Liturgical Theology: Covenant Thursday
Introduction to Covenant Thursday
Events of the Day
- The Lord, on this day, instituted TWO Mysteries: The Mystery of the Eucharist and the Mystery of Washing the Feet
- 1st-11th Hours
- Preparing the Passover
- Washing the Feet of the Disciples
- Eating the Passover Meal
- Institution of the Eucharist
- 1st Hour of Eve of Friday
- Paraclete Gospels
Name of the Day
- Covenant Thursday
- The Lord established the New Covenant
- Maundy Thursday
- Catholic name for it... from Latin mandatum meaning "Commandment"
- Great Thursday, Holy Thursday
Passover History
- Original Passover
- Exodus 12
- Lamb without blemish, a male of the first year of the sheep or goats
- The whole assembly shall kill it at twilight on the 14th of the month of Nisan
- Take the blood and put it on the lintel
- Roasted in fire
- Unleavened bread
- Bitter herbs
- None of it should remain until morning
- Belt on your waist, sandals on your feet, staff in hand - in haste
- Exodus 13: “And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth”
- Exodus 12
- 1st Century Passover
- Centered around the drinking of four cups of wine
- 1st Cup: Cup of Sanctification
- Drinking the Cup
- ”Blessed are You, the Lord our God, King of the Universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.”
- Luke 22:17 - “Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’”
- Seder Plate (Appetizer)
- Karpas - Greens
- Bitter Herbs
- Rachatz (Breaking Matzah)
- Matzah is a bag of three breads, the second one is taken and broken. The larger piece will become “afikoman” and will be eaten later, after the meal.
- What does the three mean?
- Some of them say it represents the people, Levites, priests…
- Some say it represents Abraham, Isaac, Jacob…
- But these have no meaning. Why would you take Isaac out and break him? Why would you take the Levites out and break them?
- But it points to a later reality… that the three bread in one bag represents the three persons of the Trinity, and the middle one is Christ, who is broken on our behalf and whom we eat in the Eucharist.
- Drinking the Cup
- 2nd Cup: Cup of Plagues
- Maggid - Retelling the Passover Story with the “Four Questions”
- Dipping into the second cup 10 times (each of the ten plagues)
- Drinking the second cup
- Eating the Festive Meal
- ”After they had supped”
- Eating the “afikoman” Bread
- ”Take eat, this is My Body which is broken for you and for many”
- 3rd Cup: Cup of Blessing
- “The cup after supper”
- “Take drink, this is My Blood”
- ”The cup of blessing which we bless..." (1 Cor 10)
- 4th Cup: Cup of Hymn
- Psalm 115-Psalm 118
- Psalm 116: "I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving"
- Psalm 118: “The Lord is my strength and son, and He has become my salvation”
- Drinking the cup
- Fulfilled in front of them
- ”And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives”
- Psalm 115-Psalm 118
- The Lord's Supper
History of Covenant Thursday
Rites of Covenant Thursday
Readings of the Day
| 1st Hour |
Exodus 17:8-16 Moses lifts his hands |
Acts 1:15-20 Replacing Judas |
Luke 22:7-13 Prepare the Passover |
| 3rd Hour |
Exodus 32-33 Consequences of the Golden Calf |
Matthew 26:17-19 Prepare the Passover |
|
| 6th Hour |
Jeremiah 7:1-15 Ezekiel 20:39-44 Sirach 12:13-13:1 |
Mark 14:12-16 Prepare the Passover |
|
| 9th Hour |
Genesis 22:1-19 Slaughter of Isaac
Isaiah 61:1-7 "Spirit of the Lord is upon me"
Job 27-28 |
Matthew 26:17-19 Prepare the Passover |
|
| Liturgy of the Waters |
Genesis 18:1-23 Proverbs 9:1-11 Exodus 14, 15 Joshua 1, 3 Isaiah 4:2-4 Isaiah 55:1-56:1 Ezekiel 36:25-29 Ezekiel 47:1-9 |
1 Timothy 4:9-5:10 | John 13:1-17 |
Matins
- Rites of Matins
- Brief History of Matins
- Judas Procession
3rd, 6th, 9th Hours of Thursday
- Regular Pascha Rite
Liturgy of the Waters
- Rite of Laqqan (we discussed in Theophany)
Liturgy of the Eucharist
11th Hour of Thursday
- During Communion with the veil shut
- Judas did NOT receive the Eucharist
Contemplations, Interpretations and Meanings
Washing the Feet
- Sacrament/Mystery (Repentance & Confession)
- Spiritual Meaning
- See "Wash the feet" Lev Gillet
- "Do as I have done"
The New Covenant
- “My Blood of the New Covenant” - what’s the New Covenant? Is this something the Lord Jesus made up and this is their first time to hear it?
- “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah – not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
- INTERPRETATION OF THESE VERSES
- So what is the Old Covenant?
- "grace for grace"
- St John Chrysostom (Homily 14 on Gospel of John)
Appendix
History of Preparing the Myron
- Who?
- The Pope of Alexandria
- Cannot be made in the time of a vacant Papacy
- Cannot be made by a regular bishop or metropolitan
- Thus, it was typically made in the Papal Residence wherever that was (e.g. Alexandria, St Macarius, Al Muallaqah, etc.)
- Where?
- St Mark Alexandria - 2 Times
- St Macarius Monastery - 13 Times
- St Mary Al Muallaqah - 6 Times
- St Abu Sefein Old Cairo - 2 Times
- St Mary Haret Al Rum - 3 times
- St Mark Azbakiah - 4 times
- St Bishoy Monastery - 6 times (Pope Shenouda), 4 times (Pope Tawadros)
- Eritrea - 1 time (Pope Shenouda)
- When?
- Letter of Macarius
- Early Church: No particular time; associated with baptismal seasons (Canons of Hippolytus 19)
- 4th - 6th Century:
- As needed on Last Friday of Lent (which would be Friday of the sixth week of Lent in the old days).
- 6th - 10th Century:
- With addition of preparation week, Friday of the sixth week is now the weekend BEFORE the end of the Great Fast. So that weekend becomes known as Sunday of Baptism - Myron is consecrated on Friday, baptisms happen on Sunday
- Friday acquires anointing of the sick instead (and in all years)
- 10th Century:
- Consecration of Myron moved to Great Thursday (Pope Macarius I, early 10th Century)
- Compromised to once sixth Friday (Baptism weekend), and once Great Thursday (Pope Mina II, late 10th Century)
- Remained on Great Thursday under the influence of Pope Abraam Ibn Zareh (late 10th Century)
- The Eastern Orthodox (Byzantium) consecrate on Great Thursday even until today
- More than likely, we adopted this practice because it was being done on that day in Antioch (common center between the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox... especially that Pope Abraam was a Syrian).
- 20th Century:
- Pope Kyrillos VI held it on Palm Sunday after the General Funeral prayers to give people a chance to attend - he was intending to do it in Al Muharraq but for people to attend, he held it in St Mark's Cathedral
- Pope Shenouda always did it during the Great Fast prior to Holy Week
- 21st Century:
- Pope Tawadros followed the same custom and made it a consistent "every three years" (2014, 2017, 2021 (because COVID), 2024) - planned for 2027 - on the first Monday of the Great Fast, doing the final step of adding the Old Myron to the new Myron following the Divine Liturgy.