What is Lent? History of the Great Lent

Bright Sunday is the holiday of spring, good and revival of all life. For all Christians it is also one of the greatest religious holidays. It is a day of joy and hope for the future. But from the Bible everyone knows what was before this holiday. Therefore, it is preceded by several weeks of severe abstinence and judgment. But what is the Great Lent, when it appeared, and what are its main customs and rules, not everyone knows.

The Essence of Great Lent

The content and essence of this phenomenon can be explained from several points of view. By definition, this is a strict religious prohibition and restrictions for a certain period to the use of all food or its individual components (milk, meat, etc.).

In the spiritual sense, the essence of the Great Lent is renewal through the diligent purification of one's own soul. During this period it is customary to refrain from all evil and anger. So the believers prepare themselves for the Passover.

Lent is the longest of all Orthodox fasts. It lasts almost seven weeks. The first six are called "Holy Four-Tier", and the last is "Holy Week". During this period, all prayers and addresses to God are distinguished by special repentance and humility. This is the time of the church liturgies. In this case, special importance is attached to Sunday. Each of the seven is dedicated to a celebrated holiday and event.

Believers in the days of Fasting must cope with their emotions, desires, try to take everything for granted and in many ways deny themselves. During this period, a person's life changes radically, as well as his values and principles. This is a kind of ladder to heaven.

History of Great Lent

The roots of this religious festival originate in ancient times, when due to the limited food, legalized taboo prohibitions arose. So people prepared themselves for the perception of divine knowledge and truths. On the question, what is the Great Lent today, one can answer only by looking in the history.

Before it finally formed in the form that it is today, the holiday passed several long centuries. It developed along with the formation and development of the Church itself. Initially, the Post existed as a spiritual and physical self-restraint before the sacrament of baptism on Easter days at the dawn of history. The origins of this phenomenon also date back to the ancient Paschal post of the II-III c. BC. E. Then it lasted one night and was performed in memory of the Passion of Christ. Subsequently, the Post lasted up to 40 hours, and then up to 40 days.

Later it was compared with the 40-day journey of Christ and Moses through the withering desert. However, in different places this period was calculated in different ways. Also the principles of holding it were different. Only in the IV century the Post was officially fixed and decorated in the 69th Apostolic Rule.

View of different religions and teachings

In addition to Orthodox canons, there are many other concepts and variations in individual beliefs. Therefore, the concept of what the Great Lent is, every people is completely different. For example, in some Protestant churches it is customary to abstain completely from food and even water. This happens by special agreement with the community. But this Lent lasts, unlike the Orthodox, quite a short time.

The Jews perceive this phenomenon somewhat differently. Usually they fast in honor of this vow or veneration of relatives. They also have a Yom Kippur public holiday. On this day it is customary to limit oneself according to the laws of Moses. According to this, there are four more such periods.

The history of Lent in Islam is closely connected with the holy month of Ramadan. Its goal is to strengthen the spirit and self-discipline of Muslims, as well as the ability to accurately carry out all the punishments of Allah. The fast lasts about 30 days. Also, Muslims limit themselves on some other days, for example, in Shaaban and Ashura day.

Buddhists practice two-day starvation. At the same time on the second day they completely refuse food and even water. For Buddhists, this is the process of purifying speech, mind and body. This is an excellent way of self-control and an initial level of self-discipline.

How to properly meet the Great Lent

Go all the way to Easter and not succumb to temptation and excesses to an unprepared person is quite difficult. Therefore, many priests singled out a few rather important points:

• It is necessary to clearly understand what the Post is. After all, it's not just food restrictions. The main thing is self-control and victory over sin, flaws and passions.

• Talk to your priest. Only he can correctly explain what the Great Lent is, and give some useful advice.

• Analyze your own shortcomings and bad habits. This will help to understand, and eventually almost completely get rid of them.

Basic Principles of Lent

In addition to these generally accepted rules, there are several basic theses, which every believer should adhere to. The whole history of the rise of Lent and its existence are based on the following principles:

1. The Spirit rules over the flesh. This is the underlying thesis of this period.

2. To deny yourself your own weaknesses. It helps the education of will power.

3. Refusal from alcohol, as well as smoking. Their use in everyday life is undesirable, not like in Post.

4. Watch your own emotions, words and thoughts, and actions. To cultivate kindness and tolerance is one of the main rules of Fasting.

