Tenebrae Service Meaning

The Tenebrae Service focuses on the events surrounding the last hours in the life of Christ. The service begins and ends in silence. You can go out in silence, with a fresh awareness of what life would be without the joyous Easter message-"HE IS RISEN!"

The Tenebrae service, "service of shadows," is one of the oldest in the history of the Church. The word tenebrae means "darkness." The large candle represents Christ, the light of the world. From this central light seven other candles, symbolizing the "Seven Words of the Cross," are lighted. At the end, the Christ candle will be removed and we will be in tenebrae (or darkness) as representative of that which fell over the earth when Christ hung on the cross. The lighted Christ candle will then be returned to symbolize our hope in the Easter resurrection.