Triumph 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.

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

21 March 2021 at 14:45

Today, March 21^st, the faithful of Four Evangelists Orthodox Church concluded the 1^st 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 9^th 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!

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

15 March 2019 at 10:45

This Sunday, March 17th, is the first Sunday of Great Lent and the commemoration of the Triumph of Orthodoxy (see below). If you would like to take part in the small procession with icons after the Liturgy, please bring an icon from home. Children and adults alike are invited! The Rite of Orthodoxy will also be held after the Liturgy.

The readings for this Sunday are: John 20:19-31 (9th Matins Gospel), Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-12:2 (Epistle), and John 1:43-51 (Gospel).

What is the Sunday of Orthodoxy?

The Sunday of Orthodoxy is the first Sunday of Great Lent. The dominant theme of this Sunday since 843 has been that of the victory of the icons. In that year the iconoclastic controversy, which had raged on and off since 726, was finally laid to rest, and icons and their veneration were restored on the first Sunday in Lent. Ever since, this Sunday has been commemorated as the “Triumph of Orthodoxy.”
From the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America website article Sunday of Orthodoxy

See also the modern day classic Homily on the Triumph of Orthodoxy from Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Enlightener of North America, delivered in 1903 on the Sunday of Orthodoxy at the Cathedral Church in San Francisco.