Maundy Thursday commemorates Last Supper of Jesus Christ

Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great and Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. The Last Supper, also called the Mystical Supper, was the last meal Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles and disciples before his death. According to what Paul the Apostle recounted, in the course of the Last Supper, and with specific reference to eating bread and drinking from a cup, Jesus told his disciples, "Do this in remembrance of me". The Mass of the Lord's Supper initiates the Easter Triduum, the three days of Friday, Saturday and Sunday that commemorate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. It is normally celebrated in the evening, priest Eugen Onicov, of Saint Panthelemon Church in Chisinau, told Info-Prim Neo. In addition to the usual Preparation for Holy Communion, the Orthodox faithful will often receive the Mystery of Unction on Great Wednesday as preparation for the reception of Holy Communion on Great Thursday. It is customary to cover the Altar table with a simple, white linen cloth on this day, as a reminder of the Last Supper. On Great Thursday, the Reserved Sacrament is customarily renewed, a new Lamb (Host) being consecrated for the coming liturgical year, and the remainder from the previous year is consumed. The ceremony of the Washing of Feet will normally be performed in monasteries and cathedrals. Because of the joy of the Institution of the Eucharist, on this day alone during Holy Week wine and oil are permitted at meals. In the evening, after the Liturgy, all of the hangings and vestments are changed to black or some other Lenten color, to signify the beginning of the Passion. On this day, the women begin the preparations for Easter. They paint eggs, make Easter bread and pound cakes. In some places, they take beverages and food to the church to have them blesses and then give them to poor people to remember the dead.