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Research topic:Ash Wednesday

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Ash Wednesday

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

Ash Wednesday in the Western Church, the first day of Lent , being the seventh Wednesday before Easter. On this day ashes are placed on the foreheads of the faithful to remind them of death, of the sorrow they should feel for their sins, and of the necessity of changing their lives. The practice, which dates from the early Middle Ages, is common among Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Episcopalians, and many Lutherans; it was also adopted by some Methodists and Presbyterians in the 1990s.

Author not available, ASH WEDNESDAY., The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008


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The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press

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Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday the first day of Lent in the Western Christian Church, marked by services of penitence, and so named from the custom of marking the foreheads of penitents with ashes on that day. Read more
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday. The first day of Lent . At one time public penitents were ceremoniously admitted to begin their penance on this day; when this... Read more
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday. So-called because of the practice of marking with ash the foreheads of clergy and people at the beginning of Lent . Read more
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday First day of Lent Read more
Ash‐Wednesday
Ash‐Wednesday, poem by T.S. Eliot , was published in 1930 as a profession of his faith in the Church of England and represented a statement of... Read more

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Opening Scene of Ash Wednesday: Capitulo Unus

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