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Christian Year

MAUNDY THURSDAY

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Maundy Thursday is the day in Holy Week when Jesus and the disciples celebrated Passover with a meal [Matthew 26:17-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:7-19]. This meal is the now known as the Last Supper and is the origin of the sacrement of Holy Communion.

After the meal, they went out to the Garden of Gethsemane and it was there that Jesus was arrested [Matthew 26:30-56; Mark 14:26-50; Luke 22:39-53].

At the meal, Jesus gave his disciples a new command – that they should love one another [John 13:34]. One of the pieces of music that used to be sung on Maundy Service is in Latin and starts with the word “mandatum” which means “command”. This is the origin of the word “maundy”.

It is usual for churches to hold services of Holy Communion in the evening of Maundy Thursday. Before the meal, Jesus washed his disciples feet as a sign that it is important to serve others. So Maundy Thursday services sometimes include some form of feet-washing.

In the UK, it has been a long tradition that the reigning king or queen distributes special coins called maundy money to selected elderly people.