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Holy Week and Easter at Duke Chapel

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Join us March 29 through April 5, 2026, as we move through the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ with worship services for Holy Week and Easter. 

All services and events listed below are in Duke Chapel unless otherwise noted. Parking is available on a first-come-first-served basis in the Bryan Center Garage at 125 Science Drive. ADA parking is available in the surface lot at the same address. Many of the services are live-streamed. Click the link for each service for details.

Everyone attending Easter morning services at Duke Chapel is subject to security screening prior to entry, which can be expedited by leaving bags at home. Walk-through metal detectors are the primary method of screening. Guests who cannot use a metal detector will be screened with handheld devices and may undergo a pat-down if needed.

For a schedule of Catholic Masses in Duke Chapel, see the Duke Catholic Center website.

Stations of the Cross

A metalwork depicting Jesus carrying his cross.

Throughout Lent and Holy Week, the Chapel is displaying Stations of the Cross by Jean Sylvestre. The series of fourteen metalworks represent the scriptural and traditional events of Jesus’s journey from condemnation before Pilate to his death on the Cross and his entombment. An artist from the village of Croix-des-Bouquets in Haiti, Sylvestre made the pieces from discarded steel oil drums.

Spring oratorio: Light from LIght

Saturday, March 28, at 7:30 p.m.

A close-up of a stained-glass window panel rendered in a striking woodcut style with black, silver, and gold tones. It depicts Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, shown with a golden halo and hands clasped in prayer, looking upward toward a crescent moon. To the right, a golden chalice sits atop a stone-like surface, symbolizing the cup of suffering.

On the eve of Holy Week, the Duke Chapel Choir joins forces with Mallarmé Music to perform two stunning expressions of faith in our Spring Oratorio concert. One piece, Arvo Pärt's Berliner Messe, moves between ethereal serenity and joyous exuberance, woven together by Pärt's signature tintinnabuli technique. The other composition, John Rutter's beloved Requiem, combines portions of the traditional Latin Requiem with English-language scriptures in a musical tapestry of solace and reassurance. Purchase tickets.

Palm Sunday Worship Service

Sunday, March 29, at 11:00 a.m.

People stand in the pews of Duke Chapel and wave palm leaves.

This service begins with a procession of the palms to recall the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The Rev. Bruce Puckett, assistant dean of Duke Chapel, preaches. The Duke Chapel Choir, Durham Children's Choir, and Bell Durham Handbell Choir lead the music. See service details and a link to the livestream.

Palm Sunday Choral EvensonG with Student Homily

Sunday, March 29, at 4:00 p.m.

A group of people wearing white robes are gathered around a font and man raises his hands.

For centuries, the church has marked the transition from daytime to evening with psalms, prayer, and song. Duke Chapel's Choral Evensong follows this historic pattern, using the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer and featuring choral and organ music from the English cathedral tradition, led by the Chapel's Evensong Singers. Duke senior Anna Sorensen will preach the homily during this service. See service detail and a link to the livestream. 

Holy Monday Noon Service

Monday, March 30, at 12-noon

A headshot of a smiling woman with short, dark brown hair and fair skin. She is wearing a white, textured sweater and small gold stud earrings. The background is a soft-focus, mottled grey and blue studio backdrop.

The Holy Week noon services include scripture reading, prayer, and a sermon. For this service, the preacher is the Rev. Dr. Katherine Higgins, an ACPE certified educator with Duke Hospital Chaplain Services and Education. See service details and a link to the livestream.

Holy Tuesday Noon Service

Tuesday, March 31, at 12-noon

A man with a beard wearing a blue polo shirt with a Nike swoosh and a Duke "D".

The preacher is Mark Mueller, an associate head coach of Duke's track and field team. See service details and a link to the livestream.

Holy Wednesday Noon Service

Wednesday, April 1, at 12-noon

A professional portrait of a smiling woman with long, light brown hair and red lipstick. She is wearing a black blazer over a patterned white and black blouse with a gold necklace. The background features the blurred, ornate stone arches of a Gothic-style hallway.

The preacher is Leah Benn Miller, Divinity '24, a residence coordinator at Duke and director of worship and spiritual formation at The Local Church. See service details and a link to the livestream. 

Holy Thursday Noon Service

Thursday, April 2, at 12-noon

portrait of a young woman with light brown hair and freckles, smiling warmly at the camera. She is wearing a cream-colored t-shirt and a large, ornate brass-toned statement necklace featuring a red stone in a central heart-shaped pendant. She is standing outdoors in a stone walkway with arched Gothic architecture in the background.

The preacher is Keagan Bouman, a Divinity School student and intern for worship and student engagement at Duke Chapel. See details.

