| Holy Wednesday | |
|---|---|
 Aconfraternity of penitents leads a Holy Wednesday procession inVillarreal, Spain (2015) | |
| Also called | Spy Wednesday Good Wednesday Holy and Great Wednesday |
| Observed by | Christians |
| Type | Christian |
| Significance | commemorates theBargain of Judas and theParable of the Two Debtors |
| Observances | Mass;Tenebrae |
| Date | Wednesday before Easter |
| 2024 date |
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| 2025 date |
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| 2026 date |
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| 2027 date |
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| Frequency | annual |
| Related to | Holy Week |
InChristianity,Holy Wednesday commemorates theBargain of Judas as a clandestine spy among the disciples.[1] It is also calledSpy Wednesday,[2] orGood Wednesday (inWestern Christianity),[3] andGreat and Holy Wednesday (inEastern Christianity).
InWestern Christianity many churches of various denominations observe thetenebrae service on Holy Wednesday.[4][5][6]
In theNew Testament account of Holy Week, afterPalm Sunday, theSanhedrin gathered and plotted to kill Jesus before the feast ofPesach.[7] On the Wednesday before his death, Jesus was inBethany, in the house ofSimon the Leper. As he sat at the supper table with his disciples, a woman named Maryanointed Jesus' head and feet with a costly oil ofspikenard.[8] The disciples were indignant, asking why the oil was not instead sold and the money given to the poor.[9] ButJudas Iscariot wanted to keep the money for himself.[10][11] Then Judas went to the Sanhedrin and offered to deliver Jesus to them in exchange for money. From this moment on, Judas sought an opportunity to betray Jesus.[12]
In reference to Judas Iscariot's intent to betray Jesus, formed on Holy Wednesday, the day is sometimes called "Spy Wednesday".[13][14][15] The wordspy, as used in the term, means "ambush, ambuscade, snare".[16] Additionally, among the disciples, Judas clandestinely was a spy and Wednesday was the day he chose to betray Christ.[17]
Today, the term "Tenebrae" refers to aHoly Week service usually held on Spy Wednesday that involves the gradual extinguishing of candles on a Tenebrae hearse, readings related to thePassion of Jesus, and thestrepitus (loud noise).[6][18]
Prior to theSecond Vatican Council, the Tenebrae liturgy ofmatins andlauds ofMaundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) used to be celebrated in the afternoon or evening of Good Wednesday. The name comes from theLatin wordtenebrae, meaningdarkness. In thisservice, all the candles on a special candelabra and on thealtar were gradually extinguished except for one. This was then hidden and the church was left in complete darkness. Next, after recitation ofPsalms 50–51 and a special prayer, a loud noise (inLatinstrepitus) was made, which was originally a signal for the ministers to depart but was later interpreted as symbolizing the confusion and terror that accompanied thedeath of Jesus, including the earthquake that, according to the Gospel ofMatthew 27:51, followed. A similar celebration of matins and lauds of Good Friday and Holy Saturday used to be held towards the close of each of the preceding days.[19] This custom is still retained by those Catholic Churches which celebrate the pre-1955 Holy Week Reforms.
In the older form of the Mass known as theTridentine Mass the readings for Holy Wednesday are taken fromIsaiah 62:11;63:1–7 and the Gospel according to St.Luke 22:1–71;23:1–53. In the 1955 Holy Week Reform, the first 38 verses of the 22nd chapter of St. Luke were removed. Those 38 verses are retained in the Roman Catholic Churches which celebrate the pre-1955 Holy Week.[20] In theordinary form of the Roman Rite the readings on Holy Wednesday are Isaiah 50.4–9a and Matthew 26.14–25.[21]
Lutheran churches hold services on Holy Wednesday, often in the form of theTenebrae.[22][23]
In theEpiscopal Church in the United States, a member of theAnglican Communion, the office ofTenebrae is celebrated on Spy Wednesday.[5]
In traditional Methodist usage,The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965) provides the following Collect for Spy Wednesday:[24]
Assist us mercifully with thy help, O Lord God our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the meditation of those mighty acts through which thou hast given unto us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[24]
On the evening of Spy Wednesday, many Methodist churches observe the Tenebrae service.
