Order of Service
Today's services
Sunday, 28th April 2024
10:00
Fifth Sunday of EasterMatins
Welcome to Westminster Abbey. Daily prayer has been offered in this place for over a thousand years, and your participation in today's service is warmly welcomed. At Matins most of the service is sung by the choir on our behalf. We participate through our presence and our listening, that the words and the music might become a prayer within us and lift us to contemplate God's beauty and glory.
The service always includes one or more psalms. These ancient prayers, taken from the Old Testament, reflect the full range of human emotions and experiences; from the depths of anger, resentment, and abandonment to the heights of ecstatic joy and praise. They were used by Jesus, and have always been at the heart of the Church's daily prayer.
Please join in saying the words printed in bold type.
The church is served by a hearing loop. Users should turn their hearing aid to the setting marked T.
Photography, filming, and sound recording are not allowed in the Abbey during services. Please ensure that mobile telephones and other electronic devices are silent.
The service is sung by the Choir of Westminster Abbey.
Following the service a collection will be taken; the money from today's services will be divided equally between The Honeypot Children's Charity and the work of the Abbey. Honeypot works to enhance the lives of young carers aged 5–12 years by providing respite breaks and ongoing outreach support.
Order of Service
All stand as the choir and clergy enter
The officiant says a Sentence of Scripture
The officiant and choir sing the Responses
and to the Holy Ghost;
world without end. Amen.
Music: Bernard Rose (1916–96)
All sit. The choir sings The Easter Anthems
Christ our passover is sacrificed for us : therefore let us keep the feast;
not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness : but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more : death hath no more dominion over him.
For in that he died, he died unto sin once : but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin : but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Christ is risen from the dead : and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
For since by man came death : by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die : even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
and to the Holy Ghost;
world without end. Amen.
All remain seated. The choir sings Psalms 133 and 134
Behold, how good and joyful a thing it is : brethren, to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down unto the beard : even unto Aaron's beard, and went down to the skirts of his clothing.
Like as the dew of Hermon : which fell upon the hill of Sion.
For there the Lord promised his blessing : and life for evermore.
and to the Holy Ghost;
world without end. Amen.
Ye that by night stand in the house of the Lord : even in the courts of the house of our God.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary : and praise the Lord.
The Lord that made heaven and earth : give thee blessing out of Sion.
All stand
and to the Holy Ghost;
world without end. Amen.
Chant: Edward John Hopkins (1818–1901)
All sit for the first Lesson, 2 Maccabees 6: 30–31
When Eleazar was about to die under the blows, he groaned aloud and said: 'It is clear to the Lord in his holy knowledge that, though I might have been saved from death, I am enduring terrible sufferings in my body under this beating, but in my soul I am glad to suffer these things because I fear him.'
So in this way he died, leaving in his death an example of nobility and a memorial of courage, not only to the young but to the great body of his nation.
Here ends the first lesson.
All stand. The choir sings Te Deum laudamus
and we worship thy name ever world without end.
Morning Service in F, John Ireland (1879–1962)
All sit for the second Lesson, Hebrews 11: 32—12: 2
What more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, without us, be made perfect.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
Here ends the second lesson.
All stand. The choir sings Jubilate Deo
O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
and come before his presence with a song.
Be ye sure that the Lord he is God.
It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise.
Be thankful unto him, and speak good of his name.
For the Lord is gracious;
his mercy is everlasting,
and his truth endureth from generation to generation.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
Chant: James Turle
All face east to say together the Apostles' Creed
I believe in God the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth:
and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic Church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Let us pray.
All kneel or sit. The officiant and choir sing the Lesser Litany; the Lord's Prayer and the Responses
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.
The officiant sings the Collects; of the day, for Peace, for Grace:
O almighty God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men; grant unto thy people, that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom; defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defence, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O Lord, our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day; defend us in the same with thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance, to do always that is righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Music: Bernard Rose
The officiant says the Prayers; for the Royal Family, and for the Members of the Order of the Bath
Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness, we humbly beseech thee to bless our most gracious Sovereign Lord King Charles, Queen Camilla, William Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and all the Royal Family: endue them with thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with thy heavenly grace; prosper them with all happiness; and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God save our Gracious Sovereign, and all the Members of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath living and departed. Amen.
All say
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us all evermore.
Amen.
All stand as the choir and clergy depart
Music after the service
Saraband for the Morning of Easter, Herbert Howells (1892–1983)
Those who wish to may sit for the remainder of the organ voluntary
CHORISTERSHIPS AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY
Enquiries are welcomed at any time.
If you have a daughter aged 10 or 11 who would like to sing with the St Margaret's Choristers, please contact the Director of Music at St Margaret's, Greg Morris (email). Further details can be found here.
If you have a son who enjoys singing and you would like further details of the world-renowned Abbey Choir and its unique choir school, please click here.
Dr Emma Margrett, Head, Westminster Abbey Choir School, Dean's Yard, London, SW1P 3NY, 020 7222 6151 email
Mr Andrew Nethsingha, Organist and Master of the Choristers, The Chapter Office, 20 Dean's Yard, London, SW1P 3PA, 020 7654 4854 email
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