In the liturgical calendar of the Western Christian churches, Ember days are four separate sets of three days within the same week - specifically, the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday - roughly equidistant in the circuit of the year, that were formerly set aside for fasting and prayer. These days set apart for special prayer and fasting, were considered especially suitable for the ordination of clergy. The Ember Days were known in the medieval church as quatuor tempora (the "four seasons"), or jejunia quatuor temporum ("fasts of the four seasons"). The liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in some Christian churches which determines when Feasts, Memorials, Commemorations, and Solemnities are to be observed and which portions of Scripture are to be read. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Fasting is the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food and in some cases drink, for a period of time. ...

The Ember Weeks - the weeks in which the Ember Days occur - are the week between the third and fourth Sundays of Advent, between the first and second Sundays of Lent, the week between Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, and the calendar week after Holy Cross Day (September 14) (the liturgical Third Week of September). Advent (from the Latin Adventus, implicitly coupled with Redemptoris, the coming of the Saviour) is a holy season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, also known as the season of Christmas. ... In Western Christianity, Lent is the period (or season) from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday (forty days). ... Pentecost (symbolically related to the Jewish festival of Shavuot) is a feast on the Christian liturgical calendar that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, and the followers (men and women) of Jesus, fifty days (seven weeks) after Easter, and ten days after Ascension Thursday. ... Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar. ... In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different feasts known as Feasts of the Cross, all of which commemorate the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. ... September 14 is the 257th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (258th in leap years). ...

Etymology

The word "ember" derives from the Anglo-Saxon ymb-ren, a circuit or revolution (from ymb, around, and rennen, to run), clearly relating to the annual cycle of the year. The occurrence of the Anglo-Saxon compounds ymbren-tid ("Embertide"), ymbren-wucan ("Ember weeks"), ymbren-fisstan ("Ember fasts"), ymbren-da gas ("Ember days") makes this etymology quite certain. The word imbren even makes it into the acts of the council of 1009 (jejunia quatuor tempora quae imbren vocant, "the fasts of the four seasons which are called "imbren'"). It corresponds also with Pope Leo the Great's definition, jejunia ecclesiastica per totius anni circulum distributa ("fasts of the church distributed through the whole circuit of the year"). Events February 14: First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg. ... Pope Leo I was a Roman aristocrat who was Pope from 440 to 461. ...

However, the Roman Catholic Church still maintains that the term is derived from the Latin quatuor tempora, meaning "four times" (a year), while folk etymology even cites the phrase "may ye remember (the inevitability of death)" as the source. J. M. Neale's Essays of Liturgiology (1863), Chapter X, explains the Catholic Church's etymology: The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see Terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins and sees itself as the same Church founded by Jesus of Nazareth and maintained through Apostolic Succession from the Twelve... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ...

"The Latin name has remained in modern languages, though the contrary is sometimes affirmed, Quatuor Tempora, the Four Times. In French and Italian the term is the same; in Spanish and Portuguese they are simply Temporas. The German converts them into Quatember, and thence, by the easy corruption of dropping the first syllable, a corruption which also takes place in some other words, we get the English Ember. Thus, there is no occasion to seek after an etymology in embers; or with Nelfon, to extravagate still further to the noun ymbren, a recurrence, as if all holy seasons did not equally recur. In Welsh, Ember-week is Wythnos y cydgorian, the Week of the Processions. In mediæval Germany they were called Weihfasten, Wiegfastan, Wiegefasten, or the like, on the general principle of their sanctity.... We meet with the term Frohnfasten, frohne being the then word for travail. Why they were named foldfasten it is less easy to say."

