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.
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.
The day has also been known in English as Shere Thursday (also spelled Sheer Thursday), from the 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, or for a combination of reasons. 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.
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.
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.