History of the Sundays of Great Lent

 

The Catalog of Good News

The Sundays of Great Lent are dedicated to events and personalities from different times. The events of Palm Sunday date back to the life of Christ, while St Gregory Palamas was born at the end of the 13th century. Some commemorated events have changed; some remained constant since antiquity; the origin of others remains obscure. This article describes how the Sundays of Great Lent were established and what they commemorate.

Triumph of Orthodoxy

The Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy was established in connection with the events of the Constantinople Council condemning iconoclasm in 843. After the Council ended, Empress Theodora established a celebration in honor of the Orthodox people’s victory. It fell on the first week of Great Lent. It was therefore decided to commemorate these events on the first Sunday of Lent. The liturgical order of the Triumph of Orthodoxy (the Synodicus) took shape by the 11th century.

According to the texts of the Lenten Triodion, before the Triumph of Orthodoxy, this Sunday was dedicated to the memory of the prophets. Some of the liturgical hymns dedicated to the prophets were eventually replaced by texts in honor of the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

Sunday of St Gregory Palamas

 

St Gregory Palamas lived in the 14th century. He was canonized in 1368, 9 years after his death, and his memory on the second Sunday of Great Lent was established in 1376.  This continued the topic of Orthodoxy’s victories over heresies, since St Gregory won in many years of controversy against Barlaam the Calabrian, Gregory Akindynos and Nicephorus Gregoras. 

Before the memory of St Gregory was established, this Sunday had been associated with the parable of the prodigal son. This is evidenced by the canon dedicated to this parable, read at Matins on this day, according to the Lenten Triodion. In the ancient liturgical manuscripts of Jerusalem, on this Sunday there is also a reading of the actual parable.

Μore here. 

Veneration of the Holy Cross

Special veneration of the Holy Cross during the third week of Great Lent was established in the 7th century. It was associated with several historical events. Knowing these events is important for those wishing to understand the Lenten atmosphere. Find out about all of them in our recent article.

Sunday of St John Climacus

It is impossible to say exactly when the Church canonized St John. We know however that in the tenth century he was already revered as a saint. According to the 10th century Synaxarion of the Church of Constantinople, the memory of St John was celebrated on March 30. The earliest known liturgical texts celebrating the memory of St John on the fourth week of Great Lent date back to the 14th century. Likely, the decision to celebrate St John’s memory on the fourth Sunday of Great Lent has been influenced by occasional coincidences of the two dates.

Sunday of St Mary of Egypt

 

Image of St Zosimas and St Mary of Egypt in the Church of Santa Maria Antiqua (was an ancient Orthodox Church)

 

The Venerable Zosimas, who was made worthy of communion with St Mary, was the spiritual father of St John Climacus. Zosimas told John about St Mary, making him her great admirer. When, over time, John also began to be treated as an elder, the news of St Mary spread through his spiritual children. 

St Mary of Egypt soon began to be widely revered. This is evidenced by the fact that the Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem personally compiled her hagiography. St Mary departed to the Lord around 522, whereas Patriarch Sophronius lived in 560-638. Given the development level of the means of communication in the early Middle Ages, this is an extremely short time for the veneration of a saint to spread.

It is quite possible that one of the Sundays of Great Lent was dedicated to St Mary as early as the 7th century. It may have been done in the wake of the general church veneration of this great ascetic, whose deeds of repentance are fully in line with the Lenten mood.

However, it is most likely that the Sunday in honor of St Mary of Egypt was established later. The memory day of St Mary of Egypt was first mentioned in church calendars as late as in the 9th century. The Martyrology by Ado of Vienne (9th century) refers to St Mary’s deeds as “praiseworthy”.  The oldest depiction of St Mary, dated c. 850, was preserved in the church of Santa Maria Antiqua in Rome. The earliest text of the service commemorating St Mary on the fifth week of Great Lent dates back to the 11th century.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday was the first among the Sundays of Great Lent to be established. It is also the only one directly related to the gospel events. The first mentions of the feast date back to the fourth century. They were made by St Ambrose of Milan and St Epiphanius of Cyprus. In liturgical books, Palm Sunday has been mentioned since the 7th century.

