Ash Wednesday Day of Prayer

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. The Cathedral will be open throughout the day for prayer and reflection. It will be a day of quietness, punctuated by a sequence of services. You are invited to join us for any part of the day.

St Paul's is closed all day for sightseeing. Everyone is welcome into the Cathedral for quiet thought, prayer and reflection. There is no admission charge at any time of the day.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of the season of Lent. This is a time of preparation, characterised by penitence, fasting and prayer, in which the Christian Church prepares for the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection in Holy Week and at Easter. Lent was first observed by those preparing for baptism at Easter. However, it soon became a time of preparation for all Christians. We mark this day, therefore, to begin the journey of forty days, with our eyes fixed on Good Friday and Easter.

Poverty, Chastity and Obedience: Freedom in a Modern Age

Poverty, Chastity and Obedience - three virtues central to the life of some religious communities - are often seen negatively as the absence of wealth, sexual intimacy and freewill. At the same time, despite the many freedoms we are supposed to enjoy in our modern age, many people and communities suffer from a sense of depression, loneliness and imprisonment.

As well as four services during the day, there will also be a series of four liturgies and meditations. In these, we shall contemplate how poverty, chastity and obedience can give us the freedom to grow into the full stature of our humanity through following in the way of Christ.

The Liturgy and Meditation services feature the music of Handel, Monteverdi, Poulenc and Byrd combined with scriptural readings and poetry. The speaker is the Revd Sarah Eynstone, Chaplain of St Paul’s.

Ash Wednesday schedule

7am
Mattins and Litany

8am
Eucharist with the imposition of ashes

10am
Liturgy and Meditation 1: Freedom in a Modern Age

11am
Liturgy and Meditation 2: Poverty

12.30pm 
Sung Eucharist with the imposition of ashes

1.30pm
Liturgy and meditation 3: Chastity

3pm
Liturgy and Meditation 4: Obedience

4pm 
Evening Prayer

5pm
Sung Eucharist with the imposition of ashes