Lent Ain't What it Used to Be

 

“Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great

devotion the days of our Lord's passion and resurrection, and

it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a

season of penitence and fasting…”

-1979 Book of Common Prayer, pp. 264-265

 

While there’s evidence that the first Christians did prepare for the days of the Lord’s passion and resurrection, the forty-day “season of penitence and fasting” was not established until the fourth century. Nicholas V. Russo, Assistant Dean of the College of Arts & Letters at University of Notre Dame, in a 2013 essay, “The Early History of Lent” (available online), writes that second-century Christian apologists Irenaeus of Lyons and Tertullian mention a two-day or 40-hour fast, based on the time Christ was believed to be in the tomb. The historian Dionysius of Alexandria, writing in the mid-third century, writes of a fast of up to six days. “Only following the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. did the length of Lent become fixed at forty days, and then only nominally,” Russo writes.

After the Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan in 313 and Christians were free to practice their faith publicly, a 40-day fasting season could be observed without drawing attention to the penitents. There were regional and local differences in the church until Pope Gregory I (590-604) set the beginning of Lent on what became known as Ash Wednesday, 46 days before Easter, and excluding Sundays.

The fasting was far stricter than today: only one meal a day, with no meat, fish, fat, eggs, or dairy, and taken in mid-afternoon. (One reason some Episcopalians call Shrove Tuesday “Pancake Day” is that pancakes were a traditional way of using up milk, butter, and eggs before Lent.) Ash Wednesday and Good Friday were strict fasts, though water was allowed. Sex? Try not to think about it. And there were even bishops in the 14th and 15th centuries who forbade laughter during Lent, according to Denis Janz, professor emeritus at Loyola University in New Orleans. (Los Angeles Times, Feb. 25, 1995)

But over the centuries, the strictures of Lent were eased. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) allowed for a certain amount of “snacking,” especially for those engaged in manual labor. Fish joined the list of allowable foods sometime later. Meat and dairy products became acceptable so long as a pious act was performed to make up for the indulgence.

While some of the Eastern Orthodox churches have much stricter Lenten requirements, both the Roman Catholic and Episcopal fasts are not onerous. Rome is much more specific: “The Catholic Code of Canon Law requires those 18 to 59 years of age to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. And fasting means partaking of only one full meal, with snacks or smaller meals allowed at two other times through the day. It is also recommended that those 14 and over abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and every Friday during Lent.” (“The history of Lent,” by Doug Archer, Catholic Register Special, February 12, 2009, found online.)

The Episcopal Church, naturally, is less specific. From “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church,” under “Fast”: “The Book of Common Prayer recommends fasting for the season of Lent, which Christians should observe ‘by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's Word’ (BCP, p. 265). The BCP designates the weekdays of Lent and Holy Week and all Fridays except in the seasons of Christmas and Easter as days of ‘special devotion’ with ‘special acts of discipline and self-denial’ (which normally include fasting). An exception is made for the feast of the Annunciation in Lent and feasts of our Lord on Friday. Although modern social habits have led to a decline in fasting on Fridays, and in Lent and Holy Week, the BCP calls for fasting, discipline, and self-denial on those days.”

We can be thankful that the Episcopal Church does not impose the draconian fasts of the early Middle Ages, and, so far as I know, has never imposed bans on sex and laughter during Lent. But as Doug Archer writes, “The traditions and practices surrounding Lent are varied, but they have a common focus:  preparation for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. Some would argue that at the start of this new Lenten season, that should be the focus of every Catholic.” And, of course, every Episcopalian.

Image by Julie Lonneman