Lent Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==== Specific fasting traditions by Christian denomination ==== ===== Catholicism ===== {{further|Fasting and abstinence in the Catholic Church{{!}}Fasting in the Catholic Church}} Prior to 1966, the Catholic Church allowed Catholics of fasting age to eat only one full meal a day throughout all forty days of Lent, except on the Lord's Day. Catholics were allowed to take a smaller meal, called a [[Collation (meal)|collation]], which was introduced after the 14th century A.D., and a cup of some beverage, accompanied by a little bread, in the morning.<ref>{{cite CE1913 |last=O'Neill |first=James David |wstitle=Fast |volume=5}}</ref> The [[1917 Code of Canon Law]] allowed the full meal on a fasting day to be taken at any hour and to be supplemented by two collations, with the quantity and the quality of the food to be determined by local custom. Abstinence from meat was to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays and Saturdays in Lent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0813/_P41.HTM|title=CIC 1917: text – IntraText CT|website=Intratext.com|access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref> The Lenten fast ended on [[Holy Saturday]] at noon. Only those aged 21 to 59 were obliged to fast. As with all ecclesiastical laws, particular difficulties, such as strenuous work or illness, excused one from observance, and a dispensation from the law could be granted by a bishop or parish priest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0813/_P41.HTM|title=CIC 1917: text – IntraText CT|website=Intratext.com|access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref> A rule of thumb is that the two collations should not add up to the equivalent of another full meal. Rather portions were to be: "sufficient to sustain strength, but not sufficient to satisfy hunger."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gregson|first1=David|title=Fasting|url=http://www.ewtn.com/vexperts/showmessage.asp?number=446700&Pg=&Pgnu=&recnu=|website=EWTN|publisher=[[Eternal Word Television Network]]|access-date=9 February 2015}}</ref> In 1966, [[Pope Paul VI]] reduced the obligatory fasting days from all forty days of Lent to Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, abstinence days to Fridays and Ash Wednesday, and allowed [[episcopal conference]]s to replace abstinence and fasting with other forms of penitence such as charity and piety, as declared and established in his [[apostolic constitution]] ''[[Paenitemini]]''; fasting on all forty days of Lent is still "strongly recommended", though not under pain of mortal sin.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rules for fast and abstinence |url=https://sspx.org/en/rules-fast-and-abstinence |publisher=[[SSPX]] |access-date=9 March 2021 |language=English |date=3 December 2014}}</ref> This was done so that those in countries where the standard of living is lower can replace fasting with prayer, but "…where economic well-being is greater, so much more will the witness of asceticism have to be given…"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-vi_apc_19660217_paenitemini.html|title=Paenitemini (February 17, 1966) – Paul VI|website=w2.vatican.va|access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref> This was made part of the [[1983 Code of Canon Law]], which made obligatory fasting for those aged between 18 and 59, and abstinence for those aged 14 and upward.<ref name="canons">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4O.HTM|title=Code of Canon Law – IntraText|website=Vatican.va|access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref> The [[Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference]] decided to allow other forms of Friday penance to replace that of abstinence from meat, whether in Lent or outside Lent, suggesting alternatives such as abstaining from some other food, or from alcohol or smoking; making a special effort at participating in family prayer or in Mass; making the [[Stations of the Cross]]; or helping the poor, sick, old, or lonely.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicbishops.ie/2010/11/23/feature-friday-penance/|title=Friday Penance resource from ICBC|website=Catholicbishops.ie|access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref> The [[Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales]] made a similar ruling in 1985<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/Penance/Abstinence.pdf|title=Fasting and Abstinence. Statement from the Bishops of England and Wales on Canons 1249–1253}}</ref> but decided in 2011 to restore the traditional year-round Friday abstinence from meat.