Ash Wednesday

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Ash Wednesday

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.

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"Ash Wednesday." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Ash Wednesday

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Â© World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Ash Wednesday First day of Lent

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Ash Wednesday

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | | Â© The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions 1997, originally published by Oxford University Press 1997. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Ash Wednesday. So-called because of the practice of marking with ash the foreheads of clergy and people at the beginning of Lent.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Ash Wednesday." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Ash Wednesday." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (November 10, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-AshWednesday.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Ash Wednesday." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved November 10, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-AshWednesday.html

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