Apparently, it was established so early because the event of the Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem is known to have taken place exactly one week before His Resurrection. 

A Modern Lent

 

 

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Fr. Stephen Freeman / Glory 2 God for all things 

Few things are as difficult in the modern world as fasting. It is not simply the action of changing our eating habits that we find problematic – it’s the whole concept of fasting and what it truly entails. It comes from another world.

We understand dieting – changing how we eat in order to improve how we look or how we feel. But changing how we eat in order to know God or to rightly keep a feast of the Church – this is foreign. Our first question is often, “How does that work?” For we live in a culture of utility – we want to know the use of things. Underneath the question of utility is the demand that something make sense to me, and that I be able to ultimately take charge of it, use it as I see fit and shape it according to my own desires. Perhaps the fast could be improved?

Our modern self-understanding sees people primarily as individual centers of choice and decision. A person is seen as the product of their choices and decisions – our lives are self-authenticated. As such, we are managers.

Of course there are many problems with this world-view from the perspective of Classical Christianity. Though we are free to make choices and decisions, our freedom is not unlimited. The largest part of our lives is not self-determined. Much of the rhetoric of modernity is aimed towards those with wealth and power. It privileges their stories and mocks the weakness of those without power with promises that are rarely, if ever, fulfilled.

Our lives are a gift from God and not of our own making. The Classical Christian spiritual life is not marked by choice and self-determination: it is characterized by self-emptying and the way of the Cross.

When a modern Christian confronts the season of Lent – the question often becomes: “What do I want to give up for Lent?” The intention is good, but the question is wrong. Lent quickly becomes yet another life-choice, a consumer’s fast.

The practice of the traditional fast has been greatly diminished over the past few centuries. The Catholic Church has modified its requirements and streamlined Lenten fasting (today it includes only abstaining from meat on the Fridays of Lent – which makes them similar to all the other Fridays of the year). The Protestant Churches that observe the season of Lent offer no formal guidelines for Lenten practice. The individual is left on their own.

Orthodoxy continues to have in place the full traditional fast, which is frequently modified in its application (the “rules” themselves are generally recognized as written for monastics). It is essentially a vegan diet (no meat, fish, wine, dairy). Some limit the number of meals and their manner of cooking. Of course, having the fast in place and “keeping the fast” are two very different things. I know of no study on how Orthodox in the modern world actually fast. My pastoral experience tells me that people generally make a good effort.

Does any of this matter? Why should Christians in the modern world concern themselves with a traditional practice?

What is at stake in the modern world is our humanity. The notion that we are self-authenticating individuals is simply false. We obviously do not bring ourselves into existence – it is a gift. And the larger part of what constitutes our lives is simply a given – a gift. It is not always a gift that someone is happy with – we would like ourselves to be other than we are. But the myth of the modern world is that we, in fact, do create ourselves and our lives – our identities are imagined to be of our own making. We are only who we choose to be. It is a myth that is extremely well-suited for undergirding a culture built on consumption. Identity can be had at a price. The wealthy have a far greater range of identities available to them – the poor are largely stuck with being who they really are.

But the only truly authentic human life is the one we receive as a gift from God. The spirituality of choice and consumption under the guise of freedom is an emptiness. The identity we create is an ephemera, a product of imagination and the market. The habits of the marketplace serve to enslave us – Lent is a call to freedom.

A Modern Lent

Thus, a beginning for a modern Lent is to repent from the modern world itself. By this, I mean renouncing the notion that you are a self-generated, self-authenticating individual. You are not defined by your choices and decisions, much less by your career and your shopping. You begin by acknowledging that God alone is Lord (and you are not). Your life has meaning and purpose only in relation to God. The most fundamental practice of such God-centered living is the giving of thanks.

