Observing Denominations
These Christian denominations are among those that mark Ash Wednesday with a particular liturgy or church service.
- African Methodist Episcopal Church
- African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
- Anglican Communion
- Traditional Anglican Communion
- Individual Baptist churches may hold a service
- Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
- Some congregations of the Church of the Nazarene
- Church of God (Anderson)
- Church of North India
- Church of South India
- Some congregations of Community of Christ
- Ecclesia Gnostica
- Some congregations of the Evangelical Covenant Church
- Some Free Churches (e.g., Free Methodist Church)
- Liberal Catholic Church
- Lutheran Church
- Some congregations of Mennonite Church USA
- Methodist Church in India
- Moravian Church
- Old Catholic Church
- Reformed churches (Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), etc.)
- Roman Catholic Church
- United Methodist Church
- Wesleyan Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church does not, in general, observe Ash Wednesday; instead, Orthodox Great Lent begins on Clean Monday. There are, however, a relatively small number of Orthodox Christians who follow the Western Rite; these do observe Ash Wednesday, although often on a different day from the previously mentioned denominations, as its date is determined from the Orthodox calculation of Pascha, which may be as much as a month later than the Western observance of Easter.
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Famous quotes containing the word observing:
“If we had no faults of our own, we should not take half so much satisfaction in observing those of other people.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)