'The Great Lent': Why some Christians will start observing Lent on Monday

While most of the world's Christians began their observance of Lent this year on Feb. 14, 2024, those whose denominations follow the Julian calendar will observe their first day of Lent on March 18, 2024.

These include, but are not limited to, Orthodox Christians, Coptic Christians and some Eastern Catholic churches. 

The reason for this inconsistency, Protodeacon Patrick Mitchell told Fox News Digital, is due to differences in how the churches calculate the dates of feasts that change each year. 

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Mitchell is protodeacon at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Washington, D.C. 

There are other differences in how the Orthodox Church observes Lent compared to other denominations, said Mitchell.

Protodeacon Patrick Mitchell, from the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital why Orthodox Christians (usually) have a different date for Easter than other Christians. (Courtesy of Brian Patrick Mitchell/iStock)

"We begin it on the Monday after ‘Forgiveness Sunday,’" he told Fox News Digital in a phone interview. 

The Orthodox Church "sort of numbers the days differently" as well, but "they're both approximately the same length: 40 days." 

The customs surrounding fasting during Lent are also different between faiths, Mitchell said.

While Catholics are obliged to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during Lent, Orthodox Christians keep a much stricter fast.

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"It is pretty much a general fast from meat and dairy," he said. "Of course, it depends on what people are able to do. I don't think anybody expects children to keep this fast." 

But, he said, many people do — which makes the celebration at Easter (called "Pascha," which is the Greek word for "Passover") "quite an event."  

In Orthodoxy, it is tradition to fast from all animal products during Lent.  (iStock)

The date of Pascha is a unifying factor of the world's Orthodox churches, said Mitchell.

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"Even though there are many Orthodox churches on the calendar, we all celebrate Pascha on the old calendar," he said. 

There are more than 200 million Orthodox Christians around the world.  (iStock, courtesy of user Tsyb Oleg)

Easter, he said, is "the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox," he said.

The church uses the Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar — which is used by most of the world. 

Occasionally, the date of Easter is the same for both calendars. This happened most recently in 2017, and will happen again in 2025. 

During Lent, Orthodox Christians place a special emphasis on forgiveness and to remain focused on the upcoming Easter. 

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Lent "often means fasting from a lot of other activities that we might not want to be involved in – just, worldly things," said Mitchell. 

"We just spend more time in church and spend more time in prayer and read better things than what we might normally do."

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Additionally, "We try to avoid  any unnecessary arguments or controversies during Lent to preserve a more peaceful attitude," he said. 

"To be more focused on the resurrection, on the love of Christ and, and our salvation." 

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