Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
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Maundy Thursday

Thursday, March 24, 2016
7:30 PM

The evening liturgy of this day commemorates the meal Jesus shared with his friends shortly before his crucifixion.  “Maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum, which means “commandment,” and is taken from the Gospel of John’s account of the Last Supper in Chapter 13:34:  “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”  Jesus washes the feet of his disciples to show them his ministry of love, to which he calls them as well.  The rite of foot washing remains a powerful symbol of the Church’s vocation to follow Jesus in acts of servant ministry.  The service concludes with the stripping of the altar and the chancel, so that the church is left bare and dark.