of celebration over the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, he begins his journey to

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2464-408: Is discredited as the primary cause of death from crucifixion. There is scholarly support for several possible non-asphyxiation causes of death: heart failure or arrhythmia , hypovolemic shock , acidosis , dehydration , and pulmonary embolism . Death could result from any combination of those factors, or from other causes, including sepsis following infection due to the wounds caused by

2576-692: Is followed by a psalm or canticle (such as Exodus 15:1–18 and a prayer relating what has been read to the Mystery of Christ. After the Old Testament readings conclude, the Gloria in excelsis Deo , which has been suspended during Lent, is intoned and bells are rung. A reading from the Epistle to the Romans is proclaimed. The Alleluia is sung for the first time since the beginning of Lent. The Gospel of

2688-529: Is gone. The lamp or candle usually situated next to the tabernacle denoting the presence of Christ is blown out. In the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian traditions, the Easter Vigil, one of the longest and most solemn of liturgical liturgies, lasts up to three or four hours, consists of four parts: The Liturgy begins after sundown on Holy Saturday as the crowd gathers inside

2800-523: Is not traditionally sung on Sundays in Lent). The bells then fall silent and the organ and other musical instruments may be used only to support the singing until the Gloria at the Easter Vigil . The Roman Missal recommends that, if considered pastorally appropriate, the priest should, immediately after the homily, celebrate the rite of washing the feet of customarily twelve men, recalling the number of

2912-575: Is often called an " altar of repose ". In some places, notably the Philippines and Malta, Catholics will travel from church to church praying at each church's altar of repose in a practice called "Visita Iglesia" or Seven Churches Visitation . In Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist churches, the altar has black paraments or the altar cloths are removed altogether. At the conclusion of the Maundy Thursday liturgy in Lutheran Churches,

3024-597: Is reduced." In some countries, such as Malta, Philippines, Italy, and Spain processions with statues representing the Passion of Christ are held. In some parishes of the Anglican Church, Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, and Methodist Church, the " Three Hours Devotion " is observed. This traditionally consists of a series of sermons, interspersed with singing, one on each of the Seven Last Words from

3136-572: Is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity . For all Christian traditions, it is a moveable observance . In Eastern Christianity , which also calls it Great Week , it is the week following Great Lent and Lazarus Saturday , starting on the evening of Palm Sunday and concluding on the evening of Great Saturday . In Western Christianity , Holy Week is the sixth and last week of Lent , beginning with Palm Sunday and concluding on Holy Saturday . Holy Week begins with

3248-555: Is widely observed as a fast day . A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent recommends the Lutheran guideline to "fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with only one simple meal during the day, usually without meat". Western Catholic Church practice is to have only one full meal with, if needed, two small snacks that together do not make a full meal. The Anglican Communion defines fasting more generically as: "The amount of food eaten

3360-487: The Ancient Roman custom of crucifixion may have developed out of a primitive custom of arbori suspendere —hanging on an arbor infelix ("inauspicious tree") dedicated to the gods of the nether world. This hypothesis is rejected by William A. Oldfather, who shows that this form of execution (the supplicium more maiorum , punishment in accordance with the custom of our ancestors) consisted of suspending someone from

3472-654: The Epistle to the Hebrews 6:6 . Prospegnumi ( προσπήγνυμι ), "to fix or fasten to, impale, crucify" occurs only once, at the Acts of the Apostles 2:23 . The English term cross derives from the Latin word crux , which classically referred to a tree or any construction of wood used to hang criminals as a form of execution. The term later came to refer specifically to a cross. The related term crucifix derives from

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3584-591: The Great Feasts and emphasize the theme of resurrection. Many television channels air films related to Holy Week, such as The Ten Commandments , The Greatest Story Ever Told and The Jesus Film . Holy Week in the liturgical year is the week immediately before Easter. The earliest allusion to the custom of marking this week as a whole with special observances is to be found in the Apostolical Constitutions (v. 18, 19), dating from

3696-519: The Sabbatum Magnum ("Great Sabbath", i.e., 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 Day. Other writings that refer to related traditions of the early Church include, most notably, The Pilgrimage of Etheria (also known as The Pilgrimage of Egeria ), which details the whole observance of Holy Week at that time. Today, in

