The Maundy Thursday Liturgy remembers the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples the night before he died. In the upper room he commands them to love others as he has loved them and tells them to repeat the breaking of bread often in remembrance of him. In a demonstration of service and love, Christ washes the feet of his disciples, much to their amazement turning the conventional understanding of leadership on its head. This action demonstrates that the Son of God did not come to be served but to serve, and through that service he gave his life as a ransom for the forgiveness of our sins, and the promise of eternal salvation.

During this moving service, the clergy wash the feet of members of the congregation as a sign of Christ’s call to serve, which is a central teaching of Christianity; and the Last Supper is continued through the Eucharistic feast. At the end of the service the Altars are stripped, echoing the inner desolation that came upon Christ as he confronted the reality of his immanent death.