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2: Great Lent

The Sunday of Orthodoxy

By Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol On the first Sunday of Lent, we celebrate the Sunday of Orthodoxy, that is to say the feast of the restitution of the holy icons, as the Church once again, by the grace of God, vanquished the heresy of the iconoclasts and preserved with exactitude the faith and the tradition of the Holy Fathers of …

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Synaxarion for the First Sunday of the Great Lent

By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos FIRST SUNDAY of LENT On the same day, the First Sunday of the Fast, we commemorate the restoration of the Holy and Precious Icons, which was brought about by the ever-memorable Emperors of Constantinople, Michael and his mother Theodora, during the Patriarchate of the Holy Confessor Methodios. Verses I rejoice, on seeing the Icons that were …

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The Synodikon of Orthodoxy

“Whosoever, therefore, shall confess Me before men, him will I confess before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I deny before My Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32-33). The term synodikon is applied to an official definition promulgated by a synod or council, or to a statement which has synodical origin or …

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Thoughts from a Parish Priest for the Great Lent

Fr.George Dion. Dragas We have entered the period of Great Lent, and our Church calls us to observe the traditional fast and prayer. Several people will raise again the questions why should we fast, or how much should we fast, etc. The following thoughts provide some answers to the general questions which are raised at this time both inside and …

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An Introduction to the Synodikon of Orthodoxy

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos The “Synodikon of Orthodoxy” is a text contained in the “Triodion” and read on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the first Sunday of Lent. It is well known that through the ages various heresies have appeared which deny the experience of revelation and in fact make use of philosophy and conjecture, doubting the Church’s truth on …

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Clean Monday and the First Week of the Holy and Great Lent

With Clean Monday begins Great Lent in the Orthodox Church and marks the end of feasting. Clean Monday is called as such because Christians are called to cleanse themselves spiritually and bodily. It is also a day of strict fasting with no work. The holy fast has a duration of 40 days in imitation of our Lord’s fast in the …

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Approaching Christ During Holy and Great Lent

By Monk Moses the Athonite The main elements of Great Lent are prayer and fasting. Prayer presupposes faith. Without prayer one is helpless, insecure, blind and alone. Tied to the earth, to matter, one is not aware that they can fly high, to shine in the heavens, to have needed heavenly assistance. They are magnetized, tied, attached to the perishable …

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