• Renounce trying to improve yourself and become something. You are not a work in progress. If you are a work – then you are God’s work. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in” (Eph 2:10).
• Do not plan to have a “good Lent” or imagine what a “good Lent” would be. Give up judging – especially judging yourself. Get out of the center of your world. Lent is not about you. It is about Christ and His Pascha.
• Fast according to the Tradition instead of according to your own ideas and designs. This might be hard for some if they are not part of the traditional Church and thus have no fasting tradition. Most Catholics have differing rules for fasting than the Orthodox. If you’re Catholic, fast like a Catholic. Don’t admire other people’s fasting.

If you’re Protestant but would like to live more traditionally, think about becoming Orthodox. Short of that, covenant with others (family, friends) to keep the traditional fast. Don’t be too strict or too lenient, and if possible keep the fast in a manner that is mutually agreed rather than privately designed. Be accountable but not guilty.

• Pray. Fasting without praying is called “the Fast of Demons,” because demons never eat, but they never pray. We fast as a means of drawing closer to God. Your fasting and your prayer should be balanced as much as possible. If you fast in a strict manner, then you should pray for extended periods. If you fast lightly, then your prayers may be lighter as well. The point is to be single – for prayer and fasting to be a single thing.
• To our prayer and fasting should be added mercy (giving stuff away, especially money). You cannot be too generous. Your mercy should be as invisible as possible to others, except in your kindness to all. Spend less, give away more.

Eating, drinking, praying and generosity are very natural activities. Look at your life. How natural is your eating? Is your diet driven by manufactured, processed foods (especially as served in restaurants and fast food places)? These can be very inhuman ways of eating. Eating should take time. It is not a waste of time to spend as much as six hours in twenty-four preparing, sharing, eating and cleaning up. Even animals take time to eat.

• Go to Church a lot more (if your Church has additional Lenten services, go to them). This can be problematic for Protestants, in that most Protestant worship is quite modern, i.e. focused on the individual rather than directed to God, well-meant but antithetical to worship. If your Church isn’t boring, it’s probably modern. This is not to say that Classical Christianity is inherently boring – it’s just experienced as such by people trained to be consumers. Classical Christianity worships according to Tradition and focuses its attention on God. It is not there for you to “get something out of it.”
• Entertain yourself less. In traditional Orthodox lands, amusements are often given up during the Lenten period. This can be very difficult for modern people in that we live to consume and are thus caught in a cycle of pain and pleasure. Normal pleasures such as exercise or walking are not what I have in mind – although it strikes me as altogether modern that there should be businesses dedicated to helping us do something normal (like walking or exercising), such that even our normal activities become a commodity to consume.
• Fast from watching/reading the news and having/expressing opinions. The news is not presented in order to keep you informed. It is often inaccurate and serves the primary purpose of political propaganda and consumer frenzy. Neither are good for the soul. Opinions can be deeply destructive to the soul’s health. Most opinions are not properly considered, necessary beliefs. They are passions that pass themselves off as thoughts or beliefs. The need to express them reveals their passionate nature. Though opinions are a necessary part of life – they easily come to dominate us. Reducing the need to express how we feel about everything that comes our way (as opposed to silently weighing and considering and patiently speaking what we know to be true) is an important part of ascesis and self-control.

I could well imagine that a modern person, reading through such a list, might feel overwhelmed and wonder what is left. What is left is being human. That so much in our lives is not particularly human but an ephemeral distraction goes far to explain much of our exhaustion and anxiety. There is no food  for us in what is not human.

And so the words of Isaiah come to mind:

Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in fatness (Isa 55:1-2).

“Let your soul delight itself in fatness…” the irony of Lent.

 

Orthodox Psychotherapy — Road signs towards achieving in-Christ Thera

 

The famous book "Orthodox Psychotherapy" of the Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos
 

Orthodox Outlet for Dogmatic Enquiries 

The term "Orthodox Psychotherapy" does not pertain to specific cases of people suffering from psychological problems or neuroses. Rather, it is something that pertains to all people. According to Orthodox Tradition, after Adam's fall, Man became ill; his intellect (called “dianoia”) was darkened and the mind (the “nous” or,  the "eye of the heart") lost communion with God. Death entered mankind's life thereafter, giving rise to many personal, anthropological, social, even ecological problems. With the tragedy of his fall, Man continued to be "in the image of God", but he had now completely forfeited the "likeness" of Him, as his communion with God was disrupted.

