Heortology : $b A history of the Christian festivals from their origin to the present dayKellner, K. A. Heinrich (Karl Adam Heinrich)
Religion
Heortology : $b A history of the Christian festivals from their origin to the present day
Kellner, K. A. Heinrich (Karl Adam Heinrich)
Church year; Fasts and feasts
With the fact that the heathen worship of Rome recognised three sorts
of such _feriæ_ observed thrice in the year (no evidence of a fourth
being forthcoming), agrees a passage in the _Liber Pontificalis_, which
has long been regarded as the earliest evidence for the observance of
Embertides, though it fell short of absolute proof. The passage states
that Calixtus (217-222) ordained a fast on three Saturdays in the
year.[406] The number corresponds well with the three sets of heathen
_feriæ_ mentioned above. As St Leo speaks of four fasts of this kind
yearly in the fifth century, the fourth fast, corresponding to the
fourfold division of the year, must have been added in the course of the
fourth century. It may be that the passage, Zacharias viii. 19, referring
to a Jewish custom of sanctifying by a fast the four seasons of the year,
helped to bring this about.
All four Embertides are mentioned in the sermon of Leo the Great, and
both the Leonine and Gelasian sacramentaries agree in marking Wednesday,
Friday, and Saturday as the days to be observed as fasts.[407] Pope
Gelasius[408] appointed that ordinations of priests and deacons were to
be held on all Embertides, and in the middle of Lent, whereas in St Leo’s
time the ordination of priests took place at Easter only.[409]
The Ember fasts were called _jejunium primi, quarti, septimi et decimi
mensis_, in the earliest service-books, and fell in March, June,
September, and December. The week in each of the aforesaid months,
in which the Ember fast was to be observed, appears not to have been
definitely fixed in earlier days.
If the opinion of Morin is correct, this would agree with the fact that
the harvest feast was not fixed for any day in particular, but was
determined by the pontiffs in each case. However, it remained for a
long period undetermined whether the first Embertide should be observed
before or during the course of Lent, and also in which week of Advent
the last Embertide should fall. The present arrangement, according to
the Micrologus[410] was first made by Gregory VII., _i.e._, the first
Embertide to fall in the first week of Lent, the second in Whitsun week,
the third in the third week of September, the fourth in the third week in
Advent.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account