The Way Of The Cross Service

The Way of the Cross service below is especially designed for use in the free church tradition. Adapt to local usage and style. In the ancient church pilgrims came to Jerusalem during Holy Week to reenact the final events of the life of Jesus. In the course of time a tradition grew up which followed the course of events from Pilate's house to Calvary. Scripture readings and prayers were said at each of these stations. At first the number of stations or devotional stops varied widely. By the sixteenth century fourteen stations became the fixed number of devotional stops. Of these fourteen, eight are based directly on events recorded in the Gospels while six (numbers 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 13) are rooted in inferences from the Gospels or from legend. In modern times this devotional, which carries the worshiper from the condemnation of Jesus at the cross to the entombment, became established in almost all Catholic churches throughout the world. Artistic renditions of these stations were …