Maundy Thursday Service

Thursday, April 2, at 7:00 p.m.

A medium portrait of a smiling woman with blonde, bob-length hair standing outdoors. She is wearing black clerical robes and a colorful, woven stole featuring shades of green, purple, and gold. The background is a soft-focus, blurred view of green foliage and trees with dappled sunlight.

This service includes stripping of the altar and holy communion. The preacher is the Rev. Dr. Mindy Douglas, Divinity '16, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Durham. The Chapel Choir and organists lead the music. See details and a link to the livestream.

Good Friday Stations of the Cross

Friday, April 3, at 11:30 a.m. on the Chapel Quad

A group of people stand in front of a wooden cross outside.

This service on the Chapel Quad is a reflection on Christ's last days through readings, prayers, banners, and stylized reenactments. 

Good Friday Noon Service

Friday, April 3, at 12-noon

A professional headshot of a man with a beard, smiling warmly at the camera. He is wearing a plum-colored suit jacket, a white dress shirt, and a textured blue tie. A small gold lapel pin is visible on his left blazer pocket. The background is a soft-focus outdoor setting featuring a green lawn and a stone building with an arched entrance.

This is a simple service with a sparse liturgy of scripture and reflective music recalling the crucifixion and death of Jesus. The preacher is the Rev. Dr. Mycal X. Brickhouse, Divinity '16 and '24, director of programs and grants at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity. See details and a link to the livestream.

Good Friday Tenebrae

Friday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m.

A wooden statue with an angel with hands in a prayer position.

This service includes a progressive dimming of the lights within the Chapel until the congregation sits in darkness to remember Jesus’s death. Chapel Dean Luke A. Powery gives the sermon. The Chapel Choir and organists lead the music. Matthew Rushing, Alvin Ailey associate artistic director and “artist-in-context” at Duke Divinity School, dances as part of the service. See details and a link to the livestream.

Music for Holy Saturday

Saturday, April 4, at 4:00 p.m. in Duke Divinity School's Goodson Chapel

A vibrant, rectangular stained-glass window panel titled "THE BURIAL OF JESUS" in small white text at the top left. The central scene shows five figures with expressive, grieving faces—some with halos—carefully laying the body of Jesus into a tomb.

This program presents three rarely heard French Baroque works for Holy Week by Michel Richard de Lalande, François Couperin, and Sébastien de Brossard, setting texts associated with penitence and lament, including Psalm 51 (Miserere mei) and the Lamentations of Jeremiah. The settings are for solo voice and small ensemble, with a style of declamation typical of the French tradition of the time, at once elegant and passionate. The performances are given by Duke voice professor Clara Rottsolk, a soprano, with a small vocal and instrumental ensemble, including Daniel Swenberg (theorbo), Katerina Kotar (bass viol), and Dr. Philip Cave (organ), the Chapel's conductor-in-residence. See concert details.

Easter Sunrise Service

Sunday, April 5, at 6:30 a.m. in Duke Gardens

A group of people gather on a lawn a dawn.

The preacher is the Rev. Dr. Brent A. Strawn, the D. Moody Smith Distinguished Professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School. Note: Please bring a flashlight and park in the H Lot at the corner of Anderson and Lewis streets, and then walk to the South Lawn. Use this map for reference:

A map of Duke Gardens.

Easter Day Service with Holy Communion

Sunday, April 5, at 9:00 a.m.

Easter service at Duke Chapel

This service includes Holy Communion. Duke Chapel Dean Luke A. Powery preaches, and the Chapel Choir leads the music along with the Amalgam Brass Ensemble and Chapel organists. Matthew Rushing, Alvin Ailey associate artistic director and “artist-in-context” at Duke Divinity School, dances as part of the service. See service detail and a link to the livestream.

Easter Day Service

Sunday, April 5, at 11:00 a.m.

Easter service at Duke Chapel

Chapel Dean Luke A. Powery preaches and the Chapel Choir leads the music along with the Amalgam Brass Ensemble and Chapel organists. Matthew Rushing, Alvin Ailey associate artistic director and “artist-in-context” at Duke Divinity School, dances as part of the service. See service details and a link to the livestream.

Easter Day Choral Evensong

Sunday, April 5, at 4:00 p.m.

A man holding a black folder opens his mouth to sing with other choir members in the background.

For centuries, the church has marked the transition from daytime to evening with psalms, prayer, and song. Duke Chapel's Choral Evensong follows this historic pattern, using the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer and featuring choral and organ music from the English cathedral tradition, led by the Chapel's Evensong Singers. See service details and a link to the livestream. 

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