The History and Mysteries of Easter (Part 1: The Origin of Lent)

Early Origins of Lent

Interestingly enough, the first historical reference to what came to be known as "Lent" is contained within the first historical reference to what we now call "Easter." In a 2nd century letter from St. Irenaeus (c.130-c. 202 AD), Bishop of Lyon, to Pope Victor (r. 189-198), he addresses a controversy the Pope was dealing with concerning the proper date for celebrating "The Resurrection of the Lord" (which later in the West became known as Easter). 



At the time, the dioceses of Asia were celebrating it around the 15th day of the month of Nisan, (on the Hebrew calendar), regardless of which day of the week this fell (this was the date affixed by the Gospel of John as the date Christ was crucified, See John 19:14; Note the other Gospels seem to affix the date as the 14th day of Nisan). This had been the tradition since the founding of the Asian Churches, and was attested to by Polycarp (c.69- c.155 AD), the Bishop of Smyrna, who claimed to have received that instruction from the Apostle John, while he served as one of John's disciples. 

St. Polycarp

The other Churches followed Rome's practice of celebrating the Resurrection on a Sunday, although differed as to which calendar should be used, which was also causing confusion (The Hebrew calendar being shorter than the other calendars in use at the time added yet another layer of complexity!). The Roman Church had always claimed to have inherited the Sunday tradition from the Apostles Peter and Paul, and held that Sunday should be the date celebrated because Christ was resurrected on a Sunday. So in the West, the first Sunday after the 15th day of Nisan was used for celebrating Easter.

Pope Victor- The first Pope from Africa

In one of the earliest documented actions taken upon the premise of Papal authority,  Pope Victor had announced his intention to excommunicate the Asian Churches unless they changed their practice to align with the Western practice. However he was talked out of this position by other bishops, including St. Irenaeus, whose letter addressing this matter has survived. In it, he recounts how Pope Sixtus handled this controversy when he met and discussed it with Polycarp (c. 120 AD). The letter states:

"The dispute is not only about the day, but also about the actual character of the fast. Some think they ought to fast for one day, some for two, others still for more; some make their day last 40 hours on end. Such variation in the observance did not originate in our own day, but very much earlier, in the time of our forefathers...."

Later he adds:

"Despite these differences they {Pope Sixtus and Polycarp} remained in communion with each other,...celebrated the Eucharist together,...and the whole Church was at peace, both those who kept the day, and those who did not."

Hence, for the time being at least, the Churches of East and West agreed to disagree on the matter, and that was that. 

The practices and celebration of what we now know as Lent grew out of the period of fasting that Christians practiced leading up to the day we now call "Easter" (or "The Great Pascha" among the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christians).  Over time, this period came to be known as Lent due to the word being derived from the Anglo Saxon word for "springtime." However, in the early Church you see the Latin term for this fast period called "Quadragesima," which signifies it being the first day of a 40 day period. Thus, when looking at English translations of the canons of the Council of Nicaea, you see this word translated as Lent, even though this didn't become an actual theological term until the Medieval period.    

Coincidentally the term "Easter" was attributed by the 7th century English Church historian Bede, to refer to a Teutonic goddess of spring who was celebrated in springtime. Whereas in the East, the term "Pascha' derived from the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew word for "Passover" (i.e. "pesach"). 

How Did the Church arrive at a 40 day Lenten period? 

The early Church derived the practice of fasting from New Testament accounts of Christ fasting for forty days in the wilderness before his ministry (See, Luke, Ch. 4), and his encouraging the practice of fasting during his ministry (Luke 5:35). As noted above, for the first three centuries of Christianity, the number of days fasted differed amongst the Churches. In the 3rd century, we see an attempt made for uniformity (at least within the Eastern Churches) in the document known as the "Didascalia Apostolorum" (c.230 AD). Authored by an unknown bishop or bishops, it purported to set guidelines for Church practices and states this in reference to fasting in preparation for celebrating Pascha:

"...[Y]ou shall fast in the days of Pascha from the second day of the week {Monday} and you shall sustain yourselves with bread and salt and water until the ninth hour of the fifth day {Thursday}…But on Friday and Saturday fast wholly and taste nothing."

Talk about hard core! If someone tries this please let me know in the comments:)   

Anyway, by this time it appears the practice of celebrating Christ's Resurrection on the 15th day of Nisan had fallen into disuse, and East and West were united in celebrating Easter on a Sunday. Aside from this document, the historical record is sparse. However, scholars agree that at some time between 3rd century and the fourth century Council of Nicaea (325 AD), the fasting period was extended to 40 days within the vast majority of Churches. 

Why so? The biggest reason is that it coincided with the number of days Christ spent in the wilderness before he began his ministry. As stated in Luke Chapter 4, Christ fasted for 40 days to discipline himself to confront and overcome temptation. During this time Satan tempted Christ with pleasures of the flesh (suggesting he turn a stone into bread), the pleasures of possession (Satan's offering Christ all the kingdoms' of the world if he will worship him) and the pleasures of vanity (Satan's encouraging Jesus to jump off the Jerusalem temple with the knowledge that God's angels would protect him from harm). As a fascinating aside, Biblical scholar Dr. Brant Pitre has pointed out that mankind's initial ancestor, Adam, failed similar tests by eating the apple from the Tree of Knowledge (a temptation of the flesh), and did so out of a desire for knowledge (a temptation of possessions) and in wanting to be like a God (the temptation of vanity). Hence Christ succeeded where Adam failed, and this period of temptation likely served to prepare Jesus to become mankind's "New Adam," bringing mankind's salvation from the sins brought into the world by Adam, through his death and resurrection on the Cross.   

The early Christians took great inspiration from Christ's time in the wilderness and strove to imitate Christ by subjecting themselves to temptation in the hope of striving towards a greater state of holiness. Also, this was a period of tremendous growth for the Church, and this 40 day period was especially emphasized with catechumens who were learning the faith and preparing to be baptized at Easter. During this time the catechumens, their sponsors and others in their Church community would undergo extensive spiritual training together. This involved fasting, prayer, learning God's word, penance (through penitential prayer at Church services and performing confession), attending night-vigils, and almsgiving-See St. John Chrysostom, Hom. Against Jews III, 4).  

Ultimately, due to proclamations by  the 4th Century Church Councils of Nicaea (325 AD) and  Laodicea (360), the period of fasting for Lent was set at 40 days. The Early Church Fathers deemed it an important exercise in spiritual renewal to help Christians "be dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (See Romans 6:11). The importance to which Lent was ascribed by this time is best captured by a quote of St. Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, who said, "Anyone who neglects to celebrate the Forty Days Fast is not worthy to celebrate the Easter Festival" (See Festal Letters, XIX, 9).

Closing Thought: 

As much as I love St. Athanasius, my favorite quote for Lent is provided by the 9th century Byzantine abbot, St. Theodore of Studite, who said, "While fasting, let us purify our hearts, sanctify our souls, and trample down all our vices(!) (Epistolary, 1. II, ep 147). May we all approach Lent 2020 in accordance with such timeless wisdom, so that we may grow closer to Christ, and become better versions of ourselves:)