“…Like the children, we, too, bear symbols of victory, and cry out to You, the Conqueror of death: ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'”” (Troparion of Palm Sunday)

Our Lord Jesus Christ climaxed His mission on earth with two memorable events the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead and His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. These two events, witnessed by great crowds of people, gave a clear and convincing testimony concerning the messianic mission of Christ and His divinity. These two illustrious events also raised the curtain on the last act of the drama of Christ’s life: His passion and death.

Since the first centuries of Christianity the Eastern Church has been celebrating the memory of the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem on the Sunday before His glorious Resurrection. Palm Sunday from the earliest times has been regarded as a great feast of our Lord and is included in the twelve principal festivals of our Church Year. It, too, has its own particular customs which the other feasts do not have.

For a better understanding of this festival we shall consider its history, the customs associated with it and its spiritual significance.

History of the Celebration of the Festival

The festival of the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem is one of the oldest feastdays in the Eastern Church. Testimony regarding its celebration reaches back to the third century. From that time, we have a sermon on Palm Sunday by Bishop Methodius of Patara († ca. 300). The celebration of this festival began in Jerusalem, and within a short period of time became a feastday for the entire Eastern Church.

Silvia of Acquitaine, writing in her Diary about her pilgrimage to the Holy Land, gives us a beautiful description of how this festival was celebrated in Jerusalem in the fourth century. The faithful of Jerusalem endeavoured each year to relive Christ’s entry into Jerusalem just as it originally occurred. On Palm Sunday, after the early morning services held in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the faithful assembled at one o’clock in the afternoon at the Church of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives. The bishop with his deacons also assembled here. During the time the people were gathering, various hymns and psalms were sung and the Gospel relating to the entry of Jesus Christ into the city of Jerusalem was read. When all the people had already assembled, a magnificent procession, the young and old, bearing palm or olive branches in their hands, chanted hymns and psalms, always with the refrain: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” The author of the Diary observes that all the children, including those who, being still too young to walk and are carried on their parents’ shoulders, carry in their hands palm or olive branches. The bishop and his attendants followed at the end of the procession. Like Christ, the bishop rode on a donkey. The procession proceeded through the city to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where the solemn celebration concluded with the service of Vespers.

Many ancient documents testify to the commemoration of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before the Pasch (Easter). We shall mention only a few of these here. St. Epiphanius of Cyprus (+403) composed two sermons still ex- tant on the feast of Palm Sunday. St. Ephrem the Syrian (+373) dedicated a special hymn to the feast. Cyril of Alexan- dria (†386) and the Patriarch of Constantinople Proclus (+446) mention this feast. Anastasius the Sinaite (7c), a monk of the Sinai monastery and a theologian of the Eastern Church was the first to note that the Forty Days Fast terminated with the feast of Palm Sunday.

Beginning with the seventh century, various Church writers, such as Andrew of Crete, Cosmas of Maiuma, John of Damascus, Theodore and Joseph the Studite, composed sticheras and canons for this feast. Palm Sunday, although it ranks among the principal feasts of our Lord, has neither a pre-feast nor a post-feast because it occurs during the period of fast.

Sometime between the sixth and the seventh centuries this feast spread to the Western Church under the title of Palm Sunday. In the West, also, the practice of holding a procession with palm branches on this day took root. The blessed palms are kept until the following year when they are burned and the ashes are used to sprinkle the heads of the faithful on Ash Wednesday as a sign of penance.

The Customs of Palm Sunday

In our liturgical books this day is called, “Sunday of the Palms”, “Flower or Blossom Sunday”, Flower or Blossom-bearing Sunday”, Sunday of “Flower or Blossom-bearing”. Our people call this Sunday the “Sunday of Pussy-willows” or “Pussy-willow” Sunday, “Willow Sunday”, “Sunday of the Willow”. All these names are associated with the custom of blessing and distributing palm or olive branches on that day in church. Because no palm or olive trees grow in our country, we have a venerable custom of using willow branches, a tree that is the first to blossom in the spring.

Among the Jews and ancient Romans, the palm branch was the symbol of victory. For this reason it was held in the hand during a triumphal or victory procession. Also, at the public games the victors were presented with the palm branch as a sign of victory. In the New Testament the palm branch became the symbol of martyrdom. In the catacombs, palm branches were laid on the tomb of a martyr as the symbol of the victory of the martyr. The olive branch is the symbol of peace. In our Trebnyk (Euchologion), in the prayer for blessing of palms, the willow branch is also called the symbol of the resurrection.