However, the Incarnation of Christ and His bodily presence among us, and the pursuant opus of the Church (which entails the in-Christ guidance by spiritually illuminated Saints and Fathers throughout Time) are both intended to assist a person to regain the "likeness" of God, that is, to restore his communion with God. By adhering to the Orthodox "therapeutic treatment" as proposed by the Holy Fathers of the Church, Man can succeed to "manage" his thoughts properly, thus solving his spiritual issues fully and comprehensively.

This "therapeutic regimen" of psycho-therapy (Greek: literally, therapy of the soul) is closely linked to the Church’s "neptic" tradition (sobriety) and Her hesychastic life (of "quietude") - as preserved in the texts of the Philokalia, in the works of the Fathers of the Church and notably in the teaching of Saint Gregory Palamas. Most certainly, one must not overlook the fact that the neptic and hesychastic ways of life are the same that one observes in the lives of the Prophets and the Apostles, as clearly described in the texts of the Holy Scriptures.

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Wherefore he who professes the science of spiritual medicine ought first of all to consider the disposition of him who has sinned, and to see whether he tends to health or (on the contrary) provokes to himself disease by his own behaviour, and to look how he can care for his manner of life during the interval. And if he does not resist the physician, and if the ulcer of the soul is increased by the application of the imposed medicaments, then let him mete out mercy to him according as he is worthy of it.

(Canon CII of the Quinisext Ecumenical Council)

 

LIST OF ARTICLES (by various authors)