3808-555: The Tokugawa Shogunate . Several related crucifixion techniques were used. Petra Schmidt, in "Capital Punishment in Japan", writes: Execution by crucifixion included, first of all, hikimawashi (i.e, being paraded about town on horseback); then the unfortunate was tied to a cross made from one vertical and two horizontal poles. The cross was raised, the convict speared several times from two sides, and eventually killed with

3920-685: The Western Christian Church , among Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Catholics, the liturgies used for Holy Week are nearly identical. In the Episcopal Church, the main U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion, the 1979 Book of Common Prayer identifies Holy Week--comprising Palm Sunday (Sunday of the Passion) through Holy Saturday--as a separate season after Lent, rather than as part of it; but

4032-399: The hand as distinct from the arm some other word could be added, as "ἄκρην οὔτασε χεῖρα" (he wounded the end of the χείρ, i.e., "he wounded him in the hand". A possibility that does not require tying is that the nails were inserted just above the wrist, through the soft tissue , between the two bones of the forearm (the radius and the ulna ). A foot-rest ( suppedaneum ) attached to

4144-454: The stipes providing some semblance of modesty if viewed from the front. Such concessions were "unique" and not made outside a Jewish context. Several sources mention some sort of seat fastened to the stipes to help support the person's body, thereby prolonging the person's suffering and humiliation by preventing the asphyxiation caused by hanging without support. Justin Martyr calls

4256-568: The "lectern and pulpit are [also] left bare until Easter to symbolize the humiliation and barrenness of the cross." Methodist custom holds that apart from depictions of the Stations of the Cross , other images (such as the altar cross) continue the Lenten habitude of being veiled. In the Catholic Church, the altars of the church (except the one used as the altar of repose) are later stripped quite bare and, as much as possible, crosses are removed from

4368-464: The 2nd century who speak of the execution cross describe the crucified person's arms as outstretched, not attached to a single stake: Lucian speaks of Prometheus as crucified "above the ravine with his hands outstretched". He also says that the shape of the letter Τ (the Greek letter tau ) was that of the wooden instrument used for crucifying. Artemidorus , another writer of the same period, says that

4480-648: The Cross , together with an introduction and a conclusion. Another pious exercise carried out on Good Friday is that of the Stations of the Cross , either within the church or outside. The celebration at the Colosseum with participation by the pope has become a traditional event. The Novena to the Divine Mercy begins on that day and lasts until the Saturday before the Feast of Mercy . Moravians hold

4592-566: The Deposit. The figure of Our Lord of the Stations, representing the blood-stained Jesus carrying the cross, is brought from the church in a large black box and displayed in the main square. Then it is solemnly taken to the church following a band and a procession of people. Outside the church, a sermon is delivered on the Easter story of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. After the sermon,

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4704-578: The Easter Vigil liturgically belongs to Easter Sunday. On Holy Saturday, the Church waits at the Lord's tomb, in prayer and fasting, meditating on his Passion and Death and on his Descent into Hell and awaiting his Resurrection. The Church abstains from the Sacrifice of the Mass, with the sacred table left bare, until after the solemn Vigil, that is, the anticipation by night of the Resurrection, when

4816-542: The Easter Vigil, is the great feast day and apogee of the Christian liturgical year: on this day the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated. It is the first day of the new season of the Great Fifty Days, or Eastertide , which runs from Easter Day to Pentecost Sunday. The Resurrection of Christ on Easter Day is the main reason why Christians keep every Sunday as the primary day of religious observance. In

4928-522: The Eastertide, remaining in the sanctuary of the Church or near the lectern, and is kept in the baptistry throughout the liturgical year so that in the celebrations of baptisms the candles of the baptized may be lit from the candle. The candles of those present are lit from the Paschal candle. As this symbolic "light of Christ" spreads throughout those gathered, the darkness is decreased. A deacon, or

5040-502: The Latin crucifixus or cruci fixus , past participle passive of crucifigere or cruci figere , meaning "to crucify" or "to fasten to a cross". In the Roman Empire , the gibbet (instrument of execution) for crucifixions took on many shapes. Seneca the Younger ( c.  4 BCE–65 CE ) states: "I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to