In Greek, palm branches are called “baia”; and in the Church-Slavonic transcription “Vayia”; hence, the name “Nedilya Vayij” (Sunday of Palms).

It is difficult to say with certainty when the custom of blessing branches of the palm, olive or other trees in church arose. The blessing of branches seems to have already been in practice, in some places, in the seventh century, although the actual ceremony of blessing does not appear in liturgical documents until the ninth century. The blessing and distribution of palms, according to the prescription of our rite, takes place on Palm Sunday during the Matins service after the Gospel at Psalm 50. In Eastern Ukraine a custom also existed of blessing and distributing willow branches in the cities on Saturday evening, while in the villages, these were blessed and distributed on the morning of Palm Sunday. Along with a willow branch the faithful also received a small candle, as a symbol of the resurrection.

Among our people, various practices existed, even some superstitious ones, that were associated with the blessed willow branch. The blessed willow branch was never destroyed by our people. Instead, they placed it in the house behind an icon, or planted it in the garden. With it they blessed the cattle, when they were being led for the first time into pasture. The farmer carried the blessed willow branch around his farm, praying that it might be protected from impure spirits. Some even swallowed the bud of the willow so that “the throat would not hurt.” In some places, a blessed willow branch was placed in the hands of the deceased, so that at the general resurrection they would meet Christ carrying the emblem of victory. As they were going out of the church on Palm Sunday, the faithful would lightly strike one another on the shoulder with the willow branch, saying: “It is not I who strike you, but it is the willow branch, within a week we shall celebrate Easter.” Thus did they remind one another that Easter was drawing near.

Following the example of the Church in Jerusalem, a custom of holding a procession with palms on Palm Sunday also arose in Greece in the ninth-tenth centuries, during which the patriarch of Constantinople rode through the streets on a donkey.

The Spiritual Meaning of Palm Sunday

The Jews wanted to see their messiah in power and glory. Accordingly, Jesus Christ, by raising Lazarus from the dead and by His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, gave them clear proof of His power and glory. He demonstrated, publicly, that He is not only the Lord of living and dead nature, but also Lord of hearts of men. Such a triumphal procession Jerusalem had not witnessed for a long time.

St. Matthew the Evangelist confirmed this: “And when He entered Jerusalem, all the city was thrown into commotion, saying: ‘Who is this?’ But the crowds kept on saying: ‘This is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. (Matthew 21,10-11)

The honor given to Christ lasted for only a brief moment, for His betrayal by Judas, His rejection by the people, His condemnation by the Jewish leaders, His passion, the way of the cross and crucifixion followed in quick succession. These very same people who, on Sunday cried out, “Hosanna”, within a few days would be crying out: “Crucify Him.”

Palm Sunday teaches us the instability of worldly glory and the vanity of earthly happiness. Joy and sadness here on earth are two inseparable sisters. Therefore, if we wish one day to have a share in the triumph of Christ in heaven, we must first undergo a Passion week and a Golgotha with Him here on earth. Only then, will we be able, like Him, to enter into everlasting triumph, joy and resurrection.

“Your voice, O Lord, destroyed the kingdom of Hades, and by the power of Your word, You raised Lazarus from the tomb after four days. He became the saving pre-figurement of the resurrection…”
(Stichera from the Saturday of Lazarus)

Almost every week of the Great Fast has its special liturgical features. The same must be said of its Saturdays and Sundays which are dedicated to some event in the life of Jesus Christ, His Blessed Mother and the Church or the Saints.

The special characteristic of the sixth week of the Forty Days Fast is that it spiritually prepares us for two great and glorious events in the life of Jesus Christ: the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead, to which are dedicated the Saturday before Palm Sunday, and the triumphal entry into Jerusalem of our Lord Jesus Christ, which the Church celebrates on Palm Sunday.
Let us examine closely the spiritual significance of the week of Palm Sunday and the celebration of the Saturday of Lazarus.

The Week of Palm Sunday

In our liturgical books this week bears the name the week of palms (i.e., palm branches), flowers or blossom-bearing week. The dominant theme of the services of this week is the ending of the Great Fast and the preparation of the faithful for the great miracle of the raising of Lazarus from the dead and Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Strictly speaking, the Great Fast ends on the Friday of this week. The Saturday of Lazarus is outside the scope of the Great Fast. That this is a concluding service is evident when on Friday we sing in the stichera of Vespers:

“Having completed the Forty Days Fast for the benefit of our souls, permit us, O Lover of mankind to also see the holy week of Your Passion, so that during this week we may glorify Your majesty and Your incomprehensible Providence regarding us as we sing with one mind and heart: Glory to You, O Lord!”