5. Do not hold resentment and evil. It destroys a person from within, so for these 40 days one should forget about these spiritual worms.

Preparing for the Post

For any person, several weeks of restriction in food and strict self-control is a huge test for both the soul and for one's own body. Therefore, by the weeks of Lent we should prepare in advance.

According to the laws of the Church, a certain amount of time is reserved for preparing for such tests. These are the three main weeks during which every Christian should be mentally and physically prepared for the Great Lent. And most importantly, what he must do is learn to repent.

The first week of preparation is the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee. This is a reminder of Christian humility. It determines the path to spiritual exaltation itself. These days the post itself is not so important, therefore on Wednesday and Friday it is not adhered to.

The second week is marked by a reminder of the prodigal son. This evangelical parable is designed to show how boundless is the mercy of God. Each sinner can be granted heaven and forgiveness.

The last week before the Great Lent is called the Meatball or Week about the Last Judgment. In the people it is also called the Carnival. At this time, you can eat everything. And, finally, the finale of this week - Forgiveness Sunday, when everyone is asking each other for mutual forgiveness.

Weeks of Great Lent

According to the canons, abstinence before the Holy Sunday lasts about 7 weeks. In this case, each of them is dedicated to some phenomena, people and events. Week of Lent is conditionally divided into two parts: the Holy Fourth of a Fortnight (6 weeks) and the Passion Week (7th week).

The first seven days are also called the triumph of Orthodoxy. This time is particularly strict Post. Believers venerate St. Andrew of Crete, St. Icon and Theodore Tiron. The second, fourth and fifth weeks are dedicated to St. Gregory Palamas, John Climacus and Mary of Egypt. All of them called for peace and harmony, told believers how to fast and behave correctly , so that God's grace and signs could be revealed to them.

The third week of Fast is called the believers of the crucified. The cross should remind laymen of the suffering and death of the son of God. The sixth week is dedicated to the preparation for the Passover and the remembrance of the torment of the Lord. On this Sunday, Jesus' entry into Jerusalem is celebrated, it is also called Palm Sunday. This concludes the first part of the Post - Holy Fourteen.

The seventh week, or the Passion Seven, is completely dedicated to the last days and hours of Christ's life, as well as his death. This is the time for waiting for Easter.

Great Lent Menu

The most difficult thing for every modern person is to give up one's own daily habits, especially in eating. Moreover, now the shelves of any store are simply bursting with various delicacies and exotics.

Great Lent is the time when the menu is strictly limited. It is a period of comprehension and self-determination. According to centuries-old rules, there are days of total rejection of any food, days of limited dryness and days of Lent, when you can eat cooked dishes and fish.

But what can you eat for sure? The list of allowed products consists of the following elements:

• Cereals. This is wheat, buckwheat, rice, corn and many others. They are extremely rich in vitamins and many useful substances.

• Beans. These are beans, lentils, peanuts, peas, etc. They are a storehouse of fiber and a variety of vegetable fats.

• Vegetables and fruits.

• Nuts and seeds - high-grade vitamin complexes.

• Mushrooms. They are quite heavy for the stomach, so it's better not to get carried away. By the way, the church to mushrooms is also equated with mussels, squid and shrimp.

• Vegetable oils.

The main mistakes of people observing fasting

As they say in many church canons, this is the time when every person must prevail over his own habits, fears and emotions. He must reveal himself to God. But not everyone who has decided to follow the Fast, realizes what it is and what is needed. Therefore, a lot of mistakes are made:

• Hoping to lose weight. If we consider the Great Lent by day, then we can see that all food is of a purely plant nature. But all of it is rich in carbohydrates and is very caloric. Therefore, you can, on the contrary, gain extra pounds.

• Assign the severity of the post yourself. You can not calculate your own physical and mental strength and even damage your health. Therefore, everything must be coordinated with the priest.

• Observe restrictions in food, but not in thoughts and expressions. The main principle of Fasting is humility and self-control. First of all, you should limit your own emotions and evil thoughts.