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Great Lent

1st Sunday of Lent: The Triumph of Orthodoxy

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Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!

Sunday, 05 March 2023, is the first Sunday of Lent and the Triumph of Orthodoxy, so-called as it commemorates the 9th century restoration of icons and their veneration (i.e., Orthodoxy) against the iconoclasts. The “triumph of Orthodoxy” does not -and should never- imply a modern arrogance or spirit of triumphalism.

Following the Divine Liturgy we will conclude our worship with a procession with icons and the Rite of Orthodoxy. Everyone is encouraged to bring their favorite icon for the procession.

The Epistle and Gospel readings for Sunday are:

⁜ Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-12:2 (Epistle)
⁜ John 1:43-51 (Gospel)

About this Sunday we read from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese website: “The theme of the victory of the icons, by its emphasis on the incarnation, points us to the basic Christian truth that the one whose death and resurrection we celebrate at Easter was none other than the Word of God who became human in Jesus Christ…. | continue reading at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese website.

Triumph of Orthodoxy

Forgiveness Sunday: The Expulsion of Adam from Paradise

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Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!

This coming Sunday, 26 February 2023, is Forgiveness Sunday. Following the Divine Liturgy we will serve the Rite of Forgiveness, the communal act of mutual forgiveness before entering into the Great Fast.

This Sunday is also Cheesefare, the last day for those fasting to consume dairy products before Lent. (But yet again, to loosely paraphrase St. Basil the Great: don’t forsake your cheese and milk only to consume your brother with anger!)

The Epistle and Gospel readings for Sunday are:

⁜ Romans 13:11-14:4 (Epistle)
⁜ Matthew 6:14-21 (Gospel)

About this Sunday we read from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese website: “… The Sunday of Forgiveness, the last of the preparatory Sundays before Great Lent, has two themes: it commemorates Adam’s expulsion from Paradise, and it accentuates our need for forgiveness. There are obvious reasons why these two things should be brought to our attention as we stand on the threshold of Great Lent. One of the primary images in the Triodion is that of the return to Paradise. Lent is a time when we weep with Adam and Eve before the closed gate of Eden, repenting with them for the sins that have deprived us of our free communion with God. But Lent is also a time when we are preparing to celebrate the saving event of Christ’s death and rising, which has reopened Paradise to us once more (Luke 23:43). So sorrow for our exile in sin is tempered by hope of our re-entry into Paradise… | continue reading at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese website.

Expulsion of Adam from Paradise
The Expulsion of Adam from Paradise

Sunday of the Last Judgement

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Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever! 

This coming Sunday, 19 February 2023, is the Sunday of the Last Judgement, as well as the commemoration of the Apostles of the Seventy Archippus and Philemon, and the Martyr Apphia, among others.

This Sunday is also Meatfare, so called as it is the last day we consume meat before entering into the Great Fast. | See also the helpful article And When You Fast by Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis.

The Epistle and Gospel readings for Sunday are:

⁜ 1 Corinthians 8:8-9:2 (Epistle)
⁜ Matthew 25:31-46 (Gospel)

About the Sunday of the Last Judgement we read: “On the past two Sundays of this pre-Lenten period, the focus was placed on God’s patience and limitless compassion, of His readiness to accept every sinner who returns to Him. On this third Sunday, we are powerfully reminded of a complementary truth: no one is so patient and so merciful as God, but even He does not forgive those who do not repent. The God of love is also a God of righteousness, and when Christ comes again in glory, He will come as our Judge. Such is the message of Lent to each of us: turn back while there is still time, repent before the End comes. … | Continue reading at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese website.

The Last Judgement
Last Judgment detail, Vatican Museums, Rome. Image from Jim Forest | Flickr

Zacchaeus Sunday

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Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!

Tomorrow, 29 January 2023, is Zacchaeus Sunday. This means that Great Lent is on the horizon. It’s not here yet, but we’re passing the first signpost! See here for more on Zacchaeus Sunday.

The readings for this Sunday are 1 Timothy 4:9-15 (Epistle) and Luke 19:1-10 (Gospel).

Also commemorated on this day is St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch. While not his primary feast day (20 December), today commemorates the translation of his relics from Rome -the place of his martyrdom and where his relics later came to reside- to Antioch, where he was bishop of the growing church.

Elena Cherkasova, Christ and Zacchaeus , c. 2000, ink and paper

Sunday of Orthodoxy Procession (1st Sunday of Great Lent)

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Glory to Jesus Christ!

On Sunday, 13 March, we will celebrate the 1st Sunday of Great Lent, also called the Sunday of Orthodoxy. It is here, and through the rest of Great Lent on Sundays, that we begin to serve the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. In addition, after the Divine Liturgy on the 1st Sunday of Great Lent, we will have a procession with icons and serve the Rite of Orthodoxy (i.e., a brief service in commemoration of the affirmations of the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787 and the restoration of the use of icons in 843).

If you would like to participate, please bring a favorite icon from home or feel free to use one from the church.

Sunday of Orthodoxy resources:

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