Day of Repentance and Prayer
Description:
In the Bible there is a parable of Jonah, sent by God to Ninivea to announce the destruction of this city. And then, at the command of King Ninivea, everyone had to call upon God with force. And people repented of their sins, and turned from evil to good. God heard the prayers and saw the works, and did not create what he intended.
Joint repentance and prayer were known in antiquity. Theologically, they are three times justified. First, it is a day of intercession for the guilt of all believers before God. Further, the church must perform its controlling function with regard to sins on the day of repentance. Finally, the days of repentance served everyone to test their conscience before God. In Rome, for example, such days of universal repentance and prayer were supposed to avert the danger of disaster and war.
In the Middle Ages, there were two types of days of repentance: one was prescribed by the authorities and celebrated as needed. Others, about three fasting days at the beginning of each quarter of the year, stemmed from church regulations. Both categories were adopted and continued by the Protestant Church.
In 1532, as a reaction to the Turkish War, the first Protestant Day of Repentance and Prayer was held. From the 16th to the 17th centuries, there were different dates for the “Day of Repentance and Prayer” for different territories of Germany. In 1878, there were 47 Days of Repentance celebrated on 24 different days in 28 German countries. In 1983, in Prussia, on the initiative of the relevant state bodies, this diversity was eliminated and the holiday was set for the Wednesday before the last Sunday of the church year, as is still celebrated today.
The essence of the day of repentance and prayer in those days was often interpreted in different ways: the people had to repent and pray, the church authorities ordered to control and change their thinking and attitude to God.
During World War II, the "Day of Repentance and Prayer" was moved to one of the Sundays and made a special day off - to apply all their strength to prayers for war. After the end of the war, the Day of Repentance and Prayer was returned to its pre-war form. In the GDR, it was a day off until 1966, when a 5-day working week was introduced. In Germany, after the war, the Day of Repentance and Prayer became a state holiday, except for Bavaria. In Bavaria, until 1981, it was considered a holiday only in areas with a predominantly Protestant population. Since 1981, it has been a public holiday in Germany. After the unification of Germany, the holiday was taken over by all lands and remained a day off for another 4 years.
Then the government decided that since 1995 the Day of Repentance and Prayer will cease to be a day off. This change was justified as the need to equalize the increased burden on employers forced to pay the newly created compulsory insurance by increasing the working time of employees.
Only in Saxony is the Day of Repentance and Prayer a public holiday. In other lands, every employee has the right to take a day off on this day, justifying this by his religious duties. In addition, most schools and kindergartens are closed in Bavaria. All of this is subject to a lot of criticism. However, attempts to return the day off to date have not been successful.
But despite the absence of a day off, the Day of Repentance and Prayer remains an important part of the Christian faith. Of course, regular worship, as it was before, is no longer held. However, on the eve of the school staged short plays on biblical stories related to repentance. In the evening, many worshippers are called to return to God. This is not just about spiritual return. Acts and deeds must also be changed for the better. Thinking about what you did helps you understand where you were unfaithful to God. Prayer and repentance serve to hear the word of God, to return to the true path and to learn to do good. Prayer to God should be an integral part of everyone’s daily life.