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Lent (Latin: Quadragesima, [1] 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry.
Great Lent, or the Great Fast (Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή, Megali Tessarakosti or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, Megali Nisteia, meaning "Great 40 Days", and "Great Fast", respectively), is the most important fasting season of the church year within many denominations of Eastern Christianity.
The 40 days correspond to the 40 days that Moses fasted on the mountain before receiving the Ten Commandments from God, which were at that time considered the word of God to his people. Thus, with Christ being the Word of God, the Christians fast those 40 days in preparation of receiving the Word of God in flesh at the Feast of the Nativity.
Fasting traditionally presaged a great spiritual struggle. [26] Elijah and Moses in the Old Testament fasted 40 days and nights, and thus Jesus doing the same invites comparison to these events. In Judaism, "the practice of fasting connected the body and its physical needs with less tangible values, such as self-denial and repentance."
The early Christian form is known as the Black Fast: "eating only once a day, toward evening; nothing else except a little water was taken all day". [15] This was the normative way of Christian fasting prior to the 8th century A.D. and is still kept by some of the faithful to this day, especially during Lent. [15]
The Eastern fast runs for 40 days instead of four (in the Roman Rite) or six weeks (Ambrosian Rite) and thematically focuses on proclamation and glorification of the Incarnation of God, whereas the Western Advent focuses on three comings (or advents) of Jesus Christ: his birth, reception of his grace by the faithful, and his Second Coming or ...
There is a strong biblical base for fasting, particularly during the 40 days of Lent leading to the celebration of Easter. Jesus, as part of his spiritual preparation, went into the wilderness and fasted 40 days and 40 nights, according to the Gospels. [55]
In many Methodist connexions, fasting during the Christian season of repentance, Lent, has been emphasized due to what is seen as its biblical origin of "Jesus, as part of his spiritual preparation, went into the wilderness and fasted 40 days and 40 nights".