This is Holy Week in the Christian tradition, and of all the ancient rites and rituals associated with this week, none is more invested with symbolism than the office of Tenebrae, which is held each year on the Wednesday before Maundy Thursday. At Trinity Church last night, passages of scripture were interspersed with stirring, sacred hymns such as Crux Fidelis and Allegri's Miserere (sung by the Trinity Choir,) accompanied by the extinguishing of candles that eventually plunged the 19th Century church into darkness. Most dramatic of all was the Great Noise (symbolizing the earthquake that supposedly erupted during Christ's crucifixion), during which cymbals crashed, feet stomped on the stone floor, and the organ exploded into a deafening roar that would frighten the heartiest of souls. One need not be religious to feel the power and majesty (not to mention fear and trembling) of divine mystery under such conditions. (More pics below.)