Tenebrae Service is a Worship Service
in Darkness & in Light
Tenebrae is a Latin word meaning “darkness” or "shadows." A service of darkness has been observed in the church of Jesus Christ since the fourth century.
Maundy is also a Latin word meaning “mandatum” or “command,” as on the night before His crucifixion Jesus shared the Last Supper with His disciples and gave them a new commandment to “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34)
As we remember these events foreshadowing our salvation, we progressively extinguish the candles. The gradual extinguishing of the candles represents Christ's increasing suffering and engagement with the effects of our sins. In the experience of darkness and silence, Christ’s eventual death is represented by the Christ Candle being temporarily removed from the sanctuary. After a few minutes, the Christ candle will be brought back as a foretaste of the resurrection that we will celebrate on Easter.
We bring ourselves to the table to accept the gift of Christ’s sacrifice through the sacrament of communion.
You may remain as long as you wish in the quiet reflection of the sanctuary. When you choose to leave, please do so silently, remembering Jesus’ death and in anticipation of the joy of His resurrection.
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