WINCHESTER Cathedral has released details of its services for Holy Week and Easter, to mark the central events of the Christian faith.

services and events begins on Palm Sunday (April 9).

The congregation will meet at 10am at the Great Hall at the Castle for a procession down the High Street – when they will again be joined by a donkey (they don’t yet know the name!) – marking Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, an event which set in motion the sequence of events which ends with his sacrificial act on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter Day. There will be a service of Sung Eucharist at 10.30 in the Cathedral itself, followed by Choral Evensong at 3.30pm.

The Cathedral’s programme of services for the week mirrors the sequence, with a service commemorating the institution of The Last Supper at 7pm on Maundy Thursday (April 13). Then to Good Friday (April 14), when there will be a three hour service commencing at 12 midday - the choral liturgy begins at 1.30pm. At 5.30pm the Girl Choristers will sing Choral Evensong, a poignant moment as the congregation reflects upon monumentous events earlier on two millennia before.

Services on Easter Eve (April 15) will focus on the transition from the darkness of Good Friday to glorious light of Easter Day and commence with a Vigil in the atmospheric Retroquire at 7.30pm, and then straight into the Service of Light, at which the Paschal (Easter) Candle will be lit, and The Bishop of Winchester will both preach and Confirm before the first Eucharist of Easter.

Services on Easter Day itself (April 16) will be 8am Holy Communion, 10am Choral Mattins (Preacher: The Bishop), 11.15am Festal Eucharist (Preacher: The Dean) and 3.30 Choral Evensong.

An additional event will take place on Tuesday April 11 at 8pm, when the Cathedral Chamber Choir will lead Music and Meditations for Holy Week including music by Poulenc, Barber, Harris and Tallis. The reader will be Canon Brian Rees and the evening is directed by the Cathedral’s Assistant Director of Music, George Castle.

There is a full listing for the media at the foot of this message.

All are welcome to attend services at the Cathedral, which are free of charge, and details of which are available from the Cathedral website www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk.