Every year, as winter fades and spring approaches, Christians around the world mark their foreheads with ash and embark on a forty-day journey toward Easter. This season of Lent, so deeply woven into the fabric of Christian worship, carries with it centuries of history, theological development, and spiritual wisdom. For Anglicans today, Lent represents not only an ancient practice but a living tradition that continues to shape how we prepare our hearts for the greatest celebration of the Christian year: the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Ancient Roots of Lent

The origins of Lent stretch back to the earliest centuries of Christianity, with evidence of some form of pre-Easter fasting appearing as early as the second century. St. Irenaeus, writing around 190–203 AD, mentioned variations in observance that dated back to earlier times, with some Christians fasting one day, others two, and still others observing longer periods or even forty hours.[1] What began as a brief fast before Easter gradually expanded as the Church recognized the spiritual value of extended preparation.

The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) acknowledged an existing forty-day preparatory period (referenced in Canon 5 as tessarakosta, or "forty days"), helping standardize what became the norm across the Church in the following decades.[2] The choice of forty days was intentional and biblically rooted. Just as Noah endured forty days of rain, Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai, and Elijah journeyed forty days to the mountain of God, Christians pattern their Lenten discipline after Christ’s own forty days of fasting, prayer, and temptation in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry.

By the fourth century, Lent became more structured and widespread, initially focused on two profound purposes: preparing catechumens for baptism at Easter and reconciling penitents back into the fellowship of the Church. This second purpose deserves special attention, as it emerged from one of the most traumatic periods in early Christian history.

The Crisis of the Lapsed

The practice of reconciling penitents during Lent arose largely from the devastating Roman persecutions, particularly under Emperor Decius in 250 AD. Decius required all citizens to publicly sacrifice to traditional Roman gods and obtain a certificate proving their compliance. The pressure was not theoretical—Christians faced being thrown to lions, tortured on racks, or burned alive as human torches. The persecution was so severe that many clergy fled their communities, leaving congregations without leadership.

Under this extreme duress, large numbers of professing Christians either offered sacrifice to the pagan gods or purchased fraudulent certificates through bribery. In some regions, the majority of Christians capitulated. These people became known as the lapsi—the lapsed or fallen. When the persecution ended in 251 after Decius died in battle, many of these lapsed Christians desperately wanted to return to the Church.

This created an enormous controversy that nearly tore Christianity apart. Church leaders like Cyprian of Carthage developed careful approaches: initially proposing strict categories (e.g., those who had actually sacrificed might face prolonged or deathbed reconciliation, while those who had merely obtained certificates could be readmitted after penance), but African and Roman synods (from 251 onward) evolved toward graduated processes allowing reconciliation for the repentant after appropriate penance.[3] The debate revealed a fundamental question about the Church’s identity: Was it to be a small community of the spiritually elite, or a hospital for sinners with room for the weak alongside the strong?

The resolution shaped Christian theology for centuries. The mainstream Church chose mercy alongside justice—rejecting the rigorist views of groups like the Novatians—establishing formal processes for public penance and reconciliation. Lent became the primary season for this restoration, as those who had fallen under persecution’s weight could journey alongside baptismal candidates, both groups preparing to fully enter into Easter’s celebration of resurrection and new life. The penitents’ return to communion at Easter was not merely symbolic—it represented the Church’s conviction that Christ’s death and resurrection could restore even those who had failed most catastrophically.

Pope Gregory I (r. 590–604) is traditionally credited with helping to standardize the start of Lent at forty-six days before Easter, adding the four days before the first Sunday of Lent to allow for forty actual fasting days (excluding the six Sundays when fasting did not apply). While the practice of using ashes on the first day of Lent existed in some regions before Gregory’s time, his establishment of this Wednesday as the formal beginning of the season contributed significantly to the development of what would become the full Ash Wednesday liturgy. The rite itself continued to develop in subsequent centuries, becoming more standardized across the Western Church by the eleventh century.

Throughout these early centuries, Lenten practices varied across regions but generally included rigorous fasting. Some communities abstained from all animal products including milk, cheese, and eggs, while others permitted fish. What remained constant was the understanding that Lent represented a time of serious spiritual preparation through prayer, fasting, and repentance—a season shaped by both the joy of welcoming new believers and the sober mercy of restoring those who had stumbled.

Lent's Journey into Anglicanism

The English church observed Lent for centuries before the Reformation, and English life in the early sixteenth century revolved around the church calendar and its liturgical seasons, including Lent and Easter. When King Henry VIII broke with Rome in 1534, establishing the Church of England, the observance of Lent continued, though its theological interpretation would evolve.

The English Reformation was primarily a political affair initially, with Henry maintaining many Catholic doctrines and practices despite severing ties with the papacy. The real theological reformation came under Edward VI, when Archbishop Thomas Cranmer produced the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549, the first complete Christian liturgy in English. This prayer book retained Lent as a central season of the church year while reforming how it was observed.

Anglicanism inherited, from Richard Hooker, a belief in the positive spiritual value of ceremonies and rituals, the theology of episcopacy and appreciation for liturgy, while from the Puritans and Calvinists it gained an emphasis on scripture and preaching. This created what became known as the “via media” or middle way—a distinctly Anglican approach that valued both Catholic liturgical heritage and Protestant theology.

Cranmer’s prayer book was a condensation and reform of several medieval books, and by 1571 the Church of England had its English Bible, prayer book, and confession of faith all in place, exhibiting what scholars call “Reformed Catholicism”. Through centuries of development, including the influential 1662 Book of Common Prayer, Lent remained integral to Anglican worship, though its observance took on a distinctly Anglican character—less focused on works-based penance and more centered on Scripture, heartfelt repentance, and preparation for celebrating Christ’s resurrection.

Liturgical Practices in Anglican Lent

Anglican liturgy during Lent is rich with practices that echo the ancient rhythms of preparation and repentance while inviting communal participation. The Book of Common Prayer provides a structured framework through the Daily Office—morning and evening prayer—which intensifies during Lent with penitential psalms (e.g., Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143) and collects that emphasize contrition and hope. These daily services, often read in homes or parishes, foster a rhythm of reflection, drawing worshippers into the scriptural narrative of God’s covenant faithfulness amid human frailty.

Key liturgical moments include Ash Wednesday’s solemn imposition of ashes, where the priest traces a cross on the forehead while intoning words such as “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (from Genesis 3:19). This act, rooted in ancient Jewish mourning rites and early Christian penance, visually unites the congregation in shared mortality and the promise of resurrection. Throughout Lent, the Gloria in Excelsis and the Alleluia are omitted from services, creating a quieter, more somber tone that heightens anticipation for Easter’s triumphant return.

Stations of the Cross, a devotional practice tracing Christ’s passion through fourteen traditional scenes, often finds a home in Lenten worship, either as a Friday evening service or a personal prayer guide. In Anglican settings, this might incorporate readings from the Gospel of John or contemporary meditations, blending historical piety with accessible storytelling. The Fifth Sunday in Lent, known as Passiontide from the 1662 BCP tradition, shifts focus even more intensely to Christ’s suffering, with veils over crosses and images, in some parishes, symbolizing the world’s blindness to the cross.

These practices are not mere rituals but participatory encounters with the Gospel. They invite the assembly to embody the ancient dual purpose of Lent: as catechumens once scrutinized Scripture before baptism, so modern believers scrutinize their lives; as penitents once processed publicly in sackcloth, so today’s worshippers process inwardly toward reconciliation. In the ACNA 2019 BCP, these elements are preserved and adapted, ensuring that liturgical Lent remains a corporate journey rather than an isolated endeavor.

Lent in the ACNA Book of Common Prayer 2019

Fast forward to the twenty-first century, and the Anglican Church in North America’s 2019 Book of Common Prayer demonstrates how Lent continues to hold vital significance for contemporary Anglicans. The liturgy for Ash Wednesday beautifully articulates what Lent means today.

In the ACNA 2019 BCP, the Ash Wednesday service includes this exhortation:

Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.

The Officiant then invites:

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.

This language deliberately echoes the dramatic history of the lapsed—those who had failed under persecution’s pressure but sought restoration. Through witnessing both baptisms and reconciliations, the whole congregation is reminded of the Gospel’s message of pardon and the continual need for renewed repentance and faith.

