We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

This Good Friday, we invite you to join us in humbly praying through the Stations of the Cross. We hope that you enjoy this special liturgy as much as we do!

What are the Stations of the Cross?

Ancient Christian pilgrims began traveling to the Holy Land to remember the events of Christ’s Passion and to “walk the traditional path Jesus took from his arrest to his passion and death. Because not everyone could travel to Jerusalem, the church began to offer local pilgrimage liturgies—the Way of the Cross,” (Forward Movement).

On Good Friday, millions of Christians around the world will be praying the liturgy of the Way of the Cross.

How many stations are there? What events are commemorated?

The Way of the Cross is also referred to as the Stations of the Cross and Via Dolorosa. While the number of stations has varied, Anglicans traditionally commemorate 14 stations.

Of the fourteen stations, eight of the stations mark events that were recorded in the Gospels (stations numbers 1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 14).

The other six stations (numbers 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 13) commemorate events that are known only through ancient Christian tradition. These are used to further aid us in understanding and empathizing/identifying with Christ’s own experiences along the path to His Passion.

“Moving from station to station, following the events in the words of scripture and letting the prayers draw us into the narrative, we are given the opportunity to understand something of Christ’s passion and our involvement in it. The movement and the events are the heart of the Way (or Stations) of the Cross, and many different prayers and readings have been developed for this devotion. It can be said as a private form of prayer or, particularly on Fridays in Lent, as a public liturgy,” (Forward Movement).

How are the stations practiced?

Each station has an image/statue depicting the events specific to that particular station. Additionally, the events of Christ’s Way of the Cross are often reenacted in churches across the globe, typically prior to the liturgy for each individual station.

Below, you will find the liturgy for each of the fourteen Stations of the Cross, along with artwork by a variety of artists, encompassing many different artistic styles.

The introductory text below each subheading which follows was copied from the Episcopal Church of the USA’s Book of Occasional Services. The liturgy following each artwork has been copied from the Reformed Episcopal Church’s Book of Occasional Services.

THE LITURGY OF THE WAY OF THE CROSS

STATION 1: Jesus is condemned to death

The First Station commemorates Jesus being sentenced to death before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him to Pilate. And they all condemned him and said, “He deserves to die.” When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. Then he handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.

God did not spare his own Son:
But delivered him up for us all.

ALMIGHTY God, whose most dear Son went not up to
joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into
glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the
way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our
Lord. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

---

STATION II: Jesus takes up His cross

Jesus, who willingly took up the Cross for humanity’s sake, also commanded us to take up our own crosses and follow him.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

Jesus went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place
of a skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. Although he was
a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. Like a lamb
he was led to the slaughter; and like a sheep that before its shearers
is mute, so he opened not his mouth. Worthy is the Lamb who was
slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and
honor and glory and blessing.

The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all:
For the transgression of my people was he stricken.

ALMIGHTY God, whose beloved Son willingly endured
the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption:
Give us courage to take up our cross and follow him; who
lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

---

STATION III: Jesus falls the first time

Tradition holds that Jesus stumbled and fell three times along his road to Crucifixion, crushed by the heavy load of the Cross but willing to continue so that humanity would be spared the burden of its weight.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not count
equality with God a thing to be grasped; but emptied himself, taking
the form of a servant, and was born in human likeness. And being
found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him,
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name. Come,
let us bow down, and bend the knee, and kneel before the Lord our
Maker, for he is the Lord our God.

Surely he has borne our griefs:
And carried our sorrows.

O GOD, you know us to be set in the midst of so many
and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of
our nature we cannot always stand upright: Grant us such
strength and protection as may support us in all dangers,
and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

---

STATION IV: Jesus meets his afflicted mother

As the burden of the Cross becomes heavier, Jesus meets his Mother, the one whom the Church through the centuries has called the Theotokos, or “God-bearer,” because when the angel of God appeared to her to announce that she would give birth to the Incarnate Word, Mary submitted graciously and without hesitation. After the angel departed from her, Mary sang a song about God’s kingdom, and in it, told us how different a world modeled after God’s will – rather than our own – would look. In that world, God “has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; He has filled the hungry with good things, but the rich he has sent away empty.”

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

To what can I liken you, to what can I compare you, O daughter
of Jerusalem? What likeness can I use to comfort you, O virgin
daughter of Zion? For vast as the sea is your ruin. Blessed are
those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. The Lord will be your
everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.

A sword will pierce your own soul also:
And fill your heart with bitter pain.

O GOD, who willed that in the passion of your Son a
sword of grief should pierce the soul of the Blessed
Virgin Mary his mother: Mercifully grant that your Church,
having shared with her in his passion, may be made worthy
to share in the joys of his resurrection; who lives and reigns
for ever and ever. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

---

STATION V: the cross is laid on Simon of Cyrene

The Gospel tells us that as the weight of Jesus’ Cross grew, the Roman soldiers compelled a man named Simon to step in and carry the Cross for a time.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

As they led Jesus away, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon
by name, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him
the cross to carry it behind Jesus. “If anyone would come after me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Take my
yoke upon you, and learn from me; for my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light.”

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come
after me:
Cannot be my disciple.

