Lent, in Latin quadragesima , a period of penitence and fasting observed for forty days in preparation for Easter. See Fast.

In the early days of the Roman Catholic Church, Lent only lasted for thirty-six days. In the fifth century, four more days were added in order to conform to the length of Jesus Christ's fast in the wilderness. This custom was adopted everywhere in the West, except by the Church of Milan, where the former practice was continued of observing Lent for only thirty-six days.

According to St. Jerome, St. Leo, St. Augustine, and several others, Lent was established by the Apostles. They argued as follows: everything that is generally practiced in the Church, and which was not instituted by an ecclesiastical council, must be the work of the Apostles; and such was the case with fasting at Lent . Indeed, we have no record of it being instituted by any council; on the contrary, the first council of Nicea, at Laodicea, as well as the Latin and Greek Fathers, especially Tertullian, speak of Lent as a widespread and long-established practice.

Calvin, Chemnitius and the Protestants claim that fasting at Lent originated as a kind of superstition on the part of simple people wishing to imitate Jesus Christ's fast. They claim to prove this by a reference to St. Irene, as cited by Eusebius. But this is a very poor proof, or rather a proof of no value whatsoever, when set against the constant testimony of all the other Church fathers, and the practice of the Universal Church.

Some say that Pope Telesphore established Lent in the middle of the second century. Others agree that the practice of fasting for the forty days preceding Easter was indeed observed in the Church at the time of the Apostles, but that its observation was at first voluntary, and that there was no ecclesiastical law on the subject until the middle of the third century. But the ecclesiastical precept alone constitutes an authority that should have been respected by the Reformers; but the latter were less concerned about loosening moral precepts than about carrying through their Reformation.

The Greek Orthodox Church differs from the Roman Church as regards abstinence during Lent . The Greeks begin a week earlier, and do not fast on Saturdays as Catholics do, with the exception of the Saturday of Holy Week.

The earliest Catholic monks observed three periods of fasting. The most important one, Lent , preceded Easter; the second took place before Christmas, and was called St. Martin's; and the third, Saint John the Baptist's, came after Whitsun. All three lasted for forty days.

Along with Lent , the Greeks observed four periods of fasting, which they called the fasts of the Apostles, of Whitsun, of Christmas and of the Transfiguration, but they reduced each to seven days. The Syriac-Jacobites observe a fifth, which they call the Penitence of Nineveh ; and the Maronites add a sixth, which is called the Fast of the exaltation of the Holy-Cross.

The eighth canon of the council of Toledo orders that those who have eaten flesh during Lent without strong necessity, must eat none for the rest of the year, and should not receive communion at Easter.

Some claim that the forty days of fasting at Lent is in remembrance of the forty days of the Flood; others, the forty years the Jews spent in the wilderness. Some believe it is a recollection of the forty days granted to the Ninevites to do penitence, while others see it as a reference to the forty lashes that were given to criminals as a punishment. Still others consider it a commemoration of the forty days of fasting observed by Moses after receiving the Law, or the forty days that Elijah fasted or, finally, the forty days of fasting observed by Jesus Christ. [p. 683]

Over time, church discipline has become less rigorous regarding the practice of fasting during Lent . In the earliest times, fasting in the Western Church consisted in abstinence from meat, eggs, dairy products and wine. A single meal was eaten daily, in the evening. Some Christians maintained that poultry should not be a prohibited dish, as it is written in the book of Genesis that birds had been created from the waters just as fish had, and could therefore be eaten; but this abuse of church teaching was suppressed. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, fasting was always extremely strict; most believers lived only on vegetables, bread and water. Before 800 AD, however, a certain relaxation in attitudes had already taken place, and wine, eggs and dairy products were allowed. At first, fasting consisted in having only one meal a day, in the evening, after Vespers. This was the practice in the Roman Church until 1200. The Greeks dined at midday, and as early as the sixth century they ate a light meal of fruits and herbs in the evening. In the thirteenth century, Catholics began to eat a few conserves during the day to keep them going. In the evening they ate a light meal; the French name for which is collation , and was taken from a practice which was widespread among religious orders. After supper, members of such orders went to the collation , i.e. to readings from the conferences of the Church Fathers, called in Latin collationes ; after which, on fast days, they were permitted to drink water and a little wine. The name for this light refreshment was also called collation . The main meal on Lent days was however brought forward to midday only gradually, in stages. The first step in this process was that supper began to be eaten earlier, at the hour of None , that is to say, at three o' clock in the afternoon; for this reason, one said none after the Mass, then Vespers, and then people went to eat. About 1500, Vespers was brought forward to midday. It also became an accepted practice to fast only by abstaining from meat for forty days, and reducing the number of meals to two, a more consistent one at midday, and a lighter one in evening. Fasting at Lent also meant sexual abstinence, avoidance of games and other forms of entertainment, and of taking legal action. It was forbidden to marry during Lent without special dispensation. Thomassin, Historical and dogmatic treaty on Fasting . ( G )