By Catholics

A Brief History and Definition of Lent -

The Germanic word Lent (lecten), which we use to denote the forty days of preparation preceding the Paschal feast, originally meant simply the spring season. It has been used since the Anglo-Saxon period (9th Century) to translate the more significant Latin term quadragesima, meaning the “forty days”, or more literally the “fortieth day”. This in turn imitated the Greek name for Lent, tessarakoste (fortieth), a word formed from the relationship to the word Pentecost (pentekoste), which had been used as a name for the Jewish festival before the time of Christ.

In the first three centuries of Christian experience, preparation for the Paschal feast usually covered a period of one or two days, perhaps a week at the most. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (ca AD 140-202) even speaks of a forty-hour preparation for the Paschal celebration.

The first reference to Lent as a period of forty days preparation occurs in the teachings of the First Council of Nicea in AD 325. By the end of the fourth century, a Lenten period of forty days was established and accepted in the Church. Pope St. Leo (d. 461) exhorts the faithful to abstain they they may “fulfill with their fasts the Apostolic institution of the forty days.”

In its early development Lent quickly became associated with the sacrament of baptism, since Easter was the great baptismal feast. Those who were preparing to be baptized participated in the season of Lent in preparation for the reception of the sacrament of baptism. Eventually, those who were already baptized considered it important to join these candidates preparing for baptism in their preparation for Easter. The customs and practices of Lent, as we know them today, soon took hold.

Adapted from the “Lent and Easter Wisdom” series.

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Christians, for the first 300 years after the death of Jesus, where brutally and lethality persecuted by the Roman Empire.
From the time of the burning of Rome, which Emperor Nero blamed on the Christians, until 313 A.D. when Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity, Christians remained underground.

Until that time only through the word of mouse Christians learned about Jesus of Nazareth his preaching suffering and crucifixion, about Resurrection, Ascension and so on.

Once they left the catacombs and entered the public arena Christians began devoting themselves to answering theological questions that the Bible does not explain.

For the next 300 years the theological debate often degenerated into violent arguments that forced the authorities to intervene and to demand from the religious leaders to settle the issues and put an end to the strife.

During that time Christological heresies referring to the nature of Christ became widespread.

One of these heresies is the Arianism, not referring to the our days skinheads with swastikas and anti-Semitic prejudices, referring to the 4^th century one coming from a cleric named Arius.

Arius claims that Jesus was created there fore he was never equal to God. In Arianism Jesus became the Son not that he was, is, and will always be the Son, with no beginning and no end.

For the people the fact that only one God existed, therefore if Jesus was also God it would appear as if two gods existed instead of one, Arianism spread like wildfire.

The Emperor Constantine terrified of insecurity in the empire, ordered a council of the Pope, all the bishops and patriarchs to convene and settle the issue once and for all.

For safety reasons they selected the imperial city of Nicea and the decision was made to compose a creed that every believer was to learn and profess as being the substance of Christian faith.

The phrase “one in being with the Father” translated in plain English ended the argument and the Arianism.

Today all over the World every Sunday and Holy Day at Catholic Masses is recited the same creed known as the Nicene Creed that comes from that A.D. 325 Council of Nicea.