The Origins Of The Christian Year

In the first centuries a. d. the cycle of Christian time grew out of the conviction that all time finds its meaning in the death and resurrection of Christ. Thus the early Christians, beginning with the paschal event, extended the Christian calendar forward to Pentecost and backward to Lent and Holy Week. Later, in the fourth century, Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany were developed to complete the cycle. The Easter Cycle In the first days of the life of the church following Pentecost, there is no indication of any observance of special times. However, it is clear that by the time of Paul's ministry it had become customary for local communities to gather for the breaking of bread on the first day of the week, and it has been suggested that occurred after sundown ending the Sabbath (see Acts 20:7-12). By the end of the first century the observance of the first day by common worship seems established, as was the observance of the fourth and sixth days of the week with fasting (see Didac…