5152-577: The Passion, either as a self-guided time of reflection and veneration or as a procession of statues or images of the stations. The evening liturgical celebration on Holy Thursday begins the first of three days in the Easter Triduum, which continues in an atmosphere of liturgical mourning throughout the next day, in spite of the name "Good" given in English to the day. For Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, Reformed and Anglican Christians, Good Friday

5264-628: The Persian ceremony of royal adoration . In Carthage , crucifixion was an established mode of execution, which could even be imposed on generals for suffering a major defeat. The oldest crucifixion may be a post-mortem one mentioned by Herodotus. Polycrates , the tyrant of Samos , was put to death in 522 BCE by the Persians, and his dead body was then crucified. The Greek and Latin words corresponding to "crucifixion" applied to many different forms of painful execution, including being impaled on

5376-402: The Resurrection then follows, together with the Responsorial psalmody . After the conclusion of the Liturgy of the Word, the water of the baptismal font is blessed and any catechumens or candidates for full communion are initiated into the church, by baptism or confirmation . After the celebration of these sacraments of initiation, the congregation renews their baptismal vows and receive

5488-408: The Roman Catholic Church, plenary indulgence is granted once a day by the 1999 Enchiridion Indulgentiarum , in the following cases: Cities famous for their Holy Week processions include: Holy Week has developed into one of Brazil's main symbols of community identity, more specifically in the southern town of Campanha. The Campanha Holy Week begins on the Monday evening with the Procession of

5600-449: The Roman soldiers crucified Jewish captives before the walls of Jerusalem and out of anger and hatred amused themselves by nailing them in different positions. In some cases, the condemned was forced to carry the crossbeam to the place of execution. A whole cross would weigh well over 135 kg (300 lb), but the crossbeam would not be as burdensome, weighing around 45 kg (100 lb). The Roman historian Tacitus records that

5712-410: The Romans, the horrors of crucifixion did not escape criticism by some eminent Roman orators. Cicero , for example, described crucifixion as "a most cruel and disgusting punishment", and suggested that "the very mention of the cross should be far removed not only from a Roman citizen's body, but from his mind, his eyes, his ears". Elsewhere he says, "It is a crime to bind a Roman citizen; to scourge him

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5824-476: The Younger recounts: "I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to the ground; some impale their private parts; others stretch out their arms on the gibbet." One source claims that for Jews (apparently not for others), a man would be crucified with his back to the cross as is traditionally depicted, while a woman would be nailed facing her cross, probably with her back to onlookers, or at least with

5936-457: The altar candles. Then the deacon or a cantor chants the Exultet , also called the "Easter Proclamation". After that, the people extinguish their candles and sit down for the Liturgy of the Word. The Liturgy of the Word includes nine readings, seven (or at least three) from the Old Testament , followed by two from the New (an Epistle and a Gospel). The reading of the crossing of the Red Sea (Ex 14) must never be omitted. Each Old Testament reading

6048-498: The apostle Saint Peter ) are traditionally believed to have undergone crucifixion as well. Today, limited numbers of Christians voluntarily undergo non-lethal crucifixions as a devotional practice. Ancient Greek has two verbs for crucify: anastauroo ( ἀνασταυρόω ), from stauros (which in modern Greek only means " cross " but which in antiquity was used for any kind of wooden pole, pointed or blunt, bare or with attachments) and apotumpanizo ( ἀποτυμπανίζω ) "crucify on

6160-411: The apostles. In the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches of Evangelical Catholic churchmanship, and in Anglican churches of an Anglo-Catholic churchmanship, a sufficient number of hosts are consecrated for use also in the Good Friday liturgy, and at the conclusion the Blessed Sacrament is carried in procession to a place of reposition away from the main body of the church, which, if it involves an altar,

6272-428: The church (or veiled in the pre-Vatican II rite), crucifixes and statues are covered with violet covers during Passiontide, but the crucifix covers can be white instead of violet on Maundy Thursday). Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus and his subsequent death. Commemorations of often solemn and mournful, many denominations use Good Friday to perform the Stations of the Cross , or other commemorations of

