04/03/2026
The 2nd part of tonight's service will be a traditional Tenebrae Service. To keep the "solemnity" of this service the different parts of it are not explained during the service itself. I've posted below a description of some of the parts and why they are used. Most of the Psalms and readings speak of repentance, Christ's suffering, and feelings of abandonment and desertion reflecting how God forsook Jesus on the cross. This will also be printed in the bulletin tonight but I'm also including it here if you'd like to read it ahead of time. At the end of the service please respect those who wish to leave in silence. Offerings can be left in the plates if the entryway of church.
Introduction to the service: The middle service of the Three Holy Days, Good Friday Tenebrae is sometimes prepared for by the solemn stripping of the altar at the close of the Maundy Thursday liturgy. The altar is the most prominent symbol of Christ in the church, and the bare altar powerfully recalls Christ’s abandonment before his passion. If paraments are used, they should be black. The congregation returns on Good Friday to the bare altar in front of which has been placed a seven-fold candelabra or some other arrangement with seven candles. The minister conducts the service from the lectern rather than the altar. The Tenebrae candles are extinguished one by one as we remember the passion and its various messages of repentance and promise. Dimming the electrical lights as each candle is extinguished is preferable but not necessary. The last candle is extinguished after the last psalm, Psalm 51, leaving the church in darkness for a substantial time for silent prayer and meditation. The service is closed with a loud sound called the strepitus. The strepitus is often created by slamming shut a large Bible. This foreshadows the rending of Christ’s tomb in triumph at Easter. The last Tenebrae candle is then rekindled in the chancel (it thus anticipates the light of the paschal candle that is used in the Easter Vigil liturgy). To underscore the connective nature between this middle service of the Triduum and Maundy Thursday and Easter, no benediction is pronounced. Rather, the congregation leaves silently to reassemble for Easter. The psalms of the Tenebrae may be sung or recited by the minister and congregation or by a choir. Antiphons precede and follow each psalm. The “Glory Be to the Father” is omitted on Good Friday. An unhurried silence for meditation should follow each psalm. The silence is broken by the chanted or spoken antiphon of the next psalm. In keeping with the character of the day, it is preferable that the organ be used to accompany the service only where necessary and that the preludes and postludes be omitted. The richness of the service is such that a sermon may be deemed unnecessary. The canticle for Good Friday Tenebrae is the Magnificat. Mary, mother of our Lord, was one of the witnesses of the crucifixion whose own soul was pierced by the sight of Christ on the cross. It is especially appropriate for the church to sing Mary’s song for this service.
