I am constantly asked by parishioners and friends, both young and old, of the significance of the 40-Day observation period. The questions that arise are similar to, but not limited to, the following: Why do we have 40 days of preparation for Christmas, the Advent Season for the Nativity of Christ (November 15TH through December 25TH, inclusive)? Why is the Great Fast—not counting Great and Holy Week—approximately 40 Days long? Why do we hold a 40-Day Memorial Service for the rest of the soul of a loved one (in addition to the third-day, ninth-day, annual, and occasional remembrances)?
The core answer to these questions lies in the Sacred Scriptures. The period of Forty Days is biblical in essence, for this is where it comes from, and this is why it is observed. As far as explaining the meaning of it, I prefer to use the following definition: “A period of Forty Days signifies the completion in realization of an event.” I remember back in seminary, over a decade ago, Fr. Thomas Hopko used a similar definition in one of his classes, and I believe this is the most fitting, and for that matter the most genuine Orthodox interpretation. When something, specifically an event, is practiced and remembered for 40 days, it makes it real and present in our daily lives. It becomes sealed in our works and etched in our memory.
I categorically do not like some of the answers or definitions given to the question of 40 Days, claiming the background or sources of these interpretations to be biblical. I am specifically referring to non-traditional Christian groups. Here is one such (false) interpretation as posted on one or more websites:
“The number forty has long been universally recognized as an important number, both on account of the frequency of its occurrence, and the uniformity of its association with a period of probation, trial, and chastisement—(not judgment). It is the product of 5 and 8, and points to the action of grace (5), leading to and ending in revival and renewal (8). This is certainly the case where “Forty” relates to a period of evident probation. But where it relates to enlarged dominion, or to renewed or extended rule, then it does so in virtue of its factors 4 and 10, and in harmony with their signification.”
Notice the negative terminology in this definition: “Probation, Trial, and Chastisement.” Notice also the perceived positive terminology: “Dominion and Rule.” These adjectives, with all due respect, lack the reality of the lives of the people associated with the 40-Day observances in the Scriptures. They also retract from the positive and real Incarnation: It is as though God is the “extreme other” who never became Incarnate, and never fully identified with and/or shared our humanity.
Sadly, the interpretation(s) of such non-traditional groups, almost always, lacks the appropriate and corresponding Orthodox doctrine of the Incarnation, which is summarized in the teachings of many Church Holy Fathers, starting with Alexandria’s Saint Athanasius the Great[1]: God became Man (by nature) so that man (by grace) may become God. They also retract from an essential teaching of Saint Gregory Nazianzus[2]: What cannot be assumed cannot be saved, meaning that for the entire human nature to be saved, God must assume it in its entirety, except for sin (Hebrews 4:15), which in effect was undertaken and fulfilled by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Scriptural references to “Forty” are many, including references to days and years. I shall suffice by citing the important ones referring specifically to “Forty Days.” Let us examine these, closely and contextually:
· (Genesis 7:4, 17) The Great Flood: “For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will blot out from the face of the earth every living thing I made” and, “Now the flood was on the earth forty days and forty nights. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.” Our humble definition, once again, states: “A period of Forty Days signifies the completion in realization of an event.” In order for the Flood to be “Great”, encompassing the known world at that point, its duration needed to be long enough so that all concerned parties would realize its effectiveness as a real event. The rain, falling for a period of forty days, would signify the completion, in realization, of the universal flood, thus rendering the Great Flood. In essence, the Great Flood was by all means real, because it lasted for forty days and forty nights.
· (Exodus 24:18 & Deuteronomy 9:18, 25) The Fasting and Praying of Moses the Great: “So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up the mountain; and he was on the mountain forty days and forty nights”; “And I prayed before the Lord a second time, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sins you committed in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him”; and, “Thus I prayed before the Lord; forty days and forty nights I kept praying, because the Lord said He would destroy you.” The Fasting and Praying of Moses the Great, along with that of the Lord Jesus Christ, together, constitute the solid and official Orthodox Christian standpoint, from the Sacred Scriptures, concerning the rule of Fasting. Moses fasted before receiving the Law on Mount Sinai. The period of Forty Days and Forty Nights made the Fasting of Moses complete and real; it concretized its reality. Thus, the Fasting and Praying of Moses the Great was by all means real, because it lasted for forty days and forty nights.
· (Ezekiel 4:6) The Binding of Ezekiel/Judah: “When you accomplish all this, then you shall sleep on your right side; and you shall bear the acts of unrighteousness of the house of Judah for forty days. I have appointed you a day for each year.” Ezekiel lying bound on his side images the death of Christ, the Lamb of God, who bore the acts of unrighteousness for all humanity[3]. Ezekiel stands out among the Prophets, in that, more than any other Prophet, he was called by God to involve himself personally in the divine word by acting it out in prophetic symbolism. The actions of the Prophet concretized the reality of the house of Judah, equating the number of days of the Prophet’s lying bound with the number of years of unrighteousness concerning the house of Judah. Thus, the Binding of the Prophet Ezekiel made real the Binding of the House of Judah, because it lasted for forty days.
· (Matthew 4:1-2) The Fasting and Praying of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Then Jesus (after His Baptism) was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.” The Fasting and Praying of the Lord Jesus Christ was real, simply because it lasted for forty days and forty nights.
· (Acts 1:1-3) The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ: “IN THE FIRST WORDS, O Theóphilos, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. To them He presented Himself alive after His passion by many proofs, having been seen by them for forty days, and speaking of the Kingdom of God[4].” In the Orthodox Church, for forty days – from the Great Feast of Pascha to its leave-taking on Wednesday before the Ascension, all days inclusive – we chant and greet one another with the phrase: “Christ is Risen!” Thus, as the Holy Evangelist states, the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ was real, because it lasted for forty days.
We can see similar conclusions in these Scriptural references, conclusions which further validate the definition: A period of Forty Days signifies the completion in realization of an event:
· The Season of Advent (November 15TH through December 25TH, inclusive) is observed for forty days, typically, in order to make real the daily presence of Christ in our lives.
· The Forty Day Memorial services which we hold for rest of the souls of our loved ones seal the reality in our minds and conscience that that person is no longer physically with us. The mourning season (should) cease and the healing process now begins.
There are many other seasons in the Church which are either liturgical or personal which take the shape of forty days. These are set by the Church Holy Fathers, in their wisdom – from the Same Spirit who inspired the Earlier Fathers/Writers of the Sacred Scriptures – to train us in the Spiritual Life. It is simply the process which we call the Sanctification of Time. The Sanctification of Time, when conscientiously practiced, makes real in our daily lives the elements which we celebrate or commemorate. Thus, we can relate better to the Sacred Scriptures and to the Liturgical Life of our Faith.
[1] On St. Athanasius’ quote, I have simplified his quote it in line with the Orthodox teaching. The actual quote reads: "God became man so that man might become a god" (St. Athanasius the Great, On the Incarnation 54:3, PG 25:192B)
[2] On St. Gregory Nazianzus, I have also simplified the quotation, which in full reads: “For that which He has not assumed, He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved” - Gregory Nazianzus, Epistle 101 (PG XXXVII 181C-184A)
[3] These remarks are copied from a Footnote and the Introduction in the Orthodox Study Bible, pages 1188 & 1184, respectively
[4] The above quote (Acts 1:1-3) is taken from The Book of the Epistles, © 2010 Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of All North America
