First Sunday of Great Lent: The Sunday of Orthodoxy
Categories: orthodox-life, holidays, cinema, feast-days, church-history
Date: 07 March 2009 08:37:28
The passage from the Synodikon of the Seventh Ecumenical Council:
As the Prophets beheld,
As the Apostles taught,
As the Church received,
As the Teachers dogmatized,
As the Universe agreed,
As Grace illumined,
As the Truth revealed,
As falsehood passed away,
As Wisdom presented,
As Christ awarded,
Thus we declare,
Thus we assert,
Thus we proclaim Christ our true God
and honour His saints,
In words,
In writings,
In thoughts,
In sacrifices,
In churches,
In holy icons.
On the one hand, worshipping and reverencing Christ as God and Lord.
And on the other hand, honouring and venerating His Saints as true servants of the same Lord.
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.
Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of Orthodoxy in the Orthodox Church. The restoration of icons for use in services and in personal devotion has been the theme of this Sunday since 843 [the year the numerous controversies about icons were put to rest]; before that this day commemorated Moses, Aaron, Samuel and the prophets.
In Orthodox parish life, this first Sunday of Great Lent marks the move from the usual Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom to the Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great; there is not a major difference as seen by the congregation, but the priest's prayers for the Eucharistic Canon are lengthier; from the congregation's point of view the usual hymn to the Theotokos ["How right it is to bless you..."] is replaced by this one:
All creation rejoices in you, O Full of Grace,
all the choirs of angels and the whole human race.
For you are the holy temple of the Lord;
you are the mystic paradise and the glory of virgins.
Through you the Son of God become man,
though He was God from all eternity.
He made your womb His throne,
greater far than the heavens themselves,
All creation rejoices in you, O Full of Grace!
Glory to you!
After the Divine Liturgy, a service is conducted in commemoration of the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787 [which did deal with the matter of icons, but it was raised again from 815 to 843] and the restoration of the use of icons in 843. The congregation carry icons in a procession, while the clergy offer petitions for the people, civil authorities, and those who have reposed in the faith.
A blessed First Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of Orthodoxy, to all! Below are a selection of hymns sung at Vespers and Matins.
Though infinite in Your Divine Nature, O Master, You did condescend to be incarnate in these last days, and become finite; for by putting on the body You did also put on all its properties. Wherefore, we draw the likeness of Your image and embrace it in consideration of its prototype, ascending towards Your love and drinking therefrom the grace of healing, following the divine traditions of the Apostles.
Your pure image do we venerate, O good One, asking forgiveness of our sins, O Christ our God; for by Your own will You did ascend the Cross in Your body, to save Your creatures from the bondage of the enemy. You have truly filled all with joy, since You did come, O our Saviour, to save the world.
Moses received the law in a period of abstinence and led his people: and Elijah, when he fasted, closed the heavens. As for the Abrahamite youths, they vanquished by fasting the transgressing usurper. Wherefore, through the same, O Saviour, prepare us to meet Your Resurrection, shouting, Holy God! Holy Mighty! Holy Immortal One, have mercy upon us.