[Sca-cooks] a Lenten question-

[Bill Fisher]

On Tue, 8 Feb 2005 20:11:52 -0500, Phlip <phlip at 99main.com> wrote:
> 
> Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...
> 
> > And I'm giving up chocolate again this year. Anyone else giving something
> > up for Lent?
> >
> > 'Lainie
> 
> Yeah, Lent ;-) Living among the proto-Khazars as I do, Christianity is just
> another religion.
> 
> On a more serious note, though, does anybody know when the later, strict
> observances of Lent came into being? I mean, the first Easter didn't happen,
> and suddenly all the followers of Christ decided that they couldn't eat
> meat/animal products in respect for J's death- obviously the observances
> developed ovewr time. Anybody have a clue about that?
> 
> Saint Phlip,
> CoD

I've been reading up on the early Jerusalem church and from what I have seen,
they were pretty much jews and there was no lent as they observed passover
like the rest.  There is some specuilation that the Apostles started
lent, but there
is no liturgical evidence of that fact.  

Ash Wednesday was established by Pope St Gregory the Great during his tenure
(590-604 AD) but they are not sure of the exact year.  There were
penitent movements
that led up to Lent, but Gregory formalized the beginning of it and
marked it on the
calendar.  

The eating restrictions seem to be a re-working of the passover diet,
or at least the
abstinance from the rich parts of the diet, just as the whole grains
and beans are
considered a rich and extra part of the Jewish diet, meat seems to be considered
the rich part of the Medieval diet. (this part was handed down from the Romans 
I bet).

Cadoc
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