Maundy Thursday, also referred to as Holy Thursday, Thursday of the Lord's Supper, or Passover among other names, is a Christian feast during Holy Week that marks the beginning of the Paschal Triduum, and commemorates the Washing of the Feet (Maundy) and Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles, as described in the canonical gospels.
It is the fifth day of Holy Week, preceded by Holy Wednesday (Spy Wednesday) and followed by Good Friday. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus' words "I give you a new commandment." The date of the day will vary according to whether the Gregorian calendar or the Julian calendar is used. Eastern churches generally use the Julian system.
Contents
Names
The Church of England, which is the mother Church of the Anglican Communion, uses name "Maundy Thursday" for this observance, though its Book of Common Prayer denotes the holy day as the "Thursday before Easter". However, the corresponding publication of the US Episcopal Church, which is another province of the Anglican Communion, refers to the Thursday before Easter as "Maundy Thursday". Throughout the Anglican Communion, the term "Holy Thursday" is a synonym for Ascension Day.
The Roman Rite of the Catholic Church uses the name "Holy Thursday" in its modern English-language liturgical books. The Latin books use the name Feria quinta in Cena Domini ("Thursday of the Supper of the Lord"; the medieval spelling Cœna was used in place of Cena in documents predating the 1955 decree Maxima redemptionis), along with Maundy Thursday as the English name, as given in The Saint Andrew Daily Missal. The personal ordinariates in the Catholic Church, which have an Anglican patrimony, retain the traditional English term "Maundy Thursday", however. An article in the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia used the term "Maundy Thursday", and some Catholic writers use the same term either primarily, or alternatively.
The Methodist Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965) uses the term "Maundy Thursday"; the Book of Worship (1992) uses the term "Holy Thursday", and other official sources of the United Methodist Church use both "Maundy Thursday" and "Holy Thursday".
Both names are used by other Christian denominations as well, including the Lutheran Church, and certain Reformed Churches. Certain Presbyterian Churches use the term "Maundy Thursday" to refer to the holy day in their official sources.
In the Byzantine Rite the name for the holy day is "Great and Holy Thursday" or "Holy Thursday", and in Western Rite Orthodoxy "Maundy Thursday", "Holy Thursday" or both. The Coptic Orthodox Church uses the term "Covenant Thursday" or "Thursday of the Covenant".
In the Maronite Church and the Syriac Orthodox Church, the name is "Thursday of Mysteries".
"Maundy Thursday" is the official name of the day in the civil legislation of England and the Philippines.
Derivation of the name "Maundy"
Maundy is the name of the Christian rite of footwashing,
The English word maundy in the name for the day is derived through Middle English and Old French mandé, from the Latin mandatum (also the origin of the English word "mandate"), the first word of the phrase "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" ("A new commandment I give to you: That you love one another, as I have loved you.") By this statement in chapter 13 of the Gospel of John, Jesus explained to the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet.
The phrase is used as the antiphon sung in the Roman Rite during the Maundy (Ecclesiastical Latin: "Mandatum") ceremony of the washing of the feet, which may be held during Mass or as a separate event. A priest or bishop, representing Christ, ceremonially washes the feet of others, typically 12 persons chosen as a cross-section of the community. In 2016, it was announced that the Roman Missal had been revised to allow women to participate as part of the 12 in the Mandatum. Previously, only males partook of the rite.
Others theorize that the English name "Maundy Thursday" arose from "maunds" or baskets or "maundy purses" of alms which the king of England distributed to certain poor at Whitehall before attending Mass on that day. Thus, "maund" is connected to the Latin mendicare, and French mendier, to beg.
Services
Western Christianity
Maundy Thursday initiates the Paschal Triduum, the period which commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This period includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and ends on the evening of Easter Sunday. The Mass of the Lord's Supper or service of worship is normally celebrated in the evening, when Friday begins according to Jewish tradition, as the Last Supper was held on the feast of Passover, according to the three Synoptic Gospels.
In the United Kingdom, the Royal Maundy service involves the Monarch 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, and is a custom dating back to King Edward I. The red purse contains regular currency and is given in place of food and clothing. The white purse has money in the amount of one penny for each year of the Sovereign's age. Since 1822, rather than ordinary money, the Sovereign gives out Maundy coins, which are specially minted 1, 2, 3 and 4 penny pieces, and are legal tender. The service at which this takes place rotates around English and Welsh churches, though in 2008 it took place for the first time in Northern Ireland at Armagh Cathedral. Until the death of King James II, the Monarch would also wash the feet of the selected poor people. A miniature painting attributed to Levina Teerlinc, An Elizabethan Maundy (c. 1560), depicts Queen Elizabeth I washing people's feet during the ceremony.
The Maundy (washing of the feet) is practised among many Christian groups on Maundy Thursday, including the Anglican/Protestant Episcopal, Armenian, Ethiopian, Lutheran, Methodist, Eastern Catholic, Schwarzenau (German Baptist) Brethren, Mennonite, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic traditions.
With Maundy Thursday commemorating the Last Supper, Christian denominations who observe this day universally celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion, which they teach was instituted by Jesus on this night. In the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church and in certain Anglican congregations, the Mass of the Lord's Supper begins as usual, but the Gloria is accompanied by the ringing of church bells, which are then silent until the Easter Vigil. After the homily the washing of feet may be performed. The Blessed Sacrament remains exposed, at least in the Catholic Mass, until the service concludes with a procession taking it to the place of reposition. The altar is later stripped bare, as are all other altars in the church except the Altar of Repose. In pre-1970 editions, the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church envisages this being done ceremonially, to the accompaniment of Psalms 21–22, a practice which continues in the Lutheran churches and Anglican churches of Anglo-Catholic churchmanship. In other Christian denominations, such as the Methodist Churches, the stripping of the altar and other items on the chancel also occurs, as a preparation for the somber Good Friday service. The stripping of the altar represents "the abandonment of Jesus by his disciples and the stripping of Jesus by the soldiers before his crucifixion."
