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Christopher Nolan is the first director to complete a full trilogy of Batman films but the second to direct a full trilogy of films on one superhero (after Sam Raimi completed his Spider-Man films)..Christian Bale is the first actor to portray Batman/Bruce Wayne in three Batman films..Cinematographer Wally Pfister expressed interest in shooting the entirety of the film in the IMAX format, as both Pfister and Christopher Nolan expressed distaste for shooting the film in 3-D. Ultimately, the film would feature approximately 72 minutes of IMAX footage, while the rest was shot in a combination of 35mm and 70mm, as IMAX cameras proved to be too noisy for shooting the films dialogue scenes..Anne Hathaway, Jessica Biel, Gemma Arterton, Kate Mara, Charlotte Riley and Keira Knightley all auditioned for the role of Selina Kyle. After the initial audition process, Hathaway, Biel and Knightley all screen tested. Ultimately, Anne Hathaway won the role..Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz and Marion Cotillard were considered to play Miranda Tate before Cotillard finally got the role. Cotillard started filming 2 months after she gave birth to her son, Marcel..Robin Williams was rumored to play the role of Hugo Strange..There was much speculation in the press when Anne Hathaway was announced as Selina Kyle if the actress would actually portray Kyle's costumed alter-ego, Catwoman. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey following her stint as host of the Academy Awards, Hathaway let slip that her character indeed would don the Catwoman costume..According to Gary Oldman, Christopher Nolan told the actors the ending of the film verbally to avoid any leaks..Around 10,000 extras were used to shoot the Gotham Rogues scene in Heinz Field in Pittburgh, Pennsylvania. Some of the Pittsburgh Steelers played football players: Hines Ward, Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Wallace, Heath Miller, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, James Farrior, LaMarr Woodley, and Casey Hampton. Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher appears as the coach. Pittsburgh mayor Luke R. Ravenstahl plays a kicker. Thomas Tull, CEO of the film's production company Legendary Pictures, is part-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers..Chloë Grace Moretz and Jennifer Lawrence auditioned for Juno Temple's role of Jen, Selina Kyle's sidekick..According to The Hollywood Reporter, Anne Hathaway's stunt double broke one of the IMAX cameras when she crashed the Batpod into it. This marks the second time an IMAX camera has been destroyed on a Christopher Nolan Batman film - a previous camera was smashed when filming the Joker's underground truck chase in The Dark Knight..Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling and Mark Ruffalo were considered to play John Blake before Joseph Gordon-Levitt was ultimately cast. DiCaprio was one of the actors considered to play Robin in Batman Forever before Chris O'Donnell got the part..Anne Hathaway, who plays Catwoman, had been cast as Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) in The Amazing Spider-Man in 2010, which at that time was under Sam Raimi's direction as "Spider-Man 4" and was going to feature the Vulture and Black Cat..According to Christopher Nolan, Bane was chosen as the film's main antagonist "to test Batman mentally as well as physically.".To prepare for her role as Catwoman, Anne Hathaway worked out five days a week on a regime that involved vigorous exercise, stunt training and dancing. She called it her most physically demanding role to date..To prepare for his role as Bane, Tom Hardy gained 30 pounds in weight, and studied various fighting styles to use in the film..Tom Hardy described Bane as an absolute terrorist: "He's brutal, but also incredibly clinical in the fact that he has a result-based and oriented fighting style. The style is heavy-handed, heavy-footed... it's nasty. It's not about fighting, it's about carnage!".After The Dark Knight was released, Aaron Eckhart expressed interest in returning as Harvey "Two-Face" Dent. Christopher Nolan stated that Dent was definitely dead, and that his death would leave lasting repercussions across Gotham..Composer Hans Zimmer collected online recordings of chanting to incorporate in the film's score..Anne Hathaway previously appeared in Alice in Wonderland, which was directed by Batman/Batman Returns director Tim Burton and featured the previous Alfred, Michael Gough in his final role before his death..Marion Cotillard previously appeared in Big Fish, which was directed by Batman/Batman Returns director Tim Burton and featured the Penguin, Danny DeVito..Reunites Inception stars Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, and Cillian Murphy..This is the fifth film in a row that Christopher Nolan has worked with Michael Caine. The other films were Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, and Inception..With their appearances in this movie, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy and Gary Oldman will have each appeared in three Batman movies. Only Michael Gough and Pat Hingle have done the same thing..Christopher Nolan picked Bane as the main villain. Coincidentally, with no known relation, the name of one of the creators of Bane for the comic books is Graham Nolan..Anne Hathaway based her performance on Hedy Lamarr, who was the original inspiration for Catwoman..Tickets for the film's premiere midnight IMAX screenings in New York sold out six months in advance..During the football sequence shown in the preview a player is seen wearing a jersey with the last name of Ravenstahl on it. This is Luke R. Ravenstahl, the Mayor of Pittsburgh, where portions of the movie were shot. He was Washington & Jefferson college's starting place kicker on the football team for three years and was team captain for his senior year. He holds the school record for most consecutive extra points..Tom Hardy is technically the fifth actor to play Bane in a feature film. In Batman & Robin, Michael Reid MacKay played serial killer Antonio Diego, who is selected for the "Venom" experiment and is transformed into Bane, who is then played by wrestler Jeep Swenson. The remaining two actors voiced Bane in two Dc Animated direct-to-video films, and they were Hector Elizondo in Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman and Carlos Alazraqui in Justice League: Doom..Anne Hathaway has revealed that during her audition, she thought that she was auditioning for The Joker's on again-off again girlfriend/partner-in-crime Harley Quinn. it was only after she had a discussion with Christopher Nolan that she found out that she was auditioning for Catwoman..Anne Hathaway has said that she desperately coveted the role of Catwoman, and was a complete nervous wreck after her audition. The first time her agent phoned after her screen test, he said he had good news and asked if Hathaway was sitting down. Hathaway immediately screamed "I'm Catwoman!" and ran around the room in a frenzy. Unfortunately, her agent had to calm the actress down--he had called to let her know that she'd been invited to host the Academy Awards. Hathaway has said she was so shocked she went numb at the offer. Fortunately, shortly thereafter, her agent phoned again to let her know that she had been offered the part of Catwoman as well..Christopher Nolan said that this film's theme deals with "Pain". For Batman Begins, it was on "Fear", while The Dark Knight deals on "Chaos"..The original story treatment by David S. Goyer was to have Two-Face as the principal antagonist for the film. Initially, at the end of The Dark Knight, the Joker would have scarred Harvey Dent at a courtroom trial, setting up the third film. Dent's death and fall was put in at the end of the second film instead to set up the aftermath that follows..Tom Hardy accepted the role of Bane without reading the script. He was verbally told that he would have unprecedented access to extensive stunt training and equipment that he could enjoy knocking around..Christopher Nolan offered James Newton Howard the opportunity to write the score with Hans Zimmer as he did for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight but Howard felt that due to the collaboration between Nolan and Zimmer on Inception, he would be like a third wheel..According to producer Emma Thomas, the filmmakers elected to shoot the film in Pittsburgh to emphasize Gotham's immense size and scope and because "they literally shot every inch" in Chicago, where the previous two films were shot..Selina Kyle is never referred to as her famous alter ego "Catwoman" during the movie; rather newspaper articles and police files refer to her as "The Cat." This is in keeping with the original incarnation of Selina Kyle who was a jewel thief, and was known only as "The Cat" before