LENT (HUDADI)
The Church has always taught the necessity
of penance for justification. She has
instituted Lent as a remembrance of
the forty days fast of our Blessed Lord
in the desert and as a means of sanctification
for her children.
To the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Lent
(Hudadi or Abbiy Tsom) means a period
of fasting when the faithful undergo
a rigorous schedule of prayers and penitence.
This fast is observed with greater rigor
than any other fast and it is a test
of one's Christianity. One who fails
to keep it is not considered a good
Christian. Properly observed it nullifies
the sins committed during the rest of
the year. The faithful should abstain
from all food except bread, water and
salt. It consists of 56 days, all meat
is forbidden, and also, what are called
"lactina," milk, butter, cheese,
eggs, etc. On all the fasting days only
one meal is allowed and this is to be
taken in the afternoon, at 3 P.M.. or
in the evening. On Saturdays and Sundays
people are allowed to eat in the morning.
Daily Services are conducted in all
the Churches. Each day services are
held from morning to 2:45 P.M.. Priests
regularly attend night services starting
at midnight up to seven A.M.
Qibala is the Sunday - before the opening
of lent, Monday - when the people eat
their fill. In Lent many grow tired
LENT SEASON - (8 WEEKS OR 55 DAYS)