6384-412: The city of Rome had a specific place for carrying out executions, situated outside the Esquiline Gate , and had a specific area reserved for the execution of slaves by crucifixion. Upright posts would presumably be fixed permanently in that place, and the crossbeam, with the condemned person perhaps already nailed to it, would then be attached to the post. The person executed may have been attached to

6496-464: The commemoration of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday , marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday ( Holy Wednesday ), climaxing with the commemoration of the Mystical or Last Supper on Maundy Thursday ( Holy Thursday ) and the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday ( Holy Friday ). Holy Week concludes with Christ's rest in death and descent into hell on Holy Saturday . Christians believe that Jesus rested in death from

6608-533: The condemned would have severe difficulty inhaling, due to hyper-expansion of the chest muscles and lungs. The condemned would therefore have to draw himself up by the arms, leading to exhaustion , or have his feet supported by tying or by a wood block. When no longer able to lift himself, the condemned would die within a few minutes. This theory has been supported by multiple scholars. Other scholars, including Frederick Zugibe , posit other causes of death. Zugibe suspended test subjects with their arms at 60° to 70° from

6720-489: The condemned. Frequently, however, there was a cross-piece attached either at the top to give the shape of a T ( crux commissa ) or just below the top, as in the form most familiar in Christian symbolism ( crux immissa ). The most ancient image of a Roman crucifixion depicts an individual on a T-shaped cross. It is a graffito found in a taberna (hostel for wayfarers) in Puteoli, dating to the time of Trajan or Hadrian (late 1st century to early 2nd century CE). Writers in

6832-430: The cross by rope, though nails and other sharp materials are mentioned in a passage by Josephus, where he states that at the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), "the soldiers out of rage and hatred, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest". Objects used in the crucifixion of criminals, such as nails, were sought as amulets with perceived medicinal qualities. While

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6944-420: The cross of Christ represented in the crossed spits used to roast the Passover lamb . In popular depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus (possibly because in translations of John 20:25 the wounds are described as being "in his hands"), Jesus is shown with nails in his hands. But in Greek the word "χείρ", usually translated as "hand", could refer to the entire portion of the arm below the elbow, and to denote

7056-415: The cross, perhaps for the purpose of taking the person's weight off the wrists, is sometimes included in representations of the crucifixion of Jesus but is not discussed in ancient sources. Some scholars interpret the Alexamenos graffito ( c.  200 ), the earliest surviving depiction of the crucifixion, as including such a foot-rest. Ancient sources also mention the sedile , a small seat attached to

7168-412: The cross. The blessing is thus followed by a procession or solemn entrance into the church, with the participants holding the blessed branches in their hands. The liturgy includes the solemn reading of the Passion, the narrative of Christ's capture, suffering and death, as recounted in one of the Synoptic Gospels . (In the Tridentine Mass the Passion is always that of St. Matthew.) Before the reform of

7280-441: The death march, the prisoner, probably still nude after the scourging, would be led through the most crowded streets bearing a titulus – a sign board proclaiming the prisoner's name and crime. Upon arrival at the place of execution, selected to be especially public, the convict would be stripped of any remaining clothing, then nailed to the cross naked. If the crucifixion took place in an established place of execution,

7392-453: The death of the person but was also meant to deter those who observed the crucifixion from committing offenses. Constantine the Great , the first Christian emperor , abolished crucifixion in the Roman Empire in 337 out of veneration for Jesus Christ , its most famous victim. Crucifixion was intended to be a gruesome spectacle: the most painful and humiliating death imaginable. It was used to punish slaves , pirates , and enemies of

7504-406: The diocese as possible together with the bishop. This Mass was not included in editions of the Roman Missal before the time of Pope Pius XII. In this Mass, the bishop blesses separate oils for the sick (used in Anointing of the Sick ), for catechumens (used in baptism ) and chrism (used in baptism, confirmation and the Holy Orders , as well as in rites such as the dedication of an altar and

