Christian observance of Passover is in modern times referred to as Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday and is held the day before Good Friday. Sometimes a shortened Seder meal is practiced. Many churches do a washing of the feet of the congregation on this day in recognition of Jesus washing the apostles feet at the last supper. (John 13:5–14)[oremus Bible Browser : John 13:5–14] It marks the end of the Lenten season. [1]
There are a few Christian groups that still celebrate the Jewish Passover - which is specifically regarding the Passover of the Angel of Death. Some of these groups are Assemblies of Yahweh, Messianic Jews, and some congregations of the Church of God (Seventh Day). The third in this list should not be confused with the Seventh Day Adventist church. The redemption from the bondage of sin through the sacrifice of Christ is celebrated, a parallel of the Jewish Passover's celebration of redemption from bondage in the land of Egypt. [2]
The Jewish Passover ceremonies are held on the evening corresponding to 14 Nisan or 15 Nisan, depending whether the particular church uses a quartodeciman or quintodeciman application. In other cases, the holiday is observed according to the Hebrew calendar on 15 Nisan.
Many Adventist, Sabbatarian Churches of God, Messianic Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses (who call it the 'Memorial of Christ's Death') and other groups observe a Christian Passover version of the Jewish Passover — although all do not agree on the date or the related practices.[ citation needed ]
Among those Christians who observe the Jewish Passover there are some differences in how it is done. Some Christians celebrate Passover by eating lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened matzo. [3] Others follow the instructions that Jesus gave to his disciples at the Last Supper before he was crucified, and share bread (usually unleavened) and wine instead of roasted lamb. [4] In some traditions, the ceremony is combined with washing one another's feet, [4] as Jesus did for his disciples the night that he suffered (John 13:5–14).
Saint Thomas Christians (Nazranis) in the Malabar coast of India (Kerala) have a customary celebration of Pesaha (Passover) at their homes. On the evening before Good Friday (called Pesaha Vyazham or Pesaha Thursday) the Pesaha bread (also called Pesaha appam ) is made at home. It is made with unleavened flour mixed with certain herbs and condiments and they use a sweet thick drink made up of coconut milk and jaggery along with this bread (can be compared to charoset of the Jewish seder). On the Pesaha night the bread is baked or steamed in a new vessel, immediately after the flour is mixed with water and pierced many times with handle of the spoon to let out the steam so that the bread will not rise (this custom is called juthante kannu kuthal in the Malayalam language. This bread is cut by the head of the family and shared among the family members after scripture reading from the Book of Exodus narrating the Passover incidence, and prayers, by traditionally dipping it in the charoset-like drink, used along with the Pesaha bread. The Pesaha bread, especially the first baked bread of the lot, is not shared with non-Nazranis. If the family is in mourning following a death, Pesaha bread is not made at their home, but some Syrian Christian neighbours share their bread with them. The Pesaha tradition may have its origin in their likely Jewish ancestry since they are Christians whose roots can be traced back to the first century AD apostolic missions in Persia and India. [5]
Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists and other Christian groups celebrate Passover on the Thursday before Easter, known as Maundy Thursday, Holy Thursday, or the Last Supper observance.[ citation needed ] When it occurs is tied to the date of Easter which varies. In 325 AD/CE the Council of Nicea adopted the following formula for determining the date of Easter each year: Easter is the Sunday after the paschal full moon. This is the first full moon on or after the spring equinox, March 21. So, Easter occurs between March 22 and April 25. [6] These dates vary among Hebrew, Gregorian, and Julian calendars, and they vary between Western (e.g. Roman Catholic) and Eastern Orthodox (e.g. Greek Orthodox) traditions.
Apollinaris wrote:
There are, then, some who through ignorance raise disputes about these things (though their conduct is pardonable: for ignorance is no subject for blame — it rather needs further instruction), and say that on the fourteenth day the Lord ate the lamb with the disciples, and that on the great day of the feast of unleavened bread He Himself suffered; and they quote Matthew as speaking in accordance with their view. Wherefore their opinion is contrary to the law, and the Gospels seem to be at variance with them. … The fourteenth day, the true Passover of the Lord; the great sacrifice, the Son of God instead of the lamb, who was bound, who bound the strong, and who was judged, though Judge of living and dead, and who was delivered into the hands of sinners to be crucified, who was lifted up on the horns of the unicorn, and who was pierced in His holy side, who poured forth from His side the two purifying elements, water and blood, word and spirit, and who was buried on the day of the Passover, the stone being placed upon the tomb [7]
Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus Christ, preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.