In the first centuries of Christianity, it was customary for the monks to leave their monasteries during the period of the Great Fast to retire into the desert to spend the Forty Days Fast in prayer and fasting. On the Friday before Lazarus Saturday, however, they returned again to their monasteries. Therefore, in the canon of the Thursday Matins service the Church calls out to them:

“You who are in the deserts and caves, assemble and come to greet with songs the Lord of glory who comes riding on a donkey.” (Ode 4) At solemn Vespers on the Eve of Palm Sunday, all the monks who had assembled began singing with joy, “Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together, and we, having taken up Your Cross, exclaim, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest.”’

The leading character in the church services of this week is the righteous Lazarus. The Monday service calls this week the vestibule to Lazarus Saturday: “The vestibule to the resurrection of Lazarus is opened,” says the eighth Ode of the canon of Matins, “for Christ is coming to wake the dead Lazarus from sleep and to conquer death with life.” In the eighth Ode of the canon of Tuesday’s Matins we sing: “Rejoice, O Bethany, home of Lazarus, for Christ having come to you, accomplished the glorious resurrection of Lazarus.”

In the services of this week the Church frequently calls upon the faithful to prepare themselves worthily with good deeds to meet Christ:

“Bearing the branches of good deeds and the palm branches of chastity, let us all prepare ourselves to meet Christ who is approaching Jerusalem as our God.” (Ode 9 of the canon of Monday Matins) “Uniting love with mercy, let us, the faithful hasten to offer our good works up to Christ as a prayer, asking that He raise us also from the grave of our secret passions.”
(Ode 4 of the canon of Thursday’s Matins)

The Celebration of the Saturday of Lazarus

The celebration of the event of the resurrection of Lazarus on the Saturday before Palm Sunday, dates back to the first centuries of Christianity. In the fourth century in the East, the Saturday of Lazarus was already a universal and solemn feastday. The pilgrim Silvia Egeria who lived in the fourth century, gives a detailed description of the celebration of Lazarus Saturday at that time in Jerusalem. In the Diary of her pilgrimage we read that on this day following the morning Divine Liturgy there was a procession to the home of Lazarus in Bethany, approximately two miles from Jerusalem. The bishop of Bethany, priests, monks and the faithful took part in the procession. On the way, not far from Bethany, the procession stopped for a visit to the church which stands on the very spot where Mary, the sister of Lazarus, met the Lord and told Him of the death of her brother. In this church, the Gospel which refers to this meeting of Mary with Christ was read. Afterwards the procession continued to the tomb of Lazarus, chanting hymns and psalms along the way. Such a multitude had already gathered there that they filled not only the place itself but also overflowed into the surrounding fields. At the grave of Lazarus a service was held which included the reading of the Gospel relating to the resurrection of Lazarus. During the seventh and eighth centuries, the Church hymnographers, St. Andrew of Crete, St. Cosmas of Maiuma, and St. John of Damascus composed sticheras and canons for the service of Lazarus Saturday. This service bears the character of a feast of our Lord, as is evident from the hymns sung at Matins service of Sunday, “The Choir of Angels”: “Now that we have seen the Resurrection of Christ;” and “Holy is the Lord our God”. On this day instead of the Trisagion Hymn “All who have been baptized into Christ” is sung at the Liturgy, recalling that at one time, on the Saturday of Lazarus, the catechumens were baptized.

A venerable tradition of the Church relates that Lazarus, after his resurrection, left Bethany because the Jewish leaders sought to kill him. He then sailed to the island of Cyprus, where he became a bishop, and lived for thirty years after his resurrection, before he died.

The Prologue, that is, the book containing biographies of the Saints of the Eastern Church, gives October 17 as the date of the translation of the relics of Lazarus. The Prologue relates that the Byzantine emperor, Leo the Philosopher (886-912), built a church in Constantinople in honor of Lazarus. The relics of Lazarus were discovered by emperor Leo on the island of Cyprus where they were enshrined in a marble casket bearing the inscription: “The Four-day Lazarus, Friend of Christ.” The emperor Leo ordered these relics to be transferred to a silver casket and placed in the Church of Lazarus in the capital city of Constantinople.

The Latin Church commemorates the feast of Lazarus on Friday of the fourth week of the Great Fast and again on the 17th of December.

