The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-17
THE LAST DAYS OF LENT.
Impressive Services Commemorate
the Crucifxfon.

the CructnXtOn.
The services in all the churches which
observe Lent were Of an Impressive char
acter yesterday. In the Roman Catholic,
Episcopallan and Lutheran churches
special services were held. In the Roman
Catholic churches the services We're Of a
more ceremonial character than in the
other churches. At st. Johns, Christ and
ST. Paups Episcopal and at the Lutheran
Church of the Ascension and St Paul's
Lutheran church. the services, while less
pretentous, were in keeping with the
solemnity of the day.
on Good Friday the Roman Catholic
church commentaries the Passion of
Christ. The day is the most solemn Of
Holy week. The services at the cathedral
we're in keeping with the character of the
day. The officiating clergy and the altar
boys were dressed in black vestments and
the affairs were stripped of all decoration.
Passages from the Old Testament were
read and the Passion from st. John was
recited. Prayers were offered for all con-
ditions Of men.
The blessed sacrament which had been
in the repository in the blessed sacra-
ment altar since the day before was
brought back to the main altar in a sol
emn procession, and the crosses which had
been covered since passion Sunday were
uncovered for the generation of the clergy
and the people
One of the most striking and singular
features of Good Fridays ritual is the abb
staining from the celebration of mass, in
the proper sense of the word. From an
cient times the Greek church abstained
from mass during Lent, except on Sat
urdays and Sundays and substituted for 1t
the mass of the presanctifed, in which the
priest received a host previously conse-
Grated. The Greeks still observe this an
cieut use, but the Latin church contents
herself with the abstainng of mass on
Good Friday only, the day on which
Christ was offered as a bleeding victim for
the sins of the world.
At O'clock in the afternoon the sta
tons Of the cross were said, and last night
the tenebrae was chanted. The following
is an explanation of the ceremony of tene-
brae, which word means darkness. At the
beginning of the Office thirteen lighted
candles are placed on a triangular candle
labrum, and at the end of each psalm one
is put out, until only a single candle is
left lighted at the top of the triangle. Dur
ing the singing of the Benedictus the can
QiSS Oh liG AliSu diAdL art GAllilB ulSnSO,
while at the antphon, after the Benedic-
tus, the single candle left aiight is hidden
at the epistle corner of the altar, and is
brought out at the end of the office. This
extinction of lights is best explained by
Amalarius Fortunatus, who wrote In 500.
1t figures, he says the growing darkness
of the time when Christ, the light of the
world was taken. The last candle is hid
den, not extinguished, to signify that
death could not really obtain dominion
over Christ, though it appeared to do so.
The clapping made at the end Of the Of
fee is said TO symbolic the confusion con-
sequent on Christ's death.
At the evening services Father Kelly
delivered an eloquent sermon on the
passion.
To-day is holy Saturday and the last
day of holy week. The ceremonies at the
cathedral win begin at o'clock. They
will consist of the blessing of the paschal
candle and of the holy water font. The
water in the font is scattered to the four
quarters of the earth to indicate the cath
olicity of the church and the efficacy of
her sacraments. At the conclusion of
these ceremonies the mass will be said.