becoming "The Catwoman." However, various official merchandise and marketing material refer to Selina Kyle as Catwoman when she is wearing her masked costume..Out of respect for Heath Ledger, the Joker is never once mentioned for the whole film..At 165 minutes long, this is the longest Batman film released to date as well as the longest film that Christopher Nolan has ever directed..Christopher Nolan wanted Marion Cotillard so much for the role of Miranda Tate that he modified the filming schedule to accommodate her pregnancy. Cotillard started filming two months after giving birth. In the last months of shooting, she also filmed another movie at the same time in France, Rust and Bone..According to Tom Hardy, he based his voice for Bane on Bartley Gorman (1944 - 2002), an Irish Traveller who was the undefeated Bare-knuckle boxing champion of the United Kingdom: "The choice of the accent is actually a man called Bartley Gorman, who was a bare knuckle fighter, a Romani gypsy. So I wanted to underpin the Latin, but a Romani Latin opposed to Latino.".In a Saturday Night Live sketch, Anne Hathaway, who plays Selina Kyle on this film, appeared as Katie Holmes talking on a talk show about her role in Batman Begins, the first film of this trilogy..When Officer Blake talks about "giant alligators" being in the sewer line, this may be an intentional nod towards Batman villain Killer Croc..Was filmed in Pittsburgh under the title "Magnus Rex.".According to costume designer Lindy Hemming, she took two years to design Bane's coat; it was inspired by a Swedish army jacket and a French Revolution frock coat, to make Bane look equally dictatorial and revolutionary, "like an amalgam of all sorts of bits and pieces he cobbled together as he passed through some very remote places.".The Batsuit consisted of 110 separate pieces. The base layer was made of a polyester mesh, utilized by the military and high-tech sports manufacturers due to its breathability and moisture-retaining properties; molded pieces of flexible urethane were then attached to the mesh to form the overall body armor plating. Carbon fiberpanels were placed inside the sections on the legs, chest and abdomen. The cowl was sculpted from a cast of Christian Bale's face and head to become a perfect fit for Bale..Selina Kyle's catsuit was made from two layers of polyurethane-coated spandex..Costume effects supervisor Graham Churchyard created a three-dimensional model of Tom Hardy's face and skull to design Bane's mask..In designing the Bat, production designer Nathan Crowley approached it as if it were an actual military project, emphasizing the need for it to "fit into the same family as the Tumbler and the Batpod": he incorporated designs from military aircraft, including the Harrier Jump Jet, Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey and the Boeing AH-64 Apache..In order to make the Bat fly, it was variously supported by wires, suspended from cranes and helicopters, and mounted on a purpose-built vehicle with hydraulic controls to simulate movement.Bane's theme is a chant which features the term "deshi basara", which is Moroccan for the word "rise"..When Bane enters the stock exchange trading floor, he wears a backpack that has a logo 'DCS courier services.' Batman is a DC Comics superhero..Tom Hardy, standing at 5'10", had to wear 3 inch lifts to make his character Bane appear as tall or taller than fellow co-stars Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine..When Selina Kyle disappears from a rooftop, Batman's remark "So that's what that feels like" is lifted directly from the DC graphic novel "Kingdom Come". Even the circumstance is similar, except it was with Superman..During the motorcycle chase scene, Bane is wearing a red helmet with black visor as well as a brown motorcycle jacket. This is the original costume Jason Todd took under his Red Hood persona, which is itself a callback to The Joker's original criminal identity..Christian Bale surprised locals by casually dropping in to enjoy some British craft ale at the Admiral Rodney pub in Wollaton, Nottingham, while filming the exteriors to Wayne Manor at Wollaton Hall..A close look on the handheld walkie-talkies used by the Gotham City Police Dept reveals an old DC Comic logo..Diego Klattenhoff was up for a part as a police officer but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with Homeland..Selina Kyle's (Anne Hathaway) relationship with her accomplice (Juno Temple) is highly reminiscent of Kyle's relationship with Holly Robinson in the comic "Batman: Year One." In that story, Kyle and Robinson had been prostitutes together and even had an implied lesbian relationship before Kyle became Catwoman..Studio execs had strongly suggested that the Riddler be the film's primary villain but filmmakers felt the character too derivative. The filmmakers ultimately decided to use Bane as they felt he was strikingly different than the Joker from the previous movie..MacFarlane Toys, which produces a line of licensed action figures of Pro Sports Athletes, created one of Hines Ward wearing the Gotham Rogues uniform that he was seen wearing in the movie..When Bane rips the photo of Harvey Dent in half he does so vertically through the middle of Harvey's face, replicating his transition to Two-Face at the end of The Dark Knight..This is only the second "Batman" film not to include the word ''Batman'' in the title..This is the only live-action "Batman" film where the Bat-signal is never used..When referring to Bruce Wayne as a shut-in, Daggett says "we all know he's up there with 8-inch nails and mason jars full of urine." This is an obvious reference to reclusive and eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. Christopher Nolan was at one point attached to direct a Howard Hughes biopic..The Pittsburgh football stadium used in the film was slated for extensive pitch resurfacing at that time of filming. Explosive squibs were placed to simulate explosion points for the field to collapse. It was executive producer Thomas Tull who gave the film crew access to use the stadium since he's the co-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team..The character Barsad, Bane's right-hand-man played by Josh Stewart, is a sniper and heavy arms expert. He is always shown wearing a bulletproof vest which has large bullets on it and a red scarf. This is a take on the Batman villain DeadShot, a character which co-writer David S. Goyer had expressed interest in bringing to the big screen..The football stadium scene was filmed at Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers' team colors are black and yellow, same as the Gotham Rogues..In the film there are a total of four Oscar winners: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard, and four Oscar nominees: Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Tom Conti, Liam Neeson..On July 20, 2012 during a midnight screening for the film in Aurora, Colorado a man entered the theater and opened fire. James Holmes ended up killing twelve people and injured more than fifty-eight. He was arrested outside the theater and charged with 24 counts of murder and 116 counts of attempted murder. After the incident several cast and crew members, including Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Gary Oldman released statements expressing their sorrow over the attack. Their publicity appearances, including a lavish premiere in France, were canceled. Warner Brothers, the studio that released the film, decided not to release opening weekend grosses until the following Monday out of consideration for the victims. Christian Bale went and visited the surviving victims at the hospital days later..Bruce Wayne's doctor visit in which the doctor lists off all the degenerative injuries to his body (lack of cartilage, scar tissue, etc.) and the use of a mechanical knee brace both are reminiscent of Kingdom Come, where an older Bruce Wayne requires the use of an exoskeleton to move due to years of physical wear and tear on his body..The orphanage where Blake grew up and visits in the film is named St. Swithin's. In England, St. Swithin's day takes place on July 15th and is a tradition where whatever the weather is like on this day it will be like for the next 40 days, and it is said that if it rains that day it will rain for the next 40. The rhyme goes: "St. Swithin's day if thou dost rain, for forty days it will remain St. Swithin's day if thou be fair, for forty days 'twill rain nae mair." Water and rain are common motifs in Christopher Nolan's films..Each movie from the Dark Knight trilogy is 12 minutes longer than the previous one (Batman Begins is 140 minutes, The Dark Knight 152 and The Dark Knight Rises 164)..The Lazarus Pit/Bane's prison scenes were shot in the city of Jodhpur, Rajasthan. (India). In the comics, Batman visited India to learn how to control his pain..The building used for the exterior