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Tenebrae (Latin for “darkness”) is a Christian religious service celebrated in the Holy Week within Western Christianity, on the evening before or early morning of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Tenebrae is distinctive for its gradual extinguishing of candles while a series of readings and psalms are chanted or recited. The Roman rite of Tenebrae was widely observed in the Catholic Church until liturgical reforms in the second half of the 20th century diminished the practice. Tenebrae liturgy traditions also exist in Anglicanism, Protestantism, and Western Rite Orthodoxy. Anglicans, including the American Episcopal Church, usually observe the service on Wednesday in Holy Week, thereby preserving the importance of the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday observances. The Episcopal Church provides a single Tenebrae service on Wednesday evening, the day before Maundy Thursday.
