Striping of the altar on
Maundy Thursday
Striping of the altar on Maundy Thursday is a tradition developed in churches simply because the altar guilds needed to strip the altar after Maundy Thursday in preparation for the bare, stark altar on Good Friday. People stayed after worship to observe this, and it was soon experienced as a powerful spiritual moment and this stripping of the altar mirrors the way Jesus was stripped of his garments before his crucifixion, symbolizing his humiliation and suffering.
Now, the stripping and washing of the altar is often an integral part of Maundy Thursday. Yesterday at St. Peter’s Church our Maundy Service with Holy Communion ended with a profound and solemn moment as the congregation removed everything from the altar and sanctuary, leaving them bare. In the Gospels, it’s described that Pilate’s soldiers mocked Jesus by stripping him of his clothes and placing a crown of thorns and a robe on him. They then led him to the place of crucifixion. We remember today Jesus stripped, mocked and abandoned by his friends for our sake.
