In Christianity, Holy Wednesday commemorates the Bargain of Judas as a clandestine spy among the disciples. It is also called Spy Wednesday, or Good Wednesday (in Western Christianity), and Great and Holy Wednesday (in Eastern Christianity). In Western Christianity many churches of various denominations observe the tenebrae service on Holy Wednesday.

Biblical narratives

In the New Testament account of Holy Week, after Palm Sunday, the Sanhedrin gathered and plotted to kill Jesus before the feast of Pesach. On the Wednesday before his death, Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the Leper. As he sat at the supper table with his disciples, a woman named Mary anointed Jesus' head and feet with a costly oil of spikenard. The disciples were indignant, asking why the oil was not instead sold and the money given to the poor. But Judas Iscariot wanted to keep the money for himself. 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. In reference to Judas Iscariot's intent to betray Jesus, formed on Holy Wednesday, the day is sometimes called "Spy Wednesday". The word spy, as used in the term, means "ambush, ambuscade, snare". Additionally, among the disciples, Judas clandestinely was a spy and Wednesday was the day he chose to betray Christ.

Liturgy

Western Christianity

Catholic Church

Today, the term "Tenebrae" refers to a Holy Week service usually held on Spy Wednesday that involves the gradual extinguishing of candles on a Tenebrae hearse, readings related to the Passion of Jesus, and the strepitus (loud noise). Prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Tenebrae liturgy of matins and lauds of Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) used to be celebrated in the afternoon or evening of Good Wednesday. The name comes from the Latin word tenebrae, meaning darkness. In this service, all the candles on a special candelabra and on the altar were gradually extinguished except for one. This was then hidden and the church was left in complete darkness. Next, after recitation of and a special prayer, a loud noise (in Latin strepitus) was made, which was originally a signal for the ministers to depart but was later interpreted as symbolizing the confusion and terror that accompanied the death of Jesus, including the earthquake that, according to the Gospel of, 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. 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 the Tridentine Mass the readings for Holy Wednesday are taken from ; and the Gospel according to St. ;. 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. In the ordinary form of the Roman Rite the readings on Holy Wednesday are Isaiah 50.4–9a and Matthew 26.14–25.

Lutheran Churches

Lutheran churches hold services on Holy Wednesday, often in the form of the Tenebrae.

Anglican Churches

In the Episcopal Church in the United States, a member of the Anglican Communion, the office of Tenebrae is celebrated on Spy Wednesday.

Methodist Churches

In traditional Methodist usage, The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965) provides the following Collect for Spy Wednesday: On the evening of Spy Wednesday, many Methodist churches observe the Tenebrae service.

Eastern Christianity

Byzantine Rite

In the Byzantine 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 who anointed Jesus before his crucifixion and Burial; a second theme is the agreement to betray Jesus made by Judas Iscariot. The day begins at vespers to which may be joined the celebration of the Presanctified 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, the matins follows the special format known as the Bridegroom Service which is used the first three days of Holy Week. The Gospel is a passage from John 12 about Jesus revealing himself to some Greeks. Towards the end of matins, the Hymn of Kassiani is sung. The hymn, (written in the 9th century by Kassia) tells of the woman who washed Christ's feet in the house of Simon the Leper. 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." Where Byzantine 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 the Presanctified Liturgy, and which, strictly speaking, is the liturgical beginning of Holy 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 receive Holy Unction on Wednesday evening. It is on account of the agreement made by Judas to betray Jesus on this day that Orthodox Christians fast on Wednesdays (as well as Fridays) throughout the year.

Customs

<!-- See This article is about a day on church calendars as two days before commemoration of the crucifixion on Good Friday. This commented-out section is about another (fringe theory) matter. Not knowing where to put it or what else do with it, but not wanting to see this deleted without consensus, it is, for now, hidden. # Wednesday crucifixion controversy Although the consensus of modern scholarship is that the New Testament accounts represent a crucifixion occurring on a Friday, some commentators claim the traditional Holy Week calendar to be inaccurate and Jesus crucified on Wednesday, not Friday. In a review of [Colin Humphreys](https://bliptext.com/articles/colin-humphreys)'s 2011 The Mystery of the Last Supper, W.R. Telford noted that Humphreys used some very dubious sources and built an argument upon unsound premises. Those promoting a Wednesday crucifixion date instead of Friday argue that [Matthew 12:38–40](https://bliptext.com/articles/undefined) (ASV) indicates Jesus was to be dead for "three days and three nights," which would not have been possible if he was crucified on a Friday. Elsewhere Biblical texts reinforce the point that Jesus was to be dead for three days and three nights, including in [Mark 8:31](https://bliptext.com/articles/undefined), where it is written that the Son of Man "must be killed and after three days rise again." In [Matthew 27:62–64](https://bliptext.com/articles/undefined) the Pharisees quote Jesus as saying, "After three days I will rise again." Others have countered by saying that this ignores the Jewish idiom by which a "day and night" may refer to any part of a 24-hour period, that the expression in Matthew is idiomatic, not a statement that Jesus was 72 hours in the tomb, and that the many references to a resurrection on the third day do not require three literal nights. Other evidence weighing against the Wednesday crucifixion hypothesis comes from Jesus stating that he would rise on the third day, not after three days ([Matthew 16:21](https://bliptext.com/articles/undefined), [Matthew 17:23](https://bliptext.com/articles/undefined), [Matthew 20:19](https://bliptext.com/articles/undefined), and [Luke 24:46](https://bliptext.com/articles/undefined) NRSV). The crucifixion's proximity to the Sabbath day has also factored into the theory. [Mark 15:42](https://bliptext.com/articles/undefined) indicates that Jesus was crucified on "Preparation Day (that is, the day before Sabbath)." Since the Sabbath occurs on Saturday, it was presumed that Jesus was crucified on [Good Friday](https://bliptext.com/articles/good-friday). The [Wednesday](https://bliptext.com/articles/wednesday) Crucifixion theory accounts for this by translating (μεγάλη ἡ ἡμέρα [John 19:31](https://bliptext.com/articles/undefined) as a special sabbath or High Holyday. Proponents of the [Wednesday](https://bliptext.com/articles/wednesday) crucifixion theory argue that this special Sabbath was the [Feast of Unleavened Bread](https://bliptext.com/articles/feast-of-unleavened-bread), which commenced on the 15th day of the Jewish month of [Nisan](https://bliptext.com/articles/nisan) and was preceded with a passover meal on the 14th of [Nisan](https://bliptext.com/articles/nisan). If Jesus was crucified in 30 A.D. or 31 A.D., the 14th of [Nisan](https://bliptext.com/articles/nisan) would have fallen on a [Wednesday](https://bliptext.com/articles/wednesday), with the next day being an Annual Sabbath. A Thursday crucifixion has also been proposed. End Comment -->