Eastern Christianity
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the liturgical colours are brighter, white being common. On this day alone during Holy Week, the fast is relaxed to permit consumption of wine and oil.
The primary service of this day is Vespers combined with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great at which is read a Composite Gospel, primarily taken from Matthew, but with episodes inserted from John (the Washing of the Feet) and Luke (Jesus sweating blood), and many of the normal hymns of the Divine Liturgy are substituted with the following troparion:
Of Thy Mystical Supper, O Son of God, accept me today as a communicant; for I will not speak of Thy Mystery to Thine enemies, neither will I give Thee a kiss like Judas. But like the Thief will I confess Thee: Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom.
When necessary to replenish the sacrament for communing the sick at a time not following a divine liturgy, an additional Lamb (Host) is consecrated on this day, intincted, covered, and left to dry until Holy Saturday when it is divided, completely dried with a candle flame, and the pieces placed in the artophorion.
In cathedrals and monasteries the ceremony of the Washing of Feet is normally performed. When there is need to consecrate more chrism, that is performed by patriarchs and other heads of the various autocephalous churches.
In the evening, after the Liturgy, all of the hangings and vestments are changed to black or some other dark colour, to signify the beginning of the Passion. Anticipating the Matins of Friday morning, the Holy Passion service of the reading of the Twelve Gospels is conducted. In these readings Christ's last instructions to his disciples are presented, as well as the prophecy of the drama of the Cross, Christ's prayer, and his new commandment. The twelve readings are:
John 13:31–18:1
John 18:1–29
Matthew 26:57–75
Customs and names around the world
If statues and crucifixes have been covered during Passiontide (the last 2 weeks of Lent, at least in the 1962 Catholic missal), the crucifix covers are allowed to be white instead of purple for Holy Thursday.
The popular German name Gründonnerstag means either "mourning Thursday" or "green Thursday". In the Rhine-Main area, the day is celebrated by eating the traditional green sauce with potatoes, boiled eggs and sometimes schnitzel.
In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the day is called Zelený čtvrtek or Zelený štvrtok respectively, again meaning "Green Thursday", because the typical meals of this day were made of fresh, green vegetables etc. From that day there is no usage of the church bells until Holy Saturday, here called "White Saturday", because "they have flown to Rome" (a euphemism); in some regions they are replaced by groups of children walking round their village (or around the church) and making noise with wooden rattles. This is to announce to the people approaching beginning of the liturgy and to call the people to church.
The tradition of silent bells also occurs in Luxembourg: the bells fall silent until Easter, because "they have flown to Rome for Confession", so children take to the streets, calling people to church with melancholy wooden rattling.
In the Netherlands and Belgium, the day is called Witte Donderdag (White Thursday) referring to the liturgical colour of the day.
In Malta, Holy Thursday is known as Ħamis ix-Xirka (Communion Thursday) and the tradition of visiting seven churches (see below) is called is-seba' visti or is-Sepulkri.
Eastern Slavic cultures traditionally carried out a range of cleansing ceremonies on Maundy Thursday (sometimes known in Russian as "Clean Thursday" (Russian: Чистый четверг)).
In Welsh, Maundy Thursday is Dydd Iau Cablyd.
Public holiday
Maundy Thursday is a public holiday in most countries that were part of the Spanish Empire (Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela), countries that were part of the Danish colonial empire (Denmark, Iceland, Norway and United States Virgin Islands), and in the Indian state of Kerala.
Certain German states declare a public holiday for public sector employees. In the UK, civil servants were traditionally granted a half-day holiday (known as "privilege leave") on this date, but that was abolished by David Cameron in 2012.
Seven Churches Visitation
The tradition of visiting seven churches on Holy Thursday is an ancient practice, probably originating in Rome. and occurs among the faithful in countries around the world.
In India, the custom is to visit fourteen churches, one per Station of the Cross. Traditionally, this is performed on Maundy Thursday evening but is more often done on the morning of Good Friday or on any day of Lent. Usually, whole families would participate, customarily fasting for the duration of the rite. It is also undertaken by parish devotional groups.
In the Philippines the tradition is called Visita Iglesia (Spanish, "church visit") – people visit churches to pray, usually reciting the Stations of the Cross. It is a chiefly urban custom, as churches are located closer to each other in cities, and supposedly because it originates in visiting the seven churches of Intramuros that stood until the 1945 Bombing of Manila.
The original purpose of the ritual was to venerate the Blessed Sacrament in the Altar of Repose on Maundy Thursday night, but since no prayers were prescribed (apart from those for the Pope), the Stations of the Cross were recited.
In Singapore, the visiting of churches occurs shortly after the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. Prayers at each church consist of seven repetitions of the Lord's Prayer, Ave Maria, and the Gloria Patri. Due to the new trend of late Mass times (sometimes 7 or 8 pm) to allow for more churchgoers, eight churches are the maximum number visited (even in the city area, where these are closer to each other than in outer residential areas) before these close at midnight. A festive atmosphere exists, with the sale of drinks, hot cross buns and other local snacks like the traditional kueh ko chee. Observant Catholics have a 'Last Supper' meal in anticipation of the next day's fast.