Bulgarian Orthodox Church marks Holy Thursday

On 25^th of April, Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church marks the Holy Thursday, which is considered the most important day of the Holy Week.

Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. At the Last Supper, Christ lays out the model for the Holy Communion. When the supper was over, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Subsequently, he passed a cup filled with wine, gave it to his disciples, and said: “Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Holy Thursday is the day on which the Easter eggs are painted. The tradition on this day is to get up very early and go and watch which hen will be the first one to lay an egg. This is the first egg to be coloured, usually in red. In the Orthodox Church, those who cannot dye their eggs on Thursday are allowed to do it on Saturday.

This year, Orthodox Church in Bulgaria marked the start of the Holy Week on 22nd of April, Holy Monday. This is the last week before Easter and commemorates the last days of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, his sufferings, crucifixion death and burial.