Good Friday

===Lutheran Church===
[[File:Chancel of Grace Lutheran Church on Good Friday.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[chancel]] of this Lutheran church is adorned with black [[parament]]s on Good Friday, the liturgical colour associated with Good Friday in the Lutheran Churches.]]

In [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] tradition from the 16th to the 20th century, Good Friday was the most important religious holiday, and abstention from all worldly works was expected. During that time, Lutheranism had no restrictions on the celebration of the Eucharist on Good Friday; on the contrary, it was a prime day on which to receive the Eucharist, and services were often accentuated by special music such as the ''[[St Matthew Passion]]'' by [[Johann Sebastian Bach]].<ref name="GassmannOldenburg2011"/>

[[File: 2014-04-18 Apostelkirche Hannover, Karfreitag-Gottesdienst, (005) Johannespassion, William-Byrd-Ensemble, Apostelchor, Andreas Schmidt-Adolf, Erwin Schütterle.jpg|thumb|left|Good Friday service in a Lutheran church in [[Hanover]], Germany, 2014.]]

More recently, Lutheran liturgical practice has recaptured Good Friday as part of the larger sweep of the great Three Days: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Vigil of Easter. The three days remain one liturgy which celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus. As part of the liturgy of the three days, Lutherans generally fast from the Eucharist on Good Friday. Rather, it is celebrated in remembrance of the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday and at the [[Vigil of Easter]]. One practice among Lutheran churches is to celebrate a [[Tenebrae#Lutheran practice|tenebrae]] service on Good Friday, typically conducted in candlelight and consisting of a collection of passion accounts from the four gospels. While being called "Tenebrae" it holds little resemblance to the now-suppressed Catholic monastic rite of the same name.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historiclectionary.com/2010/03/a-word-about-tenebrae |title=A Word About Tenebrae &#124; |publisher=Historiclectionary.com |date=22 March 2010 |access-date=23 April 2014 |archive-date=6 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006232713/http://www.historiclectionary.com/2010/03/a-word-about-tenebrae/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 

The Good Friday liturgy appointed in ''[[Evangelical Lutheran Worship]]'', the worship book of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, specifies a liturgy similar to the revised Roman Catholic liturgy. A rite for adoration of the crucified Christ includes the optional singing of the [[Improperia#Lutheranism|Solemn Reproaches]] in an updated and revised translation which eliminates some of the [[Jewish deicide|anti-Jewish overtones]] in previous versions. Many Lutheran churches have Good Friday services, such as the [[Three Hours' Agony]] centered on the remembrance of the "Seven Last Words," sayings of Jesus assembled from the four gospels, while others hold a liturgy that places an emphasis on the triumph of the cross, and a singular biblical account of the Passion narrative from the Gospel of John.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

Along with observing a general Lenten fast,<ref name="GassmannOldenburg2011">{{cite book|last1=Gassmann|first1=Günther|last2=Oldenburg|first2=Mark W.|title=Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism|year=2011|publisher=Scarecrow Press|language=en|isbn=978-0810874824|page=229|quote=In many Lutheran churches, the Sundays during the Lenten season are called by the first word of their respective Latin Introitus (with the exception of Palm/Passion Sunday): Invocavit, Reminiscere, Oculi, Laetare, and Judica. Many Lutheran church orders of the 16th century retained the observation of the Lenten fast, and Lutherans have observed this season with a serene, earnest attitude. Special days of eucharistic communion were set aside on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.}}</ref> many Lutherans emphasize the importance of Good Friday as a day of fasting within the calendar.<ref name="Pfatteicher1990">{{cite book|last=Pfatteicher|first=Philip H.|title=Commentary on the Lutheran Book of Worship: Lutheran Liturgy in Its Ecumenical Context|year=1990|publisher=Augsburg Fortress Publishers|language=en |isbn=978-0800603922|pages=223–244, 260|quote=The Good Friday fast became the principal fast in the calendar, and even after the Reformation in Germany many Lutherans who observed no other fast scrupulously kept Good Friday with strict fasting.}}</ref><ref name="JacobsHaas1899">{{cite book|last1=Jacobs|first1=Henry Eyster|last2=Haas|first2=John Augustus William|title=The Lutheran Cyclopedia|year=1899|publisher=Scribner|language=en|page=110|quote=By many Lutherans Good Friday is observed as a strict fast. The lessons on Ash Wednesday emphasize the proper idea of the fast. The Sundays in Lent receive their names from the first words of their Introits in the Latin service, Invocavit, Reminiscere, Oculi, Lcetare, Judica.}}</ref> ''A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent'' recommends the Lutheran guideline to "Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with only one simple meal during the day, usually without meat".<ref name="ELCA1978">{{cite web|url=http://www.ststephenlutheranchurch.org/pdf/Disciplines%20of%20Lent-%20Handbook.pdf|title=A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent|last=Weitzel|first=Thomas L.|year=1978|publisher=Evangelical Lutheran Church in America|language=en|access-date=17 March 2018|archive-date=17 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317164940/http://www.ststephenlutheranchurch.org/pdf/Disciplines%20of%20Lent-%20Handbook.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>