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14929199|title=Catholics asked to abstain from meat for Friday penance|work=BBC News|date=16 September 2011}}</ref> The [[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops]] has maintained the rule of abstention from meat on Friday only during Lent and considers poultry to be a type of meat but not fish or shellfish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/vexperts/showresult.asp?RecNum=639219&Forums=0&Experts=0&Days=2009&Author=&Keyword=fasting&pgnu=1&groupnum=0&record_bookmark=1|title=EWTN Q & A, Response|website=Ewtn.com|access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Questions and Answers about Lent and Lenten Practices |url=http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/questions-and-answers-about-lent.cfm |website=usccb.org |access-date=February 26, 2020}}</ref> The [[Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen]] (CMRI), a [[Sedevacantist Catholic]] congregation, requires fasting for its members on all of the forty days of the Christian season of repentance, Lent (except on the [[Lord's Day]]). The CMRI mandates under the pain of grave sin, abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and all Fridays of the year in general.<ref name="CMRI2018">{{cite web |title=The Church Laws of Fast and Abstinence |url=https://www.cmri-maine.org/2018/11/17/fasting-and-abstinence/ |publisher=Saint Theresa's Roman Catholic Church |access-date=2 March 2021 |language=English |date=17 November 2018}}</ref> Even during Lent, the rule about solemnities holds, so that the obligation of Friday abstinence does not apply on 19 and 25 March when, as usually happens, the solemnities of [[Saint Joseph's Day#Catholic traditions|Saint Joseph]] and the [[Annunciation]] are celebrated on those dates. The same applies to [[Saint Patrick's Day]], which is a solemnity in the whole of Ireland as well as in dioceses that have [[Saint Patrick]] as their principal [[patron saint]]. In some other places, too, where there are strong Irish traditions within the Catholic community, a dispensation is granted for that day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2138120/ |title=Thou Shalt Eat Corned Beef on Friday: Who Sets the Rules on Lent? |last=Engber|first= Daniel |date=15 March 2006 |work=Slate |access-date=13 February 2010}}</ref> In [[Hong Kong]], where Ash Wednesday often coincides with [[Chinese New Year]] celebrations, a dispensation is then granted from the laws of fast and abstinence, and the faithful are exhorted to use some other form of penance.<ref name=HK>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic.org.hk/v2/en/know/aknow_02.html|title=Penitential Days – Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong|access-date=31 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307113330/http://www.catholic.org.hk/v2/en/know/aknow_02.html|archive-date=7 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> ===== Lutheranism ===== Following the birth of Lutheranism in the [[Protestant Reformation]], Lutheran church orders in the 16th century "retained the observation of the Lenten fast, and Lutherans have observed this season with a serene, earnest attitude."<ref name="Gassmann 180">{{cite book|last=Gassmann|first=Günther|title=Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism |date=2001|publisher=Scarecrow Press, Inc.|isbn=978-0810866201|page=180}}</ref> Many [[Lutheran]] churches advocate fasting during Lent,<ref name="GassmannOldenburg2011">{{cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism|last1=Gassmann|first1=Günther|last2=Oldenburg|first2=Mark W.|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year= 2011|isbn=978-0810874824|page=229|language=en|quote=In many Lutheran churches, the Sundays during the Lenten season are called by the first word of their respective Latin Introitus (with the exception of Palm/Passion Sunday): Invocavit,[sic] Reminiscere, Oculi, Laetare, and Judica. Many Lutheran church orders of the 16th century retained the observation of the Lenten fast, and Lutherans have observed this season with a serene, earnest attitude. Special days of eucharistic communion were set aside on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.}}</ref><ref>[http://www.lcms.org/pages/wPage.asp?ContentID=246&IssueID=19 What is the holiest season of the Church Year?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209190015/http://www.lcms.org/pages/wPage.asp?ContentID=246&IssueID=19 |date=9 February 2009 }}. Retrieved 3 February 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090209190015/http://www.lcms.org/pages/wPage.asp?ContentID=246&IssueID=19 Archived copy] at the [[Internet Archive]]</ref> especially on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.<ref name="Hatch1978">{{cite book|last=Hatch|first=Jane M.|title=The American Book of Days|year=1978|publisher=Wilson|language=en|isbn=978-0824205935|page=[https://archive.org/details/americanbookofda00hatc/page/163 163]|quote=Special religious services are held on Ash Wednesday by the Church of England, and in the United States by Episcopal, Lutheran, and some other Protestant churches. The Episcopal Church prescribes no rules concerning fasting on Ash Wednesday, which is carried out according to members' personal wishes; however, it recommends a measure of fasting and abstinence as a suitable means of marking the day with proper devotion. Among Lutherans as well, there are no set rules for fasting, although some local congregations may advocate this form of penitence in varying degrees.|url=https://archive.org/details/americanbookofda00hatc/page/163}}</ref><ref name="GassmannOldenburg2011"/><ref name="Pfatteicher1990">{{cite book|last=Pfatteicher|first=Philip H.|title=Commentary on the Lutheran Book of Worship: Lutheran Liturgy in Its Ecumenical Context|year=1990|publisher=Augsburg Fortress Publishers|language=en |isbn=978-0800603922|pages=223–244, 260|quote=The Good Friday fast became the principal fast in the calendar, and even after the Reformation in Germany many Lutherans who observed no other fast scrupulously kept Good Friday with strict fasting.