The Great Lent
(Our Lord Jesus Christ Fasted on Us 40 days and 40 nights)

	Our Coptic Church is blessed with many fasts, but lent is the most holy, most important of all 
fasts. Because our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ fasted on us/for our benefit 40 days and 40 nights. 
Lent is a special experience we live every year. The fathers of the Church said about lent that lent and the 
Paschal week give is our cache of ammunition to fight with all year long. Lent used to be celebrated 
separate from the Paschal week, but during the papacy of St. Abraam (Know as Ibn Zaraa,    AD.) he 
rearranged Church celebrations to make lent end as the Paschal week begins. He also added a week of 
preparation to lent. This together adds up to the 55 days of the Great Fast. 

	To truly enjoy lent, one has to use the time as a time of repentance, and to supplement fasting 
with two other boasts which complete a threesome: Fasting, Praying, and Giving. 

How We Fast:
	Christian fast is different than other religions. Listen to the words of Christ in the sermon on the 
mount: “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their 
faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” (Matt 6:16).
The Church teaches to abstain for a time, and when we eat during fast, we eat simple foods free from 
meats and dairy products. Also, during lent we abstain from seafood’s as well. Fasting teaches us self 
control, humility, and self affliction. Not because we want to torture ourselves, but because we like to learn 
higher levels of spirituality. 

Prayer:
	And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites ar : for they love to pray standing in 
the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They 
have their reward. 
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father 
which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
 
Giving:
 	Giving is an important companion to fasting and prayer as our Lord taught us: “But when thou 
doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and 
thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly” (Matt 6:3-4)

The Power of Fasting and Praying:
	Our Lord after he fasted was tempted by the devil. He defeated the devil in his three attempts to 
make Christ fall. The Church teaches that before important decisions, we need to fast and pray. A priest 
fasts for 40 days after he is ordained. A bishop fasts a whole year. This is how we value fasting and 
praying.

	Moses fasted forty days and forty nights and he received the tablets (10 commandments written) 
by the finger of God.

	Eliah fasted forty days and forty nights, and he was able to triumph over the priests of baal, and 
400 of them were slaughtered in one day.

	Daniel after many days of fasting and praying received the interpretation of the prophecy on the 
hands of the arch-angel Gabriel. He also was called righteous by the Lord.

	The people of Ninveh fasted for 3 days and three nights through a decree from their king, which 
included babies and domestic animals, and God saved Ninveh from destruction. 

	Our ancestors fasted three days and three nights during the rule of Al-Muiz Ledeen Illah Al-
fatimy and God saved our race from annihilation and allowed the Mukatam Mountain, East of Cairo to 
move as they sang kerya-leison (Lord Have Mercy).

	We need to make fasting better understood by the children born in the land of immigration. Also, 
it is good for parents to give a good example of self control, humility, and prayer life. May God Give all of 
Us the Benefits of the Great Fast. Glory be to God Always. Blessed Lent.