Great and Holy Thursday is the day we commemorate Christ’s Last Supper with His disciples, the institution of the Eucharist, and His betrayal by Judas. It’s one of the most significant days in the Church year because it’s when our Lord gave us the sacrament that’s at the very center of our life together.
What Happens on This Day
The services start the night before. On Wednesday evening, we gather for the Matins of the Twelve Gospels. This service takes its name from twelve readings drawn from all four Gospels that walk us through Christ’s Passion from the Last Supper to His burial. The priest or deacon reads these passages while we stand in the darkened church, and between each Gospel reading we sing hymns and offer litanies. It’s long. Your feet will hurt. But there’s something about hearing the whole Passion narrative unfold in one service that makes what’s coming on Friday feel real and immediate.
Then Thursday morning (or sometimes late Wednesday night, depending on your parish’s schedule), we celebrate the Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. This is Vespers combined with the Divine Liturgy, and we use the longer anaphora of St. Basil instead of the usual St. John Chrysysostom. The Old Testament readings at this service are powerful: the theophany at Sinai from Exodus, God’s answer to Job out of the whirlwind, and Isaiah’s prophecies about the suffering servant. They all point forward to what Christ is about to accomplish.
The Liturgy itself commemorates the Mystical Supper. When the priest elevates the chalice and says “Divided and distributed is the Lamb of God, who is divided yet not disunited, who is ever eaten yet never consumed, but sanctifies those who partake,” we’re standing exactly where the apostles stood in that upper room. This isn’t a memorial meal. It’s the same reality they experienced, the same Body and Blood.
The Communion Hymn
Instead of the usual “Praise the Lord from the heavens,” we sing something different: “Receive me today, Son of God, as a partaker of Your mystical Supper. I will not speak of Your mystery to Your enemies, nor will I give You a kiss as did Judas. But as the thief I confess to You: Lord, remember me in Your Kingdom.”
That hymn gets at the heart of what this day means. We’re all at that table. We all have the capacity to be Judas or Peter or the beloved disciple. The question is which one we’ll choose to be.
The Washing of Feet
In many parishes, the bishop or priest will wash the feet of twelve men after the Gospel reading, reenacting what Christ did for His disciples. It’s based directly on John 13, where Jesus ties a towel around His waist and kneels before each apostle. Peter protests. Jesus insists. “If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”
This isn’t just about humility in some abstract sense. It’s about the kind of love that gets down on the floor and touches what’s dirty. Christ is about to go to the Cross, and before He does, He shows us what that Cross means: total self-giving, service that costs everything, love that doesn’t count the cost.
Why This Matters for Us
If you’re coming from a Baptist or non-denominational background, you might be used to thinking about the Last Supper as something Jesus did once that we remember symbolically with crackers and grape juice every few months. That’s not what we believe. The Eucharist isn’t a memorial. It’s the actual Body and Blood of Christ, and what happened in that upper room on Thursday night is what happens on our altar every Sunday.
This day teaches us that. The connection is explicit and unavoidable. When Christ said “This is My Body” and “This is My Blood,” He meant it. When we come forward to commune, we’re receiving exactly what the apostles received. That’s why we fast beforehand. That’s why we confess our sins. That’s why we don’t treat communion casually.
Great and Holy Thursday also reminds us that the Eucharist and the Cross can’t be separated. Christ gives us His Body and Blood at the Supper, and then He gives that same Body and Blood on Golgotha. The sacrifice and the meal are one reality. Every Liturgy is Calvary and the upper room together.
Practical Notes
Most parishes in our area will serve the Twelve Gospels on Wednesday evening around 6:00 or 7:00, and the Vesperal Liturgy on Thursday morning around 9:00 or 10:00. Check with your parish for exact times. If you work rotating shifts at the plants, talk to your priest about which service to prioritize if you can’t make both. The Liturgy on Thursday morning is when we commune, so that’s the one to aim for if you have to choose.
Come prepared to stand for a while. Bring your kids if you can, even if they’re squirmy. They need to see this. And when you hear those twelve Gospels read one after another, let yourself enter into the story. You’re not watching from a distance. You’re there.
