There may be a good reason you never heard of Tenebrae.
The Bible does not mention Tenebrae, and such a service is therefore
not a mandate for the Church. However, this traditional service is still
performed by many Catholic parishes, Lutheran churches, and some
Orthodox churches. Many contemporary Christian churches will have
Good Friday services that harken back to the Tenebrae but with many
alterations for their modern congregations.
The word Tenebrae is Latin for “shadows” or “darkness.” It can also
be translated as “night” or “death.” The Tenebrae service is an
ancient tradition in Christian history that took place on one of the
last three days of Holy Week: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, or
Holy Saturday. The purpose of this service was to remember the
somber events that occurred in Jesus’ life from the exuberant
entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday through the night of
Jesus’ burial on Good Friday. Communion is often included in a
Tenebrae service, as well.
The most distinctive aspect of the service is the use of a Tenebrae “hearse,”
a holder for several lit candles. There are as many candles
as there are readings, plus a white Christ candle. The readers go
up one at a time, read their assigned selections, and extinguish one
of the candles, until only the Christ candle remains. Then someone
reads the first part of Psalm 22, which Jesus quoted on the cross.
Then the Christ candle is put out, leaving the congregation in near
total darkness—and near total devastation. At this point, the service
ends. There is no benediction and the people leave in silence. (The
lights are turned up but remain dim so that people can see their
way out.)
The purpose of the service is to recreate the betrayal, abandonment,
and agony of the events, and it is left unfinished, because the story
isn’t over until Easter Day.
Many thanks for most of the above information. For more go to:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Tenebrae-service.html and
http://www.kencollins.com/answers/question-39.htm
May the celebrations of Easter be part of your holiday weekend,
may the experiece of Tenebrae be on your list to discover first hand.
Till next time …
Your Editor …
Fran Klasinski
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