At Tenebrae on Maundy Thursday Tenebrae (Latin for darkness") is a religious service of the Catholic Church held during the three days preceding Easter Sunday and characterized by gradual extinguishing …More
At Tenebrae on Maundy Thursday Tenebrae (Latin for darkness") is a religious service of the Catholic Church held during the three days preceding Easter Sunday and characterized by gradual extinguishing of candles, and by a "strepitus" or "loud noise" taking place in total darkness near the end of the service. The traditions regarding this service go back at least to the ninth century. Matins, originally celebrated a few hours after midnight, and lauds, originally celebrated at dawn, were anticipated by the late Middle Ages on the afternoon or evening of the preceding day, and were given the name "Tenebrae" because concluding when darkness was setting in. The celebration of matins and lauds of these days on the previous evening in the form referred to as Tenebrae in churches with a sufficient number of clergy was universal in the Roman Rite until the reform of the Holy Week ceremonies by Pope Pius XII in 1955. He restored the Easter Vigil as a night office, moving that Easter liturgy from …More
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