Joint Easter Service
Worship & Rites. Also called Joint Easter Worship Service, Union Easter Service, Joint Easter Sunrise Service, Ecumenical Easter Service, Easter Union Worship Service.
A joint Easter service is a worship service held on Easter at which multiple denominations and churches gather together, often at dawn. In Korea, the first such service is reported to have been held in 1947 on Namsan in Seoul.
About this articleAI draft from a Korean source. Notes on Korean Protestant practice. No sources listed. Not yet reviewed by a person.
- Origin
Drafted by AI from the Korean church.wiki article, then translated and adapted for English readers on 5 November 2026.
- Perspective
Includes notes on Korean Protestant practice; other traditions are noted where they differ.
- Sources
None listed yet. The article draws on the biblical text and general reference works. Add a source
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Not yet reviewed by a person. Last edited by a person: never. Translation updated 5 November 2026. Edit history
Definition and Meaning
A joint Easter service is a worship service held on Easter, the day commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In it, multiple denominations and churches worship together, rather than an individual church or a single denomination worshiping alone. Its significance lies in bringing together members of different denominations under their common confession of faith in the resurrection. Because it is frequently held around sunrise, it is also called a joint Easter sunrise service.
Biblical and Historical Background
The custom of worshiping at dawn is connected to the Gospel accounts in which the women went to Jesus' tomb early in the morning on the first day of the week, after the Sabbath (Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1). The Easter sunrise service in its modern form is generally traced to the dawn service held in a cemetery by the Moravian Brethren at Herrnhut, Germany, in the eighteenth century.
In the history of Korean Protestantism, the arrival of the missionaries Henry Appenzeller and Horace Underwood at Chemulpo (present-day Incheon) on Easter 1885 is often cited as a link between Korean Protestantism and Easter. The first joint Easter service in Korea involving multiple denominations is reported to have been held in 1947, after the country's liberation, on Namsan in Seoul.
Perspective: Korean Protestant practiceHow this idea is used in Korean churches, kept from the original Korean article.
In Korea during the 1970s and 1980s, large crowds reportedly gathered for joint Easter worship in spacious outdoor venues such as Yeouido Plaza in Seoul. During this period, the joint Easter service was regarded as a symbol of the outward growth of the Korean church.
In later years, differing positions among Korean ecumenical bodies, such as the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), whose membership is centered on progressive denominations, and the Christian Council of Korea, whose membership is centered on conservative denominations, led in some years to separate joint services or to extended discussions over how to prepare the service together. More recently, it has become common for a preparatory committee involving major ecumenical bodies such as the United Christian Churches of Korea and various denominations to organize the service, holding it at a designated venue such as a megachurch sanctuary or a public plaza. Regional joint services organized by city- and county-level Christian councils are also held in local communities.
Korean denominations also differ in how they observe Easter. Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, Baptist, and Full Gospel churches observe it primarily through an Easter sunrise service and the main Sunday service. Churches that emphasize the church year and liturgy, such as the Anglican Church of Korea and the Lutheran Church in Korea, may also observe the Easter Vigil. Which denominations take part in the joint service varies from year to year and from region to region.
See also 8
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