The tradition of reading, reciting or performing the story of the passion of Jesus Christ, according to the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, during Holy Week, is ancient. Centuries ago, the long gospel tales were recited or chanted by a single clergy member in a declamatory, narrative style. But with all the different characters in the story, often in dialogue, a better method was devised where the pace of recitation was altered to distinguish the words of the characters, like Christ or Peter or Pilate.
