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Great Lent

2nd Sunday of Great Lent: Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas

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This coming Sunday, March 28, is the second Sunday of Great Lent and the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas.

The readings from Holy Scripture are: Hebrews 1:10-2:3  (Epistle), and Mark 2:1-12 (Gospel).

As each Sunday of Lent has its own spiritual theme and historical context, we know that the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas is of a later origin. Of this day we are told:

This Sunday was originally dedicated to Saint Polycarp of Smyrna (February 23). After his glorification in 1368, a second commemoration of Saint Gregory Palamas (November 14) was appointed for the Second Sunday of Great Lent as a second “Triumph of Orthodoxy.”
2nd Sunday of Great Lent: St Gregory Palamas

To learn more about this day, including what it means for our spiritual lives, see the podcast episode on the Second Sunday of Lent by Fr. Thomas Hopko and the article A Man Fully Alive by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick.

Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas

Sunday of Orthodoxy | 20th Ordination Anniversary of Fr. Gregory Czumak

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Today, March 21st, the faithful of Four Evangelists Orthodox Church concluded the 1st Sunday of Great Lent with a procession around the church, each carrying an icon. This day, known as the Triumph of Orthodoxy, commemorates the restoration of the holy icons to the churches in the 9th century after several periods of iconoclasm. Far from being a mere historical marker, this day celebrates the fact that Our Lord truly became incarnate, taking on our flesh, four our salvation.

In addition, Fr. Gregory was presented with a icon gift on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his ordination to the holy priesthood. Many years!

1st Sunday of Great Lent: Sunday of Orthodoxy

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This Sunday, March 21, is the 1st Sunday of Great Lent and the Sunday of Orthodoxy. On this Sunday we commemorate the restoration of the holy icons in the Church during the 9th century. Far from being a mere historical marker, this day celebrates the fact that:

in the last times you [O Lord] willed to become incarnate and so finite; for when you took on flesh you made all its properties your own. So we depict the form of your outward appearance and pay it relative respect, and so are moved to love you; and through it we receive the grace of healing, following the divine traditions of the apostles..
from Vespers for the Sunday of Orthodoxy

The Gospel reading for the Sunday of Orthodoxy is John 1:43-51.

After the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great we will celebrate this day with a procession with icons and the Rite of Orthodoxy. Covid-19 precautions will be followed.

Procession with icons on the Sunday of Orthodoxy
Procession with icons on the Sunday of Orthodoxy (2019)

Lenten Reading

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Looking for a good and meaningful book to read during this coming Lent? Look no further than our own parish library! Here are 5 books that can be checked out now:

  • First Fruits of Prayer
  • Defeating Sin
  • How to be a Sinner
  • Great Lent
  • Meditation

About these books:

How to Be a Sinner by Peter Bouteneff (SVS Press)

We call ourselves “sinners” in much of our church life. Yet the sinner identity—when done right—brings peace of mind, a clear conscience, and love for others. Addressing topics like guilt, shame, and self-care, this compassionate guide will help you reflect on your life in surrender to God’s mercy. Written by an internationally recognized professor of Orthodox theology, this book will speak to you wherever you find yourself.
How to Be a Sinner at SVS Press

The First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty-Day Journal through the Canon of St. Andrew by Frederica Mathewes-Green (Paraclete Press)

Join Frederica Mathewes-Green on a guided retreat through an ancient Orthodox text. Regardless of your denominational background, First Fruits of Prayer will bring to life the prayer experience of first millennium Christianity through immersion in this poetic hymn, an extraordinarily beautiful work that is still chanted by Christians around the world each Lent. It weaves together Old and New Testament Scriptures with prayers of hope and repentance and offers ancient ways of seeing Christ that still feel new today.
The First Fruits of Prayer at Paraclete Press

Defeating Sin: Overcoming Our Passions and Changing Forever by Fr. Joseph Huneycutt (SVS Press)

Defeating Sin will help readers better understand the disease that troubles the human soul. Fr Joseph David Huneycutt arms readers for spiritual warfare by giving them the tools to help them repent, to turn away from the passions and toward the virtues, and to make a thorough confession.
Defeating Sin: Overcoming Our Passions and Changing Forever at SVS Press

Great Lent by Fr. Alexander Schmemann (SVS Press)

This revised edition of Fr Alexander Schmemann’s Lenten classic examines the meaning of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, the Prayer of St Ephraim the Syrian, the Canon of St Andrew of Crete, and other neglected or misunderstood treasures of Lenten worship. Schmemann draws on the Church’s sacramental and liturgical tradition to suggest the meaning of “Lent in our life.” The Lenten season is meant to kindle a “bright sadness” within our hearts. Its aim is precisely the remembrance of Christ, a longing for a relationship with God that has been lost. Lent offers the time and place for recovery of this relationship. The darkness of Lent allows the flame of the Holy Spirit to burn within our hearts until we are led to the brilliance of the Resurrection.
Great Lent at SVS Press

Meditations for Great Lent: Reflections on the Triodion by Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou (Ancient Faith Publishing)

The Lenten Triodion exhorts us, “Let us observe a fast acceptable and pleasing to the Lord.” Using hymns from the Triodion and the Scripture readings appointed for the season, Meditations for Great Lent shows us how to make our fast acceptable: to fast not only from food but from sin; to fast with love and humility, as a means to an end and not an end in itself. Keep this gem of a book with you to inspire you for the Fast and to dip into for encouragement as you pursue your Lenten journey.
Meditations for Great Lent at Ancient Faith Publishing

Great Lent Epistle of the Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops Beyond the Borders of Ukraine

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Through prayer, repentance, fasting and simple daily kindness, we lead ourselves and our loved ones to a renewed faith in the power of God’s Love for us, a Love that is stronger than sin, death, and the devil.
Great Lent Epistle, 2021

As we prepare for the beginning of Great Lent and all of the benefits it affords us, please see the Lenten Epistle of the Permanent Conference of Ukrainian Orthodox Bishops Beyond the Borders of Ukraine which can be found here: uocofusa.org/files/Archpastoral/2021/Proclamation-EN.pdf

Click to access Proclamation-EN.pdf