Christians mark Holy Thursday today

Christians in Ghana and across the globe will today, Thursday, April 1, commemorate the Holy Thursday ushering in this year’s Easter celebration.

Easter festivities will officially start on Friday, April 2, to mark the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day-Sunday.

Holy Thursday, also called Maundy Thursday is the Christian holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter.

It commemorates the Washing of the Feet and Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles, as described in the canonical gospels.

It is the fifth day of Holy Week, preceded by Holy Wednesday and followed by Good Friday.

The significance shows the final fellowship Jesus Christ had with His disciples before his crucifixion, where he shared bread and wine, which symbolised his body and blood respectively and urged His followers to keep to the practice in remembrance of Him.

The administering of the Holy Communion is part of the mandatory sacrament or ordinances of the Church.

According to the Catholics, the unleavened bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ through a process known as transubstantiation.

There have been notable Eucharistic miracles attributed to this event, such as bleeding hosts (communion wafers).

But unlike in the past where Holy Communion was served to members without restrictions during the commemoration, some churches have either been compelled to suspend the practice or had adopted new ways to continue with the practice due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While some are likely not to have the practice this year, to avoid the likelihood of getting close to each other, some churches are however, expected to mark the event via online.