Thursday, April 2, 2026

It is the 2nd of April 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

In honor of these high holy days, the Almanac is going to be taking these next two days and the weekend edition to ask questions about the Triduum (the three days before Easter) and Easter Sunday. There are so many practices, words, and traditions we will dive into over these next few days. If you have a specific question and you’re listening in something like real time- shoot me your question at danv@1517.org.

 

Today is Maundy Thursday- a sometimes overlooked holiday amongst some Protestants, we will explain why, and the night of the last supper, being instituted, the washing of the disciples' feet, and liturgically the stripping of the altars. It’s fair to say this is one of the most dramatic days in the church calendar.

 

“Maundy” comes from the Latin “mandatum” from the phrase word “commandment” and specifically the “new commandment” Jesus gives in John 13 that you “love one another,” and this is given in the context of Jesus washing the disciples' feet- this appears to be parallel to the other Gospels where the Lord’s Supper is instituted. So the washing of feet and the Lord’s supper have been the key points for this service. And it’s an old service- we have a record of it in Justin Martyr’s First Apology from around the year 150.

 

Foot washing was a central part of the early Christian life and liturgy. It was common practice to wash one another’s feet and to attend to prisons and to the poor to wash feet, and this was not connected to a time or season. It became a liturgical rite for those who developed a liturgy of baptism that also included a ritual foot washing. Maundy Thursday was one of the days in which new Christians were baptized.

 

This was also a day to recognize those who were being brought back into the church. The church would officially recognize penitents back into the church on this day, such that they could worship on Resurrection Sunday, and their token would be a green branch, a fresh shoot. In fact, in Germany today is not “Maundy Thursday” but Gründonnerstag- or “Green Thursday” because of the green branches.

 

Both Eastern and Western churches observe today (although, for the question of why the Eastern churches are on a different day will come this weekend). In the East, and some places in the West, it is “Great and Holy Thursday”. The Synod of Toledo- a local council- declared Maundy Thursday as a service for foot washing, and the rule of Benedict further spread the practice in the West.

 

This year, you might hear of King Charles III giving “maundy coins” to the elderly. This is part of an old medieval practice whereby Christian monarchs would wash the feet and give alms to the poor as a radical gesture and reversal of the hierarchy. Who was the first English king to do this? Ooh, de lally- King John, that lion voiced by Peter Ustinov. It’s why we watch Disney’s Animated Robin Hood every Maundy Thursday.

 

The washing of feet has always been practiced, but not universally ordained in the service. In the West, the foot washing was traditionally a service besides the Maundy Thursday service, and only since 1955 has it been reintroduced. In the Catholic and Orthodox churches, it is often an episcopal rite, in which church leaders wash the feet of others (often 12). The communal foot washing ceremony may have its origins in the early church, but became more commonplace with the Radical traditions.

 

The Lord’s Supper is celebrated, followed by the ceremonial “Stripping of the Altars”- the removal of the communion elements and other items on the altar- it will be left bare for the Good Friday Service.

 

The traditional service was kept largely intact in both Lutheran and Anglican traditions amongst Protestants, with the Reformed generally abandoning the practice until recently. Even those Reformed bodies that held “Evangelical Feast Days” tended not to number Maundy Thursday as one of them. John Calvin was especially opposed to the ceremonial footwashing- in his commentary on John 13 he called it “foolish buffoonery”. That guy….

 

Let me finish with a teaser- there are those Christians who will argue that Good Friday should actually be today, Thursday. And for that story, wait for the weekend edition with all your Easter questions answered.

 

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and the words of institution as recorded by Paul in 1 Corinthians

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

 

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 2nd of March 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who wishes John Calvin would lighten up a little. He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who will never pass up a Robin Hood reference- I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.