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Preparation Week??
In the EO Church before Great Lent they have Cheesefare week, and Meatfare weeks, respectively, in which they stop eating dairy products during that week and then all meat/ poultry in the following week. The church adjusts the faithful to the great effort that will be required; a gradual build up to fast.
However in the COC our preparation week is EXACTLY the same as the actual Great Lent (40 days), i.e. we fast the preparation week to the same degree as the other 40 days.
So how's it really 'preparing' for the fast if we do the exact same thing as the fast??? IS there something different meant to be done?? Is there something that's changed??
However in the COC our preparation week is EXACTLY the same as the actual Great Lent (40 days), i.e. we fast the preparation week to the same degree as the other 40 days.
So how's it really 'preparing' for the fast if we do the exact same thing as the fast??? IS there something different meant to be done?? Is there something that's changed??
Comments
Preparation week has nothing to do with preparation. In fact, I think it's just a misnomer. There are multiple reasons hypothesized why there is an extra week in the fast- none of them have anything to do with preparation.
Theory #1 - Emperor Heraclius' week
Emperor Heraclius was one of the last Roman Emperors who showed favor for Eastern Christianity and Byzantium. The theory - which is also found in Islamic sources - basically says that in response to Emperor Heraclius' defeat of the Sassinad (Persian Pre-Islamic kingdom), the Islamic forces were approaching the Eastern Roman Empire. Apparently, Emperor Heraclius had a dream that a kingdom by the "circumcised man" would be victorious over his enemies. After telling his court his dream, his patricians (who were mostly Christian with the support of Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople), who did not know of the rise of Islam in Arabia, "advised him to send orders to behead every Jew in his dominion." The Christians promised a fast in support of Emperor Heraclius in his efforts to kill the Jews in the Roman Kingdom. This occurred right before Lent around 634 AD. This week was attached to the Lent. "It was only when a Bedouin trader speaking of a man uniting the tribes of Arabia under a new religion was brought before the Emperor did Heraclius and his court realize that the kingdom of the "circumcised man" was not the Jews but the new Islamic Empire." Although the pre-German Jewish holocaust never occurred, the Christians kept the fast.
Theory #2 - The Weekend Exemption
This theory states that an ancient historian (I forget her name) in the 6th century observed that the Palestinian Christians had an 8 week fast because the Saturdays and Sundays of the Lent are exempt from the fast since there cannot be any fasting on the Sabbath and the Lord's day.
Theory #3 - Combining feasts
This theory states that what we call Great Lent is actually many feasts combined. Lent is 6 weeks from Monday of the first week to Friday of the 6th week which is 40 days. Lazarus Saturday + Palm Sunday + Holy Week + Easter= 49 days. I think they were shooting for 50 days which corresponds to the traditional Feast of Weeks (Shavout in Judaism and Pentecost in Christianity).
My theory: Following many cultures, eight week cycles defined the calendar. This eventually found its way into early Christianity, especially in Eastern Assyria, Eastern Syria and the Levant. This eventually found its way into Egypt and the Mediterranean. But it never caught on in Rome. Seeing that we have an eight week cycle in Pentecost, another eight week cycle was probably the original Lent. So I think Theory #3 is correct, even though the other theories are very plausible.
It makes really no sense to have a prepatory week to ease our digestive system is completely spiritual-less. Fasting is not about food.
I hope this helped.
We spoke about this before but I can't find the thread.
I think it is this thread: http://tasbeha.org/content/community/index.php/topic,12924.msg152119.html#msg152119
[quote author=Remnkemi link=topic=14319.msg163725#msg163725 date=1362962400]
Theory #2 - The Weekend Exemption
This theory states that an ancient historian (I forget her name) in the 6th century observed that the Palestinian Christians had an 8 week fast because the Saturdays and Sundays of the Lent are exempt from the fast since there cannot be any fasting on the Sabbath and the Lord's day.
Well in that case since there is no abstinence on Saturdays and Sundays, shouldnot we add two weeks instead of one? One for the missed Saturdays and one for the missed Sundays?
[quote author=Remnkemi link=topic=14319.msg163725#msg163725 date=1362962400]
We spoke about this before but I can't find the thread.
I think it is this thread: http://tasbeha.org/content/community/index.php/topic,12924.msg152119.html#msg152119
[quote author=Remnkemi link=topic=14319.msg163725#msg163725 date=1362962400]
Theory #2 - The Weekend Exemption
This theory states that an ancient historian (I forget her name) in the 6th century observed that the Palestinian Christians had an 8 week fast because the Saturdays and Sundays of the Lent are exempt from the fast since there cannot be any fasting on the Sabbath and the Lord's day.
Well in that case since there is no abstinence on Saturdays and Sundays, shouldnot we add two weeks instead of one? One for the missed Saturdays and one for the missed Sundays?
Yes. I agree. This is why I don't ascribe to this theory but this is the theory usually given by Sunday School. Since it has its shortcomings, a preparation week is now the usual explanation. But of course, this preparation theory has its own shortcomings as discussed before.
I remember reading somewhere the Holy Week was only celebrated once every 30 years. It was originally separate from the Lent. I think the original Palestinian observation didn't include Holy Week. So the original Palestinian Lent was simply 54 days. 40 + 14. Later the last week became the Holy Week and one week was added to the beginning of the Lent.
Unfortunately, I don't have any evidence to support this "revised" Theory #2 - The Weekend Exemption.
