The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-03-23
THE LAST WEEK OF LENT.
IT'S OBSERVANCE IN THE EPIsCO-
PAL AND CATHOLIC CHURCHES.

Solemn Services in the Cathedral
The Ofaces Of the ''TenebrR" and
Their Signihcation-The Services of
Eoly Week ct st. Johns, Christ and
st. Matthew's-Holy Thurs lays Com
memoration at Christ Church.
To-day begins what is known in the
Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches as
holy Week, the most solemn week OF the
Lenten period, concentrating as it does
the closing scenes in the life Of Christ 1t
will be observed in a special manner by both
SchQrches.
The observance of Holy week is men,
toned by Ireneus toward the end Of the
second century, while Eusebiss evidently
believed that the custom dated
from Apostolic times In the
east Holy Week was distinguished
from the rest of Lent by the extreme strict
ness Of the fast Dionysius of Alexandria,
in bis epistle to Basllides. tells of some
chris ians who kept en- absolute fast for the
whole week, while others did so for one,
two, three or four days. In the Latin
church, according to Thomassou's "Traite
DIES Jeunesn it is difficult to discern any
OrOOI IudI tuS ldSL Oh uOt1 WICK t1Cceu6u
the strictness OF the ordinary Lenten fast
The "Tenebre' services will be held in
the Cathedral on Wednesday, Thursday
and Friday nights at s o'clock. The service
of the Tenebraa is one Of the most interest
ing in the Catholic church. 1t consists Of
the chanting of the mathis and iauds by
the priests. The "Gloria Patri" at the end
Of the psalms and the responsories
and the hymns, antiphons of the
ac ion IF
sorrow. The Lessons of the first Nocturn
are taken from the lamentations of Jere-
MAS, the Hebrew letter which begins each
verse in these acrostic poems being re-
tanned in Latin.
At the beginning OF the Office thirteen
lighted candles are placed on a triangular
candelabrum, and at he cad of each psalm
one is put out, till only a single
candle is left lighted at the
top of the triangle During the singing Of
the Benedlctus the candles on the main altar
are extinguished, while at the antphon after
the Bened ctus the single candle left alight
on the triangle is hidden at the epistle
corner of the altar, to be brought out again
at the end of the office. THIS extinction Of
lights, from which probably comes the
best explained by Analarius For
tunatus, who wrote in $40. st figures"
he says, ''the growing darkness Of the time
when Christ, the light Of the world, was
taken"
The last candle, according to Benedict
XIV, is hidden, not extingUished, to signify
that death could not really obtain dominion
over Christ, though it SO appeared. The
clapping made at the end of the Office sym
holizes the confusion consequent on
Christ's death.
The services in st. Johns, Christ and St
Matthew's Episcopal churches during the
week will be preparatory 20 the Easter cele-
bration. Daily services win be held in st.
Johns at 5 p. IN, aud ON Good Friday
morning service aud sermon at IL o'clock.
AT Christ church daily services will be held.
At st. Matthews early services will be
held at a. IN. and Good Friday morning
service and sermon at IL CLOCK Holy
Thursday united services will be held in
Christ church at 8 o'clock at night.