March 28, 2021 10.17 am This story is over 36 months old

Lincoln Cathedral shining a light on Holy Week and Easter

Red, white and gold
Lincoln Cathedral bathed in red lighting.

From Sunday 28 March, Lincoln Cathedral will once again use a special lighting scheme to mark Holy Week and the run up to Easter Day.

The colours will reflect the traditional liturgical colours of holy week which are used for vestments, altar fronts and other liturgical linens in the Cathedral.

Linoln Cathedral will be lit in red from Palm Sunday on March 28, when Christian worshippers celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, to Wednesday, March 31.

On Maundy Thursday (April 1), this will change to white to contemplate the Last Supper, and Jesus’ command to his disciples to love one another.

| Photo: Steve Smailes for the Lincolnite

On Good Friday and Easter Eve (April 2 and 3) the lights will become red as the passion, suffering and death of Christ is remembered.

Lincoln Cathedral lit up in red to mark Easter 2021.

Finally, on Easter Day, as befits a day of celebration, the Cathedral will be bathed in gold/yellow to mark the transforming effect of the resurrection and the hope offered by new life.

Lincoln Cathedral looked dazzling in yellow as the nation reflected on the year of lockdown on March 23, 2021. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The Revd Canon Nick Brown said, “Being able to mark the progress through Holy Week in such a visual way is a great aid to sharing the Easter story with everyone across the city, not just those who enter the Cathedral.

“It is a way for us to join together in worship and reflection at a time when it is still difficult to come together in person, and through the lights shining across the city people can join in the events of Holy Week that will be marked with services inside the Cathedral.

“Lent, Holy Week and Easter are a very important period in the Christian Calendar. Due to the first national lockdown in March 2020, Easter services could not take place in the Cathedral at all last year.

“I’m delighted that this year we will be able to welcome worshippers into the Cathedral to join all of our services, as well as broadcasting many of them online.”

The social distancing and other safety measures that have been in place throughout the pandemic remain, and masks are mandatory for anyone entering the Cathedral.

See Lincoln Cathedral’s website for full details of service times.