Tenebrae – tonight
Tuesday 31 March 2026 at 11:30
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Tonight at 7.30 pm sees our annual celebration of Tenebrae.
Tenebrae (Latin for “darkness” or “shadows”) is an ancient Holy Week service that celebrates Matins and Lauds in the darkness of the preceding night. It is traditionally marked by the gradual extinguishing of candles as psalms are sung, symbolizing the approaching darkness of Jesus’s death.
Tenebrae reaches its culmination with a “strepitus” or loud noise representing the earthquake that accompanied Jesus’ death. Out of the gloom, the light of the last candle re-emerges symbolising Christ rising from the tomb.