The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper, the night before his crucifixion, giving his disciples bread and wine. Passages in the New Testament state that he commanded them to "do this in memory of me" while referring to the bread as "my body" and the cup of wine as "the blood of my covenant, which is poured out for many". According to the synoptic Gospels this was at a Passover meal.
A moveable feast is an observance in a Christian liturgical calendar which occurs on different dates in different years.
Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz is forbidden.
Passover, also called Pesach, is a major Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
The Last Supper is the final meal that, in the Gospel accounts, Jesus shared with his apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper is commemorated by Christians especially on Holy Thursday. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "Holy Communion" or "The Lord's Supper".
The Passover Seder is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar. The day falls in late March or in April of the Gregorian calendar. Passover lasts for seven days in Israel and, among most customs, eight days in the Jewish diaspora. Where seven days of Passover are observed, a seder is held on the first night; where eight days are observed, seders are often held on the first two nights, the 15th and 16th of Nisan. The Seder is a ritual involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt, taken from the Book of Exodus in the Torah. The Seder itself is based on the Biblical verse commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: "You shall tell your child on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" At the seder, Jews read the text of the Haggadah, an ancient Tannaitic work. The Haggadah contains the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, Talmudic commentaries, and Passover songs.
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.
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.
Maundy, or Washing of the Saints' Feet, Washing of the Feet, or Pedelavium or Pedilavium, is a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations. The word mandatum is the first word of the Latin Biblical quotation sung at the ceremony of the washing of the feet: "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos", from the text of John 13:34 in the Vulgate. The ceremony commemorates the commandment of Christ that his disciples should emulate his loving humility in the washing of the feet. The medieval Latin term mandatum, came to apply to the rite of foot-washing on the Thursday preceding Easter Sunday, known in English as "Maundy Thursday" since at least 1530.
Holy Saturday, also known as Great and Holy Saturday, Low Saturday, the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday, Saturday of the Glory, Sábado de Gloria, and Black Saturday or Easter Eve, and called "Joyous Saturday", "the Saturday of Light", and "Mega Sabbatun" among Coptic Christians, is the final day of Holy Week, between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, when Christians prepare for the latter.
The Paschal Triduum or Easter Triduum, Holy Triduum, or the Three Days, is the period of three days that begins with the liturgy on the evening of Maundy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday. It is a moveable observance recalling the Passion, Crucifixion, Death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus, as portrayed in the canonical Gospels.
Quartodecimanism is the name given to the practice of celebrating the death of Christ on the day of Passover, the 14th of Nisan according to biblical dating, on whatever day of the week it occurs. The Quartodeciman controversy in the Church was the question of whether to celebrate Easter on Sunday, or Passover.
Mark 14 is the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains the plot to kill Jesus, his anointing by a woman, the Last Supper, predictions of his betrayal, and Peter the Apostle's three denials of him. It then begins the Passion of Jesus, with the garden of Gethsemane and Judas Iscariot's betrayal and Jesus' arrest, followed by Jesus' trial before the Sanhedrin and Peter's denials of Jesus.
The Hebrew Roots Movement (HRM) is a religious movement that advocates adherence to the Torah and believe that Yeshua or Jesus, is the Messiah. The movement stipulates that the Law of Moses was not abolished by Yeshua or Jesus and is, therefore, still in effect for his followers. Because HRM believes the Mosaic law is still active, it advocates the keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath; biblical feasts; laws of cleanliness; and circumcision. Some HRM followers also choose to wear tzitzit and other Hebrew religious items. However, HRM followers do not generally follow Judaism or embrace the Talmud. Unlike other Christians, most HRM followers reject the traditional holidays of Christmas and Easter, insisting that they are pagan traditions.
The Mass of the Lord's Supper, also known as A Service of Worship for Maundy Thursday, is a Holy Week service celebrated on the evening of Maundy Thursday. It inaugurates the Easter Triduum, and commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, more explicitly than other celebrations of the Mass.
Pesaha appam or Kurisappam is a firm rice cake made by the Christians of Kerala, India, to be served on the night of Maundy Thursday (Pesaha). It is made from rice batter like palappam, but is not fermented with yeast in its preparation. A cross is made using the palm leaves from Palm Sunday, and placed in the middle of the batter.
Some Christian denominations place the origin of the Eucharist in the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, at which he is believed to have taken bread and given it to his disciples, telling them to eat of it, because it was his body, and to have taken a cup and given it to his disciples, telling them to drink of it because it was the cup of the covenant in his blood.
Some Christian groups incorporate Jewish holidays into their religious practice, typically altering and reinterpreting their observation to suit a supersessionist theology.
The Stripping of the Altar or the Stripping of the Chancel is a ceremony carried out in many Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, and Anglican churches on Maundy Thursday.