Theory #2 - The Weekend Exemption
This theory states that an ancient historian (I forget her name) in the 6th century observed that the Palestinian Christians had an 8 week fast because the Saturdays and Sundays of the Lent are exempt from the fast since there cannot be any fasting on the Sabbath and the Lord's day.
The Pilgrim's name is Egeria or Etheria or Aetheria and she was from the 4th century
Here is a link to her diary:
http://www.ccel.org/m/mcclure/etheria/etheria.htm
You can find the section about lent from section <57> to <62>. I would encourage you to read <63> as well because it explains how they had a different rite on what we call "the last friday of lent" today.
It just goes to show, that even though It's technically not the end of lent, they still did something different on that friday.
Also, read the foot note on <57>. It shows how at one time, In alexandria (and rome), we only fasted for six weeks and this included Holy Week. Rome still does this today.
My theory is Alexandria used to fast seven weeks (including Holy Week) at some point.
Anyways, The eight week fast easily spread to us from palestine in at least two possible ways:
The pilgrimages of people to the Holy Land during that time, and...
by St. Severus who spent around 20 years in Egypt in exile and was so beloved by the people that we consider him one of our patriarchs (even though he's not).
The earliest recording of officially fasting eight weeks is from the 7th century at the time of Pope Benjamin...But it was most likely earlier than that when we started.
May God grant us an acceptable fast
And like we said, in Jerusalem, they were fasting eight weeks atleast from the mid 5th century, but even prior to that.
the emperor heraclius is the true and most accurate historical fact.....not theory....u can find the reason for the actual wk on the very first page of the great lent katamaras....in arabic.....also makrizi wrote it in his very famous book.....over time things were forgotten and a need to justify the extra week arose .....however all of the reasons given are spiritual conjecture.....i asked HHPS3 .....his reply was.....let piety prevail....the extra week hurts no one....the underlying answer is.....ok fine, we know the real reason but way too late to change
While I already said the Emperor Heraclius story is very plausible, I'm not sure we can consider it historical fact. If it was as universal as the story implies (that the whole Christian world added a week of fasting), then we should find it in Eastern Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox and other historical traditions. The fact that it is only found in al-Miqrizi and other Islamic sources (which is very small and not exhaustive) and recent Arabic katameros sources, the story doesn't amount to historical fact. Secondly, the fact that some give the name Holofernes instead of Heraclius tells us that there might be a "legend" component added to the story.
Additionally, since when did the Coptic Church or any Christian Church institute a fast or church-wide event based on anti-Semitic rationale and then later pretended the reason never existed? The only time the Church institutes a fast is to ask God for help, not military and political campaigns or genocide. If such was the case, wouldn't the Church have eliminated the fast in its entirety, instead of just the rationale behind the fast? (This is rhetorical). It is completely uncharacteristic and un-Christian behavior to have a fast based on an attempt to eradicate Jews.
George,
While St Severus did establish a unique relationship with the Syrian East and Egypt, there really is no evidence that St Severus introduced an extra week of fasting. I only bring this up because St Severus is also claimed to have introduced the octoechos system to Syria and Byzantium nearly an entire century before John Damascus, Andrew of Crete and others. But modern scholarship has shown that this theory is wrong because later manuscripts ascribed this claim, not early manuscripts. I think the same thing applies here. It is possible but not likely.
There are many examples of Paleobyzantine practices found in Alexandria, Byzantium, and Syria and sometimes Rome. It doesn't mean all of them were started by St Severus.
Also, I looked up the Egeria story and the references. It seems just as unlikely that Alexandria had a 6 week Lent with Holy Week attached from an early date. I would need to research this more but it seems unlikely that Alexandria would not have Lent and Holy Week in 6 weeks. This would mean that Lent is 40 days and Holy Week is 6 days with Easter on the 7th day. This would make Lent with Holy Week 46 days (as observed by modern Catholics). But in order for this to work, you have to start on Wednesday. There is no record of Alexandria starting a fast on Wednesday 46 days before Easter.
I think Lent was always 40 days immediately after Theophany feast in Alexandria then later moved and became attached to the Resurrection feast with a duration of 7 weeks. Shortly after it became 8 weeks because of Palestinian influence.
Maxwell Johnson, Origins of Feasts, Fasts and Seasons in Early Christianity, esp the section on Lent and Holy Week
Maxwell Johnson, "Baptismal Preparation and the Origins of Lent," in The Rites of Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and Interpretation
Maxwell Johnson, Liturgy in Early Christian Egypt, with a chapter specific about the liturgical year in 4th century Egypt.
Thomas Talley, The Origins of the Liturgical Year
“Preparation for Pascha? Lent in Christian Antiquity." in P. Bradshaw and L. Hoffman (eds.), Passover and Easter: Origins and History to Modern Times (Two Liturgical Traditions, vol. 6) University of Notre Dame Press, 1999. Pp. 36-54.
"From Three Weeks to Forty Days: Baptismal Preparation and the Origins of Lent." Studia Liturgica 20, 2 (1990): 185-200.
I've heard before that Lent started immediately after Theophany, but I haven't known from where this comes from. It would make sense, considering Christ went to the wilderness and fasted after the Theophany. But by St. Athanasius' time, it wasn't even "added" to Holy Week, but "meshed" into it. Was "Holy Week" ever a fast to begin with? Perhaps, this could indicate that Holy Week was a week of intense prayer, but fasting wasn't part of the tradition until Lent was meshed into it.
I also don't know if the rule of not fasting on Saturdays and Sundays were followed or not in Alexandria. St. Athanasius doesn't seem to indicate one way or another.