7616-426: The first use of crucifixion under Islamic rule, attributing it variously to Muhammad himself (for murder and robbery of a shepherd) or to the second caliph Umar (applied to two slaves who murdered their mistress). Classical Islamic jurisprudence applies the verse 5:33 chiefly to highway robbers, as a hadd (scripturally prescribed) punishment. The preference for crucifixion over the other punishments mentioned in

7728-402: The foot. A first inaccurate account of the length of the nail led some to believe that it had been driven through both heels, suggesting that the man had been placed in a sort of sidesaddle position, but the true length of the nail, 11.5 centimetres ( 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches), suggests instead that in this case of crucifixion the heels were nailed to opposite sides of the upright. As of 2011,

7840-448: The front of the cross, about halfway down, which could have served a similar purpose. In 1968, archaeologists discovered at Giv'at ha-Mivtar in northeast Jerusalem the remains of one Jehohanan , who was crucified in the 1st century CE. The remains included a heel bone with a nail driven through it from the side. The tip of the nail was bent, perhaps because of striking a knot in the upright beam, which prevented it being extracted from

7952-407: The ground; some impale their private parts; others stretch out their arms on the gibbet." According to Josephus , during Emperor Titus 's Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) , Roman soldiers nailed innumerable Jewish captives to crosses in various ways. At times the gibbet was only one vertical stake, called in Latin crux simplex . This was the simplest available construction for torturing and killing

8064-595: The house of Simon the Leper , especially the anointing of Jesus by Mary of Bethany , which directly preceded the betrayal of Jesus by Judas to the Sanhedrin. Tenebrae ( Latin for "shadows" or "darkness") is celebrated within Western Christianity during Holy Week, especially on Spy Wednesday . Tenebrae is distinctive for its gradual extinguishing of candles while a series of readings and psalms

8176-464: The intent to finish proper embalming and burial ceremonies on Sunday, after the Sabbath had ended, as the Sabbath day prohibitions would have prevented observant Jews from completing a proper burial. In the Catholic tradition after the Good Friday service, which represents the burial of Jesus, until the Easter Vigil on Saturday night, no mass takes place whatsoever on Holy Saturday. The celebration of

8288-447: The largest crowds of the year. Many Christian cultures have different traditions such as special liturgies or services, floats, sculptures or live reenactments of Christ's life, his arrest and crucifixion (also called the Lord's passion, the Passion of Christ or Passion of Jesus ); the latter are known as Passion Plays , which are often interdenominational productions. In Eastern Rite Churches there are also many means to commemorate

8400-485: The last days of Jesus Christ's life. Among them: On Holy Wednesday, the story of Judas arranging his betrayal of Jesus with the chief priests is remembered; he was a spy among the disciples of Jesus ( Matthew 26:14–25 ). For this reason, the day is sometimes called "Spy Wednesday". (In the Tridentine Mass the Passion according to St. Luke is read instead.) Other events connected with this date include events at

8512-508: The latter half of the 3rd century and 4th century. In this text, abstinence from flesh is commanded for all the days, while for the Friday and Saturday an absolute fast is commanded. Dionysius Alexandrinus in his canonical epistle (AD 260), refers to the 91 fasting days implying that the observance of them had already become an established usage in his time. There is some doubt about the genuineness of an ordinance attributed to Roman Emperor Constantine , in which abstinence from public business

8624-586: The letter T. According to William Barclay , because tau is shaped exactly like the crux commissa and represented the number 300, "wherever the fathers came across the number 300 in the Old Testament they took it to be a mystical prefiguring of the cross of Christ". The earliest example, written around the late 1st century, is the Epistle of Barnabas , with another example being Clement of Alexandria ( c.  150  – c. 215). Justin Martyr ( c.  100  – c.  165 ) sees

8736-602: The model for the Eucharist or Holy Communion. During the meal, Jesus predicted the events that would immediately follow, including his betrayal, the Denial of Peter , and his death and resurrection. The liturgical celebration of the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday marks the beginning of the Paschal Triduum . Catholic and Lutheran parishes traditionally practice the foot washing (Maundy) ceremony on Maundy Thursday ,