The Meaning of the Miracle of the Resurrection of Lazarus

Jesus Christ wrought many miracles during His lifetime but none was so rich in its effects as the resurrection of Lazarus.

For many, this miracle was convincing proof of Christ’s divinity. One of the Fathers of the Church said: “Our Saviour snatched the daughter of Jairus from the hands of death, the youth of Naim from the jaws of death, but Lazarus He snatched from the very bowels of death.” This miracle marks the apex of Christ’s self-revelation. Here Christ reveals himself as the Lord of life and death, the Conqueror of death, and as the Almighty God Himself. The renowned church writer and ascetic, Father Maurice Meschler, S.J., reflecting on the greatness of this miracle and the impact it had on the Jews, says: “The one who worked this miracle was not Jesus of Nazareth, not the mighty teacher of the law, not one of the prophets of old, nor a spirit from another world, it was the living God Himself. One word from Him rings through the abysses of eternity and brings the soul back from the ends of the world beyond; a flash of lightning pierces the darkness of the grave, and rekindles in the dead bones the spark of life.” (Life of Jesus Christ, Vol. II, pp. 103-104) This miracle is the symbol of the glorious resurrection of Christ and at the same time, the prefigurement of the resurrection of all people.

The magnitude of this miracle and the publicity attending it were the immediate causes of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The people, in their enthusiasm for Christ, greeted Him not only as their prophet, but also as their Messias, their King and Lord.

Finally, the resurrection of Lazarus hastened the passion and death of our Saviour. Great crowds of people came to believe in Christ and to follow Him; this disturbed the leaders of the Jews, who immediately after Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, called a meeting: “The chief priests and the Pharisees therefore gathered together a council, and said:

‘What are we going to do? For this man is working many signs. If we let him alone as he is, all will believe in him’…So from that day forth their plan was to put him to death.” (Jo. 11,47-48 and 53 and 12,10)

May this great and wonderful miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus strengthen also our faith in the divinity of Christ and in our own personal resurrection. That same Christ, who raised the four-day Lazarus from the dead, in His own time will raise us also to a life of eternal happiness. He Himself assured us of this when He said:

“I am the Resurrection and Life. Whoever believes in me, even though he die, shall live!” (Jo. 11,25)

“Rejoice, O Mother of the Never-setting Star! Rejoice, O Salvation of my soul! Rejoice, O Bride Ever-Virgin!” (Akathistos to the Mother of God)

On the fifth Saturday of Lent our Eastern Church has a special service in honor of the most Pure Virgin Mary. This service, which is celebrated only in the Eastern Church, is called akathistos, a Greek word meaning “not sitting”. Hence, the name Akathistos Saturday.

Akathistos Saturday, like the Sunday of Orthodoxy, bears no relation to the Great Fast. It occurs during that time because of historical tradition and practice of the Church. During the Matins service of this Saturday the entire akathistos of the Annunciation of the most Holy Mother of God is sung. This akathistos can be called the symbol and crown of the sublime cult of the Mother of God in the Eastern Church. For this reason, it deserves special attention.

The Institution of Akathistos Saturday

The church service of this Saturday was instituted in honor of the Mother of God in thanksgiving for her protection of the capital city of Byzantium – Constantinople against an enemy invasion on three separate occasions. The first invasion occurred during Emperor Heraclius (626), when the Persians launched an attack from the East and the Sketes or Avars from the West, and the city was in grave peril. Patriarch Sergius I (610-639) took the beautifully clothed icon of the most Pure Virgin Mary, called the Odigitria (Greek = a guide), or Our Lady Guide of Wayfarers, and her robe and went in procession around the city. As the procession drew near to the Church of the most Holy Mother of God, situated in the suburb of Blacherna, he soaked the robe of the Mother of God in the sea. Immediately a storm arose which sank the enemy’s ships. The city was saved. The people, acknowledged this as a miracle performed by the Mother of God assembled in the church at Blacherna, and passed the whole night in prayer, singing the hymn of praise, i.e., the akathistos, in honor of the Mother of God.

The second miraculous event took place some thirty years later, during the reign of Constantine II, Pogonatus (641-668), when the Mohammedans attacked the capital. The third miracle occurred under Emperor Leo the Isaurian (716-750), when the Mohammedans again laid siege to the city with a large naval fleet.

