Maundy (foot washing)

Maundy (from Old French mandé, from Latin mandatum meaning "command"), or Washing of the Saints' Feet, Washing of the Feet, or Pedelavium or Pedilavium, is a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations. The Latin word mandatum is the first word 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 ("I give you a new commandment, That ye love one another as I have loved you", ). This is also seen as referring to the commandment of Christ that believers should emulate his loving humility in the washing of the feet (). The term mandatum (mandé, maundy), therefore, was applied to the rite of foot-washing on the Thursday preceding Easter Sunday, called Maundy Thursday. John 13:2–17 recounts Jesus' performance of this action. In verses 13:14–17, He instructs His disciples: If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. Footwashing was practiced by the early Church, prior to receiving the Eucharist, and was recorded by the early Christian apologist Tertullian, who discussed it involving a basin of "water for the saints' feet", along with a "linen towel". Many denominations (including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Mennonites, and Catholics) therefore observe the liturgical washing of the feet on Maundy Thursday of Holy Week. Moreover, for some denominations, foot-washing was an example, a pattern. Many groups throughout Church history and many modern denominations have practiced foot washing as a church ordinance including Adventists, Anabaptists, Baptists, Free Will Baptists, and Pentecostals. The root of this practice is to be found in the hospitality customs of ancient civilizations, especially where sandals were the chief footwear.