Ember Days

Four groups each of three days; the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday after December 13^th

(St. Lucy), Ash Wednesday, Whitsunday and Holy Cross Day ( September 14^th) respectively which have been observed as days of fasting and abstinence in the Churches of the West.

Their early history and purpose are obscure. At first there were only three groups, perhaps taken from the pagan religious observances connected with harvest, vintage and seed-time. In this form they date back to the time of Pope Callistus (ca 220) and were well established at Rome in the time of Pope Leo (440-461), who preached a series of Embertide sermons. From Rome their use spread throughout all Christendom. In the Roman Church they were replaced in 1969 by days of prayer for various needs. In the Church of England they are associated with the ordination of the Church’s ministers.

Note: Taken from The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, edited by F. L. Cross.

The association of the Ember Days with Ordination to the sacred Ministry was a secondary development. We know that Pope Gelasius I (496-496) prescribed the conferring of Holy Orders at the vigil service on Saturday of the first week of Lent; and it may well be that this Pontiff was responsible not only for the introduction of the Lenten Embertide but also for the first association of these seasons with Ordination.

Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) is supposed to have fixed the exact time for the Ember seasons. Yet the more ancient assignment of the seasons according to months, rather than fixed days lingered on in the Western churches. Only in the eleventh century, largely through the efforts of Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085), did uniformity of services prevail.

The name Ember is a corruption of the German word “Quatember”, which in turn derives from the Latin “Quattour Tempora” or the four seasons. The choice of Wednesday, Friday and Saturday goes back to the origin of these observances. By the middle of the second century the first two days were already established as days of fasting and at Rome Saturday was also a fast day - the vigil of Sunday.

Note : From the Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary by Massey Shepherd.

In the Book of Common Prayer the Proper Collect, Epistle and Gospel for The Ember Days are found on Page 260. The Optional Psalms and Lessons for the Autumnal Ember Days (after September 14^th) are found in the Lectionary on Page xI. The Psalms and Lessons for the other Ember Days are found in the Lectionary for the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following the Third Sunday in Advent, Ash Wednesday and Whitsunday. See also Page LI in the Lectionary.

LTS 12/09/1999