Maundy Thursday
| Maundy Thursday | |
|---|---|
 The Mystical Supper, Russian Orthodox icon, 1497 | |
| Also called | Holy Thursday Covenant Thursday Great and Holy Thursday Thursday of Mysteries Shere (from the word shere meaning "clean" or "bright") or Sheer Thursday |
| Observed by | Christians |
| Type | Christian/Civic |
| Significance | Commemorates the Maundy and Last Supper of Jesus Christ |
| Observances | Chrism Mass, Mass of the Lord's Supper, Washing of the feet, distribution of Maundy money |
| Date | Easter − 3 days |
| 2025 date |
|
| 2026 date |
|
| 2027 date |
|
| 2028 date |
|
| Frequency | annual |
| Related to | Holy Week and Easter |
Maundy Thursday, also referred to as Holy Thursday, or Thursday of the Lord's Supper, among other names,[a] 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.[1]
It is the fifth day of Holy Week, preceded by Holy Wednesday (Spy Wednesday) and followed by Good Friday.[2][b] "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.[3][4]
Names
[edit]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".[3][5] 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".[6] Throughout the Anglican Communion, the term "Holy Thursday" is a synonym for Ascension Day.[5][7][8]
The Roman Rite of the Catholic Church uses the name "Holy Thursday" in its modern English-language liturgical books.[9] 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.[10] The personal ordinariates in the Catholic Church, which have an Anglican patrimony, retain the traditional English term "Maundy Thursday", however.[11] An article in the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia used the term "Maundy Thursday",[12] and some Catholic writers use the same term either primarily,[13] or alternatively.[14]
The Methodist Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965) uses the term "Maundy Thursday";[15] the Book of Worship (1992) uses the term "Holy Thursday",[16] and other official sources of the United Methodist Church use both "Maundy Thursday"[17] and "Holy Thursday".[18][19]
Both names are used by other Christian denominations as well, including the Lutheran Church,[20][21] and certain Reformed Churches.[22][23][24] Certain Presbyterian Churches use the term "Maundy Thursday" to refer to the holy day in their official sources.[24][25]
In the Byzantine Rite the name for the holy day is "Great and Holy Thursday"[26] or "Holy Thursday",[27][28] and in Western Rite Orthodoxy "Maundy Thursday",[29][30] "Holy Thursday"[31] or both.[32] The Coptic Orthodox Church uses the term "Covenant Thursday" or "Thursday of the Covenant".[33][34][35][36][37]
In the Maronite Church[38] and the Syriac Orthodox Church,[39] the name is "Thursday of Mysteries".
"Maundy Thursday" is the official name of the day in the civil legislation of England[40] and the Philippines.[41]
The day has also been known in English as Shere Thursday (also spelled Sheer Thursday), from the word shere (meaning "clean" or "bright").[42][c]
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,[43] or for a combination of reasons.[44] This name has cognates in the Nordic languages, such as Danish skærtorsdag, Swedish skärtorsdag, Norwegian skjærtorsdag, Faroese skírhósdagur and skírisdagur, Icelandic skírdagur, and Finnish kiirastorstai.
Maundy Thursday is sometimes erroneously called "Easter Thursday" (which properly refers to the Thursday after Easter), especially in Australia, where the Australian Football League regularly has an "Easter Thursday" game.[45]
Derivation of the name "Maundy"
[edit]
Maundy is the name of the Christian rite of footwashing,[46][d]
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.[47]
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.[48]
Services
[edit]Western Christianity
[edit]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.[1][49] 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.[50]
Services
[edit]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.[51] 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,[52] 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.[53]
The Maundy (washing of the feet) is practised among many Christian groups on Maundy Thursday, including the Anglican/Protestant Episcopal,[54] Armenian,[55] Ethiopian, Lutheran, Methodist, Eastern Catholic, Schwarzenau (German Baptist) Brethren,[56] Mennonite, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic traditions.[57][58][59]
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.[59] 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.[60][61] 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,[62][63] a practice which continues in the Lutheran churches and Anglican churches of Anglo-Catholic churchmanship.[64] 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.[65] The stripping of the altar represents "the abandonment of Jesus by his disciples and the stripping of Jesus by the soldiers before his crucifixion."[64]
Chrism Mass
[edit]
The Chrism Mass is a religious service held in Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism.[66][67]
Maundy Thursday is notable for being the day on which the Chrism Mass is celebrated in each diocese. Usually held in the diocesan cathedral, it is generally held on the morning of Maundy Thursday, but may in some dioceses take place on another day during Holy Week.[68] The Mass is a celebration of the institution of the priesthood.[66][69]
During the Mass, those present are called to renew their baptismal promises. Priests/ministers and deacons also reaffirm their ministry by renewing the promises made at their ordination.[70][71] The Mass takes its name from the blessing of the holy oils used in the sacraments throughout the year, which are then given to priests to take back to their parishes.[72]
The service is a 1967 restoration of the rite recorded in the early 200s by the historian Hippolytus who writes of a ceremony taking place during the Easter Vigil at which two holy oils were blessed and one was consecrated. In the decree renewing this rite Pope Paul VI said, "The Chrism Mass is one of the principal expressions of the fullness of the bishop's priesthood and signifies the closeness of the priests with him."[73]
The Holy Oils are:
- Chrism – used in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders, as well as for the consecration of altars and the dedication of churches.[74]
- the oil of catechumens – also used in the sacrament of Baptism, and
- the oil of the sick – used in the rite of the Anointing of the Sick
The oil of the catechumens and chrism are used on the upcoming Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil, for the baptism and confirmation of those entering the church. While the Oil of the Catechumens and the Oil of the Sick, are simply "blessed", the Sacred Chrism is "consecrated". Holy chrism is a mixture of olive oil and balsam, an aromatic resin. Balsam is poured into the oil, which gives it a sweet smell intended to remind those who encounter it of the "odor of sanctity" to which those who are marked with it, are called to strive.[70]
With respect to Anglicanism, the 1979 Book of Common Prayer (p. 307) calls for chrism to be consecrated by the bishop. In many dioceses, the consecration of chrism by the bishop may be done at a service of reaffirmation of ordination vows during Holy Week. During the Chrism Eucharist, the Bishop will bless the oils used throughout the next year for baptisms and healing. In addition, the Bishop and clergy in attendance will reaffirm their Ordination Vows.[67]
Plenary indulgence
[edit]In the Roman Catholic Church, plenary indulgence is obtained in the following cases:[75]
- If, following the Mass of the Lord's Supper, the Eucharistic hymn Tantum ergo is recited or sung during the solemn reservation of the Blessed Sacrament (typically on a side altar).
- If the solemnly reserved Blessed Sacrament is adored for a half hour.
Eastern Christianity
[edit]Eastern Orthodoxy
[edit]
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.[citation needed]
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.[76]
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.[citation needed]
In cathedrals and monasteries the ceremony of the Washing of Feet is normally performed.[citation needed] When there is need to consecrate more chrism, that is performed by patriarchs and other heads of the various autocephalous churches.[citation needed]