8848-493: The most ancient image of a Roman crucifixion may depict a crucified woman, whether real or imaginary. Crucifixion was such a gruesome and humiliating way to die that the subject was somewhat of a taboo in Roman culture, and few crucifixions were specifically documented. One of the only specific female crucifixions that are documented is that of Ida, a freedwoman (former slave) who was crucified by order of Tiberius. Crucifixion

8960-521: The most significant for later legal developments is verse 5:33: The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Apostle, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter. The corpus of hadith provides contradictory statements about

9072-655: The nail touch him." The Jewish king Alexander Jannaeus , king of Judea from 103 to 76 BCE, crucified 800 rebels, said to be Pharisees , in the middle of Jerusalem. Alexander the Great is reputed to have crucified 2,000 survivors from his siege of the Phoenician city of Tyre , as well as the doctor who unsuccessfully treated Alexander's lifelong friend Hephaestion . Some historians have also conjectured that Alexander crucified Callisthenes , his official historian and biographer, for objecting to Alexander's adoption of

9184-424: The nails or by the scourging that often preceded crucifixion, or from stabbing by the guards. Since death does not follow immediately on crucifixion, survival after a short period of crucifixion is possible, as in the case of those who choose each year as a devotional practice to be non-lethally crucified. There is an ancient record of one person who survived a crucifixion that was intended to be lethal, but

9296-508: The ninth hour (3 pm) on Good Friday until just before dawn on Sunday morning, the day of his resurrection from death , commonly known as Easter Sunday. However, in 1 Peter 3:19, there may be a clue as to a task Jesus performed during this period between death and resurrection: "By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison." This marks the beginning of the season of Eastertide , with its first week being known as Easter Week (Bright Week) . Holy Week liturgies generally attract

9408-694: The normal Mass was celebrated. Churches of many denominations , including the Lutheran, Catholic, Methodist, Anglican, Moravian and Reformed traditions, distribute palm branches to their congregations during their Palm Sunday liturgies. Christians take these palms, which are often blessed by clergy, to their homes where they hang them alongside Christian art (especially crosses and crucifixes ) or keep them in their Bibles or devotionals. The days between Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday are known as Holy Monday , Holy Tuesday (Fig Tuesday), and Holy Wednesday (Spy Wednesday). There are traditional observances held by liturgical denominations to commemorate events from

9520-412: The occasional woman - are taken to a rice field in the barrio of San Pedro Cutud, 3 km (2 miles) from the proper of City of San Fernando, Pampanga and nailed to a cross using two-inch (5 cm) stainless steel nails that have been soaked in alcohol to disinfect them. The penitents are taken down when they feel cleansed of their sin. Other penitents flagellate themselves using bamboo sticks tied to

9632-586: The outrage or by Athenian deference to local feeling." Some Christian theologians , beginning with Paul of Tarsus writing in Galatians 3:13 , have interpreted an allusion to crucifixion in Deuteronomy 21:22–23 . This reference is to being hanged from a tree, and may be associated with lynching or traditional hanging. However, Rabbinic law limited capital punishment to just 4 methods of execution: stoning, burning, strangulation, and decapitation, while

9744-505: The owner's slaves would be crucified as punishment. Both men and women were crucified. Tacitus writes in his Annals that when Lucius Pedanius Secundus was murdered by a slave, some in the Senate tried to prevent the mass crucifixion of four hundred of his slaves because there were so many women and children, but in the end tradition prevailed and they were all executed. Although not conclusive evidence for female crucifixion by itself,

9856-524: The passage in Deuteronomy was interpreted as an obligation to hang the corpse on a tree as a form of deterrence. The fragmentary Aramaic Testament of Levi (DSS 4Q541) interprets in column 6: "God ... (partially legible)- will set ... right errors. ... (partially legible)- He will judge ... revealed sins. Investigate and seek and know how Jonah wept. Thus, you shall not destroy the weak by wasting away or by ... (partially legible)- crucifixion ... Let not

9968-453: The period of crucifixion to three days. Crucifixion involves affixing or impaling the body to a beam or a tree trunk. Various minority opinions also prescribed crucifixion as punishment for a number of other crimes. Cases of crucifixion under most of the legally prescribed categories have been recorded in the history of Islam, and prolonged exposure of crucified bodies was especially common for political and religious opponents. Crucifixion