Genders and Orientations Psychosomatic enslavement and liberation Want to find peace and quiet in a forest? Don't bring technology with you! God with us "For many more years!" To Bishop Kastor, On the Eight Thoughts of Evil The Problem of Theodicy The Ladder of Divine Ascent and Moral Improvement What is the role of a Spiritual Father? Love and Freedom Transformation and Forgiveness Personal responsibility in spiritual life Fantasy: a post-Fall phenomenon Hesychia: Our Method of True Healing Insanity and Demonic Possession in Patristic Thought The strength of faith and the weakness of faithlessness What is "psychotherapy" in the context of Orthodox Christianity? Christianity is not a religion. It is psychotherapeutic science Orthodoxy as therapy Sickness and healing in Orthodox Theology The Impact of Orthodox Psychotherapeutic Interventions on Depressive Symptomatology The Illness of religion The use of the word “religion” The Orthodox Therapist Demolition, Canons and Spiritual Direction Deification and Orthodoxy Simple village folk who saw… the Uncreated Light! Dostoevsky and Morality Freedom and way of existence in Orthodoxy The Power of the Name (book) Experience of God Holy Communion and Confession Self-confidence, or Egotism? The Tragic Paradox of Christian Jerks Theosis: Partaking of the Divine Nature True Christianity: The soul's journey Anthropological background: The human composite and spiritual healing The cure of the neurobiological sickness of religion A Homily on Repentance : Can we fast without it? The Sickness of Religion and its Orthodox Cure Metropolitan Seraphim: "If the priest isn't at least gracious, then all his ministry goes to waste" Why are premarital relations not allowed? Therapeutic Treatment of the Human Nous The Human Body: Ascesis and Exercise Living as an Orthodox Christian in a Non-Orthodox World Hypersexuality and Sterility: the Social Costs of Porn in Japan On the selection of a Spiritual Father How should we behave towards atheists or heterodox? Atheist buses, God's Chocolates, but .... atheist Christians? Regarding the Church What is the meaning of "Church"? Stages of Conversion "With kindness and with love you can make many tame... Frequent Bible Reading Tied to Social Justice, Openness to Science The "purity" of the Church Sinners in the Church About building churches Why would anyone want to forgive an enemy? Should One Kill Moles? Or, How to Avoid Falling Into Traps While Reading Contemporary Orthodox Literature Is secular “psychotherapy” compatible with principles & anthropology of the Orthodox Church? On humility and humor 'The year I lost my limbs was the most brilliant of my life' We shouldn't ask to see God if we aren't prepared Asceticism as Repentance,  Repentance as Failure Is Porn really destroying 500,000 Marriages Annually? Psychology and Orthodox Christian Therapy. Why Morality is not Christian. Asceticism as Repentance, Repentance as Failure. Burning Incense is Psychoactive Brain scans of porn addicts: what's wrong with this picture? The Plethora of "Elders" and the "Piety" of the Naive Depression Justice Does Not Belong to the Christian Way of Life Can everyone theologize? The Knowledge of God. Is it Really OK To Look But Don’t Touch? To Vent or Not To Vent: Modern and Ancient Views on Dealing with Anger The disappointment of religion A Homily on Repentance : Can we fast without it? The Hypnotic Mall Ancient Christian Wisdom and Beck’s Cognitive Therapy Out of the Fountain that is Christ: Free Will, Tolerance and Forgiveness Canonoclasts and Canonophiles: An Ecclesiastic problem, or an Ecclesiological heresy? «And the wife see that she reverence her husband» The Elder Paisios on the secularization of Monasticism The Unfortunate Effects Apocalyptic Beliefs Can Have On Morality You are not a Biblical character Why don't we want to be cured? A contemporary manifestation of the Holy Trinity Pietism as an ecclesiological heresy Healing the Mind:  The Nexus between Contemporary Psychology and Eastern Christian Practice Self-esteem, or Humility? The course from tragedy to catharsis Benefits in Delaying Sex Until Marriage Elder Porphyrios: Overcoming Depression Why does God allow wicked Bishops? Should we have a "fear of Christ"? The Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos on Psychoanalysis and Psychiatric Medications ‘But I Say To You,Love Your Enemies’ Saint Siluan's stance towards those who disagreed with him The Elder Porphyry: On problematic spiritual fathers and "misguided obedience" Orthodoxy and Homosexuality How to cultivate humility "Sexual Addiction": An Orthodox and Scientific View Principles for healing the passion of lust A passion is not removed the same way as a sin A tale of two therapies Miracle-lust: a child's disease Priests and Hypocrisy Palamism Explained in Twelve Minutes or Less Curing the sickness of Pharisaism “Elderism”:  Spurious “Elders” The Spiritual Father: Spiritual paternity in the light of Orthodox Tradition Divine Eros Celebrating the defeat of death… The Crisis is a spiritual one On Fasting Safely Home to Heaven : A Letter from an Orthodox Nun to a Former Calvinist Five types of Religious lives Orthodox Pathology Depression: The “silent epidemic” Orthodox therapeutics for homosexuality: A "Fool for Christ" heals a transvestite Is “secular psychotherapy” compatible to Orthodoxy’s anthropology? Ecclesiastic Psychotherapy vs. Secular Therapeutic Techniques Concerning Repentance and Spiritual Warfare The tragedy of Man Contemplation The Function of Spiritual Paternity Confession - Confessor - Confessing A saintly Fool for Christ in the heart of Athens Who is the Truth ? Thoughts about Freedom Stella: God's little sparrow Church and Prison The simple housewife who taught Saint Chrysostom how to preach On the experience of Theosis Thoughts and Deception A… thief for God! How not to despair The Enigma of I AM The Risk in Creation Prayer of the Spirit The Bliss of Knowing the Way The Struggle in Prayer The letter of the Law can be deadly Experiencing the Sacrament/Mystery of the Church through Baptism and the Eucharist Elder Amphilochios Makris -Spiritual Counsels- Basil the Great and Communal Ownership Genuine and false experiences of the Grace of God Injustice Is a Great Sin Mother Gabriel - The Sayings The Jesus Prayer On Corrupt Bishops Mindless Zeal Light or Darkness A Greek-American family man who saw the Uncreated Light The lay porter who resurrected a dead man Simple village folk who saw… the Uncreated Light!

