The Stations of the Cross
Fridays in Lent at 12.05pm
O my people, what have I done to you,
how have I offended you?
Answer me!
THE WAY OF THE CROSS
‘Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?
Behold and see if there be any sorrow
like unto this sorrow.’
For many centuries the ‘Way of the Cross’ has been a
tradition of following every step of Christ’s journey,
from his condemnation by Pontius Pilate to the time
when his lifeless body is laid in the tomb.
In Jerusalem, many pilgrims follow the Via Dolorosa
which is associated, by tradition, with Christ’s final
journey to Golgotha.
At the Cathedral, the Stations of the Cross make a
Jerusalem for us where we are, and on Fridays during
Lent at 12 noon, we too can follow the Way of the
Cross.
We are led from station to station by one of the
Cathedral clergy. At each station there is a time of
meditation and an act of devotion.
We invite you to join us.
At the Rood
The Collect for Palm Sunday
Almighty and everlasting God, who, of your tender love
towards all people, sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the
cross, that all should follow the example of his great humility:
mercifully grant that we may both follow the example of his
patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Then all say together
Sweet the moments, rich in blessing which before the Cross I
spend,
Life and health, and peace possessing
From the sinner’s dying friend.
Low before his cross to lie, whilst I see divine compassion
beaming in his languid eye.
Lord, in ceaseless contemplation fix my thankful heart of
thee,
till I taste thy full salvation,
And thine unveil’d glory see.
V. We adore you O Christ and we bless you
R. Because by your Cross and Passion you have
redeemed
the world.
The Officiant names the Station and all keep silence.
The Priest concludes with
A Collect
OR the Versicle and Responsory above or
V. O Saviour of the World who by your Cross and
precious Blood have redeemed us:
R. Save us and help us, we humbly beseech you, O
Lord.
I
CHRIST CONDEMNED
So, Pilate … having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be
crucified.
Mark 15.15
I
CHRIST TAKES UP HIS CROSS
So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to
the place called the place of a skull which is called in Hebrew
Golgotha.
John 19.17
III
CHRIST FALLS
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
Isaiah 53.4
IV CHRIST MEETS HIS MOTHER
Simeon said to Mary, his mother, ‘ …and a sword will pierce
through your own soul also.’
Luke 2.35
V
SIMON OF CYRENE
.. and they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, to carry his cross.
Mark 15.21
VI VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF CHRIST
‘Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my
brethren, you did it to me.’
Matthew 25.40
VII CHRIST FALLS AGAIN
… but he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for
our iniquities.
Isaiah 53.5
VIII WEEP NOT FOR ME
‘Daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for me, but weep for
yourselves and your children.’
Luke 23.28
IX CHRIST FALLS YET AGAIN
… though he fall he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord is
the stay of his hand.
Psalm 37.24
X
CHRIST STRIPPED
‘let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.’
John 19.24
XI CHRIST CRUCIFIED
‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’
Luke 23.34
XII CHRIST DIES
… and Jesus said ‘It is finished’, and he bowed his head and
gave up his spirit.
John 19.30
I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to
myself.
John 12.32
XIII CHRIST TAKEN DOWN
They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with
the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
John 19.40
XIV CHRIST BURIED
… and Joseph of Arimathea laid him in a tomb which had
been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled the stone against the
door of the tomb.
Mark 15.46
After the last Station we return to stand or kneel before the Rood.
The Lesser Litany and the Lord’s Prayer are said. The Way of the Cross
ends with the following Collect and blessing.
O God, who for our redemption gave your only begotten
Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious
resurrection has delivered us from the power of our enemy:
Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live
with him in the joy of his resurrection: through the same
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Christ crucified draw you to himself, so that you find in him a
sure ground for faith, a firm support for hope, and the
assurance of sins forgiven: and the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and
remain with you always. Amen.
REDEMPTION THROUGH THE CROSS
Christians often use the words ‘Christ died to save us from our
sins.’ He shows us the limitless measure of God’s love and
that draws our hearts to him. He makes known to us God’s
forgiveness, not only in his teaching, but by the fact of his
own forgiveness of those who brought him to the cross.
There is something more which it is difficult to describe – he
works within us, assuring us of God’s forgiveness, changing
our hearts towards sin and selfishness, and sharing his risen
life so that sin, though it may attack us, need find no entry.
When Jesus died on the cross there was for the first time in
human history a person completely identified with the will of
God. So God’s will for him could be done, God’s will could
be done through him, the love and life of God could have
uninterrupted flow through him. Jesus is the point where the
life of God touches the life of human beings.
A PRAYER
O Saviour Lord, crucified for me, crucified by me, attach me
to the long line of pilgrims who have sought and discovered
the true cross:
not the old worn word, but its living grace;
not the cruel relic of a bygone woe, but the wisdom of God
for the mind, the power of God for the will;
the patience of God towards our angers and ignorances, your
generosity unto death.
Amen.
Eric Milner-White
The Fourteen Stations of the Cross were commissioned by the
Chapter of Wells Cathedral in 2000. They are the work of the
Bulgarian icon painter Silvia Dimitrova. Silvia lives in Bath and
exhibits internationally. Many of her works are in public and
private collections. The commission was completed in 2001 and
received financial support from the Wootton family in memory of
Bill Wootton for many years a faithful member of the Cathedral
Community. They have provided us with fourteen strikingly
original pieces of work, beautiful in themselves which help us
towards a better understanding of Jesus Christ and him crucified.