It has long been a practice in the Church to read the four accounts of Christ’s Passion during Holy Week. How long it has been a practice, I cannot say; but it certainly dates back at least to the Reformation, and was likely a preserved inheritance rather than an innovation (if anyone happens to know the history of such Passion reading during Holy Week, please comment and teach me).
I have put together a Passion Book for use in the home during Holy Week. It includes the four Passion accounts, along with the other historic readings for Holy Week. I have paired the ESV text with various woodcuts and paintings from the Church’s rich treasury, including series by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Giotto di Bondone, and Duccio di Buoninsegna.
The Passion Book is available here. There you will find PDF’s for the individual days, along with a compiled PDF of the entire Passion Book. I hope it proves to be edifying as you meditate on the holy sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ this Holy Week.
