Mother of All Vigils
By Mike Aquilina ( bio - articles - email ) | Mar 22, 2023 | In Way of the Fathers (Podcast)
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’Twas the night before Easter, and all through the Church every heart was stirring. The early Christians kept a Vigil that made a lasting impression. The symbols were elemental: fire, water, darkness, nakedness, music, dramatic preaching, surprising chalices, and more-than-marathon endurance. Prepare for your Easter Vigil by learning about theirs.
LINKS
Melito of Sardis, Peri Pascha https://sachurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/On-Pascha-Melito-of-Sardis.pdf
Melito of Sardis, Peri Pascha (another translation) https://www.kerux.com/doc/0401A1.asp
Eusebius of Caesarea, On the Celebration of Easter https://tertullian.org/fathers/eusebius_on_easter.htm
St. Augustine, Sermon 227 https://stanselminstitute.org/files/SERMON%20227.pdf
Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com
Mike Aquilina’s books https://catholicbooksdirect.com/writer/mike-aquilina/
Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics. He is executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. See full bio.
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Posted by: Gramps -
Apr. 05, 2023 10:48 PM ET USA
The Easter Vigil could be slightly improved if the original celebration was more closely followed. In the early Church (up to the reformation) there were no "candidates" to be welcomed into full Communion......only Catechumens (un-Baptized). If the original plan ware followed, all Candidates could be welcomed at a Sunday Easter Mass, or at another time, as already provided. This would reduce the very-long Vigil, while complimenting Candidates with their "own" Mass of Acceptance.
