102: Lent Quiz

What was the original meaning of the Teutonic word Lent?

A) A period of fasting before Easter

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B) The spring season

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C) A term for the Holy Spirit

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D) A translation of the Latin word quadragesima

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Question explanation

The Teutonic word Lent originally meant no more than the spring season.

Which of the following best describes the view of the early Church Fathers on the origin of the forty days' fast before Easter?

A) It was of Apostolic institution

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B) It was a tradition established in the first century

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C) There was considerable diversity of practice regarding the fast before Easter

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D) None of the above

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Question explanation

The passage quoted from St. Irenaeus suggests that there was considerable diversity of practice regarding the fast before Easter, which implies that there could have been no Apostolic tradition on the subject.

What does Tertullian say about the period of fasting before Easter?

A) He contrasts the very slender term of fasting observed by the Catholics with the longer but still restricted period of a fortnight which was kept by the Montanists

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B) He wrote an entire treatise "De Jejunio" on the subject

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C) He was acquainted with a period of forty days consecrated to more or less continuous fasting

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D) None of the above

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Question explanation

Tertullian contrasts the very slender term of fasting observed by the Catholics with the longer but still restricted period of a fortnight which was kept by the Montanists in his works.

What theory offers a natural explanation for the wide divergence in the manner of the paschal fast?

A) The Church in the Apostolic Age designed to commemorate the Resurrection of Christ by a weekly celebration

✅ CORRECT!

B) The forty days' fast before Easter was of Apostolic institution

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C) The Holy Spirit played a significant role in the paschal fast

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D) None of the above

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Question explanation

The theory that the Church in the Apostolic Age designed to commemorate the Resurrection of Christ by a weekly celebration offers a natural explanation for the wide divergence in the manner of the paschal fast.