Tenebrae

Tenebrae, meaning shadows, is a centuries-old custom of publicly singing part of the Divine Office during Holy Week. At our service, a triangular stand holds fifteen candles that are extinguished one by one after each lesson. The last candle is hidden beneath the altar, ending the service in total darkness. We use the strepitus (Latin for “great noise”) as part of the service to symbolize the earthquake that followed Christ’s death and as the signal to depart in silence.