of the Gotham Stock Exchange is actually the J.P. Morgan building on the corner of Broad & Wall Streets in lower Manhattan. It is directly across the street from the actual NY Stock Exchange building, which can be seen in the background in some shots..During the football stadium scene there are different shots of the crowd. One of the fans in the crowd is holding up a cardboard cut out of a gate painted black. Blackgate Penitentiary is a prominent feature in the Batman comics (with its inmates including Bane and Catwoman in the comics) and it is used in this film at various points. Or it's just a black fence for the chant "De-Fense." Black and gold are the team colors of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who play their games at Heinz Field..Though not shown in the final cut, the fight scene on Gotham City Hall steps included an explosion that cleared the steps of all the fighters still alive. When filming the actual explosion, the heat triggered a fire alarm that went directly to the authorities; which caused production to stop for more than 30 minutes while the film staff cleared everything with the police and fire marshal when they arrived..Christopher Nolan used a heavy mask motif through out the movie; Batman, Bane, and Catwoman all wear masks, Bruce Wayne has a collection of African tribal masks in the room where he and Officer Blake first talk in Wayne manor, and Miranda Tate hosts a masquerade party..The only Batman film where Batman never uses his grapple gun to lift himself. Batman use it once only for saving the stock exchange man from the motorcycle..According to producers, the line "That's a lovely, lovely voice" was improvised by Tom Hardy. Bruce Wayne responding "No you're not" to Catwoman saying she felt sorry for Bruce losing his fortune was also improvised by Christian Bale..The fascia and some of the interior shots of Wayne Manor were filmed at Wollaton Hall, a stately home in Nottingham, England..While doing promotional interviews for the film Tom Hardy stated that the most difficult parts of the movie to shoot were the fight scenes. Not because of the physicality of them, but because he was such a huge Batman fan growing up that he said "it felt like I was beating up my childhood hero". However he also said that despite his worship of the character, the moment Chris Nolan yelled 'action' Hardy just started throwing punches as hard as he could..Alfred Pennyworth mentions that he orders Fernet Branca on his visits to Italy. This is an amaro, a type of bitter aromatic spirit..At one point it was rumored that the Penguin was to have been featured as one of the film's major villains, as would have been played by 'Phillip Seymour Hoffman'. Christopher Nolan quickly denied the rumors, saying that the character would have been difficult to adapt for his version of Batman..Though the fate of the Joker is never revealed in the film, the novelization does mention his whereabouts in passing: he is the lone resident of the newly-rebuilt Arkham Asylum, held in solitary confinement and thus has no one to "play with" as ultimate punishment for his crimes..Although used to soften a landing, this is the first movie in the Batman "Nolanverse" where the cape isn't used to glide..In the football stadium sequence, the cast and extras are all wearing heavy winter clothing, though the scenes were shot during a massive heat wave across the East Coast during the summer of 2011..Tom Hardy has several large tattoos on his chest and arms that had to be covered using heavy cake makeup for the film..Both this and the other live-action "Batman" film to feature Bane as a villain, Batman & Robin, show the Batman logo during the opening sequence freezing and then cracking..CameoPatrick Leahy: US Senator from Vermont cameos in the movie as a Wayne Enterprises Board Member. Leahy, a fan of Batman, previously cameoed in The Dark Knight and Batman and Robin..Miranda Nolan: The cousin of writer-director Christopher Nolan and co-writer Jonathan Nolan appears as the maid gossiping about Bruce Wayne..John Nolan: The uncle of director Christopher Nolan and co-writer Jonathan Nolan, as well as the father of actress Miranda Nolan, reprises his role from Batman Begins as Wayne Enterprises board member Douglas Fredericks. He previously appeared in Christopher's debut film, Following..SpoilersThe trivia items below may give away important plot points.Christian Bale has stated that he would not play Batman if Robin appeared anywhere in the trilogy. Christopher Nolan agreed not to include Robin as it would undermine the dark tone of his series. At the end of the film, Detective John Blake's (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) legal name is revealed to be "Robin", and he quits the police force and is shown to enter the Batcave by following the instructions presumably left by Bruce Wayne in his will..In the comics, Bane carried an apparatus that contains a steroid that amplifies his strength and fighting ability. In the film, the apparatus he carries contains an anesthetic as he is in chronic pain..The filmmakers cite the "Batman" comics 'The Dark Knight Returns' (an aged Batman operates in a future Gotham), 'Knightfall' (Bane pushes Batman physically and mentally, causing him to burn out) and 'No Man's Land' (Gotham descends into gangland territory and are cut off from the rest of the US) as major influences on the film..Like Batman Returns and Batman & Robin, not only does this feature a female villain, but the villain is portrayed by an Oscar nominated actress. Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns) was nominated for Dangerous Liaisons, The Fabulous Baker Boys and Love Field. Uma Thurman (Batman & Robin) was nominated for Pulp Fiction. Anne Hathaway (this film) was nominated for Rachel Getting Married. Marion Cotillard, who plays Talia al Ghul, won an Oscar for La vie en rose.When Batman is chasing after Bane for the first time after the stock exchange robbery an older policeman tells his younger partner to "sit back, you're in for a show". This is an almost direct quote from the graphic novel "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns."According to scriptwriter Jonathan Nolan, a major influence on the story is Charles Dickens's socio-political novel "A Tale of Two Cities", which dealt with revolution and class conflict. In homage to the story, two characters in the film are named Stryver and Barsad, after two similarly named characters in the book. Also when Commissioner Gordon gives a eulogy for Bruce, he uses the ending soliloquy in regards to Batman, who like the novel's hero Sydney Carton sacrificed himself to save people..Christian Bale and Michael Caine spent several weeks filming exterior shots of Wayne Manor at Wollaton Hall, Nottingham, but the director Christopher Nolan just used one shot of Bale as Batman in silhouette on the roof and one shot of Caine at the graveside..During the fight between Bane and Batman in the sewers, Bane lifts Batman above his head and drops him across his knee. This is a direct parallel to the first fight between Batman and Bane from the comics where Bane broke Batman's back during the "Knightfall" story line..This is the only Batman film where Jim Gordon learns the true identity of the Batman..At the end of the movie when Blake (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is exploring the Batcave, his black jacket has a blue stripe that dips in the middle on the back of it. This is very reminiscent to the character Nightwing, who the first Robin eventually became..The first Batman movie not to feature Batman driving the Batmobile. He only uses the Bat-pod and the Bat (flying vehicle). While several variations of Tumblers do make an appearance they are all operated by Bane and his thugs, after they steal them from Wayne Enterprises' Applied Science Division, and these have a desert camouflage paint job, so it could be argued that the Batmobile doesn't make any appearance at all..The final chase sequence and subsequent bombing where countdown of the time-bomb is 12 minutes is depicted as though in real time..Marks the first time where actor Cillian Murphy has not worn some sort of a cloth or burlap bag on his head, in a film directed by Christopher Nolan..When the fusion reactor is first introduced in the bunker, the design is almost identical to the microwave emitter design that Ra's Al Ghul stole from Wayne Enterprises and brought into the city in Batman Begins..The coloring and shading of the cloth draping the Batman Memorial Statue during its unveiling was similar to the blue colors of Batman's costume as traditionally seen in the comics..Bane has a triangle shaped scar on the side of his head, most visible during the stock exchange scene. Miranda Tate has an identical scar on her back, noticeable during her love scene with Bruce, thus hinting at her membership in the League of Shadows and true