Information about Maundy Thursday

In the Christian calendar, Maundy Thursday — also called Holy Thursday and, in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, Great Thursday — is the feast or holy day on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. It is preceded by Spy Wednesday and followed by Good Friday.

On this day four events are commemorated: the washing of the Disciples' feet by Jesus Christ, the institution of the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot.

The morning celebration of these events marks the beginning of what is called the Easter Triduum or Sacred Triduum. The Latin word triduum means a three-day period, and the triduum in question is that of the three days from the death to the resurrection of Jesus. It should be noted that for Jesus and his followers a day ended, and a new day began, at sunset, not at midnight, as it still does today in the modern Jewish calendar.^[1] The Last Supper was held at what present-day Western civilization considers to be the evening of Holy Thursday but what was then considered to be the first hours of Friday. Its annual commemoration thus begins the three-day period or triduum of Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, days of special devotion that celebrate as a single action the death and resurrection of Christ, the central events of Christianity.

Name in English

"Maundy Thursday" is the name for this day in England. It is therefore the usual name also in English-speaking Protestant Churches that originated in that country and even in some that originated in Scotland, although the Scottish Book of Common Prayer uses the name "Holy Thursday".^[2] Other English-speaking Protestant Churches, such as the Lutheran, use both "Maundy Thursday" and "Holy Thursday".^[3] Among Roman Catholics, except in England, the usual English name for the day is "Holy Thursday", in line with the name used in major Romance Languages.^[4] Presumably these modern names came into being before the Catholic Church changed the pagan names of the days of the week in Latin.

The word Maundy is derived through Middle English, and Old French mandé, from the Latin mandatum, the first word of the phrase "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" ("A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you"), the statement by Jesus in the Gospel of John (13:34) by which Jesus explained to the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet. The phrase is used as the antiphon sung during the "Mandatum" ceremony of the washing of the feet, which may be held during Mass or at another time as a separate event, during which a priest or bishop (representing Christ) ceremonially washes the feet of others, typically 12 persons chosen as a cross-section of the community.

Services

Services held on this day typically include a reading from the Gospel account of the Last Supper, which includes Christ's taking bread and wine and, declaring them to be his body and blood, giving them to the Apostles. This day also stresses Jesus' washing of the feet of the Apostles at the start of the Last Supper, as recounted in the Gospel of John. At services on this day, a minister, priest, or lay leader(s) may wash the feet of some members of the congregation to commemorate Christ's actions and command. The Washing of the Feet is a traditional component of the celebration in many Christian Churches, including the Armenian,^[5] Ethiopian, Maronite, Mennonite, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, and United Methodist^[6] Churches and is becoming increasingly popular as a part of the Maundy Thursday liturgy in many Anglican, Episcopal ^[7], Lutheran, and other Protestant Christian churches.

In the Roman Rite liturgy, the Holy Thursday Mass recalling the Last Supper is the last Mass before the Easter Vigil service. It usually includes a reenactment of the Washing of the Feet of the Apostles, and is followed by a procession taking the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose, and then by stripping of all altars except the Altar of Repose.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Great and Holy Thursday is both a celebration of the institution of the Eucharist, and the beginning of the Passion. The Lenten character of the services is for the most part set aside, and they follow a format closer to normal. The primary service of this day is Vespers combined with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. At this service is read the first Passion Gospel (John 13:31-18:1), known as the "Gospel of the Testament." In addition to the usual Preparation for Holy Communion, the faithful will often receive the Mystery of Unction on Great Wednesday as preparation for the reception of Holy Communion on Great Thursday. It is customary to cover the Altar table with a simple, white linen cloth on this day, as a reminder of the Last Supper. On Great Thursday, the Reserved Sacrament is customarily renewed, a new Lamb (Host) being consecrated for the coming year, and the remaider from the previous year is consumed. The ceremony of the Washing of Feet will normally be performed in monasteries and cathedrals. Because of the joy of the Institution of the Eucharist, on this day alone during Holy Week wine and oil are permitted at meals.