Origins

Though the origins of the term "ember" are clear enough, nevertheless, the reasons for the observance are open to considerable debate. What is generally agreed upon, however, is that the concept of the observance predates the Christian era, and that since Ember Days have never been observed in the Eastern Churches, the pagan origins must lie in the west. In pagan Rome offerings were made to various gods and goddesses of agriculture in the hope that the deities would provide a bountiful harvest (in June), a rich vintage (in September), or a productive seeding (in December). Others point to much more specific Celtic origins, linked to the Celtic custom of observing various festivals at three-month intervals: Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain. In any event, the ancient Christian church often sought to co-opt pagan feasts and reorient them to different purposes, and that seems to have been applicable in this instance. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1,285 km²  (496. ... Celts redirects here. ... Imbolc is one of the four principal festivals of the pre-Christian Celtic calendar, associated with fertility ritual, was subsequently adopted as St Brigids Day in the Christian period, and in more recent times has been celebrated as a fire festival, one of eight holidays, festivals (4 Solar and... This article is about the Gaelic holiday. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article is about the Celtic holiday. ... St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen Ansgar, the 9th century apostle of the North in an 1830 drawing. ...

These seasonal fasts, four in number, do not appear in early Christian observations: they are first known from the writings of Philastrius, bishop of Brescia (died ca 387) (De haeres. 119). He also connects them with the great Christian festivals. St. ...

The Christian observation of these (possibly Celtic) seasonal observance of the Ember days had its origin as an ecclesiastical ordinance in Rome and spread from there to the rest of the Western Church. They were known as the jejunium vernum, aestivum, autumnale and hiemale, so that to quote Pope Leo's words (A.D. 440 - 461) the law of abstinence might apply to every season of the year. In Leo's time, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday were already days of special observance. In order to tie them to the fasts preparatory to the three great festivals of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost, a fourth needed to be added "for the sake of symmetry" as the Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911 has it. The correspondence is forced.

From Rome the Ember days gradually spread unevenly through the whole of Western Christendom. Neither in Gaul nor Spain do they seem to have been generally recognized much before the 8th century.

Their observation in Britain, however, was embraced earlier than in Gaul or Spain, interestingly, and Christian sources connect the Ember Days observations with Augustine, AD. 597, said to be acting under the direct authority of Pope Gregory the Great. The precise dates appears to have varied considerably however, and in some cases, quite significantly, the Ember Weeks lost their connection with the Christian festivals altogether. Augustine of Canterbury (birth unknown, died May 26, 604) was the first Archbishop of Canterbury, sent to Ethelbert of Kent, Bretwalda (ruler) of England by Pope Gregory the Great in 597. ...

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, where Celtic traditions were not a concern, ember days have never been observed. The Eastern Orthodox Church is a religious organization which claims to be the direct continuation of the original Christian body, founded by Jesus and his Twelve Apostles. ...

Timing

The Ordo Romanus fixes the spring fast in the first week of March (then the first month), thus loosely associated with the first Sunday in Lent; the summer fast in the second week of June, after Whitsunday; the autumnal fast in the third week of September following the Exaltation of the Cross, September 14; and the winter fast in the complete week next before Christmas Eve, following St Lucy's Day (Dec. 13). The term Whitsunday may refer to: The Sunday of the feast of Whitsun or Pentecost in the Christian calendar, observed 50 days after Easter. ... In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different feasts known as Feasts of the Cross, all of which commemorate the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. ...

Other regulations prevailed in different countries, until the inconveniences arising from the want of uniformity led to the rule now observed being laid down under Pope Urban II as the law of the church, in the Councils of Piacenza and of Clermont, 1095. Pope Urban II (1042 – July 29, 1099), born Otho of Lagery (alternatively: Otto or Odo), was a Pope from 1088 to July 29, 1099. ... Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont, given a Late Gothic setting in this painting of c 1490 The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Roman Catholic Church, which was held in November 1095 and triggered the First Crusade. ...

These dates are given in the following mnemonic distich with a frank indifference to quantity and metre:

Dant Crux, Lucia, Cineres, Charismata Dia

Ut sit in angariâ quarta sequens feria

Or in the equally clumsy old English rhyme

"Fasting days and Emberings be

Lent, Whitsun, Holyrood, and Lucie."

