1. Origins of Holy Week

Did. 7.4 calls for a fast of one or two days before baptism (§2.2). When baptism came to be celebrated at the paschal (Easter) celebration, this tradition applied to the two days before the Pasch (Friday and Saturday). Third-century sources from Alexandria and Syria (the festival letters of Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria and the Syrian Did. apos. 21) indicate that this fast was extended to six days before Easter. …