identity as Talia..In addition to the numerous elements from the "Knightfall," "The Dark Knight Returns," and "No Man's Land" storylines, the film also borrows from the "Legacy" storyline, which involves Bane becoming Ra's Al Ghul's successor and plotting with the League of Shadows to destroy Gotham City..The villainous character portrayed by Liam Neeson Ra's al Ghul, who died by the end of the first movie, makes an appearance before Bruce Wayne's eyes, claiming to be immortal the whole time, only to be revealed as a hallucination. This is a reference to Ra's al Ghul's comic book counterpart in which the character IS immortal by the use of Lazarus Pits..At the charity ball, Miranda Tate says "you must invest if you wish to restore balance to the world," hinting at her true identity as Talia. In Batman Begins, Ra's al Ghul says that the mission of The League of Shadows is to restore balance to the world..When Cillian Murphy first appears as the sentencing judge, he is wearing a heavily tattered coat that looks like it has straw coming out of the shoulders. This is a clear nod to his alter ego, Scarecrow..In a final bit of foreshadowing as to her character's true nature, Miranda Tate, after Bruce apologizes for being unable to get her out of the city, tells Bruce to "do what is necessary." Her father, Ra's al Ghul, repeatedly derides Bruce for lacking "the courage to do what is necessary" in "Batman Begins.".In all three Nolan Batman films, the spiked gauntlets on Batman's arms prove essential in defeating the main villain. They shatter Ra's al Ghul's sword in Batman Begins, knock the detonator out of the Joker's hands in The Dark Knight and damage Bane's mask in The Dark Knight Rises..There are several moments in the film where it is hinted that the child was not Bane. Bane tells Batman he never saw light 'til he was already a man. Furthermore the child that escapes from the pit is not scarred despite the fact we know Bane was treated within the prison..Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the first Robin who never wore Robin's uniform, and the first actor in a live-action Batman film whose alter-ego is not Dick Grayson.

CONTEMPORARY THINKING ON FAMILY LAW AND ADULTERY:Your question is in backdrop of Judgement in a case delivered in Joseph Shine Vs Union of India on 27 September 2018 in the Supreme CourtIn most of the foreign jurisdictions, adultery, apart from being a ground for divorce, has been perceived as a criminal wrong against marriage. Similarly, in these jurisdictions, both the spouses are generally held criminally responsible for their extramarital sexual intimacy.However, the penal law of adultery in India is premised on the one-and-a-half century based on old Mughal and Victorian Age morals and stratified "social setting" in the context of the traditional conservative property-oriented familial ideology and sexual mores.It is also premised on a few outdated and moot assumptions of sexuality, sexual agency and unequal mutual marital rights and obligations of the spouses. It, in ultimate analysis, unmistakably intends to protect the rights of the husband and not of the wife.It is also bridled with deep-rooted obsolete assumptions predominantly premised on gender discrimination and the wife's sexuality. Such a law in the 21st century undoubtedly seems to be inconsistent with the modern notions of the status of women and the constitutional spirit of gender equality.During the post-IPC period, a number of Acts have been enacted to relieve women from the hitherto traditional system of seclusion and subordination and to assure them a status equal to men in every walk of life.The existing gender discriminatory penal law of adultery, against this backdrop, deserves a serious relook and revision to the effect that a person, male or female, who, being married, has sexual intercourse with a female or a male (as the case may be) not his or her spouses without the consent or connivance of such spouses be made criminally responsible.Similarly, the spouse of the errant spouse be allowed not only to seek divorce from the other life partner but also to initiate legal proceedings with a view to fixing criminal liability of the "outsider" for wrecking the marriage.__________________________Adultery was treated in India as rape, without the consent or connivance of husband,Then, there is a presumption that sexual intercourse by wife with another man with the consent or connivance of husband is legal.The law is biased in favour of men’s illegitimate wishes of begetting a child by hook or by crook from the wife.1. Man is always a seducer and the married woman just an innocent and a submissive victim.2. Wife is no more than a chattel to her husband and a third person had committed the crime of intruding upon his marital possession by establishing a physical relationship with his wife.3. ONLY THE HUSBAND OF THE TREACHEROUS WOMAN (OR A PERSON WHO HAD CARE OF THE MARRIED WOMAN) IS A DISTRESSED PARTY AND HE IS LIABLE TO FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST THE THIRD PARTY.4. There is no provision in the law for a woman to file a complaint against her adulterous husband.If a married man commits adultery with an unmarried woman or a widow or with a married woman with the consent of her husband, his wife is not regarded as an aggrieved party and she is not permitted to make any official grievance against her husband.Considering the changes our society has witnessed in recent times, the Indian penal code must revise these laws and upgrade them keeping in mind the equality of men and women and enabling women to have more freedom and liberty in making their choices._______________________o Adultery means voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person other than with spouse. The legal definition of adultery however varies from country to country.o In India the offence of adultery was punishable under Section 497 of IPC.O Adultery amounts to breach of trust between a married couple.O The law in India is a colonial creation, formulated 158 years ago.O Section 497 IPC reads as: ADULTERY.—Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery.O Section 497 says that the woman in an adulterous relationship will not be considered an abettor.O SECTION 198 (1) and (2) of THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE deems that only a husband can be an aggrieved party in offences against marriage like adultery and only he can go to court.O A man who enters into a sexual relationship with a married woman without the knowledge or connivance of her husband is guilty of adultery and can be punished with a jail term of up to five years.O If a married man was having an affair with an unmarried woman, there is no adultery.O The law does not confer any right on women to prosecute the adulterous husband, or the woman with whom the husband has indulged in sexual intercourse with.O The husband solely was permitted to prosecute the adulterer.O The statutory provision reflects how women are considered mere “possession” and “property” of the husband.O The Indian law on adultery is an articulation of patriarchy.O Modern India cannot afford to have such gender bias in its laws.CENTRE'S ARGUMENTSO A provision of law dealing with adultery (Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code) should remain a criminal offence.O It opposed a petition before the Supreme Court that seeks to amend the provision to make men and women equally liable.O Striking down Section 497 of IPC and Section 198(2) of CrPc will prove to be detrimental to the intrinsic Indian ethos which gives paramount importance to the institution and sanctity of marriage.O The provision “supports, safeguards and protects the institution of marriage”.INTERNATIONAL PRACTICEO Many countries across the world do not treat adultery as an offence any longer.O All European countries have decriminalised adultery, and so have many parts of Latin America.O 20 states of the USA have retained adultery as an offence.EXISTING LAW AND LAW BODY RECOMMENDATIONSLAW AGAINST BIGAMYSECTION 494. MARRYING AGAIN DURING LIFETIME OF HUSBAND OR WIFE. — Whoever, having a husband or wife living, marries in any case in which such marriage is void by reason of its taking place during the life of such husband or wife, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.EXCEPTION.—This section does not extend to any person whose marriage with such husband or wife has been declared void by a Court of competent jurisdiction, nor to any person who contracts a marriage during the life of a former husband or wife, if such husband or wife, at the time of the subsequent marriage, shall have been continually absent from such person for the space of seven years, and shall not have been heard of by such person as being alive within that time provided the person contracting such subsequent marriage shall, before such marriage takes place, inform the person with whom such marriage is contracted of the real state of facts so far as the same are within his or her knowledge.SECTION 497 IN THE INDIAN PENAL CODE497. ADULTERY.—Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery, and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both. In such case the wife shall not be punishable as an abettor.CrPC 198. PROSECUTION FOR OFFENCES AGAINST MARRIAGE.—(1) No Court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under Chapter XX of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) except upon a complaint made by some person aggrieved by the offence:Provided that—(a) where such person is under the age of eighteen years, or is an idiot or a lunatic, or is from sickness or infirmity unable to make a complaint, or is a woman who, according to the local customs and manners, ought not to be compelled to appear in public, some other person may, with the leave of the Court, make a complaint on his or her behalf;(b) where such person is the husband and he is serving in any of the Armed Forces of the Union under conditions which are certified by his Commanding Officer as precluding him from obtaining leave of absence to enable him to make a complaint in person, some other person authorised by the husband in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (4) may make a complaint on his behalf;(c) where the person aggrieved by an offence punishable under1 [section 494 or section 495] of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) is the wife, complaint may be made on her behalf by her father, mother, brother, sister, son or daughter or by her father's or mother's brother or sister2[, or, with the leave of the Court, by any other person related to her by blood, marriage or adoption].(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), no person other than the husband of the woman shall be deemed to be aggrieved by any offence punishable under section 497 or section 498 of the said Code:Provided that in the absence of the husband, some person who had care of the woman on his behalf at the time when such offence was committed may, with the leave of the Court, make a complaint on his behalf.(3) When in any case falling under clause (a) of the proviso to sub-section (1), the complaint is sought to be made on behalf of a person under the age of eighteen years or of a lunatic by a person who has not been appointed or declared by a competent authority to be the guardian of the person of the minor or lunatic, and the Court is satisfied that there is a guardian so appointed or declared, the Court shall, before granting the application for leave, cause notice to be given to such guardian and give him a reasonable opportunity of being heard.(4) The authorisation referred to in clause (b) of the proviso to sub-section (1), shall be in writing, shall be signed or otherwise attested by the husband, shall contain a statement to the effect that he has been informed of the allegations upon which the complaint is to be founded, shall be countersigned by his Commanding Officer, and shall be accompanied by a certificate signed by that Officer to the effect that leave of absence for the purpose of making a complaint in person cannot for the time being be granted to the husband.(5) Any document purporting to be such an authorisation and complying with the provisions of sub-section (4), and any document purporting to be a certificate required by that sub-section shall, unless the contrary is proved, be presumed to be genuine and shall be received in evidence.(6) No Court shall take cognizance of an offence under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), where such offence consists of sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife being under3[eighteen years of age], if more than one year has elapsed from the date of the commission of the offence.(7) The provisions of this section apply to the abetment of, or attempt to commit, an offence as they apply to the offence.CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, ARTICLE 15. Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.-(1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to—(a) access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment; or(b) the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public.(3) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.[(4) Nothing in this article or in clause (2) of article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.][(5) Nothing in this article or in sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of article 19 shall prevent the State from making any special provision, by law, for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in so far as such special provisions relate to their admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other than the minority educational institutions referred to in clause (1) of article 30.]O LAW COMMISSION OF INDIA 42nd REPORT ON INDIAN PENAL CODERecommended making the law gender-neutral and reducing the prison term from five to two years.O In August 1997, THE LAW COMMISSION OF INDIA IN ITS 156TH REPORT noted that the offence of adultery under Section 497 is very limited in scope in comparison to the misconduct of adultery in divorce (civil proceedings).O MALIMATH COMMITTEE REPORT ON THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, 2003.said that Section 497 should penalise anyone who has sex with "the spouse of any other person".O In 2006, THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN recommend that adultery be decriminalised.O In 2012, a UNITED NATIONS WORKING GROUP ON LAWS that discriminate against women wanted countries that treat adultery as a crime, to repeal such laws.__________________LAW COMMISSION OF INDIA CONSULTATION PAPER ON REFORM OF FAMILY LAW SUBMITTED ON 31 AUGUST 2018ADULTERY:2.5. The First Law Commission (1834) under Thomas Macaulay while drafting Indian Penal Code did not include adultery as a criminal offence and instead kept it under the purview of civil law as a matrimonial offence. However, THE SECOND LAW COMMISSION, HEADED BY JOHN ROMILLY, recommended criminal punishment for the offence, but given the social conditions of the time, excluded women from it (Flavia Agnes @http://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/oped/170218/adultery-law-deeply-flawed-must-be-dumped.html).2.6. Section-497 of THE INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860 (IPC) makes the offence of adultery as a punishable offence, only for man without holding woman responsible. So, far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned SECTION 497 OF RANBIR PENAL CODE, 1932 makes the ‘errant wife‘ also an accused along with her ‘paramour‘.2.7. ‘Adultery’ remains a ground for divorce under various family law Acts. Under CHRISTIAN LAW before THE 2001 AMENDMENT IN THE DIVORCE ACT, 1869, for a woman to seek a decree of divorce on grounds of adultery was insufficient until she also included ‘cruelty’ as a ground for divorce. However, in 2001 this was amended and both men and women were given the right to seek divorce on ground of adultery alone. Further, it also did away with the provision of ‘compensation for adultery’ finally acting on the recommendations of the Law Commission of India 15th report, ‘Law relating to Marriage and Divorce amongst Christians in India‘, (1960). This provision reduced women to chattels, as adultery was something that could be compensated for almost as a compensation or ‘damages’ to property.2.8. Under Muslim law adultery is not recognised as a ground for divorce unless it is committed with ‘women of evil repute or leads an infamous life‘, which is included under ‘cruelty‘. THE DISSOLUTION OF MUSLIM MARRIAGE ACT, 1939, also requires amendment to explicitly include adultery as a ground for divorce for both spouses. Bigamy is dealt with separately later in this chapter.2.9. Under SECTION 32(D) OF THE PARSI MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE ACT, 1936 a person can file an application of divorce if the defendant, after marriage has committed the offence of adultery, fornication bigamy, rape or an unnatural offence. However, this ground of divorce is available only when the other spouse files the application within two years of discovery of the fact.2.10. Thus, while all family laws include adultery as a ground for divorce it is important to ensure that the provision is accessible to both spouses. There have been multiple attempts by women‘s organisations, NGOs to reduce the offence of adultery from criminal to matrimonial, but the provision has been preserved in the statute books, ironically, on the argument that it is ‘pro-women’.2.11. THE MALIMATH COMMITTEE, which suggested that the offence of adultery should indeed be made gender-neutral, but it should remain punishable by two years was opposed by THE NATIONAL COMMISSION OF WOMEN IN 2007. THE REPORT ON STATUS