Where Does Lent Come From?
Around the time that Christianity was officially legalized within the Roman Empire (312), a Bishop and historian named Eusius of Caesarea began the important work of recording the early history f the church. That work is called The Ecclesiastical History, and it shapes a great deal of our understanding of early Christian practices. One of the practices that Eusebius addresses in this book is Lent.
Like many of our liturgical practices, Lent has ancient precedent, such that we cannot say with any certainty where it came from or when it began. We do know that it is ancient, even Apostolic, meaning the practice began not long after Jesus died. In his Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius records a letter from the great French Bishop Irenaeus to Pope St. Victor in Rome, written in the year 206. Unsurprisingly, our first reference to the practice of Lent was written because Irenaeus could not find agreement among Christians as to what Lent is for, how long it should last, or even when it should begin: “Some think they ought to fast for one day, some for two, others for still more.” Irenaeus continues to say that the Lenten observance “did not originate in our own day, but very much earlier, in the time of our forefathers.” Several traditions support what Irenaeus says, and the scholarly consensus is that the traditions surrounding Lent, Palm Sunday, and Easter all originate with the first Christian communities in Jerusalem itself, who observed the life of Christ by quite literally walking in his footsteps. Among all of the traditions present in the early Church, it was actually those of Jerusalem, rather than Rome or Constantinople, that became normative for the Universal Church.
Why does this matter? We should always be encouraged to know that our practices have historic precedent. While there is nothing “magical” about the witness of the Early Church, the way the teachings surrounding the life, death, and resurrection of Christ were first received from those who knew Him and implemented by the communities that grew around those who knew Jesus, should certainly carry some authority in our own lives as Christians. Secondly, in knowing the history of this important season we can avoid some of the pitfalls that sometimes come with it, and gain clarity about what our own Lenten discipline should like.
The foundation of the Lenten season, historically speaking, has always been baptism. It is a season to prepare new Christians for entrance into the Church through baptism, and for those already baptized to reflect on the meaning of their own baptismal vows. This means Lent is not a time to beat yourself up in an attempt to earn favor with God. If you imagine that you will somehow come closer to God by giving up chocolate, you are already moving further away from Him. To shape Lent around our baptisms means emphasizing what God has already done for us in Jesus Christ so that it is the work of Christ in our lives rather than our own attempts at gaining God’s favor that mark this holy season.
Fr. Matt