In theByzantine Rite (used by Eastern Orthodox, certain Eastern Catholic and Eastern Lutheran churches), the theme of Holy and Great Wednesday is the commemoration of the sinful woman whoanointed Jesus before his crucifixion and Burial; a second theme is theagreement to betray Jesus made byJudas Iscariot.
The day begins at vespers to which may be joined the celebration of thePresanctified Liturgy; typically, this is now performed Tuesday morning or afternoon. At this service, many of the hymns sung at matins are repeated. The readings tell of the finding of Moses and the sufferings of Job. The Gospel tells a number of parables about the Second Coming, including the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.
Later that evening (in parish practice) or early the following morning, thematins follows the special format known as theBridegroom Service which is used the first three days of Holy Week. The Gospel is a passage fromJohn 12 about Jesus revealing himself to some Greeks. Towards the end of matins, theHymn of Kassiani is sung. Thehymn, (written in the 9th century byKassia) tells of the woman who washed Christ's feet in the house ofSimon the Leper (Luke 7:36–50). Much of the hymn is written from the perspective of the sinful woman:
O Lord, the woman who had fallen into many sins, sensing Your Divinity, takes upon herself the duty of a myrrh-bearer. With lamentations she brings you myrrh in anticipation of your entombment. "Woe to me!" she cries, "for me night has become a frenzy of licentiousness, a dark and moonless love of sin. Receive the fountain of my tears, O You who gather into clouds the waters of the sea. Incline unto me, unto the sighings of my heart, O You who bowed the heavens by your ineffable condescension. I will wash your immaculate feet with kisses and dry them again with the tresses of my hair; those very feet at whose sound Eve hid herself in fear when she heard You walking in Paradise in the twilight of the day. As for the multitude of my sins and the depths of Your judgments, who can search them out, O Savior of souls, my Savior? Do not disdain me Your handmaiden, O You who are boundless in mercy.
WhereByzantine music is used, the composition expresses the poetry so strongly that it often leaves many people in a state of prayerful tears. The Hymn can last upwards of 25 minutes and is liturgically and musically a highpoint of the entire year.
At vespers, to which may be joined the celebration of thePresanctified Liturgy, and which, strictly speaking, is the liturgical beginning ofHoly Thursday, many of the hymns sung at matins are repeated. The readings tell of Moses' killing of the Egyptian and Job refusing to curse God despite his misfortunes. The Gospel tells the stories of the sinful woman and Judas' betrayal.
In Greece (and some other places the custom has spread to) all members of the church receiveHoly Unction on Wednesday evening.[25]
It is on account of the agreement made by Judas to betray Jesus on this day that Orthodox Christiansfast on Wednesdays (as well as Fridays) throughout the year.
Spy Wednesday: The Wednesday of Holy Week, so named from its being the day on which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ (Matt. 26:14–16).
Among English-speaking peoples the Wednesday of Holy Week is called variously Good Wednesday, Holy Wednesday, Spy Wednesday (referring to the activities of Judas Iscariot), and Wednesday before Easter.
Also, in many places you will find the service of Tenebrae offered on one of these early weekdays of Holy Week, most often on Wednesday evening.
In this book, provision is made for Tenebrae on Wednesday evening only, in order that the proper liturgies of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday may find their place as the principal services of those days.
From Wednesday onward, Judas secretly watched for a chance to turn Jesus over to the chief priests, and so many Christians labeled this day as "Spy Wednesday." In the same vein various cultures reflected the somber mood of this day by calling it "Black Wednesday" or "Wednesday of Shadows," which also corresponds to the liturgical rite of Tenebrae that is celebrated on this day.
Spy Wednesdayn. in Irish use, the Wednesday before Easter.
Spy Wednesday, so called in allusion to the betrayal of Christ by Judas, or the day on which he made the bargain to deliver Him into the hands of His enemies for thirty pieces of silver.
