Good Friday 3 p.m., somewhere in Germany: The bells in the tower are silent, the parish church is dark, the altar has been cleared away. Grief. The priest goes to the altar without music or singing; instead of the usual knee bend, he lies flat on the ground. Silence. He then stands up and prays the daily prayer – without the sign of the cross, greeting or introduction. hour of death. The celebration of Jesus’ suffering and death is the highlight of Good Friday. The staging at the beginning of the Good Friday liturgy makes it clear: this day is fundamentally different from others – but he is not alone in that. The entire Holy Week can be described theologically and liturgically as an exceptional situation. Every year, the celebration of the Easter Triduum is a series of liturgical features – exceptions to exceptions therefore have even greater weight. There are always changes in this composition: mainly for pastoral or theological reasons.
There will be another exception in 2024: This year, the liturgical institutes in Germany, Austria and Switzerland have proposed two additional intercessions. This is intended to pray for cohesion in society and for the war-torn regions of the world. The additions come two years after a special intercession on the Ukraine War (2022).
After the Liturgy of the Word – in which the Passion of the Evangelist John is read – the Good Friday prayers follow, as every year. It is written for the Church, the Pope, all classes of the Church, for the catechumens, for the unity of Christians, for the Jews, for all who do not believe in Christ, for all who do not believe in God, for those in government and for all needy people prayed. These ten intercessions are also called the “Great Intercessions.” What is characteristic is the call to believers: “Bend your knees… arise!” In 2024, the suggestions are substitute intercessions for the ninth request “For those in power”, and in 2022 the Bishops’ Conference proposed an additional, eleventh request.
On the need to adhere to liturgical norms
“In order to understand the significance of the special intercessions, it helps to look at the history of the liturgy,” says Liborius Lumma. The Innsbruck liturgical scholar has studied intercessory prayer in detail. “The Good Friday prayers in particular have a paradigmatic character,” he explains. While the intercessions in the Eucharist have only played a role again since Vatican II, the great intercessions of Good Friday can be traced back to the 1st century. Its structure is similar to a litany – the aim of which is the habitual naming of the core concerns of the Christian faith. “Litanies like the Great Intercessions on Good Friday thrive on the fact that they remain unchanged over many years and are thus remembered again and again. This means: Only where the liturgical guidelines are taken seriously can a change to what is heard every year have an impact. That’s when it becomes noticeable : ‘Oops – here’s something new.'” If the liturgical norms from the missal were adhered to and not replaced by one’s own prayers and texts, a deviation from the familiar – as occurs through the special intercession – would have the chance to be irritating. “Such special intercessions make people sit up and take notice. This then has a signal effect – but only if it is perceived in its uniqueness and the congregation is familiar with the liturgy. Otherwise the contrast, the difference, is not even noticeable.” The aesthetic effect evaporates, says Lumma.
Bild: ©KNA
On Good Friday, Christians remember the suffering and death of Jesus. At the beginning of the liturgy, the priests lie on the floor in the sanctuary.
The Roman Missal allows a further specific intercession to be added on Good Friday for current reasons: “In a serious public emergency, the local ordinary may additionally permit or order a special request.” The German bishops have made use of it three times since 2010: in 2010 there was an intercession in response to sexual abuse in the church. Ten years later, the German bishops responded to the pandemic with a Corona intercession. The bishops’ conference said that this was intended to express solidarity with corona patients and other sick people. At the same time, “all those who care for sick people in medicine and care; the researchers who are looking for protection and cures, and all those who have to make decisions and are involved in society” were taken into prayer. Since they were in the first Corona lockdown at that time, the German bishops also pointed out that, in accordance with the current situation, the passage “a happy return to pilgrims and travelers” could be omitted from the 10th intercession. In 2022 people prayed for peace in Ukraine.
Despite all the appreciation for such insertions, liturgical scholar Lumma warns against adding a topical intercession too often. “The effect would quickly be lost. We live in a time that makes such interventions easy. And the special intercessions of the past few years have also shown that there are dramatic needs that need to be taken into account. But I warn Before adding something every year, you have to deal with it very carefully.”
