worship. It usually took place on Easter Sunday, after a long period of preparation for those who were to be baptized. During the last weeks before this great event on Easter, those who were already baptized also prepared themselves for the renewal of their own baptismal vows. This is the origin of the season of Lent. It seems that at first there were different forms of government in various churches throughout the Roman Empire, and that the titles of "elder" and "bishop" were roughly equivalent. But already