In a week full of lopsided battles, yesterday's matchup took the A to Z prize as Zenaida routed Apollonia 81% to 19%. She'll advance to the Saintly Sixteen where she'll take on the winner of Nicholas of Myra vs. Rudolph of Gubbio.

Today, we round out the second full week of Lent Madness with another Biblical bracket buster as Ananias faces Photini.

In other news, the Supreme Executive Committee was shocked to learn this week that there is another bracket-style tournament making the rounds. But instead of saints, this one features college basketball teams. What is this...madness?! Fear not, friends. The Lent Madness Legal Team is looking into all of our available options. Stay tuned.

Next week, we'll finish up the Round of 32 and kick off the Saintly Sixteen on Thursday. But first, enjoy some sabbath time as we collectively rest from our voting labors through the weekend. Don't worry, though, we'll be back first thing Monday morning as Damien of Molokai faces Pandita Ramabai.

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In yesterday's Clash of the Consonants,  Gobnait stung Hrotsvitha 66% to 34% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen. She'll face the winner of Paula of Rome vs. Marcella of Rome.

Here at Lent Madness, we like to say we cover the saints from A to Z. Okay, we've never said that. But if we did, today's matchup would be Exhibit A (to Z). Because we have Apollonia vs. Zenaida -- two early Christian followers of Jesus -- and, in the saintly world, you don't get much more A to Z than that!

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Yesterday, in a surprising rout, Phillips Brooks was relegated to the O Little Town of Lent Madness Infamy, as Marguerite d'Youville trounced him 70% to 30% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen. She'll face the winner of Damien of Molokai vs. Pandita Ramabai in the next round.

But life, like Lent, moves on. And today we offer: Five syllables. Eleven consonants. Two saints. That's what you get when the Supreme Executive Committee concocts the Clash of the Consonants. Will the winning saint need to buy a vowel? We're not sure. But either Hrotsvitha or Gobnait will emerge victorious over the next 24 hours to secure her place in the Saintly Sixteen.

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In yesterday's Biblical action, Tabitha nailed Dismas 76% to 24% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen, where she'll face the winner of Ananias vs. Photini.

Today we leap forward nearly two millennia to encounter a nineteenth century Boston preacher and the second Canadian to appear in Lent Madness 2019. Phillips (don't call me Phillip) Brooks faces Marguerite (don't call me Margaret) d'Youville.

In case you missed yesterday's Creativity Episode of Monday Madness, you can watch it here. In it, Tim and Scott highlight some of the creative endeavors (show tunes! limericks!) being shared by the Lent Madness faithful in the comment section. You haven't been reading the comments? Unlike literally everywhere else on the internet, it's okay! We promise.

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Gather up the children, wheel in the elders, procure a giant bucket of purple popcorn, and settle in for this week's all-new episode of Monday Madness. That's right, folks, this is not the Lenten equivalent of a Law & Order rerun from 2002. This is a brand new episode filmed live on this very day!

This week, Tim and Scott highlight some of the tremendously creative fans of Lent Madness who have distinguished themselves by their undying devotion to the world's most popular online Lenten devotion. Who says Lent doesn't go hand-in-hand with daily show tunes and limericks?

Perhaps these creative souls were first inspired by Sr. Diana, our hymn-writer in residence and author of the official hymn of Lent Madness (brilliantly recorded by St. Peter's Episcopal Church in St. Louis, MO). But from wherever their creative mojo derives, we encourage more of the same. Keep it coming!

But, of course, that's not all Tim and Scott discuss. You'll also learn about some fascinating upcoming battles this week, including a special limerick challenge on Wednesday!

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After a weekend in which people around the globe wore green, marched in parades, celebrated Irish heritage, and wondered how in the world St. Patrick could have lost to Constance in the first round of Lent Madness 2011, we're back for another full week of saintly thrills and spills! Believe it or not, we're halfway through the Round of 32 with eight contests decided and eight more to go.

To catch everyone up, on Friday, Ephrem of Nisibis routed Mellitus 70% to 30% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen, where he'll face John Chrysostom. Today, we're back to our Biblical saints as Tabitha squares off against Dismas on the plush purple carpet of the Lent Dome.