}}</ref><ref name="JacobsHaas1899">{{cite book|last1=Jacobs|first1=Henry Eyster|last2=Haas|first2=John Augustus William|title=The Lutheran Cyclopedia|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_93ErAAAAYAAJ|year=1899|publisher=Scribner|language=en|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_93ErAAAAYAAJ/page/n126 110]|quote=By many Lutherans Good Friday is observed as a strict fast. The lessons on Ash Wednesday emphasize the proper idea of the fast. The Sundays in Lent receive their names from the first words of their Introits in the Latin service, Invocavit, Reminiscere, Oculi, Lcetare, Judica.}}</ref> ''A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent'' published by the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]], a [[mainline Protestant|mainline]] Lutheran denomination, offers a number of guidelines for fasting, abstinence, and other forms of self-denial during Lent:<ref name="ELCA1978"/> {{blockquote| #Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with only one simple meal during the day, usually without meat. #Refrain from eating meat (bloody foods) on all Fridays in Lent, substituting fish for example. #Eliminate a food or food group for the entire season. Especially consider saving rich and fatty foods for Easter. #Consider not eating before receiving Communion in Lent. #Abstain from or limit a favorite activity (television, movies etc.) for the entire season, and spend more time in prayer, Bible study, and reading devotional material. #Don't just give up something that you have to give up for your doctor or diet anyway. Make your fast a voluntary self-denial (i.e. discipline) that you offer to God in prayer.<ref name="ELCA1978">{{cite web|url=http://www.ststephenlutheranchurch.org/pdf/Disciplines%20of%20Lent-%20Handbook.pdf|title=A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent|last=Weitzel|first=Thomas L.|year=1978|publisher=Evangelical Lutheran Church in America|language=en|access-date=17 March 2018|archive-date=17 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317164940/http://www.ststephenlutheranchurch.org/pdf/Disciplines%20of%20Lent-%20Handbook.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} The [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]], a [[Confessional Lutheranism|confessional Lutheran]] denomination, likewise encourages (but does not require) members to give things up for Lent, while emphasizing that the purpose of Lent is repentance from sin rather than minor acts of self-denial in themselves.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lcms.org/about/beliefs/faqs/worship-and-congregational-life|title=Frequently Asked Questions — Worship & Congregational Life|access-date=12 April 2022|publisher=Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://witness.lcms.org/2018/what-to-give-up-for-lent|last=Petesen|first=David|title=What to Give up for Lent?|date=13 February 2018|access-date=12 April 2022|publisher=Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod|language=en}}</ref> ===== Moravian Church ===== Members of the [[Moravian Church]] voluntarily fast during the season of Lent, along with making a [[Lenten sacrifice]] for the season as a form of penitence.<ref name="NHMC2021">{{cite web |title=Lent: 40 Days of Spiritual Renewal |url=https://www.newhopemoravian.org/holy-days.html |publisher=New Hope Moravian Church |access-date=17 February 2021 |language=English |archive-date=12 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512140401/https://newhopemoravian.org/holy-days.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> ===== Reformed Churches ===== [[John Calvin]], the principal figure in the development of Reformed theology, critiqued the practice of Lent in his [[Institutes of the Christian Religion]] as a "superstitious observance," and observed that "Christ did not fast repeatedly (which he must have done had he meant to lay down a law for an anniversary fast), but once only, when preparing for the promulgation of the gospel."<ref>{{cite book|last=Calvin|first=John|translator-last=Beveridge|translator-first=Henry|title= Institutes of the Christian Religion|date=1536}}</ref> Similarly, leading Reformed divines such as [[Samuel Rutherford]] rejected the obligation of Lent.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rutherford|first=Samuel|title= Lex, Rex, Or The Law And The Prince: A Dispute For The Just Prerogative Of King And People|date=1643|page=181}},</ref> The [[Directory for Public Worship]] produced by the [[Westminster Assembly]] in 1644 and approved by the [[Scottish Parliament]] in 1645 takes the position that "[t]here is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord’s day, which is the Christian Sabbath," and approves of fasting specifically "upon special emergent occasions" (cf. [[days of humiliation and thanksgiving]]).<ref>{{cite book|title= Directory for the Public Worship of God|publisher=The Westminster Assembly|date=1645|location=Chapter XIV}}</ref> Accordingly, and in keeping with the Reformed [[regulative principle of worship]], the Reformed churches have historically not observed Lent.