The Structure of the Akathistos

The grateful people after their first deliverance spent the whole night standing in church while they sang a hymn of thanksgiving to the Mother of God; for this reason the hymn is called akathistos and the service is carried out while standing. The synaxary of this Saturday calls the akathistos a hymn during which there is no sitting, or literally a “non-sitting” hymn.
The Akathistos has its own particular structure. Its thirteen kontakions and twelve ikoses are arranged in the sequence of the Greek alphabet. The shorter hymns of the Akathistos are called kontakions and the longer hymns, ikoses. A kontakion is a Greek word denoting a short hymn, or ode. An ikos is a longer hymn which extols the event and meaning of the feast or sings the praises of some Saint. The ikos always follows the kontakion and is never read without it.

Every kontakion of the Akathistos climaxes with a threefold “alleluia”. Every ikos consists of a short introduction followed by twelve short versicles, each of which begins with the word, “Hail” or “Rejoice”, and ends with the versicle, “Hail, Bride Ever-Virgin.”

The Akathistos to the most Pure Virgin Mary is distinguished for its singularly profound thought and sublime poetic expressions. It is regarded as a masterpiece of church poetry in the Eastern Church. Prince Maximilian of Saxony, Catholic priest and a great authority on the Eastern Church, says: “The akathistos hymn belongs to the most celebrated of poetry of the Greek world.”

With regard to its contents, the akathistos can be divided into two main parts. In the first part, that is, in the first six kontakions and ikoses, an historical aspect of the life of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Mother of God predominates, while in the second part the dogmatic and moral reflections provide the dominant theme. The kontakions extol the history of the Incarnation of the Son of God, whereas the ikoses extol the privileges and graces of the Mother of God.

To provide the reader with a better understanding of the profound content and the sublime poetry of the Akathistos, we reproduce here in their entirety the first kontakion and the first ikos:
Kontakion 1

“To You, Mother of God, victorious leader of triumphant hosts, we Your servants, delivered from calamity, offer hymns of thanksgiving. In Your invincible power, keep us free from every peril, that we may cry to You: Hail, Bride Ever-Virgin”.

Ikos 1

“A chief angel was sent out from Heaven To say to the Mother of God, “Hail”. As he beheld You, Lord, assuming flesh, he was amazed and stood still, and with an incorporeal voice exclaimed to Her:

“Hail, You from whom grace will shine forth, Hail, You through whom the curse will disappear; Hail, You who are the resurrection of fallen Adam, Hail, You who are the deliverance of Eve’s tears; Hail, summit inaccessible for mortal man, Hail, depth difficult to behold even for angels. Hail, since You are the throne of the King; Hail, You who bear the One who bears all; Hail, star showing forth the sun, Hail, womb of divine incarnation, Hail, You through whom creation is renewed; Hail, You through whom the creator is worshipped. Hail, Bride Ever-Virgin”.

The Author of the Akathistos to the Mother of God

Church history does not record the name of the author of the Akathistos to the Mother of God, so its authorship remains a disputable question even today. Authorship of this akathistos has been ascribed to various persons. Some assert that the author was the venerable Roman the Melodist (tc. 540). Roman was the first to compose kontakions and ikoses for the various feast days. From him we have the celebrated kontakion of the Nativity of our Lord: “Today the Virgin gives birth to the inconceivable One,” and the kontakion of the Resurrection: “Although you descended into the grave, O Immortal One…”

The ancient menaions, that is, the Monthly Books containing the service of each Saint, contains those kontakions and ikoses, which today form the akathistos to the Mother of God, after the sixth ode of the canon, in the service of the Annunciation on March 25. The authorship of these kontakions and ikoses has been ascribed to the venerable George Pisides (7c), a deacon at St. Sophia in Constantinople. He described the war between Byzantium and the Avars, during which the most Pure Virgin Mary miraculously protected the capital. Others are of the opinion that the kontakions and ikoses of the akathistos were originally composed for the feast of the Annunciation and that it was not until later that the akathistos was composed as a separate hymn of thanksgiving to the Mother of God for her special intervention against the enemy. This is evident in the first kontakion which alludes to the intervention of the Mother of God, and refers to a battle, as well as to danger and deliverance.
Still others suggest as the author of the Akathistos to the Mother of God, the Patriarchs Sergius or Germanus (8c) or even the Patriarch Photius (9c).

