The College of Bishops has authorised new rites for Lent, Holy Week and Easter to be used throughout the Scottish Episcopal Church for a period of experimental use. These rites have been developed to work more naturally with the Scottish Liturgy 1982 than the current authorised provision, Services and Ceremonies for Ash Wednesday and Holy Week 1967 and also to take account of the varied circumstances of congregations throughout the Province.

To accompany these rites, the Liturgy Committee and the Doctrine Committee have worked together to produce a commentary on the new liturgical texts in the light of the liturgical history and theology of Lent, Holy Week, and the Paschal Triduum – the celebration of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The commentary is intended to be a support to the new rites, both for clergy and congregations, and the Committees hope that readers will find it a useful and interesting resource on the understanding of Lent, Holy Week and Easter in the Scottish Episcopal Church.