Crucially, the BCP clarifies that Lent’s purpose is not mere sadness or suffering for its own sake, but renewal in the Gospel’s glory and goodness. The invitation grounds observance in the traditional three pillars—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (here framed as self-denial and self-examination)—with Scripture at the center.

The liturgy includes readings from Joel or Isaiah calling God’s people to repentance, Psalm 103 or 51 expressing sorrow for sin and trust in God’s mercy, and Matthew 6 teaching about proper fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.

The imposition of ashes powerfully symbolizes this dual reality. With words like “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” it acknowledges our mortality and sin. Yet as we are marked with ashes in the same manner we were signed with the cross in baptism, we’re reminded of the life we share in Christ, the second Adam. The BCP emphasizes that “in this sure hope that we begin the journey of these forty days, that by hearing and answering our Savior’s call to repent, we may enter fully into the joyful celebration of his resurrection.”

The 2019 BCP encourages fasting on the weekdays of Lent and every Friday outside Christmas and Eastertide, connecting contemporary practice with ancient tradition while allowing for pastoral flexibility and modern circumstances.

Modern Spiritual Disciplines for Lenten Renewal

In today’s fast-paced world, Lenten spiritual disciplines offer timeless tools for deepening faith, adapted to contemporary challenges like digital overload, social isolation, and ethical dilemmas. Building on the BCP’s pillars, these practices encourage intentional rhythms that mirror the ancient desert journey of Jesus—combating temptation through reliance on God’s Word.

Prayer remains central, evolving from rote recitation to diverse forms like the Examen, a daily review of God’s presence adapted by St. Ignatius of Loyola and now popular in Anglican circles via apps or journals. Practitioners end each day by noting moments of consolation (joy in God) and desolation (distraction from God), fostering gratitude and course-correction. Others may reflect on The Great Litany or The Decalogue. Lectio divina—slow, meditative reading of Scripture—pairs well with the BCP’s Lenten lectionary, where passages from the prophets and Gospels invite listeners to “listen with the ear of the heart,” as St. Benedict urged.

Fasting, once rigidly dietary, now encompasses broader self-denial. Many forgo social media for “digital fasts,” reclaiming time for unhurried presence with family or creation, echoing the early Church’s withdrawal from worldly excess. The goal is not deprivation for its own sake but space for the Spirit, as Jesus modeled in the wilderness.

Almsgiving extends beyond financial giving to acts of justice and mercy: volunteering at food banks, advocating for the marginalized, or practicing radical hospitality. In an era of economic inequality, this discipline confronts “notorious sins” like indifference, reminding us of the lapsi’s communal restoration.

Self-examination tools, such as keeping a Lenten journal or joining small accountability groups, promote honest reflection. Questions like “Where have I sensed God’s absence?” or “How has my life aligned with Christ’s self-emptying?” draw from Puritan traditions while aligning with Anglican emphasis on formation.

These disciplines, whether solitary or communal, culminate in Holy Week’s Triduum, where foot-washing on Maundy Thursday and vigil-keeping on Good Friday reenact the Gospel’s drama. They transform Lent from obligation to opportunity, helping believers emerge at Easter not just informed but conformed to Christ.

The Enduring Gift of Lent

From its origins in the second-century Church through the complexities of the English Reformation to today’s Anglican communities, Lent has endured because it addresses a fundamental human need: the need for intentional spiritual preparation, honest self-examination, and renewed commitment to following Christ.

Lent reminds us that resurrection comes through crucifixion, that Easter joy is deepened by Lenten discipline, and that our faith requires not just celebration but also contemplation, not just feasting but also fasting. As we journey these forty days each year, we join centuries of Christians who have walked this path before us, trusting that the same Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness leads us toward the empty tomb and the glorious declaration: “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”

[1]: See Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 5.24, preserving Irenaeus's letter to Victor.

[2]: Council of Nicaea, Canon 5; for early standardization, cf. Athanasius, Festal Letter 1 (331 AD).

[3]: Cyprian, Epistles 55–60; see also the African Synod of Carthage (251 AD) and Roman Synod (251 AD).