Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar, directly following Shrove Tuesday.[1] Occurring 46 days before Easter, it is a moveable feast that can fall as early as February 4 and as late as March 10. According to the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus Christ spent 40 days fasting in the desert, where he endured temptation by Satan.[2][3] Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes (formally called The Imposition of Ashes) on the foreheads of adherents as a celebration and reminder of human mortality, and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered from the burning of the palms from the previous years Palm Sunday.[4] Today, Ash Wednesday is observed by many Christian denominations, including Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Anglicans, and Presbyterians, among many others.[5] During the time of early Church Father Tertullian, ashes and sackcloths were used as severe penance due to grave sin. Ashes, mixed with sackcloths represented a gruesome image of penance and humiliation; a form of penitence associated with those who violated Canon Law in the early church. Since this time, the public imposition of ashes sometime 40 days prior to Easter has been observed in the Roman Catholic Church later revised by the widespread granting of plenary indulgences.[6] The esteemed Anglo-Saxon abbot Ælfric of Eynsham cites its historical practice during his own lifetime.[7] He further added in his book, The Lives of the Saints, a pious tale of an unrepentant man who refused to receive ashes on a mid-week and was killed afterwards in a boar hunt.[8] Accordingly, the Anglican Church also maintained the same pious Lenten custom since its inception.[9] After the Reformation, the Lutheran Church universally continued to celebrate Ash Wednesday as a holy day and some Lutheran Christians retained the practice of the imposition of ashes in the Divine Service,[10][11][12] while those who temporarily lapsed, revived the practice of the imposition of ashes in their observance of Ash Wednesday in the mid-20th century.[13] As a result of the liturgical revival ushered in by the ecumenical movement,[10] the practice has also become a standard practice in the Methodist Church.[14][15] In addition to these liturgical denominations,[16] some Anabaptist and Reformed churches, which abandoned the practice after the Reformation, now also observe this day,[9][17] which has become widespread in much of Christendom.[16] The Pope, as the Bishop of Rome, traditionally makes a trip via the processional route between the Church of Saint Anselm to the Basilica of Santa Sabina on this religious day. The Pontiff customarily does not receive marked ashes on his brow; instead, they are sprinkled on his forehead, a pious custom among Roman clerics and bishops. In Victorian England, theatres refrained from presenting costumed shows on Ash Wednesday, so they provided other entertainments, as mandated by the Anglican Church.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 19:28:59 +0000
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