The Spiritual Meaning of the Akathistos

The melody and profound content of the Akathistos to the Annunciation of the Mother of God is a very powerful means of fostering devotion to the Mother of God, for it incorporates the whole teaching of the Eastern Church concerning Mary. It extols all the principal dogmas relating to the most Pure Virgin Mary, above all, Her Divine Maternity:

“Rejoice, for you are the throne of the Lord and King. Rejoice, for you carry Him who carries the universe. Rejoice, you who gave life to Him who gives life to us.” (Ikoses, 1,3)

Mary’s immaculate and perpetual Virginity are praised:

“Rejoice, O Flower of Incorruption. Rejoice, O Crown of chastity.” (Ikos, 7) “Rejoice, for you have reconciled virginity with maternity.” (Ikos, 8)

All her virtues are extolled and the most beautiful praises are sung in her honor:

“Rejoice, O perpetual glory of the Apostles. Rejoice, unconquerable Strength of ascetics. Rejoice, O unshakeable foundation of the faith.” (Ikos, 4) “Rejoice, O Holiest One among the Saints. Rejoice, Tabernacle gilded by the Holy Spirit.” (Ikos, 12)

In the Akathistos we find expressed the constant faith of the Church in Mary’s protection and her intercession in heaven:

“Rejoice, O Bridge which leads from earth to heaven.” (Ikos, 3). “Rejoice, Reconciler of the whole world.” (Ikos, 3). “Rejoice, O Shelter of the world, wider than the heavens.” (Ikos, 6). “Rejoice, O Placator of the just Judge.” (Ikos, 8). “Rejoice, for you are our Guarantee of victory. Rejoice, O Salvation of my soul.” (Ikos, 12).

In meditating upon the sublime privileges, graces, and role of the Mother of God in our salvation, there naturally arises in our hearts great trust in her intercession and protection, as well as hope of salvation through her. All these sentiments are expressed very beautifully in the concluding kontakion:

“O ever-praised Mother, who gave birth to the Word, holiest of all the Saints, accept our present supplication and deliver us from every affliction, and from everlasting punishment save us, who sing to you: “Alleluia”.

“Where shall I begin to lament the deeds of my wretched life? How do I begin, O Christ, my present lamentatión?” (Canon)

The conscientious and faithful observance of the Great Fast to the very end demands from every Christian great strength of spirit and will. Holy Church, desiring that we finish our fasting as zealously as we began it, proposes certain special devotions designed to induce us to fast and do penance during the Forty Days Fast. The observance of the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross as well as those of Matins with Prostrations provide these inducements. The Sixth Ecumenical Council decreed that this Matins service, in which the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete occupies the central place, be celebrated on Thursday of the fifth week of the Great Fast. Customarily, however, this celebration takes place on Wednesday evening.

A special feature of this service is the triple bow pre-scribed after every troparion of every Ode of the Canon by the Typicon. According to the custom of the Ukrainian Church, however, only one profound bow to the ground occurs. In all, 250 prostrations or profound bows are prescribed. For this reason, the Ukrainians call this Matins service simply “Prostrations”. More than any other, perhaps, this service symbolizes the spirit of penance in our Eastern Church.

To enable the reader to develop a better understanding of this penitential service, a few words shall be devoted to the history and spiritual significance of this canon.

What Do We Mean by the Word ‘Canon’ in General?

A significant portion of every matins service is arranged according to definite rules. For this reason, this section of the morning service is called ‘canon’, a Greek word meaning “rule”, “measure”, and “norm”.

Biblical hymns are the basis of the canon which includes nine odes, the second of which, because of its penitential nature, occurs only during the time of the Great Fast. The originator of the canon is generally believed to be St. Sophronius, patriarch of Jerusalem (+638). At first, the canons were small in content because they consisted of two or three odes. Each ode has an irmos and several verses called tro- parions. The number of troparions in an ode varies and may be any number from two or three to over ten. St. Andrew of Crete was the first to compose canons consisting of nine odes.

The Author of the Great Canon

St. Andrew of Crete wrote the Great Canon. Who is he and what did he contribute to the Church? St. Andrew was a native of Damascus in Asia Minor. As a young man he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and there in the year 678, he entered the monastery of St. Sabbas. His piety and keen intellect drew the attention of Theodore, Patriarch of Jerusalem; as a result, the Patriarch made him his secretary. St. Andrew, acting as the representative of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, participated in the Sixth Ecumenical Council, that met at Constantinople. After the Council he served for a time as a deacon at the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Constantinople and had care of the orphans. Later the Patriarch of Constantinople consecrated him archbishop of the city of Gortyn on the Island of Crete. For this reason, he is called St. Andrew of Crete. The date of his death is uncertain. Some writers give the year 712 as the date of his death; others give 740. His memory is celebrated in the Eastern Church on the fourth of July.