OF WOMEN 2015 recommended a wholesale removal of this provision.2.12. THE INDIAN PENAL CODE (AMENDMENT) BILL 1972, suggested for removing the special privilege guaranteed to woman under section 497, IPC but the Bill lapsed and could not be carried out. The validity of the provision has been challenged several times on the ground of discrimination, as the woman indulging in adultery is not an accused. However, the Supreme Court has consistently upheld its validity in YUSUF ABDUL AZIZ V. STATE OF BOMBAY (AIR 1954 SC 321); SOWMITHRI VISHNU V. UNION OF INDIA (AIR 1985 SC 1618); V REVATHI V. UNION OF INDIA (AIR 1988 SC 835).2.13. In HIRACHAND SRINIVAS MANAGAONKAR V. SUNANDA (AIR 2001 SC 1285) the Supreme Court observed that living in adultery on the part of husband is a ‘continuing matrimonial offence’ and the said offence is not wiped out even on passing of decree of judicial separation, as the same merely suspends certain obligation of spouse in connection with their marriage and does not snap matrimonial tie.2.14. In JOSEPH SHINE V. UNION OF INDIA ((2018) 2 SCC 189) the Supreme Court, while referring the matter to Constitutional Bench, observed:―The provision (Section 497) really creates a dent in the individual independent identity of a woman when the emphasis is laid on the connivance or consent of the husband. This tantamounts to subordination of a woman where the Constitution confers (women) equal status,2.15. By presuming, that only women can be victims, the law takes a patronising attitude towards women. The prosecution under section 497 entirely contingent on the husband's word to the extent that a woman can practically enter into an adulterous relationship upon her husband‘s consent, thereby reducing her to a commodity of a man. (Adultery law weighted in favour of men: Supreme Court)2.16. In the course of the correspondence between the Ministry of Law and Justice and the Law Commission, the Commission was assigned the task of undertaking a study on the provision of adultery within its report. As the judgment of the Constitution Bench in JOSEPH SHINE V. UNION OF INDIA is awaited, (hearing stood concluded) it is not appropriate for the Commission to make any suggestion in this regard at this stage but it urges a consideration about the utility or the lack there of, of a provision such as 497 IPC.CASE LAW:All the following cases challenged the constitutional validity of Adultery law:Yusuf Abdul Aziz vs The State of Bombay in the Supreme Court on 10 March, 1954 A.I.R. 1954 S.C. 321.V Revathi vs Union of India and Ors in the Supreme Court on 25 February 1988, A.I.R. 1988 S.C. 835.Smt. Sowmithri Vishnu vs Union Of India and Anr on 27 May, 1985 in the Supreme Court, 1985 AIR 1618,ARGUMENTS AGAINST ADULTERY LAWO Section 497 of IPC is unconstitutional as it discriminated against men and violated Article 14, 15 and 21.O It is “unjust, illegal and arbitrary and violative of citizens’ fundamental rights”.O Adultery is not considered a criminal offence towards women in India and has been in limelight for being discriminatory towards men.O The section does not confer any right on the women to prosecute the adulterous husband or the woman with whom the husband has indulged in sexual intercourse with.O The husband solely has been permitted to prosecute the adulterer.O In three earlier judgments in 1954, 1985 and in 1988, the court had upheld the the constitutional validity of Section 497 of IPC.O Now the provision seemed “quite archaic, especially when there is societal progress”.O Sexual relations with a widow, sex worker or an unmarried woman does not attract Section 497 of IPC.O Adultery caused mental and physical injury to the spouse, the children and the family.O An extra-marital affair becomes non-punishable if the woman's husband stands by her adulterous relationship with another married person.O So there is no 'collective good' in Section 497 of IPC.WAY FORWARDO Marriage should sustain on the strength of mutual trust, respect and love, not out of fear of a jail term.O It is time to revisit all archaic laws in India.O The principle of equality before the law requires the revision of the law on adultery by including both partners within its scope.O To change the social outlook in a patriarchal society, it is necessary that laws are designed to protect and empower women.O Most of the countries have decriminalised adultery. It is time for India to make it a civil offense.

It is the start of the fasting period ( a good Idea) for the Theists of the Christian sects.Although I think to believe you have to be cream crackers, or a delusional denier of reality,Fasting is a common part of all religions, and seems to have considerable health benefits including living longer healthier lives.Ashes[edit]A priest marks a cross of ashes on a worshipper's forehead, the prevailing form in English-speaking countries.[27]Ashes are ceremonially placed on the heads of Christians on Ash Wednesday, either by being sprinkled over their heads or, in English-speaking countries, more often by being marked on their foreheads as a visible cross. The words (based on Genesis 3:19) used traditionally to accompany this gesture are, "Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris." ("Remember, man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.") This custom is credited to Pope Gregory I the Great (c. 540–604).[28]In the 1969 revision of the Roman Rite, an alternative formula (based on Mark 1:15) was introduced and given first place "Repent, and believe in the Gospel" and the older formula was translated as "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." The old formula, based on the words spoken to Adam and Eve after their sin,[29]reminds worshippers of their sinfulness and mortality and thus, implicitly, of their need to repent in time.[30]The newer formula makes explicit what was only implicit in the old.A deacon burning palm fronds from the previous Palm Sunday for Ash WednesdayVarious manners of placing the ashes on worshippers' heads are in use within the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the two most common being to use the ashes to make a cross on the forehead and sprinkling the ashes over the crown of the head. Originally, the ashes were strewn over men's heads, but, probably because women had their heads covered in church, were placed on the foreheads of women.[31]In the Catholic Church the manner of imposing ashes depends largely on local custom, since no fixed rule has been laid down.[27]Although the account of Ælfric of Eynsham shows that in about the year 1000 the ashes were "strewn" on the head,[32]the marking of the forehead is the method that now prevails in English-speaking countries and is the only one envisaged in the Occasional Offices of the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea, a publication described as "noticeably Anglo-Catholic in character".[33]In its ritual of "Blessing of Ashes", this states that "the ashes are blessed at the beginning of the Eucharist; and after they have been blessed they are placed on the forehead of the clergy and people."[33]The Ash Wednesday ritual of the Church of England, Mother Church of the Anglican Communion, contains "The Imposition of Ashes" in its Ash Wednesday liturgy.[34]On Ash Wednesday, the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, traditionally takes part in a penitential procession from the Church of Saint Anselm to the Basilica of Santa Sabina, where, in accordance with the custom in Italy and many other countries, ashes are sprinkled on his head, not smudged on his forehead, and he places ashes on the heads of others in the same way.[35]A woman receives a cross of ashes on Ash Wednesday outside an Episcopal churchThe Anglican ritual, used in Papua New Guinea states that, after the blessing of the ashes, "the priest marks his own forehead and then the foreheads of the servers and congregation who come and kneel, or stand, where they normally receive the Blessed Sacrament."[33]The corresponding Catholic ritual in the Roman Missal for celebration within Mass merely states: "Then the Priest places ashes on the head of those present who come to him, and says to each one ..."[36]Pre-1970 editions had much more elaborate instructions about the order in which the participants were to receive the ashes, but again without any indication of the form of placing the ashes on the head.[37]The 1969 revision of the Roman Rite inserted into the Mass the solemn ceremony of blessing ashes and placing them on heads, but also explicitly envisaged a similar solemn ceremony outside of Mass.[36]The Book of Blessings contains a simple rite.[27]While the solemn rite would normally be carried out within a church building, the simple rite could appropriately be used almost anywhere. While only a priest or deacon may bless the ashes, laypeople may do the placing of the ashes on a person's head. Even in the solemn rite, lay men or women may assist the priest in distributing the ashes. In addition, laypeople take blessed ashes left over after the collective ceremony and place them on the head of the sick or of others who are unable to attend the blessing.