Maundy Thursday
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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[edit] Name
"Maundy Thursday" is the traditional name for this day in Britain and consequently is the usual name in Protestant churches worldwide. In other countries, "Holy Thursday" is the usual name among Roman Catholics, although "Maundy Thursday" is still used[1]. Lutherans also use both names.[2]
The word Maundy, used only in this context, is generally explained as derived, through Middle English, and Old French mandé, from 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 you love one another as I have loved you) in the teaching by which Jesus drew out for the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet (John 13:34). Others see its origin in the word maund, derived from Old French mendier, which in turn comes from Latin mendicare (to beg). The name "Maundy Thursday" would thus have arisen in England because of the custom whereby each year on this day the sovereign gives alms to selected poor people in a container also called a "maund" or "maundy purse".
[edit] Services
Church 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 the ancient Christian Churches, including the Armenian[3], the Maronite, the Ethiopian, United Methodist[4], and the Roman Catholic churches. Foot washing is also increasingly popular as a part of Maundy Thursday liturgies in many Anglican and Protestant 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.
[edit] Other names
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the day is referred to liturgically as Great Thursday but is also called Holy Thursday or Holy and Great Thursday.
The day has also been known as Sheer Thursday, due to the idea that it is the day of cleaning (schere) and because the churches themselves would switch liturgical colors from the dark tones of Lent. This name is a cognate to the word still used throughout Scandinavia, such as Swedish "Skärtorsdag", Danish "Skærtorsdag" and Norwegian "Skjærtorsdag".
[edit] Customs from around the world
The Maundy Thursday celebrations in the United Kingdom today involve the Monarch (in this case Queen Elizabeth II) offering "alms" to deserving senior citizens (one man and one woman for each year of the sovereign's age) in a red and white purse, this is known as Maundy money. This dates back to King Edward I and there is one coin for every year of the Sovereign's reign. Since 1822, rather than ordinary money, the Sovereign gives out special Maundy coins.
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.
In Germany, the day is referred to as "Gründonnerstag," a word built of two roots, "grün" ("green") and "Donnerstag" ("Thursday"). However, the word "grün" probably does not mean "green" in this case. While its etymology is somewhat unclear, many trace it back to "grinan" ("to wail") in Old High German, a word connected with the English "groan".
In the Czech Republic, the day is called "Zelený čtvrtek", meaning "Green Thursday" as well. Sometimes it is speculated that the name comes from the perhaps green colour of vestments once worn at the Mass that day. Another theory says that the name comes from the green vegetable eaten on this day, such as spinach or cabbage, so that people were healthy all the year round. This habit has its origin in the Jewish Pesach dinner. [5] 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 coins.
In Malta, this day is known as "Ħamis ix-Xirka" which literally means Society Thursday. It is celebrated by the reenactment of the Washing of the Feet of the Apostles. This is usually done by selecting 12 men from amongst the congregation.
In the Philippines, a popular Holy Thursday tradition is the Visita Iglesia (Church Visit), which involves visiting several Churches at which the faithful commemorate the vigil that the Apostles kept while Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is a custom in use in several European countries also.
[edit] References and Footnotes
- ^ The Catholic Encyclopedia: Maundy Thursday
- ^ Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: Lutheran Family Churches
- ^ The Armenian Church: Maundy Thursday
- ^ The United Methodist Church: Maundy Thursday
- ^ Velikonoční týden - pašijový, svatý, velký
[edit] See also
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Palm Sunday | Holy Monday | Holy Tuesday | Holy Wednesday | Maundy Thursday | Good Friday | Holy Saturday | Easter Sunday | Easter Monday |
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