Stripping of the Altar

[2] At the end of the Maundy Thursday liturgy in Methodist parishes, the chancel is traditionally stripped; black paraments are sometimes added for Good Friday as black is the liturgical colour of Good Friday in the Methodist Churches.

[4] In addition to the stripping of the altar at the conclusion of the Maundy Thursday liturgy in Lutheran Churches, the "lectern and pulpit are [also] left bare until Easter to symbolize the humiliation and barrenness of the cross.

"[5] In Anglican Churches, this ceremony is also performed at the conclusion of Maundy Thursday services, "in which all appointments, linens, and paraments are removed from the altar and chancel in preparation for Good Friday.

"[6] In the earlier form of the Roman Rite, the stripping of the altar was done at the end of Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday.

[10] In earlier centuries, the altars were in some churches washed with a bunch of hyssop dipped in wine and water.

On Maundy Thursday, the altar of this Methodist church was stripped and the cross of this Methodist church was veiled in black for Good Friday (black is the liturgical colour for Good Friday in the United Methodist Church). A wooden cross sits in front of the bare chancel for the veneration of the cross ceremony, which occurs during the United Methodist Good Friday liturgy. [ 1 ]
A stripped altar in an Anglican church on Good Friday