[27][38](In 2014, Anglican Liverpool Cathedral likewise offered to impose ashes within the church without a solemn ceremony.)[39]In addition, those who attend such Catholic services, whether in a church or elsewhere, traditionally take blessed ashes home with them to place on the heads of other members of the family,[40]and it is recommended to have envelopes available to facilitate this practice.[41]At home the ashes are then placed with little or no ceremony.Unlike its discipline regarding sacraments, the Catholic Church does not exclude from receiving sacramentals, such as the placing of ashes on the head, those who are not Catholics and perhaps not even baptized.[38]Even those who have been excommunicated and are therefore forbidden to celebrate sacramentals are not forbidden to receive them.[42]After describing the blessing, the rite of Blessing and Distribution of Ashes (within Mass) states: "Then the Priest places ashes on the heads of all those present who come to him."[36]The Catholic Church does not limit distribution of blessed ashes to within church buildings and has suggested the holding of celebrations in shopping centres, nursing homes, and factories.[41]Such celebrations presume preparation of an appropriate area and include readings from Scripture (at least one) and prayers, and are somewhat shorter if the ashes are already blessed.[43]The Catholic Church and the Methodist Church say that the ashes should be those of palm branches blessed at the previous year's Palm Sunday service,[36][44]while a Church of England publication says they "may be made" from the burnt palm crosses of the previous year.[33][34]These sources do not speak of adding anything to the ashes other than, for the Catholic liturgy, a sprinkling with holy water when blessing them. An Anglican website speaks of mixing the ashes with a small amount of holy water or olive oil as a fixative.[45]Where ashes are placed on the head by smudging the forehead with a sign of the cross, many Christians choose to keep the mark visible throughout the day. The churches have not imposed this as an obligatory rule, and the ashes may even be wiped off immediately after receiving them;[46][47]but some Christian leaders, such as Lutheran pastor Richard P. Bucher and Catholic bishop Kieran Conry, recommend keeping the ashes on the forehead for the rest of the day as a public profession of the Christian faith.[48][49]Morgan Guyton, a Methodist pastor and leader in the Red-Letter Christian movement, encourages Christians to wear their ashed cross throughout the day as an exercise of religious freedom.[50]Ashes to Go[edit]Two Anglican priests distribute ashes to passerby in the American city of Boca Raton as part of the Ashes to Go movementSince 2007, some members of major Christian Churches in the United States, including Anglicans, Catholics, Lutherans, and Methodists, have participated in 'Ashes to Go' activities, in which clergy go outside of their churches to public places, such as city centres, sidewalks and railroad stations, to distribute ashes to passers-by,[51][52][53]even to people waiting in their cars for a stoplight to change.[54]The Anglican priest Emily Mellott of Calvary Church in Lombard took up the idea and turned it into a movement, stated that the practice was also an act of evangelism.[55][56]Anglicans and Catholics in parts of the United Kingdom such as Sunderland, are offering Ashes to Go together: Marc Lyden-Smith, the priest of Saint Mary's Church, stated that the ecumenical effort is a "tremendous witness in our city, with Catholics and Anglicans working together to start the season of Lent, perhaps reminding those who have fallen away from the Church, or have never been before, that the Christian faith is alive and active in Sunderland."[51]The Catholic Student Association of Kent State University, based at the University Parish Newman Center, offered ashes to university students who were going through the Student Center of that institution in 2012,[57]and Douglas Clark of St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church in Statesboro, among others, have participated in Ashes to Go.[58][59]On Ash Wednesday 2017, Father Paddy Mooney, the priest of St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in the Irish town of Glenamaddy, set up an Ashes to Go station through which commuters could drive and receive ashes from their car; the parish church also had "drive-through prayers during Lent with people submitting requests into a box left in the church grounds without having to leave their car".[60]Reverend Trey Hall, pastor of Urban Village United Methodist Church, stated that when his local church offered ashes in Chicago "nearly 300 people received ashes – including two people who were waiting in their car for a stoplight to change."[54]In 2013, churches not only in the United States, but also at least one church each in the United Kingdom, Canada and South Africa, participated in Ashes to Go.[61]Outside of their church building, Saint Stephen Martyr Lutheran Church in Canton offered Ashes to Go for "believers whose schedules make it difficult to attend a traditional service" in 2016.[62]In the United States itself 34 states and the District of Columbia had at least one church taking part. Most of these churches (parishes) were Episcopal, but there were also several Methodist churches, as well as Presbyterian and Catholic churches.[63]Commination Office[edit]St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Memphis, Tennessee on Ash Wednesday 2011 (the veiled altar cross and purple paraments are customary during Lent)Robin Knowles Wallace states that the traditional Ash Wednesday church service includes Psalm 51 (the Miserere), prayers of confession and the sign of ashes.[64]No single one of the traditional services contains all of these elements. The Anglican church's traditional Ash Wednesday service, titled A Commination,[65]contains the first two elements, but not the third. On the other hand, the Catholic Church's traditional service has the blessing and distribution of ashes but, while prayers of confession and recitation of Psalm 51 (the first psalm at Lauds on all penitential days, including Ash Wednesday) are a part of its general traditional Ash Wednesday liturgy,[66]they are not associated specifically with the rite of blessing the ashes. The rite of blessing has acquired an untraditionally weak association with that particular psalm only since 1970, when it was inserted into the celebration of Mass, at which a few verses of Psalm 51 are used as a responsorial psalm. Where the traditional Gregorian Chants are still used, the psalm continues to enjoy a prominent place in the ceremony. In some areas Anglicanism resumed the rite of ashes around 1970.[citation needed]In the mid-16th century, the first Book of Common Prayer removed the ceremony of the ashes from the liturgy of the Church of England and replaced it with what would later be called the Commination Office.[67]In that 1549 edition, the rite was headed: "The First Day of Lent: Commonly Called Ash-Wednesday".[68]The ashes ceremony was not forbidden, but was not included in the church's official liturgy.[69]Its place was taken by reading biblical curses of God against sinners, to each of which the people were directed to respond with Amen.[70][71]The text of the "Commination or Denouncing of God's Anger and Judgments against Sinners" begins: "In the primitive Church there was a godly discipline, that, at the beginning of Lent, such persons as stood convicted of notorious sin were put to open penance, and punished in this world, that their souls might be saved in the day of the Lord; and that others, admonished by their example, might be the more afraid to offend. Instead whereof, until the said discipline may be restored again, (which is much to be wished,) it is thought good that at this time (in the presence of you all) should be read the general sentences of God's cursing against impenitent sinners".[72]In line with this, Joseph Hooper Maude wrote that the establishment of The Commination was due to a desire of the reformers "to restore the primitive practice of public penance in church". He further stated that "the sentences of the greater excommunication" within The Commination corresponded to those used in the ancient Church.[73]The Anglican Church's Ash Wednesday liturgy, he wrote, also traditionally included the Miserere, which, along with "what follows" in the rest of the service (lesser Litany, Lord's Prayer, three prayers for pardon and final blessing), "was taken from the Sarum services for Ash Wednesday".