Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday, among other names, is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the Feet (Maundy) and Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles, as described in the canonical gospels.
The Mystical Supper, Russian Orthodox icon, 1497
Maundy ceremony in a Church in Wales parish church during a Maundy Thursday service of worship
Altar and crucifix veiled in a Methodist church on Maundy Thursday in preparation for Good Friday.
Chrism Mass in the Lateran Basilica
Holy Week is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. For all Christian traditions, it is a moveable observance. In Eastern Christianity, which also calls it Great Week, it is the week following Great Lent and Lazarus Saturday, starting on the evening of Palm Sunday and concluding on the evening of Great Saturday. In Western Christianity, Holy Week is the sixth and last week of Lent, beginning with Palm Sunday and concluding on Holy Saturday.
The entry of Jesus and his disciples into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, is the last week of Lent, between Palm Sunday and the dusk of Maundy Thursday. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Palm Sunday along with the Saturday of Lazarus marks the two-day transition between the 40 days of Great Lent and Holy Week.
A Tenebrae liturgy held at a Roman Catholic parish church on Spy Wednesday
The chancel of a Lutheran church decorated with red paraments, the liturgical colour of the last week of Lent, Holy Week, in Lutheran and Anglican Churches
A Washing of Feet ceremony on Holy Thursday in the Armenian Orthodox church