The ember days began on the Wednesday immediately following those days. This meant, for instance, that if September 14 were a Tuesday, the ember days would occur on September 15, 17, and 18. As a result the ember days in September could fall after either the second or third Sunday in September. This, however, was always the liturgical Third Week of September, since the First Sunday of September was the Sunday closest to September 1st (August 29 to September 4). As a simplification of the liturgical calendar, Pope John XXIII modified this so that the Third Sunday was the third Sunday actually within the calendar month. Thus if September 14 were a Sunday, September 24, 26 and 27 would be ember days, the latest dates possible; with September 14 as a Saturday, however, the ember days would occur on September 18, 20 and 21 - the earliest possible dates. (This rule is followed by those Traditionalist Catholic communities who observe the liturgical calendar and breviary of 1962.) Blessed Pope John XXIII (Latin: ), (Italian: Giovanni XXIII), born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (November 25, 1881 – June 3, 1963), was elected as the 261st Pope of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958. ... A 1950s Low Mass in Bohermeen, Ireland in the presence of a bishop and several priests and with the altar arranged for Eucharistic devotions to follow The terms traditionalist Catholic and Traditional Catholic are used to refer to Roman Catholics who want the forms of worship and customs that prevailed... A breviary (from Latin brevis, short or concise) is a liturgical book containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially for priests, in the Divine Office (i. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ...

Prior to the reforms instituted by the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church mandated fasting (only one full meal per day plus two partial, meatless meals) on all Ember Days (which meant both fasting and abstinence from meat on Ember Fridays), and the faithful were encouraged (though not required) to receive the sacrament of penance whenever possible. On February 17, 1966, Pope Paul VI's decree Paenitemini excluded the Ember Days as days of fast and abstinence for Roman Catholics. [1] Since the revision of the liturgical calendar in 1969, Ember Days are no longer listed and are observed at the discretion of each country's National Conference of Bishops, and they have been transformed into “days of prayer for peace." [2] [3] The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see Terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins and sees itself as the same Church founded by Jesus of Nazareth and maintained through Apostolic Succession from the Twelve... Seafood is a popular staple of Catholics during Fridays of Lent. ... Abstinence is a voluntary forbearance from indulging a desire or appetite for certain bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. ... A sacrament is a Christian rite that mediates divine grace—a holy [[Mystery The root meaning of the Latin word sacramentum is making sacred. One example of its use was as the term for the oath of dedication taken by Roman soldiers; but the ecclesiastical use of the word is... Penance (via Old French penance from the Latin Poenitentia, the same root as penitence, which in English means repentance, the desire to be forgiven, see contrition; in many languages only one single word is derived) is, strictly, repentance of sins as well as the actual name of the Catholic Sacrament... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Pope Paul VI (Latin: ), (Italian: Paolo VI), born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini (September 26, 1897 – August 6, 1978), reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as sovereign of Vatican City from 1963 to 1978. ... Paenitemini is a 1966 apostolic constitution by Pope Paul VI. In Paenitemini Paul changed the strictly regulated Catholic fasting requirements. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

They were made optional by churches of the Anglican Confession in 1976. The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

Ordination of clergy

The present rule which fixes the ordination of clergy in the Ember weeks was set in documents traditionally associated with Pope Gelasius I (492 - 496). In the earlier church ordinations took place whenever necessity required. Gelasius is stated to have been the first who limited them to these particular times. The rule once introduced commended itself to the mind of the church, and its observance spread. We find it laid down in the pontificate of Archbishop Ecgbert of York, A.D. 732 - 766, and referred to as a canonical rule in a capitulary of Charlemagne, and it was finally established as a law of the church in the pontificate of Pope Gregory VII, ca 1085. Gelasius I was Pope (492 - 496). ... Pope Gregory VII (c. ...

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Ember Days
• Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911
• Readings and Litanies for the Ember Days
• Medieval Sourcebook: The Golden Legend: Ember Days