There is something quietly extraordinary about the Royal Maundy Service. In a culture that often struggles to hold together power and humility, here is a ceremony in which the monarch distributes coins to ordinary people — chosen not for their wealth or status, but for their service to their communities and their churches. It is, at its heart, an act of reversal: the powerful serving the faithful. This year, that ceremony comes to St Asaph Cathedral in North Wales — the UK's smallest ancient cathedral, and one of its most beautiful. It will be the first time the Maundy Service has been held in North Wales, and only the second time in Wales in the 800 years since the tradition began. The King will present Maundy gifts to 77 men and 77 women — one for each year of his age — selected from six Welsh dioceses and four bordering English dioceses for their outstanding Christian service. The service will feature specially commissioned music by Welsh composers and will use the Cross of Wales, a gift from the King himself, which contains a fragment believed to be from the True Cross. The Dean of St Asaph, the Very Revd Nigel Williams, has described it as an honour beyond measure. For the Church in Wales, and for the communities of North Wales, it is a moment to celebrate — and to reflect on the ancient Christian call to serve one another as Christ served his disciples on the night before his death.