What specifically did Pope Damian say about the Preparation Week?

Question

CopticBot.ai · Accepted Answer

Pope Damian taught that Preparation Week was an introductory time of repentance and self-denial, preparing the soul for the Lord’s forty-day fast. He also argued that adding this week ensured believers offered God a full “tithe of the year” in fasting, since Saturdays and Sundays did not ordinarily involve total abstinence until sunset.

In Coptic Orthodox history and tradition, Pope Damian (the 35th Pope of Alexandria, 576–605 AD) is historically credited with the formalization and structural addition of the Preparation Week to the Great Fast. 1. The Principle of the "Tithe of the Year" Pope Damian emphasized that the fast should be a "tithe" of the Christian's life and time. He argued that if there are 365 days in a year, the believer owes God approximately 36 days of total fasting (10%). He taught that the original forty days (the "Holy Forty") were interrupted by Saturdays and Sundays—days on which, according to Coptic canon, we do not perform prostrations or observe total abstinence from food until sunset (except for Holy Saturday). Therefore, he calculated that the actual days of "profound fasting" within those six weeks did not reach the full tithe. By adding the Preparation Week, he ensured the faithful offered a complete and overflowing sacrifice to God. 2. The Separation of the "Great Fast" and "Pascha" Pope Damian was firm in distinguishing between the Fast of the Lord (the 40 days) and the Fast of the Passion (Pascha Week). He taught that: The Preparation Week was the "Introductory Week" to dispose the soul toward repentance. The Forty Days followed, honoring the Lord’s fast in the wilderness. Pascha Week was a separate, more intense fast focused on the Cross. By adding the first week, he created the 55-day structure we use today (7 + 40 + 8), which the Coptic Church maintains as the most "perfect" and "complete" fast in Christendom. 3. A Call to Repentance and "Self-Denial" Pope Damian lived during a time of significant theological turmoil (dealing with the lingering effects of the Council of Chalcedon and internal Melkite pressures). He taught that the Preparation Week was a time for repentance. He specifically directed the Church to focus the readings of this first week on the "Kingdom of God" and "Self-Denial." He said, in essence, that one cannot jump straight into the intense struggle of the Lord's forty-day fast without first "preparing the house of the soul." 4. Directing the Church toward the "Lover of Mankind" Theologically, Pope Damian's addition was an act of Philanthropia (love for mankind). He believed that providing an extra week of grace allowed the "weak" among the congregation to build their spiritual strength before the rigor of the Great Fast began. Everything in this week points toward the ultimate goal: the victory of the Lover of Mankind. As we progress from this Preparation Week, through the 40 days, and into the Passion, we eventually reach the 7 Tunes of Joyous Saturday and the Resurrection, where the fast is fulfilled. Summary of Pope Damian's Legacy: The Number of Days: He finalized Coptic Lent at 55 days. The Theological Motivation: To fulfill the "Tithe" and provide a spiritual threshold. The Straightforward Truth: He was a defender of the Miaphysite faith, and he viewed the expansion of the fast as a way to strengthen the Coptic people against heretical influences by deepening their liturgical and ascetic life. When we begin the first Monday of Lent (the Monday of the Preparation Week), we are directly following the holy ordinance established by Pope Damian, ensuring our fast is not just a custom, but a precise spiritual offering to our Savior.

What specifically did Pope Damian say about the Preparation Week?

1. The Principle of the "Tithe of the Year"

2. The Separation of the "Great Fast" and "Pascha"

3. A Call to Repentance and "Self-Denial"

4. Directing the Church toward the "Lover of Mankind"

Summary of Pope Damian's Legacy:

Related questions