The Origin of Lent. Dr Chapman Chen

Lent begins today (18 February), on Ash Wednesday, marking the start of the forty-day season of repentance and preparation for Easter. The word Lent does not appear in Scripture, nor is there any command in the Bible to observe a forty-day pre-Easter fast. Nevertheless, the season is rooted in the example of Christ’s forty days of fasting in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2). Scripture also records other practices that later inspired Lent, including the fasting of Moses, Elijah, and Daniel, as well as repentance, prayer, almsgiving, and periods of preparation before major encounters with God.

Lent emerged gradually in the first few centuries after Christ. Early Christians prepared catechumens (new converts) for baptism at Easter through fasting, intense prayer, confession of sins, and renunciation of former ways of life. Initially, this preparation lasted only a few days. By the fourth century, however, the Church had standardised a longer penitential season. The number forty held deep biblical significance: the forty days of the Flood, the forty years of Israel’s wilderness wandering, the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai, the forty days of Elijah’s journey to Horeb, and the forty days of Christ’s fast.

After Emperor Constantine legalised Christianity in AD 313, large numbers of people entered the Church, and a structured season of repentance helped maintain spiritual discipline and seriousness. The Council of Nicaea (AD 325) refers to a pre-Easter fast, indicating that the practice was already widespread. In Western Christianity, the season begins on Ash Wednesday, when ashes are placed on the forehead as a sign of repentance and human mortality. Ashes symbolise penitence in Scripture: “I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6), and the king of Nineveh “sat in ashes” as a sign of repentance (Jonah 3:6). 

Traditionally, the Lenten fast has not meant total abstinence from food for forty days, but rather moderation and self-denial. Most Christians abstain from certain foods (historically meat and rich fare), reduce the quantity of meals, or give up particular luxuries, combining dietary restraint with prayer, charity, and repentance.

Lent is not about ritual alone but about transformation of the heart. Scripture calls for fasting that releases the oppressed, repentance that heals relationships, and mercy that reflects God’s own compassion. If we seek to remove barriers between ourselves and God, what greater offering could there be than to cease participating in suffering and to live more gently toward all God’s creatures? May this season be one of purification, compassion, and a sincere return to divine love.

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