Lent: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting for 40 days, Lent is a season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter. The Church year revolves around two “cycles,” one for Christmas and one for Easter. As the Christmas cycle begins with Advent, the Easter cycle does likewise with Lent.
The season has a penitential character. In Anglican churches, we reflect in quieter liturgies, the use of purple vestments, and the omission of festive elements like the Alleluia. Yet Lent is not merely about sorrow for sin; it is ultimately a season of hope. By honestly confronting our mortality and repentance, we are prepared to receive the joy of Christ’s resurrection at Easter more fully, as Saint Paul describes:
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Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life
Romans 6:3-4
(To learn more about the Church calendar, click here.)
How Long is Lent?
Because Lent lasts for forty days, it recalls Christ’s fasting during his temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). Nowadays, almost everyone agrees that Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and that it lasts for some reckoning of 40 days. Here is an image from Wikimedia that illustrates a common way to count the 40 fasting days of Lent (as well as when Holy Week and the Triduum begin and end).
However, there have been and still are disagreements on how to count the 40 days, if we count Sundays, whether Lent includes (all, none, or a portion of) Holy Week, the week immediately before Easter Sunday. For more information on the history of Lent and Lenten disagreements, I point you to the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church:
In the first three centuries the period of fasting in preparation for Easter did not, as a rule, exceed two or three days, as is evident from a statement of Irenaeus recorded by Eusebius (Historia Ecclesiastica 5. 24. 12). The first mention of a period of 40 days…, prob. of Lent, occurs in the Canons of Nicaea (ad 325; can. 5). The custom may have originated in the prescribed fast of candidates for baptism, and the number 40 was evidently suggested by the 40 days’ fasts of Moses, Elijah, and esp. the Lord Himself, though till a much later date the period was reckoned differently in the different Churches.
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
According to the ODCC, the current Lenten format, which begins on Ash Wednesday and continues until Easter Sunday for a total of 40 days (not counting Sundays), originated in Rome in the 7th century.
Why Call It “Lent”?
In Greek and Latin, the names for Lent make more sense, as they are based on the number 40. However, English is more confusing. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary (a fascinating website):
- “Lent” comes from the English noun “Lenten,” meaning either “the season of spring” or the period of fasting we now refer to as Lent.
- “Lenten” derives from the Old English “lencten,” meaning “the season of spring” or “Lent, the period of fasting.”
- “lencten” comes from the West Germanic “langitinaz,” meaning “long-days,” or “lengthening of the day.”
Consequently, “Lent” refers to the lengthening of the days during springtime.
Common Lenten Practices
Check out these Anglican Compass posts on common Lenten disciplines:
Regarding the history of Lenten fasting, the ODCC notes,
During the early centuries the observance of the fast was very strict. Only one meal a day, taken towards evening, was allowed, and flesh-meat and fish, and in most places also eggs and lacticinia [milk and dairy products], were absolutely forbidden. From the 9th cent. onwards in the W[est] the practice began to be considerably relaxed.
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
Today, in the Roman Catholic Church, parishioners are only obligated to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. However, fasting from meat, fish, eggs, and dairy is still common in Eastern Churches. Now, in Western Churches:
Lent is generally observed as a time of penance by abstaining from festivities, by almsgiving, and by devoting more than the usual time to religious exercises. Of recent years in the W[estern] Church more emphasis has been placed on these aspects than on physical fasting.
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
Lent Collects and Collect Reflections
The Lenten collects tell a story of human sinfulness and our need for God. Below we include the text of the Lent collects; we also have an article on their history, which you can read by clicking here.
Ash Wednesday
Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made. You forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The First Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations, and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Second Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities that may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Third Sunday in Lent
Heavenly Father, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you: Look with compassion upon the heartfelt desires of your servants, and purify our disordered affections, that we may behold your eternal glory in the face of Christ Jesus; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Fourth Sunday in Lent
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Fifth Sunday in Lent; Passion Sunday
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Image by Vetrestudios, courtesy of Canva.
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You walk into an Anglican church and see many people wearing a wide array of odd clothing. You notice ministers wearing white robes with colorful scarf-like items around their necks, some vertical and some diagonal. If the parish has a verger (typically the person who appears to know what everyone is supposed to do), they…
Ash Wednesday: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Ash Wednesday initiates Lent, a period of reflection, repentance, and preparation for Easter, rooted in Jesus’ wilderness experience. Observers receive ashes as a symbol of mortality and repentance. The day emphasizes communal acknowledgment of sin and the need for God’s grace, encouraging participation through services and fasting to deepen spiritual awareness.