Pope Benedict, theology and reality of life
But it is not only insertions that change the celebration of the Triduum. Special permits or general papal legislation influence the celebration of Holy Week: Pope Benedict XVI made a notable decision. 2009. After the severe earthquake in L’Aquila, Italy – with a total of 308 dead and around 67,000 people who lost their homes – the Vatican granted special permission for the celebration of the Eucharist on Good Friday. This is unusual because the Roman Church traditionally does not celebrate the Eucharist on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. The logic behind it: Only with the resurrection is the “mystery” of redemption through death (Good Friday) and resurrection (Easter) complete and can be celebrated. Therefore, as part of the three-day celebration of death and resurrection, nothing can be celebrated that has not yet “happened”. However, after the 2009 natural disaster, the Vatican decided to deviate from this rule, and so on the morning of Good Friday, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone celebrated a state funeral for 205 earthquake victims in the devastated L’Aquila.
Bild: ©picture-alliance/ dpa | LaPresse Roberto Monaldo
Good Friday 2009. With special permission, State Secretary Tarcisio Bertone celebrates a requiem after the earthquake catastrophe in Aquila, Italy.
“Like the special intercessions in Germany, the Good Friday Requiem in L’Aquila was a pastoral decision,” says Lumma. In liturgical decisions there is often no right or wrong, but rather a balancing of different approaches. “Even if Vatican II sees the liturgy as something objective that does not start from everyday life, but rather has an impact on everyday life and transforms it, the Council Fathers in particular contributed their experience that liturgy is always influenced by the reality of life and remains compatible must.” When it comes to the decision on the Good Friday Eucharist in Aquila, the liturgical scholar has a bit of a stomach ache: “It went very far – too far for my taste. I would not have interfered with the integrity of the Triduum in this way. It was important to those in charge at the time “They have undoubtedly succeeded in establishing the connection between Good Friday and the suffering of the people in Aquila. Nevertheless, I would have found it more appropriate to leave the Triduum untouched and to celebrate the service for the victims shortly before or shortly afterwards.”
Ecclesiology of the Fußwaschung
When asked about further modifications to the Easter liturgy, Lumma mentioned the innovations in the washing of feet on Maundy Thursday. This change on the day on which the Church commemorates the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharist even has ecclesiological explosive power: “Previously, only men’s feet were washed – and by the Pope mostly seminarians, cardinals or priests. In 2016, Pope Francis issued a decree, that foot washing may also be performed on women. This is a development that is also ecclesiologically significant. It has long been emphasized that the Pope’s washing of the feet of cardinals reflects the relationship of Jesus to the apostles. Now the Pope also washes laypeople – Men and women – and even non-Christians’ feet,” he explains. This needs to be classified and interpreted theologically. It should not be neglected, says Lumma, “that Pope Francis does not celebrate the Maundy Thursday liturgy in his episcopal church, the Lateran, but in prisons, for example. This is a new tradition that he has created. I would describe it as a paradigm shift. “
Bild: ©Vatican Media/Romano Siciliani/KNA
Pope Francis washes the feet of prisoners in the prison in Velletri on Maundy Thursday 2019.
A further change to the Carliturgy not only caused ecclesiological discussions: in the new formulation of the Good Friday intercession for the Jews, in which Pope Benedict XVI. With the celebration of the pre-conciliar mass made possible again, many saw a danger for the Christian-Jewish dialogue. From then on it said in Latin: “Let us also pray for the Jews, so that our Lord God may enlighten their hearts so that they may recognize Jesus Christ, the Savior of all people.” The heading “Pro conversione Iudaeorum” (“For the conversion of the Jews”) remained. In terms of content, the new wording was defused compared to older versions – people no longer prayed for the “faithless Jews” or spoke of the “blindness of that people”. Nevertheless, there was protest and resentment in the Jewish world. Some theologians saw an underlying invitation to mission to the Jews; others spoke of an incompatibility with the council’s declaration Nostra Aetate, which emphasizes the permanent election of Judaism. A short time later, the Vatican issued a statement on the newly formulated intercession. It expressly emphasizes that this is an exception and does not mean a break with Nostra Aetate and the church’s post-conciliar attitude towards Judaism – there was no theological explanation.
The text was first published in 2022 and updated in 2024.
By Benedikt Heider