How did Lent get started?
In the first centuries of the churchs history, the weeks before Easter were a time of intense preparation of those who were to be baptized as part of the Easter celebration As much as three years might be involved in preparing the candidates for baptism. Nevertheless, the forty days prior to Easter were a focused period of final preparation with fasting, self-examination, confession, prayer and study. Those who had been excluded from the fellowship of the church for particularly grievous sins were included in this period of preparation so that they might be restored to the community at Easter. Many faithful believers recognized that they also would benefit from an intense period of spiritual renewal and joined the candidates in their Lenten disciplines. In time, the whole church entered into this period of preparation for Easter.
