Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11, Luke 19:28–44, John 12:12–19) and opens Holy Week. All four Gospels record the event: Jesus riding into the city on a donkey in deliberate fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, the crowds spreading garments and branches on the road, and the acclamation 'Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' The palm branches, mentioned explicitly only in John's Gospel, gave the day its name; the other Synoptic writers mention 'branches cut from the fields' (Mark 11:8) or 'their cloaks' (Luke 19:36). The liturgical observance is ancient. The pilgrim Egeria, writing around 384, provides the earliest detailed description of a Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem: the bishop rode from the Mount of Olives into the city while the people carried palm and olive branches, and children too young to walk were carried on their parents' shoulders, all singing 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' This Jerusalem stational liturgy — procession from a site outside the city through the gates — became the model for Palm Sunday observances throughout Christendom. By the seventh century, the practice had spread throughout the Western churches. The Bobbio Missal (7th c., Gallican rite) attests Gallican influence on the introduction of palm blessing into Western liturgy, and the ninth-century Romano-Germanic Pontifical codified the full Western pattern of palm blessing, procession, and Passion Gospel that persists in recognizable form to this day.

Palm Sunday is unique among liturgical days in sustaining two contrasting moods within a single service. The BCP 2019 preserves this ancient pattern: the liturgy begins outdoors (or at a station apart from the main church) with the blessing of palms, the reading of the Triumphal Entry Gospel, and a procession into the church with hymns of praise — typically 'All Glory, Laud, and Honor' (Theodulph of Orléans, 820). But once the congregation enters the church, the tone shifts sharply. The Eucharistic Gospel is the full Passion narrative from one of the Synoptic Gospels (rotating by lectionary year: Matthew in Year A, Mark in Year B, Luke in Year C — John's Passion is reserved for Good Friday). The congregation that moments ago cried 'Hosanna' now speaks the words of the crowd calling for crucifixion. This liturgical reversal — from royal welcome to the demand for blood — enacts the central paradox of the Passion: the King who was received with palms was dead by Friday. The BCP's introductory rubric makes the theological point explicit: 'We who hail Jesus as King one moment, may in the next deny him, even joining with the crowd in shouting, "Crucify him!"' The color is red — for the Passion, not for Pentecostal fire. Some parishes use violet through the early days of Holy Week and switch to red for the Triduum, but Palm Sunday itself takes red because the Passion Gospel dominates the Eucharistic liturgy. The palms distributed to the congregation have generated their own devotional tradition: many Christians keep their palms throughout the year, and the custom of burning the previous year's palms to produce ashes for Ash Wednesday creates a beautiful liturgical cycle linking the two days.

Tikhon was born in 1865 into an Orthodox Russian family. Ordained to the priesthood, he eventually became a bishop and was assigned as the Russian Orthodox Bishop of the Aleutians and North America from 1898 to 1907, during a crucial period of Orthodox missionary work in North America. During his tenure, Tikhon demonstrated remarkable openness to Episcopalian clergy and lay leaders, encouraging dialogue and cooperation between the Orthodox and Anglican communions. In 1917, following the Russian Revolution and the restoration of the patriarchate (which had been dormant since 1700), Tikhon was elected Patriarch of Moscow. In this capacity, he became the primary defender of Orthodox Christianity against Bolshevik ideology and Soviet state pressure. He was imprisoned multiple times, interrogated, and subjected to intense pressure to renounce his faith and his position. Despite these trials, he maintained his commitment to Orthodox Christianity and ecumenical witness. He died on April 7, 1925 (October 9 in the Orthodox calendar), under circumstances suggesting Soviet pressure and possible poisoning. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized him as a saint in 1989, recognizing his steadfast faith and martyrdom under persecution.

Tikhon is venerated in the Orthodox tradition as a confessor who endured persecution under communist atheism while maintaining fidelity to Orthodox Christianity and the patriarchate. His ecumenical outreach during his American episcopate is recognized as a significant moment in Orthodox-Anglican relations. He exemplifies Orthodox resistance to totalitarianism and the cost of faith under persecution. His canonization in 1989 marked the post-Soviet recognition of his holiness and martyrdom.