A Fast of Righteousness

Fr. Stephen Freeman

Glory 2 God for all things

I am often puzzled by the things theologians say about “righteousness.” First, there are a striking number of different treatments. That alone should tell anyone that we are standing on the ground of “theory” rather than knowledge when we hear pronouncements about the word. It is, of course, an important word. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness…,” Christ commands in the Sermon on the Mount. I think I know what that means to a Lutheran or an Evangelical. I know what it means to NT Wright. But, none of what I see in them really makes a lot of sense in the context of the Sermon on the Mount. I am going to suggest something different. You may, of course, consider this just one more theory. So be it.

There is a great theme of righteousness in the Old Testament. To a certain extent, it can be described as a “proper balance,” or “things being in their right place, order and amount.” Most of the judgments that concerned normal people in their daily lives (apart from matters of ritual) were oriented around property, income, debt, and daily needs. The great “engine” of the Israelite economy (according to the Law) was the Law of the Sabbath and the Jubilee Year.

If we look at a simple rule we can see this in play. “Do not muzzle an ox who is treading out the grain.” It means, if your ox is being used to drive the mill wheel that is grinding the wheat, you may not prevent them from having some opportunity to munch the wheat that is falling at their feet. Why? It’s quite simple. You have a lot of wheat, and you shouldn’t begrudge an animal a small share. After all, it’s that animal’s sweat that is making your grain palatable. To greedily prevent the animal from its share is unrighteous. It is an improper balance and exploitation of a beast.

This, of course, is an example that involves only an animal. But the principle is constant throughout the Law and the Prophets. The Jubilee cancels debts and restores the land to its proper owner (and this is a “righteous” judgment).

When we come to the New Testament, Jesus repeatedly speaks of debts being canceled, of the deliverance of the poor, of the rich being in danger. When He offers a parable about the Judgment, it is about sharing: food, clothing, care, and concern. The one who shares with the one who is in need is counted “righteous.”

This, I think, points to a proper (and rather simple) meaning of the term. It is not just some form of “social justice.” There is something more cosmic and eschatological about it. Wherever the Kingdom comes, its “righteousness” is made manifest. What does that look like? Christ described it to the disciples of John:

Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. (Lk. 7:22)

These are all cases of people who live in a deficit (while others live in a surfeit). When the Kingdom is made manifest, things are set right: its righteousness is made manifest. But its coming is of a supernatural character. There is a moral component: we are taught to behave in a manner towards others that “sets things right.” We are told to do to others what we would want to be done to us. And then, because of the abundance of the Kingdom, we are told to do more than that. We give even to those who will not give in return. This is righteousness.

There is an inner righteousness. For the Kingdom of God is not a mere set of moral actions. It is also an inner transformation, where we not only “do” righteousness, but “become” righteous. That inner work is also the “setting right” of things. We were created in the image and likeness of God, but have become debtors to sin. Spiritually, we have become poor and are unable to overcome our hateful sin-master. God’s gift to us becomes an abiding Jubilee, abolishing the debt of sin and restoring us to our right place before Him.

However we might think of righteousness (perhaps as the Divine Energies), it has this characteristic of “setting right,” of putting things back in their proper place. Human beings were created to be the very image of God, but became enslaved to sin. In the pattern of our salvation, the Rich became poor, that we (the poor) might become rich. God became what we are that we might become what He is. His righteousness is His love.

While fasting with the body, brethren, let us also fast in spirit. Let us loose every bond of iniquity; let us undo the knots of every contract made by violence; let us tear up all unjust agreements; let us give bread to the hungry and welcome to our house the poor who have no roof to cover them, that we may receive great mercy from Christ our God.

Stichera on “Lord, I Call” for Wednesday of the First Week of Great Lent