FOOT-WASHING in thk Chuistian Ghurch. The use of sandals among the Eastern nations in«
FOOT-WASHIXG
016
FORBES
Ktead of shoes, as well as the heat of the climate, gave rise to frequent ablutions, and especialh' of the feet. It became a duty of hospitality, and a mark of respect towards strangers. Al)raham ofter- ed water to the three anj^els (Gen. xviii, 4) to wash their feet ; Lot did the same to the two anyels who visited him (Gen. xix, 2) ; Abigail to the messen- gers of David (1 Sam. xxv, 41). Tlie I'harisee Si- mon gave Jesus no water for his feet (Luke vii, 44), and iMary Magdalene therefore washed his feet with tears, and wiped tliem with the hairs of her head. At tlie last supper Christ washed the feet of his discijiles (John xiii, 4). Tliis was at once a symbol and an ex • amplf : a symbol, as it was meant to teach them (1) that tliDSo only whose sins were washed away bj' him, the Lamb of God, could have part with him here- after ; and (2) that such as had once been thus puri- fied in the blood of the Lamb "needetli not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit" (John xiii, 10). The act thus performed by Christ at the institution of the Supper suggests to believers at ever}' communion tliis lesson of humility. It is also an example of hu- mility, patience, forbearance, and charity, and partic- ularly of assistance in helping each other to purifica- tion from sin.
In the earh"^ post-apostolic times, the command "ye also ought to tcash one another's feet" came to be ob- served not only after the spirit, but also after the letter. Augustine speaks (Ep. 118, adJanuariiim') of this prac- tice, as also of the doubts entertained in his times as to the proper day when the ceremony ought to be per- formed. 1 he Synod of Toledo, 694 (ch. iii) stated that it should take place on the anniversary of the day when Christ performed it — the Thursday, 14tli of Nisan. In the Greek Church, foot-washing came to Ije even con- sidered as a sacrament. In the Roman Catholic Church, Bernard de Clairvaux strongly recommends it as sacramentmi remissionis peccatorum quotidiano- rum. Yet it did not become a general, public prac- tice in either Church. It was mostly observed at the installation of princes and bishops in the IMiddle Ages. In the Greek convents, however, and at the Russian court, it is yet observed with great solemnity (Leo Al- lat. De dom. et hebd. yriec. 21). In the papal court, in those of V'ienna, Munich, Madrid, Lisbon, and in the ' cathedrals and convents of the Roman Catholic Church, the command is also literally carried out to this day, the pope, emperor, kings, etc., washing the feet of twelve persons, generalh' poor old men, who receive a small gratuity on the occasion. In Rome, the twelve representatives of the apostles are seated in the Clem- entine Chapel, dressed in tunics of white woollen cloth, and the pope, attired in the same plain manner, sprinkles a few drops on the right foot of each, then wipes and kisses it. At the beginning of the ceremo- ny the antiphony Mandatum novum do vobis is sung, from whence the ceremonj' of the Pedilamtm is also called }fandatum. After this a repast takes place, at •which the pope, assistad l)y his cabinet, serve the twelve (thirteen) apostles, who, at the close, are per- mittad to take away the white tunics, the towels with which their feet have been wiped, and a small piece of money.
Luther opposed "this hypocritical foot-washing," in whicli tlie superior washes the feet of Ids inferior, who, the ceremony over, will have to act all the more hum- bly towards him, while Christ had made it an emblem of true huuiilitj' and abnegation, and raised thei'ebj' the positioii of those whose feet he washed. " We have nothing to do," said he, " with feet-washing u-ith water, otherwise it is not only the feet of tlie twelve, but those of everybody we sliould wash. People would be much more benefited if a general bath were at once orderen, and the whole IxmIj- washed. If you ; wish to wasli your neighbor's feet, see that your heart t is really humble, and help every one in becoming bet- 1 ter." 1
The Church of England at first carried out the letter of the command ; but, instead of it, there are now as- sembled in Whitehall every year as many poor men and women as the sovereign has reigned years: to each of these are given clothes, food, and as many jjicccs of money as the sovereign counts years. The Anabaptists continued the practice of foot-washing, wliich, in consideration of the passages John xiii, 14 ; 1 Tim. V, 10, they considered as a sacrament instituted and recommended by Christ (see the Confessio of the United Baptists, or'Mennonites, of 1G60). The Lu. theraii Upper Consistory of Dresden condemned in 1718 twelve Lutheran citizens of Weida to public pen- ance for having permitted duke Moritz Wilhelm to wash their feet. As the Moravians revived the old love-feasts, tliej- also revived the practice, j'et without strictly enforcing it. It used to be performed not only by the leaders towards their followers, but also by the latter among themselves, while they sang a hymn ex- planatory of the sjmbol, in which it was called "the lesser baptism." The Mennonites (q. v.) and the River Brethren (q. v.) still practise foot - washing. The Church of God (q. v.) regards foot-washing as a posi- tive ordinance of perpetual standing in the Church, the same as baptism and the Lord's Supper. — Herzog, Real-EncijUop. iv, G30. (J. N. P.)