10080-675: The period of three days known as the Easter Triduum , that includes Good Friday (seen as beginning with the liturgy of the preceding evening), Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday up to evening prayer on that day. The Chrism Mass, whose texts the Roman Missal and the rubrics used in Lutheran Churches now give under Maundy Thursday, but before the Paschal Triduum which begins that evening, may be brought forward early in Holy Week, to facilitate participation by as many clergy of

10192-484: The person was often deliberately kept alive as long as possible to prolong their suffering and humiliation, so as to provide the maximum deterrent effect. Corpses of the crucified were typically left on the crosses to decompose and be eaten by animals. Islam spread in a region where many societies, including the Persian and Roman empires, had used crucifixion to punish traitors, rebels, robbers and criminal slaves. The Qur'an refers to crucifixion in six passages, of which

10304-487: The priest if there is no deacon, carries the Paschal Candle at the head of the entrance procession and, at three points, stops and chants the proclamation "The Light of Christ" (until Easter 2011, the official English text was "Christ our Light"), to which the people respond "Thanks be to God". Once the procession concludes with the singing of the third proclamation, the lights throughout the church are lit, except for

10416-454: The rite by Pope Pius XII , the blessing of the palms occurred inside the church within a liturgy that followed the general outline of a Mass, with Collect, Epistle and Gospel, as far as the Sanctus. The palms were then blessed with five prayers, and a procession went out of the church and on its return included a ceremony for the reopening of the doors, which had meanwhile been shut. After this

10528-405: The seat a cornu , or "horn," leading some scholars to believe it may have had a pointed shape designed to torment the crucified person. This would be consistent with Seneca's observation of victims with their private parts impaled. In Roman-style crucifixion, the condemned could take up to a few days to die, but death was sometimes hastened by human action. "The attending Roman guards could leave

10640-399: The site only after the victim had died, and were known to precipitate death by means of deliberate fracturing of the tibia and/or fibula, spear stab wounds into the heart, sharp blows to the front of the chest, or a smoking fire built at the foot of the cross to asphyxiate the victim." The Romans sometimes broke the prisoner's legs to hasten death and usually forbade burial. On the other hand,

10752-559: The skeleton from Giv'at ha-Mivtar was the only confirmed example of ancient crucifixion in the archaeological record. A second set of skeletal remains with holes transverse through the calcaneum heel bones, found in 2007, could be a second archaeological record of crucifixion. The find in Cambridgeshire ( United Kingdom ) in November 2017 of the remains of the heel bone of a (probably enslaved) man with an iron nail through it,

10864-676: The sprinkling of baptismal water . The general intercessions follow. After the Liturgy of Baptism, the Liturgy of the Eucharist continues as usual. This is the first Mass of Easter Day. During the Eucharist, the newly baptised receive Holy Communion for the first time. According to the rubrics of the Missal , the Easter vigil "ends before the dawn on the Sunday". Easter Day (or Easter Sunday), which immediately follows Holy Week and begins with

10976-421: The state. It was originally reserved for slaves (hence still called "supplicium servile" by Seneca), and later extended to citizens of the lower classes ( humiliores ). The victims of crucifixion were stripped naked and put on public display while they were slowly tortured to death so that they would serve as a spectacle and an example . According to Roman law, if a slave killed his or her owner, all of

11088-522: The third recovered. Josephus gives no details of the method or duration of the crucifixion of his three friends. Crucifixion (or impalement), in one form or another, was used by Persians , Carthaginians , and among the Greeks, the Macedonians . The Greeks were generally opposed to performing crucifixions. However, in his Histories , ix.120–122, Greek writer Herodotus describes the execution of

11200-563: The time comes for paschal joys, the abundance of which overflows to occupy fifty days. Holy Communion may only be given on this day as Viaticum . In some Anglican churches, including the Episcopal Church in the United States , there is provision for a simple liturgy of the word with readings commemorating the burial of Christ. The doors of the empty tabernacle of the main altar are left open, to symbolise that Jesus Christ