St. Andrew distinguished himself as an excellent preacher, church writer and poet. He composed many church hymns, sticheras and especially canons, of which the Great Canon is the most prominent.

The Characteristic Features of the Great Canon

This canon bears the title “Great” not only because of its truly vast content, for it has as many as 250 troparions, but also because of its profound reflections, deep penitential spirit, and its moral and ascetical significance. The protracted and sad singing of the irmoses and troparions of the canon, along with the many prostrations, imparts to the entire service a profoundly penitential mood. For this reason, the synaxary of this day justifiably says that “it is indeed of all the canons the most sublime”, and goes on to point out that it “is so grand and melodious that it is capable of moving the most hardened heart, and of inspiring it with great courage.” Already the opening troparions of the canon induce a serious and prayerful mood:

“Where do I begin to lament the deeds of my wretched life? How do I begin, O Christ, my present lamentation? But You, O Merciful One, forgive me my offenses.”

“Go, wretched soul along with your body and confess to the Creator of all. In the future leave your past foolishness and bring to God tears of repentance.” (Ode I).

A good or bad example has great influence upon each and everyone of us. For this reason, St. Andrew sets before us many examples and events of the Old and New Testaments, beginning with Adam and Eve to the Ascension of Christ. Using these examples and events he reconstructs the whole history of the fall, the conversion and the contrition of every soul:

“I brought before you, my soul, all the figures of the Old Testament as examples. Imitate the words of the righteous which are pleasing to God, and flee from the sins of the wicked.”
In the ninth Ode he says: “I am bringing before you my soul, examples from the New Testament, to lead you to sorrow of heart. Emulate, then, the righteous, avoid sinners, and regain Christ’s grace by prayers, fasts, purity and reverence.”

The scenes of the Bible pass before our eyes as though on a picture screen, and we then relive them deeply as though they were part of our own life:

“Like the thief I cry to you: ‘Remember me!’ Like Peter I weep bitterly, ‘Forgive me, O Saviour. Like the publican I plead; and like the adultress I weep. Accept my lamentation as You once accepted the lamentations of the Chanaanite woman.” (Ode 8)

“Like David I have fallen through wantonness and have defiled myself; may I wash myself with tears also, O Saviour. Like the courtesan, I cry to You: ‘I have sinned, against You alone I have sinned. Accept my tears as perfume, O Saviour.” (Ode 2)

The repentant soul senses his approaching end and God’s Judgment at the very door, and it fears the punishment it deserves:

“The end is drawing near, my soul, it is drawing near! But you neither care nor prepare. The time is growing short, Rise! The Judge is near, at the very doors. Like a dream, like a flower, our life passes; why do you bustle about in vain?” (Ode 4)

“The Lord at one time rained down fire from heaven upon Sodom and destroyed the people because of their terrible sins. But you, my soul, kindled the fire of hell, in which you are about to be tortured.” (Ode 2)

“Have mercy on me, O Lord, have mercy on me, I implore you, when you come with your angels to reward us all according to our deeds.” (Ode 3)
One can truly say that in every troparion of the canon we engage in sincere dialogue with our soul and with our Creator. The Great Canon resembles a detailed examination of conscience before death and a sincere confession, covering the whole life of each contrite person:

“There is no sin, or act or vice in life that I have not committed, O Saviour. I have sinned in thought, word, deed and desire as no one else ever did.” (Ode 4)

“I confess to you, O Christ my King: I have sinned, I have sinned, like Joseph’s brothers, who sold the fruit of purity and innocence.” (Ode 5)

“I have confessed to You, my Judge, the secrets of my heart. Behold my humility and also my distress, Judge me now. Have pity on me, for You alone are merciful, O God of our Fathers.” (Ode 7)

“The profound moral strength and significance of the Great Canon lies precisely in the fact, that while leading us to meditate on our own sins, it does not plunge us into despair and hopelessness, but after inducing sincere sorrow and contrition, it consoles us, lifts us up, inspires us with hope, and points out to us a sure means of salvation the mercy of God and the intercession of the most Pure Virgin Mary:

“Although I have sinned, O Saviour, I know You are the Lover of mankind. You punish with love and You show mercy graciously. You see my tears and You hasten to me like the father of the Prodigal Son.” (Ode I)

“You are the Good Shepherd; therefore, seek me, your lamb, and do not despise me, although I have gone astray.” (Ode 3)

“Spare, O God, spare your creature. I have sinned, forgive me, for You alone are pure by nature. No one is without sin, except You alone.” (Ode 5)

“O Mother of God, hope and Mediatrix of those who call upon you, relieve me of the heavy yoke of sin, and as our Lady most pure, accept me who repent.” (Ode I)

At the end of each ode of the canon, two troparions honor the venerable Mary of Egypt. Later, another author added a third troparion in honor of St. Andrew of Crete.

