A close up of a cross of ashes on the forehead of a Roman Catholic man following a church service on Ash Wednesday.

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"Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this 40-day liturgical period of prayer and fasting leading up to Easter. Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered after the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned.[ This practice is common in much of Christendom, being celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and some Baptist denominations.[" Wikipedia

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Size: 2415px × 3624px
Location: London, UK
Photo credit: © Maurice Savage / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: anglicans, ash, ashes, baptist, britain, catholic, christian, christianity, england, fast, forehead, lutherans, male, man, methodists, mourning, palms, presbyterians, repentance, roman, start, uk, wednesday, western