<ref>{{cite web|last=Clark|first=R. Scott|title=With The Reformed Pubcast On Lent And Sola Scriptura|quote=According to the western church calendar this is the Lenten season (the 40 days from 'Shrove Tuesday' to Easter) and it is being more widely observed within NAPARC. This is worth noting since, historically, most Reformed churches have not observed Lent and have often confessed against it as an infringement of Christian liberty and contrary to the formal principle of the Reformation, ''sola scriptura''.|url=https://heidelblog.net/2017/03/with-the-reformed-pubcast-on-lent-and-sola-scriptura|publisher=The Heidelblog|date=14 March 2017}}</ref> Some churches in the Reformed tradition observe Lent today.<ref name="EB1911"/> For example, the [[Reformed Church in America]], a Mainline Protestant denomination, describes the first day of Lent, [[Ash Wednesday]], as a day "focused on prayer, fasting, and repentance," encouraging members to "observe a Holy Lent, by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by practicing works of love, and by reading and reflecting on God's Holy Word."<ref name="RCA2018">{{cite web|url=https://www.rca.org/resources/ash-wednesday|title=Ash Wednesday|year=2018|publisher=[[Reformed Church in America]]|language=en|access-date=13 March 2018}}</ref> Among Reformed Christians who do observe Lent, [[Good Friday]], which is towards the end of the Lenten season, is an important day of communal fasting, as it is for many Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Methodists.<ref name="RipleyDana1883"/> ===== Anglican Churches ===== In the [[Anglo-Catholic]] wing of the [[Anglican Communion]], the [[Saint Augustine's Prayer Book]], a companion to the [[Book of Common Prayer]], states that fasting is "usually meaning not more than a light breakfast, one full meal, and one half meal, on the forty days of Lent."<ref name="Gavitt1991">{{cite book|last=Gavitt|first=Loren Nichols|title=Traditional Saint Augustine's Prayer Book: A Book of Devotion for Members of the Anglican Communion|year=1991|publisher=Holy Cross Publications}}</ref> It further states that "the major Fast Days of Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, as the American Prayer-Book indicates, are stricter in obligation, though not in observance, than the other Fast Days, and therefore should not be neglected except in cases of serious illness or other necessity of an absolute character."<ref>{{cite web|title=The Church's Discipline as to Fasting and Abstinence|url=http://www.episcopalnet.org/TRACTS/fasting.html|publisher=Anglican Communion|access-date=3 March 2014}}</ref> ===== Methodist Churches ===== The historic Methodist homilies regarding the [[Sermon on the Mount]] stress the importance of the Lenten fast, which begins on Ash Wednesday.<ref name="AbrahamKirby2009">{{cite book|last1=Abraham|first1=William J.|last2=Kirby|first2=James E.|title=The Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-160743-1|pages=257–}}</ref> The [[United Methodist Church]] therefore states that: {{blockquote|There is a strong biblical base for fasting, particularly during the 40 days of Lent leading to the celebration of Easter. Jesus, as part of his spiritual preparation, went into the wilderness and fasted 40 days and 40 nights, according to the Gospels.<ref name="UMCFasting2017">{{cite web|url=http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/what-does-the-united-methodist-church-say-about-fasting|title=What does The United Methodist Church say about fasting?|publisher=The United Methodist Church|language=en|access-date=1 March 2017}}</ref>}} [[Good Friday]], which is towards the end of the Lenten season, is traditionally an important day of communal fasting for Methodists.<ref name="RipleyDana1883">{{cite book|last1=Ripley|first1=George|last2=Dana|first2=Charles Anderson|title=The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary for General Knowledge|url=https://archive.org/details/americancyclopa06danagoog|year=1883|publisher=D. Appleton and Company|language=en |page=[https://archive.org/details/americancyclopa06danagoog/page/n108 101]|quote=The Protestant Episcopal, Lutheran, and Reformed churches, as well as many Methodists, observe the day by fasting and special services.}}</ref> Rev. Jacqui King, the minister of Nu Faith Community United Methodist Church in Houston explained the philosophy of fasting during Lent as "I'm not skipping a meal because in place of that meal I'm actually dining with God."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.umc.org/resources/lent-a-time-to-fast-and-pray|title=Lent: A Time to Fast and Pray|last=Chavez|first=Kathrin|year=2010|publisher=The United Methodist Church|language=en|access-date=1 March 2017}}</ref> The United Methodist Church teaches, in reference to one's [[Lenten sacrifice]], that "On each Lord's Day in Lent, while Lenten fasts continue, the reverent spirit of Lent is tempered with joyful anticipation of the Resurrection."<ref>{{cite web |title=What is Lent and why does it last forty days? |url=https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-is-lent-and-why-does-it-last-forty-days |publisher=[[The United Methodist Church]] |access-date=8 March 2021 |language=English}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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