Good Friday 2017

Good Friday is the solemn Christian remembrance of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus is arrested after the Last Supper, questioned by religious authorities and brought before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.

Good Friday is the solemn Christian remembrance of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus is arrested after the Last Supper, questioned by religious authorities and brought before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. He is sentenced to crucifixion, made to carry the cross toward Golgotha and put to death there. Christians understand the event through the larger story of Jesus’ teaching, his willingness to suffer rather than answer violence with violence, and the belief that his death is bound to forgiveness, reconciliation and salvation. The word ‘Good’ does not mean that the suffering itself is joyful; it reflects the theological belief that redemption comes through what happened on that day. Churches often observe silence, scripture readings, prayers, the Stations of the Cross and veneration of the cross. It is a restrained day of grief and reflection that leads into the hope of Easter.

The Gospel accounts describe Jesus' words from the cross and the grief of his followers with different emphases. Christian traditions interpret the event through forgiveness and salvation; it must not be used to assign collective blame to Jewish people. Good Friday is observed before Easter, whose date depends on Christian calendar calculations.

Christians read the Passion narrative in the Gospels as part of a sequence that includes the Last Supper, Gethsemane, trial, crucifixion and burial. Some churches hold a service around the hours associated with Jesus' death, while others conduct evening worship or processions. Unlike Easter Sunday, Good Friday is not normally a festive celebration; its solemnity prepares the community to hear the resurrection proclamation.

Solemn Christian remembrance of Jesus' crucifixion, understood through sacrifice, forgiveness and the hope of Easter.

Scripture readings, fasting or abstinence where customary, Stations of the Cross, solemn prayers and veneration of the cross; practices vary by denomination.

Observed by Christians worldwide on the Friday before Easter; Western and Eastern church calendars may yield different civil dates.