Presiding Bishop washes pilgrims' feet at Maundy Thursday service in Jerusalem
Episcopal News Service, Jerusalem. March 20, 2008 [032008-02]
Matthew Davies
On Maundy Thursday, the holy day commemorating Jesus' last supper with his apostles, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori washed the feet of pilgrims and local Christians during an evening service at St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem.
A procession to Gethsemane followed the March 20 service at which Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem Suheil Dawani preached.
The ritual of foot washing follows John's account of the Last Supper, when Jesus "got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him."
Dawani, who preached in Arabic and English, said that Jesus offered his disciples a new word "agape" meaning unconditional love; a new symbol in the master taking the role of servant in washing the apostles' feet; and a new motive to love: "love one another as I have loved you."
"Through Jesus washing his apostles' feet, John gives a new understanding of communion," Dawani said. "Let us approach this Holy Communion today as one family in Christ."
Earlier in the day, the Presiding Bishop joined the procession to the altar at St. George's Cathedral for the annual Chrism Mass, during which Stephen Need, dean of St. George's College, was ordained as a deacon.
Dawani described ordination as "the meaning of servanthood, of selfless service." He suggested that the calling to servanthood "must surely become our custom, but we need to go further today."
The Christian community in the Holy land, Dawani said, "has been in the lead when it comes to serving the sick and suffering," acknowledging the work of the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza and St. Luke's Hospital in Nablus, two of the 35 institutions of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, that are evidence of that ministry. "In serving the helpless," he added, "we are serving Christ himself."
Following the service, Need said his ordination is a privilege and an honor and he looks forward to continuing his ministry in the Holy Land, with an emphasis on teaching.
The Presiding Bishop, who is visiting the Holy Land March 16-24, met with Thomas Duffy, deputy principal officer at the U.S. Consulate General, and Rabbi David Rosen, International Director of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee.
On Good Friday, Jefferts Schori will offer readings and prayers at the Stations of the Cross along Jerusalem's Via Dolorosa, the "Way of Suffering" that Jesus walked toward the site of his crucifixion at Golgotha where the Church of the Holy Sepulcre now stands.