[73]From the Sarum Rite practice in England the service took Psalm 51 and some prayers that in the Sarum Missal accompanied the blessing and distribution of ashes.[66][74]In the Sarum Rite, the Miserere psalm was one of the seven penitential psalms that were recited at the beginning of the ceremony.[75]In the 20th century, the Episcopal Church introduced three prayers from the Sarum Rite and omitted the Commination Office from its liturgy.[69]Low church ceremonies[edit]In some of the low church traditions, other practices are sometimes added or substituted, as other ways of symbolizing the confession and penitence of the day. For example, in one common variation, small cards are distributed to the congregation on which people are invited to write a sin they wish to confess. These small cards are brought forth to the altar table where they are burned.[76]Regional customs[edit]In Victorian era, theatres refrained from presenting costumed shows on Ash Wednesday, so they provided other entertainment, as mandated by the Church of England (Anglican Church).[77]In Iceland, children "pin small bags of ashes on the back of some unsuspecting person",[78]dress up in costumes, and sing songs for candy.[79]Biblical significance of ashes[edit]Ashes were used in ancient times to express grief. When Tamar was raped by her half-brother, "she sprinkled ashes on her head, tore her robe, and with her face buried in her hands went away crying" (2 Samuel 13:19). The gesture was also used to express sorrow for sins and faults. In Job 42:3–6, Job says to God: "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." The prophet Jeremiah calls for repentance by saying: "O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, roll in the ashes" (Jer 6:26). The prophet Daniel recounted pleading to God: "I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes" (Daniel 9:3). Just prior to the New Testament period, the rebels fighting for Jewish independence, the Maccabees, prepared for battle using ashes: "That day they fasted and wore sackcloth; they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their clothes" (1 Maccabees 3:47; see also 4:39).Examples of the practice among Jews are found in several other books of the Bible, including Numbers 19:9, 19:17, Jonah 3:6, Book of Esther 4:1, and Hebrews 9:13. Jesus is quoted as speaking of the practice in Matthew 11:21 and Luke 10:13: "If the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago (sitting) in sackcloth and ashes."Christian use of ashes[edit]An 1881 Polish painting of a Roman Catholic priest sprinkling ashes on the heads of worshippers, the form prevailing in, for instance, Italy, Spain, and parts of Latin America[27]Christians continued the practice of using ashes as an external sign of repentance. Tertullian (c.160 – c. 225) said that confession of sin should be accompanied by lying in sackcloth and ashes.[80]The historian Eusebius (c. 260/265 – 339/340) recounts how a repentant apostate covered himself with ashes when begging Pope Zephyrinus to readmit him to communion.[81]John W. Fenton writes that "by the end of the 10th century, it was customary in Western Europe (but not yet in Rome) for all the faithful to receive ashes on the first day of the Lenten fast. In 1091, this custom was then ordered by Pope Urban II at the council of Benevento to be extended to the church in Rome. Not long after that, the name of the day was referred to in the liturgical books as "Feria Quarta Cinerum" (i.e., Ash Wednesday)."[82]The public penance that grave sinners underwent before being admitted to Holy Communion just before Easter lasted throughout Lent, on the first day of which they were sprinkled with ashes and dressed in sackcloth. When, towards the end of the first millennium, the discipline of public penance was dropped, the beginning of Lent, seen as a general penitential season, was marked by sprinkling ashes on the heads of all.[83]This practice is found in the Gregorian Sacramentary of the late 8th century.[30][84]About two centuries later, Ælfric of Eynsham, an Anglo-Saxon abbot, wrote of the rite of strewing ashes on heads at the start of Lent.[32][85]A Lutheran pastor distributes ashes to a communicant during a Divine ServiceThe article on Ash Wednesday in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica states that, after the Protestant Reformation, the ashes ceremony was not forbidden in the Church of England, a statement that may explain the research by Blair Meeks that the Lutheran and Anglican denominations "never lapsed in this observance".[86]It was even prescribed under King Henry VIII in 1538 and under King Edward VI in 1550, but it fell out of use in many areas after 1600.[69]In 1536, the Ten Articles issued by authority of Henry VIII commended "the observance of various rites and ceremonies as good and laudable, such as clerical vestments, sprinkling of holy water, bearing of candles on Candlemas-day, giving of ashes on Ash-Wednesday".[87]After Henry's death in January 1547, Thomas Cranmer, within the same year, "procured an order from the Council to forbid the carrying of candles on Candlemas-day, and the use of ashes on Ash-Wednesday, and of palms on Palm-Sunday, as superstitious ceremonies", an order that was issued only for the ecclesiastical province of Canterbury, of which Cranmer was archbishop.[88][89][90]The Church Cyclopædia states that the "English office had adapted the very old Salisbury service for Ash-Wednesday, prefacing it with an address and a recital of the curses of Mount Ebal, and then with an exhortation uses the older service very nearly as it stood."[73][91]The new Commination Office had no blessing of ashes and therefore, in England as a whole, "soon after the Reformation, the use of ashes was discontinued as a 'vain show' and Ash Wednesday then became only a day of marked solemnity, with a memorial of its original character in a reading of the curses denounced against impenitent sinners".[92]The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, in the 19th century, observed Ash Wednesday: "as a day of fasting and humiliation, wherein we are publicly to confess our sins, meekly to implore God's mercy and forgiveness, and humbly to intercede for the continuance of his favour".[93]In the 20th century, the Book of Common Prayer provided prayers for the imposition of ashes.[94]An Episcopal priest has an Ashes to Go station for commuters at the Metro-North Railroad in the American state of ConnecticutMonte Canfield and Blair Meeks state that after the Protestant Reformation, Anglicans and Lutherans kept the rite of blessing and distributing ashes to the faithful on Ash Wednesday, and that the Protestant denominations that did not keep it encouraged its use "during and after the ecumenical era that resulted in the Vatican II proclamations".[86][95]Jack Kingsbury and Russell F. Anderson likewise state that the practice was continued among some Anglicans and Lutherans.[96][97]On the other hand, Edward Traill Horn wrote: "The ceremony of the distribution of the ashes was not retained by the reformers, whether Lutheran, Anglican or Reformed", although these denominations honored Ash Wednesday as the first day of Lent.[98]Frank Senn, a liturgical scholar, has been quoted as saying: "How and why the use of ashes fell out of Lutheran use is difficult to discern from the sources… [C]hurch orders don't specifically say not to use ashes; they simply stopped giving direction for blessing and distributing them and eventually the pastors just stopped doing it."[99]As part of the liturgical revival ushered in by the ecumenical movement, the practice was encouraged in Protestant churches,[95]including the Methodist Church.[100][101]It has also been adopted by Anabaptist and Reformed churches and some less liturgical denominations.[102]The Eastern Orthodox churches generally do not observe Ash Wednesday,[83]although in recent times, the creation of the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate has led to the observance of Ash Wednesday among Western Orthodox parishes.[82]In this tradition, ashes "may be distributed outside of the mass or any liturgical service" although "commonly the faithful receive their ashes immediately before the Ash Wednesday mass".[82]In Orthodoxy, historically, "serious public sinners in the East also donned sackcloth, including those who made the Great Fast a major theme of their entire lives such as hermits and desert-dwellers."[103]Byzantine Rite Catholics, although in the United States use "the same Gregorian calendar as the Roman Catholic rite", do not practice the distribution of ashes as it is "not part of their ancient tradition".In the Ambrosian Rite, ashes are blessed and placed on the heads of the faithful not on the day that elsewhere is called Ash Wednesday, but at the end of Mass on the following Sunday, which in that rite inaugurates Lent, with the fast traditionally beginning on Monday, the first weekday of the Ambrosian Lent.