On Saturday while meandering through the streets of old Edinburgh, I visited Old Saint Paul’s, the original Episcopalian Scottish church.

Inside was dark and silent, lit by only a few dim lights. I was struck by the many veiled statues to mark Passiontide, the two-week period in the lead up to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. On the Saturday before the 5^th Sunday of lent (Passion Sunday) statues and crosses are covered; the crosses are uncovered after the liturgy on Good Friday and images are unveiled before the beginning of Easter vigil often to the singing of ‘Gloria in Excelsis’. The veils are always purple and sometimes they are changed to red on Palm Sunday.

Exactly when the origins of the tradition began seems unclear though many relate it back to the Gospel of John, (John 8:59). This refers to an episode when Jesus was accused of blasphemy by the Jewish leaders: “Therefore they took up stones, that they might cast at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went forth out of the temple.”

Why did Jesus hide? Because his time had not yet come. He was to die but he was to die at an appointed time in a particular way true to his spiritual destiny.The events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are known as the passions of Christ and include Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his cleansing of the Temple, his anointing, the Last Supper, his agony, his arrest, his trials before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate, his crucifixion and death, and his burial.

Passiontide, the crucifixion, and the resurrection are events symbolising the mysteries of renewal linked with the rites of spring, new life, new beginning, and the dying of the old to allow rebirth and resurrection. It is about transformation, fertility, and the balancing of light and dark.

Psychologically, the period preceding the transformation of death and rebirth is a mystery which happens behind the veil of consciousness. Like the mysteries of the dark moon, we cannot fathom the process with our usual perceptions. It is a time of ego dismantling when the old parts of the self are shed for the new to be reborn.

It is a deeply sacred time, a Kairos, a holy unfolding. A time to surrender to the wisdom of the mystery and trust that whatever is unfolding, is unfolding according to a divine plan. In the letting go of what has been we may experience a painful loss; it may feel unfair or meaningless according to our limited understanding.

The veil is a protection against pollution or infection from worldly ways or lack of understanding that is not in accordance with divine will. The mysteries of Easter are involved with letting go of our ego-based limitations of ourselves, old beliefs, and negative behaviours and to surrender to our divine intention and purpose. It is a time to trust. It is a call to connect with the divine spark within, to connect with the inner Christ.

I don’t necessarily follow the Christian religion, but the esoteric side of Christianity and the Christian Mysteries are very beautiful offering a deep sense of ritual in a world that is bereft of the sacred. It is a living mystery tradition.

John Tavener: The Protecting Veil [Rozhdestvensky] Steven Isserlis, cello

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-dC2XmpH5E