Study to show thyself approved... (2 Tim. 2:15)
VITAL INFORMATION ON ASH WEDNESDAY 2026.
Beloved, my attention was drawn to the controversy on the appropriate date for the 2026 Ash Wednesday. I have been busy planning for the ongoing BFO meeting, which is in progress this weekend.
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lenten period in the Christian Calendar. This year’s 2026 edition of Ash Wednesday is on 18th February, not 5th March. This is in line with Easter Sunday, which falls on 5th April, 2026.
Last year, 2025, was 5th March. It must have been mistakenly recopied whole preparing the 2026 edition of the PCN Lectionary. With due apology from my office.
Ash Wednesday is usually 40 Days from the beginning of Lent, or 46 if you add Sundays. Its significance is in the fact that it is attributed to the 40 days from the travail of Christ in his passion until his death and resurrection.
In Roman Catholic Tradition, it is observed with Holy Mass, Divine Service, Service of fasting, prayer, almsgiving and abstinence, which end with imposition of ashes on the foreheads of faithful and adherents.
Anglicans and Methodists joined later in this direction, but with the modification of the imposition of ashes on foreheads. But in the Reformed Tradition, where Presbyterians find themselves.
We observe Ash Wednesday with a service of prayers and words reflecting the travail and passion of Christ Jesus. We may sometimes seal the service with Holy Communion, but not with the imposition of ashes on members’ foreheads.
Signed:
Most Rev Prof. Omaka K Ngele,
BFO Secretary
