Sunday of Orthodoxy

1st Sunday of Lent: Sunday of Orthodoxy

7 March 2025 at 12:51

Glory to Jesus Christ!

This coming Sunday, 09 March 2025, is the 1st Sunday of Great Lent and the Sunday of Orthodoxy. All are invited to bring an icon from home or to use one available in the church for the Rite of Orthodoxy following the Divine Liturgy.

What is the Sunday of Orthodoxy and the Rite of Orthodoxy?

You might have heard this day also referred to as the “Triumph of Orthodoxy”. Any Sunday of… or Triumph of… language should never be understood in a prideful, triumphant manner. The day also does not understand the word Orthodoxy in a modern sense of denomination or jurisdiction or group over and against another group. That would anachronistically limit the term. Orthodoxy here is understood in a much fuller sense, the “faith that has established the universe”.

The day commemorates the restoration of icons in 843 under the Empress Theodora and reflects the great significance which icons possess for the Orthodox Church. They are not optional devotional extras, but an integral part of Orthodox faith and devotion. The “triumph of Orthodoxy” over the iconoclasts involved important issues (and still important issues!) such as the character of Christ’s human nature, the Christian attitude towards matter, and the true meaning of Christian redemption. Icons are a necessary consequence of the Incarnation of the Word (John 1.14), Jesus Christ.¹

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, a brief service is conducted in commemoration of the affirmations of the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787 and the restoration of the use of icons in 843. Orthodox faithful carry icons in procession, while the clergy offer petitions for the people, civil authorities, and those who have reposed in the faith. Following is a recitation of excerpts from the Affirmation of Faith of the Seventh Ecumenical Council and the singing of the Great Prokeimenon.²

Sunday of Orthodoxy procession with icons — 27 March 2019

The readings for this Sunday are:

Hebrews 12.1-10 (Epistle – 40 Martyrs of Sebaste)
Matthew 20.1-16 (Gospel – 40 Martyrs of Sebaste)
Hebrews 11.24-26, 32-12.2 (Epistle)
John 1.43-51 (Gospel)

Upcoming services during Great Lent:

Vespers for the First Sunday in Lent on Saturday, 08 March, at 6 PM
Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great on Sunday, 09 March, at 9 AM
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Wednesday, 12 March, at 6 PM

Access our full Lent, Passion Week, and Pascha calendar here.

1st Sunday of Lent: The Triumph of Orthodoxy

4 March 2023 at 06:00

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.

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

11 March 2022 at 16:40

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:

Learn: Sunday of Orthodoxy at Greek Orthodox Archdiocese website

Sunday of Orthodoxy at the Orthodox Church in America website

Lenten Sundays Series: The Sunday of Orthodoxy at the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America website

Procession with icons on the Sunday of Orthodoxy (2019)

1st Sunday of Great Lent: Sunday of Orthodoxy

19 March 2021 at 10:15

This Sunday, March 21, is the 1^st 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.

Photos from the First Sunday of Great Lent (Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy)

17 March 2019 at 15:00

This is the Faith of the Apostles.
This is the Faith of the Fathers.
This is the Faith of the Orthodox.
This is the Faith which has established the Universe.
Commemoration of the Restoration of the Holy Icons

On Sunday, March 17, after the Divine Liturgy, we celebrated the Triumph of Orthodoxy with the Commemoration of the Restoration of the Holy Icons. Below are a few photos from our small procession with icons and the reading of excerpts from the Affirmation of Faith of the Seventh Ecumenical Council.