Other names

For Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians this day is referred to liturgically as Holy and Great Thursday, but is also called Great Thursday or Holy Thursday.

The day has also been known in English as Sheer Thursday, from an obsolete word shere (meaning "clean" or "bright"). This name might refer to the act of cleaning, or to the fact that churches would switch liturgical colors from the dark tones of Lent, or because it was customary to shear the beard on that day,^[8] or for a combination of reasons.^[9] This name is a cognate to the word still used throughout Scandinavia, such as Swedish "Skärtorsdag", Danish "Skærtorsdag" and Norwegian "Skjærtorsdag". Skär in Swedish is also an archaic word for wash.

Some secular communities refer to the day as "Easter Thursday", although technically, the correct day for this name is the following Thursday, after Easter.

Customs and names from around the world

• The Maundy Thursday celebrations in the United Kingdom today involve the Monarch (at the time of writing Queen Elizabeth II) offering "alms" to deserving senior citizens (one man and one woman for each year of the sovereign's age). These coins, known as Maundy money or Royal Maundy, are distributed in red and white purses. This custom dates back to King Edward I. The red purse contains regular currency and is given in place of food and clothing. The white purse contains currency in the amount of one penny for each year of the Sovereign's age. Since 1822, rather than ordinary money, the Sovereign gives out special Maundy coins.^[10] which are specially minted 1, 2, 3 and 4 penny pieces which are legal tender.

Up until the death of King James II, the Monarch would also wash the feet of the selected poor people. There is even an old sketch, done from life, of Queen Elizabeth I washing people's feet on Maundy Thursday.

• The popular German name Gründonnerstag means either "mourning Thursday" or "green Thursday".^[11] Other names are Hoher, Heiliger, and Weißer Donnerstag (High, Holy and White Thursday, with "white" referring to the liturgical colour associated with Maundy Thursday).
• In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the day is called Zelený čtvrtek or Zelený štvrtok respectively, again meaning "Green Thursday".^[12] Because the church bells fall silent until Holy Saturday, here called "White Saturday", because "they have flown to Rome", in some regions they are replaced by groups of children walking round their village and making noise with wooden rattles. People come out of the door and give them coffee.
• As stated above, many communities and cultures reënact the Washing of the Feet of the Apostles on Maude Thursday. In Malta, where Maude Thursday is known as Ħamis ix-Xirka, "Society Thursday," this tradition is practiced.
• In the Philippines, the faithful carry out the tradition known as Visita Iglesia, or 'Church visit' in Castillian Spanish on Maundy Thursday. This is where they visit seven different churches as a pilgrimage. Others do 14 churches and say the Stations of the Cross, with one station in each church. Although some do this entirely during the hours of adoration (usually between 8pm and 12 midnight, after the Mass of the Last Supper), many split the practice into 'batches', doing some during the day (7 or so), and the remaining stations during adoration. This is also a legal holiday, marking the start of a long weekend (until Easter Sunday). Most people leave the cities to visit relatives in the province or go on holiday abroad starting from this day.
• The tradition of visiting seven churches on Holy Thursday is an ancient practice, probably originating in Rome, where early pilgrims visited the seven pilgrim churches as penance. They are Saint John Lateran, Saint Peter, Saint Mary Major, Saint Paul-outside-the-Walls, Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls, Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem, and traditionally Saint Sebastian Outside the Walls. Pope John Paul II replaced St. Sebastian with the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Divine Love for the jubilee year of 2000.

Pope Boniface VIII revived the pilgrimage tradition in 1300 with the establishment of the Jubilee Year, and Rome became a center for pilgrimages. The seven churches developed as particular sites for visits. The seven areas may also be related to the historical seven deacons of Rome, whose responsibility was to minister to the poor in their region of the city. The first seven deacons in the Church were the seven assistants ordained by the Apostles to minister to the unable to shop.

References and Footnotes

See also

• Easter Triduum
• Friday before Palm Sunday
• Tenebrae (service)
• Paschal Cycle

External links

• The Catholic Encyclopedia: Maundy Thursday
• Washing of Feet on Maundy ThursdayArmenian Apostolic Church (photo)

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