Holy Tuesday or Great and Holy Tuesday (, ) (lit. 'Great Third (Day)', i.e., Great Tuesday), also known as Fig Tuesday, is a day of Holy Week, which precedes Easter. As with other days of Holy Week, this day is observed through the holding of church services.
Nomenclature
Holy Tuesday is also known as Fig Tuesday "as it commemorates the day Jesus returned to Jerusalem from Bethany, passing a barren fig tree on the way, which he used as an example to teach his disciples."
Western Christianity
In the Roman Catholic Church, the readings for the Novus Ordo are Isaiah 49:1-6; Psalm 71:1-6, Psalm 71:15, Psalm 71:17; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; and John 13:21-33, John 13:36-38. In the older form of the Mass known as the Tridentine Mass the readings are taken from Jeremiah 11:18-20 and the Gospel according to St. Mark 14:1-72; Mark 15:1-46. In the 1955 Holy Week Reform, the first 31 verses of the 14th chapter of St. Mark were removed. Those 31 verses are retained in the Roman Catholic Churches which celebrate the pre-1955 Holy Week.
In the Revised Common Lectionary, which is used by the Anglican Communion, Methodist Churches, Lutheran Churches, Old Catholic Churches and some Reformed Churches, the Scripture lessons are Isaiah 49:1-7 (First Reading), Psalm 71:1-14 (Psalm), 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (Second Reading), and John 12:20-36 (Gospel Reading).
In traditional Methodist usage, The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965) provides the following Collect for Holy Tuesday: