by Caroline Burberry

Created on: March 30, 2009

Great Lent, to quote Fr Alexander Schmemann, is the Journey to Pascha (Easter) and as such has been part of the Church liturgical year for as long as there has been a Church. It is a necessary period of preparation and repentance prior to the joyous celebration of the Resurrection, the Feast of Feasts, Pascha. All feast days within the Orthodox Church are preceded by such periods of preparation, taking the form of prayer and fasting from sin and from various foodstuffs as a visible reminder of the inward intention.

In the very early days of the Church, the fast period of Great Lent was initially two days, the period between the eve of the Last Supper and the dawn of Pascha. It is probable that the exact time and length of the fast varied from region to region, particularly as there was no set method for calculating the date of Pascha. Sometime within the next few centuries, quite possibly in the 4th Century when Constantine declared Christianity to be the official faith of the Empire, the fasting period of Great Lent was extended to the 40 days, probably reminiscent of the amount of time Christ spent in the wilderness as the start of His ministry. Some sources quote the Council of Nicea in 325 as the definitive establishment of the 40 day period, which implies that this period of fasting had been in practice across part of the Christian world prior to this date. This specific 40 day period (counted in the Orthodox Church as 40 days up to and including Holy Friday) was also used as a period of strict preparation for catechumens, those committed to becoming Christian, before their baptisms as part of the celebration of Pascha. The period of fasting begins on a Monday, after the liturgy of Forgiveness Vespers on the preceding Sunday evening.

The rules of the fast have also varied through time. In the earliest days the fast of Great Lent was probably a near-complete fast for those who were physically strong enough to undertake the effort. The regulations followed by the Orthodox Church are the same as those which evolved in the monastic communities of the 6th to 11th centuries, namely avoidance of meat, all animal products, fish, oil and wine. Monastic communities would take only a simple meal, once a day, during the weeks of Great Lent and would be allowed two meals per day at weekends. Moderation in these meals is prescribed, although the exact definition of "moderation" is left to the discretion of the individual's Spiritual Father. Since Sunday is always a day

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