HEAVENLY Father, whose blessed Son came not to be
served but to serve: Bless all who, following in his steps,
give themselves to the service of others; that with wisdom,
patience, and courage, they may minister in his Name to
the suffering, the friendless, and the needy; for the love of
him who laid down his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus
Christ. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

---

STATION VI: a woman wipes the face of Jesus

Ancient Christian tradition holds that along the Way of the Cross, a woman offered Jesus a towel to wipe his face, and on that towel, the image of his face was left. Thus, tradition has called the woman St. Veronica, from the Latin Vera Icon, or “true icon.” In the legend of St. Veronica, Christians see the belief that the true icons of the world are those who offer themselves in the humble service of others.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

We have seen him without beauty or majesty, with no looks to attract
our eyes. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their
faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. His appearance
was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that
of the children of men. But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement
that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts:
Show the light of your countenance, and we shall
be saved.

O GOD, who before the passion of your only-begotten
Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant
to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance,
may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed
into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us

---

STATION VII: Jesus falls a second time

Jesus falls a second time. His burden is becoming overwhelming, but he continues to march forward to Calvary, the point of our redemption.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. All we
like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own
way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was
oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. For
the transgression of my people was he stricken.

But as for me, I am a worm and no man:
Scorned by all and despised by the people.

ALMIGHTY and everliving God, in your tender love for
the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus
Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death
upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility:
Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering,
and also share in his resurrection; who lives and reigns for
ever and ever. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

---

STATION VIII: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

Jesus, as continues to bear the weight of the Cross, stops to speak to the women of Jerusalem, the ones who so often bear the burdens of wisdom and well-being for their families and communities.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

There followed after Jesus a great multitude of the people, and
among them were women who bewailed and lamented him. But
Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep
for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

Those who sowed with tears:
Will reap with songs of joy.

TEACH your Church, O Lord, to mourn the sins of which
it is guilty, and to repent and forsake them; that, by
your pardoning grace, the results of our iniquities may not
be visited upon our children and our children’s children;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us

---

STATION IX: Jesus falls a third time

The weight of the Cross finally has overtaken Jesus as he falls a third time, barely able to drag his body along the ground as he approaches Golgotha.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath;
he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light. He
has besieged me and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation;
he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago. Though
I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer. He has made my
teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes. “Remember, O
Lord, my affliction and bitterness, the wormwood and the gall!”

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter:
And like a sheep that before its shearers is mute,
so he opened not his mouth.

O GOD, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an
instrument of shameful death to be for us the means
of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we
may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son
our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

---

STATION X:  Jesus is stripped of his garments

In a final act of humiliation before being lifted up on the Cross, the Roman soldiers strip Jesus of his garments and divide them amongst themselves.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

When they came to a place called Golgotha (which means the place
of a skull), they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall; but
when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And they divided his garments among them by casting lots. This was to fulfill the scripture
which says, “They divided my garments among them; they cast lots
for my clothing.”

They gave me gall to eat:
And when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar to
drink

LORD God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to
be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us
grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time,
confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

---

STATION XI: Jesus is nailed to the cross

“And I, when I am lifted up from the Cross, will draw all people to myself.” To Christians, these words of Jesus from the Gospel of John speak of the power of the cross to contain and enfold all the horror, pain and grief of the world in God’s uncompromising and enduring embrace of love. The Cross is not merely our redemption, but also our reconciliation and restoration to God and to one another in Christ.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

When they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they
crucified him; and with him they crucified two criminals, one on the
right, the other on the left, and Jesus between them. And the scripture
was fulfilled which says, “He was numbered with the transgressors.”

They pierce my hands and my feet:
They stare and gloat over me.

LORD Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love
on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might
come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe
us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love,
may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and
love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us

---

STATION XII: Jesus dies on the cross

“Through Christ,” St. Paul tells us, “God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things whether in heaven or on earth by making peace through the Blood of the Cross.”

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing
near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then he said
to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And when Jesus had received
the vinegar, he said, “It is finished!” And then, crying with a loud
voice, he said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” And
he bowed his head, and handed over his spirit.

Christ for us became obedient unto death:
Even death on a cross.

GOD, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten
Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious
resurrection 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; who lives and reigns
now and for ever. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

---

STATION XIII: the body of Jesus is placed in the arms of his mother

Removed from the Cross, the lifeless body of Jesus is returned to the arms of his Mother, the one who cradled him in her arms at Bethlehem on the night of his birth. The face of the Blessed Virgin Mary is covered in grief, a mother’s heart broken by the humiliating death of her beloved Son.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

All you who pass by, behold and see if there is any sorrow like my
sorrow. My eyes are spent with weeping; my soul is in tumult; my
heart is poured out in grief because of the downfall of my people. “Do
not call me Naomi (which means Pleasant), call me Mara (which
means Bitter); for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.”

Her tears run down her cheeks:
And she has none to comfort her.

LORD Jesus Christ, by your death you took away the sting
of death: Grant to us your servants so to follow in faith
where you have led the way, that we may at length fall asleep
peacefully in you and wake up in your likeness; for your
tender mercies’ sake. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.

---

STATION XIV: Jesus is laid in the tomb

At the end of the story of Good Friday, nothing but death remains. Humanity has brought God’s Son to the tomb, sealing him behind an immovable stone. But to God, through whom all things are possible, no barrier is immovable. Through the sacrifice and death of Christ, even death itself is no longer a barrier to life for the children of God. And thus, the burial rite in the Book of Common Prayer tells us, “Even at the grave, we
make our song: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!”

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you:
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed
the world.

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea,
named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate
and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given
to him. And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen
shroud, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in
the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb.

You will not abandon me to the grave:
Nor let your holy One see corruption

O GOD, your blessed Son was laid in a tomb in a garden,
and rested on the Sabbath day: Grant that we who have
been buried with him in the waters of baptism may find our
perfect rest in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he
lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Holy God,
Holy and Mighty,
Holy Immortal One,
Have mercy upon us.