Stay tuned as later today Tim and Scott will release another epic episode of Monday Madness. For the uninitiated, the award-winning* Monday Madness is a production of the Supreme Executive Committee of Lent Madness, featuring high production values and even higher content value. These brief, split screen videos filmed live and (believe it or not) always in a single take, offer color commentary and inside information on issues related to Lent Madness. For the true aficionado of the Saintly Smackdown it is must-see-TV.

*Fine - "award-winning."

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In perhaps the first true resounding upset of Lent Madness 2019, Marina the Monk swept aside Dominic 62% to 38% to secure a spot in the Saintly Sixteen against Ignatius of Loyola.

In the last matchup of the first full week of the saintly season, it's Mellitus vs. Ephrem of Nisibis. Or Bishop vs. Deacon (not that we'd ever encourage the pitting of ecclesiastical orders against one another).

After a full, intense week of reading, learning, disagreeing, and hopefully being inspired, it's time for some respite from our little competition. From here on out, there will be no contests on Saturdays or Sundays. We occasionally share some weekend posts here on the website, and you can always check Facebook and Twitter for additional content, including some saintly recipes courtesy of the Lent Madness Celebrity Chef, Maria Virginia.

After today, the next vote will take place first thing Monday morning as the round of 32 continues with Tabitha vs. Dismas. In the meantime, get to it!

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In yesterday's saintly action, Richard Allen defeated Hannah Grier Coome 61% to 39% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen, where he'll face William Wilberforce for a shot at the Elate Eight.

Today it's Dominic vs. Marina the Monk in this intriguing battle of monastics. The winner of this matchup will square off against Ignatius of Loyola in the next round.

Yesterday's contest is, to our mind, one of the best things about Lent Madness (besides the swag in the Lentorium): Two lesser known saints with fascinating backstories amplified under the warm glow of the purple lights, to our collective inspiration and edification. Plus, while she didn't win, the electioneering by the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine in Canada on behalf of Hannah Grier Coome was something otherworldly (she was one of their early leaders). We encourage you to like their Facebook page, where you can see the good work they're doing and watch the slick (okay, heartwarming) campaign video they produced on Hannah's behalf. Nicely done, good sisters!

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In the closest battle of Lent Madness 2019 to date, Nicodemus edged James the Greater 51% to 49% yesterday to advance to the Saintly Sixteen where he'll face Martha of Bethany for a shot at the Elate Eight. See? Every (single) vote counts! But be aware that multiple voting will get you cast out into the outer darkness of Lent Madness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Remember, Big Lent is watching...

Today, we head up to the Great White North of Canada to meet Hannah Grier Coome and back down to Philadelphia to encounter the pioneering ministry of Richard Allen.

Yesterday, in addition to the nail biting Biblical matchup, we offered everyone a rare glimpse behind the Purple Curtain that is the Supreme Executive Committee. In case you missed it, you can catch up here.

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On rare occasions, we offer the Lent Madness public a brief glimpse into the men behind the madness. Tim Schenck and Scott Gunn, the self-appointed Supreme Executive Committee of Lent Madness, prefer to remain shrouded in purple mystery.

This week, however, both of them engaged in non-SEC related conversations and we thought we'd share them.

Scott, the executive director of Forward Movement, had the opportunity to share his sermon for the First Sunday in Lent with the folks at Day1. Titled "My Life Has Never Been the Same," Scott's sermon aired on over 200 radio stations across the country this past weekend. This was paired with an interview conducted with Day1 Executive Director Peter Wallace. In it, Scott spoke about Lent, Lent Madness, and even mentioned Tim. You can listen to the whole interview and sermon right here. .

Tim, rector of the Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, MA, had the opportunity to sit down with Sandra Montes of the Episcopal Church Foundation to participate in her Lenten podcast series. You can listen to the episode titled "Fangirling with Tim Schenck." In it, Tim talked about Lent, Lent Madness, his forthcoming book on coffee and faith titled Holy Grounds (Fortress Press), and even mentioned Scott.

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