11312-555: The unlit church. In the darkness (often in a side chapel of the church building or, preferably, outside the church), a new fire is kindled and blessed by the priest. This new fire symbolizes the light of salvation and hope that God brought into the world through Christ's Resurrection, dispelling the darkness of sin and death. From this fire is lit the Paschal candle , symbolizing the Light of Christ. This Paschal candle will be used throughout

11424-543: The upright stipes . Notorious mass crucifixions followed the Third Servile War in 73–71 BCE (the slave rebellion led by Spartacus ), and other Roman civil wars in the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. Crassus ordered the crucifixion of 6,000 of Spartacus' followers who had been hunted down and captured after the slave defeat in battle. Josephus says that in the siege that led to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70,

11536-463: The verse or for their combination (which Sadakat Kadri has called "Islam's equivalent of the hanging, drawing and quartering that medieval Europeans inflicted on traitors") is subject to "complex and contested rules" in classical jurisprudence. Most scholars required crucifixion for highway robbery combined with murder, while others allowed execution by other methods for this scenario. The main methods of crucifixion are: Most classical jurists limit

11648-462: The vertical beam ( stipes ) might be permanently embedded in the ground. In this case, the condemned person's wrists would first be nailed to the patibulum , and then he or she would be hoisted off the ground with ropes to hang from the elevated patibulum while it was fastened to the stipes . Next the feet or ankles would be nailed to the upright stake. The 'nails' were tapered iron spikes approximately 13 to 18 cm (5 to 7 in) long, with

11760-421: The vertical. The test subjects had no difficulty breathing during experiments, but did suffer rapidly increasing pain, which is consistent with the Roman use of crucifixion to achieve a prolonged, agonizing death. However, Zugibe's positioning of the test subjects necessarily did not precisely replicate the conditions of historical crucifixion. In 2023, an analysis of medical literature concluded that asphyxiation

11872-419: The weekdays of Holy Week, like those of Lent, are Days of Special Devotion to be observed by special acts of discipline and self-denial, so the practical effect is the same as if Holy Week were considered part of Lent. In the Moravian Church , the Holy Week services ( Passion Week ) are extensive, as the congregation follows the life of Christ through His final week in daily services dedicated to readings from

11984-423: Was enforced for the seven days immediately preceding Easter Day, 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 15 days (1. ii. tit. viii.). Of the particular days of the "great week" the earliest to emerge into special prominence was naturally Good Friday. Next came

12096-566: Was generally performed within Ancient Rome as a means to dissuade others from perpetrating similar crimes, with victims sometimes left on display after death as a warning. Crucifixion was intended to provide a death that was particularly slow, painful (hence the term excruciating , literally "out of crucifying"), gruesome, humiliating, and public, using whatever means were most expedient for that goal. Crucifixion methods varied considerably with location and period. One hypothesis suggested that

12208-404: Was interrupted. Josephus recounts: I saw many captives crucified, and remembered three of them as my former acquaintances. I was very sorry at this in my mind, and went with tears in my eyes to Titus, and told him of them; so he immediately commanded them to be taken down, and to have the greatest care taken of them, in order to their recovery; yet two of them died under the physician's hands, while

12320-572: Was introduced into Japan during the Sengoku period (1467–1573), after a 350-year period with no capital punishment. It is believed to have been suggested to the Japanese by the introduction of Christianity into the region, although similar types of punishment had been used as early as the Kamakura period . Known in Japanese as haritsuke ( 磔 ) , crucifixion was used in Japan before and during

12432-673: Was noted by the crowds present who shouted praises and waved palm branches . In the Roman Rite, before 1955 it was known simply as Palm Sunday, and the preceding Sunday as Passion Sunday. From 1955 to 1971 it was called Second Sunday in Passiontide or Palm Sunday. Among Lutherans and Anglicans, the day is known as the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday. In many liturgical denominations, to commemorate Christ's entry into Jerusalem to accomplish his paschal mystery , it

12544-417: Was typically carried out by specialized teams, consisting of a commanding centurion and his soldiers. First, the condemned would be stripped naked and scourged. This would cause the person to lose a large amount of blood, and approach a state of shock . The convict then usually had to carry the horizontal beam ( patibulum in Latin ) to the place of execution, but not necessarily the whole cross. During

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