A mediaeval title given to the first day of Lent. In that prayer, invocation is made to God 'that whosoever shall sprinkle themselves with these ashes for the redemption of their sins may obtain health of body and protection of soul.'ĪSH-WEDNESDAY. Before use, the ashes are dedicated previously by a special prayer offered by a bishop. Used for sprinkling persons by the Romish Church. The following articles on Ashes, Ash Wednesday, Fasting, and Lent are taken from A Protestant Dictionary, which was published under the auspices of the Protestant Reformation Society in 1904, and was compiled for Evangelicals in the Church of England and the Church of Ireland.ĪSHES.
The 1979 Book of Common Prayer popularized the practice in the Episcopal Church in the closing decades of the twentieth century.
