Art:The Crucifixion, Pietro Lorenzetti Italian 1340s,
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 635.
Tenebrae
The Hour of Darkness
Tenebrae, the hour of darkness, was celebrated at St. Mark the Evangelist on the Wednesday of Holy Week. Ancient hymns, scripture readings, prayers and a meditation are offered to feed the reverence of the faithful during this holiest time of the year.
Wikipedia says, "In the Catholic Church, "Tenebrae" is the name given to the celebration, with special ceremonies, of matins and lauds, the first two hours of the Divine Office of each of the last three days of Holy Week. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church Tenebrae was celebrated in all churches with a sufficient number of clergy until the liturgical reforms of Pope Pius XII in the 1950s. The traditions regarding this service go back at least to the ninth century. Matins, originally celebrated a few hours after midnight, and lauds, originally celebrated at dawn, were anticipated by the late Middle Ages on the afternoon or evening of the preceding day, and were given the name "Tenebrae" because the service concluded when darkness was setting in."