The Sixth Ecumenical Council prescribed that at this Matins service of the Great Canon, the biography of the venerable Mary of Egypt (+521), written by St. Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, be read. Venerable Mary of Egypt was born in Alexandria, Egypt. For years she led a sinful life until, during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, she repented of her sinful life and was converted, and retired into the desert where she spent the rest of her life in prayer, sorrowing for her sins and atoning for them. The Church commemorates her on the first of April.
The reading of her life during the matins service is designed, as is the entire Great Canon, to give us an inspiring example of conversion, sorrow and atonement for sin. On the fifth Sunday of Lent the memory of this same Saint is recalled.

“We adore Your cross, Lord, and we glorify Your Holy Resurrection”

The season of the Great Fast is a special time for mortification and penance, both internal and external. Because this spiritual struggle lasts a longer time, it often happens that we begin the first days or weeks of fasting with great zeal and resolution, but then gradually we become physically and spiritually exhausted, weakened and discouraged. Holy Church knowing well the weakness and instability of our human nature, places before our eyes the holy Cross in the middle of the fast an extraordinarily powerful incentive to motivate us to persevere in our spiritual struggle.

On the third Sunday, or mid-Lent, holy Church encourages us to venerate the Cross of our Lord in a very special manner, so that we may be strengthened in spirit. This Sunday, therefore, is called the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross.

The holy Cross is designed to remind us of God’s infinite love for us, Christ’s suffering for our sake and our obligation to carry our daily cross courageously. Jesus Christ addressed these words to all of us,

“If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me… He who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 9,23 and 14,27)

The Spiritual Significance of This Sunday

The Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross reminds us that Christians employ a powerful weapon in their battle with the enemies of his salvation – the Holy Cross. Particularly on this Sunday, the cross is raised before us as a sign of strength, salvation, victory and triumph. The synaxary – a spiritual instruction – in the Matins service of this Sunday beautifully explains the reasons for venerating the Holy Cross on this day:

“On this Sunday, the third Sunday of Lent, we celebrate the veneration of the honorable and Life-Giving Cross, and for this reason: inasmuch as in the forty days of fasting we in a way crucify ourselves…and become bitter and despondent and failing, the Life-Giving Cross is presented to us for refreshment and assurance, for remembrance of our Lord’s Passion, and for comfort… We are like those following a long and cruel path, who become tired, see a beautiful tree with many leaves, sit in its shadow and rest for a while and then, as if rejuvenated, continue their journey; likewise today, in the time of fasting and difficult journey and effort, the Life-Giving Cross was planted in our midst by the holy fathers to give us rest and refreshment, to make us light and courageous for the remaining task… Or, to give another example: when a king is coming, at first his banner and symbols appear, then he himself comes glad and rejoicing about his victory and filling with joy those under him; likewise, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is about to show us His victory over death, and appear to us in the glory of the Resurrection Day, is sending to us in advance His scepter, the royal symbol – the Life-Giving Cross – and it fills us with joy and makes us ready to meet, inasmuch as it is possible for us, the King himself, and to render glory to His victory… All this in the midst of Lent which is like a bitter source because of its tears, because also of its efforts and despondency…but Christ comforts us who are as it were in a desert until He shall lead us up to the spiritual Jerusalem by His Resurrection…for the Cross is called the Tree of Life, it is the tree that was planted in Paradise, and for this reason our fathers have planted it in the midst of Holy Lent, remembering both Adam’s bliss and how he was deprived of it, remembering also that partaking of this Tree we no longer die but are kept alive…”

The Spirit of the Liturgy of the Veneration of the Holy Cross

The services of this Sunday almost make no mention of the Cross as being a symbol of suffering, penance, or humiliation, but rather extol the holy Cross as a symbol of joy, victory and triumph, which are brought to fulness through the glorious Resurrection.

The dominant hymn for this Sunday is: “We adore Your Cross, Lord, and we glorify your holy Resurrection.” Where did this sublime hymn come from? This hymn is taken from the Matins service of Easter Sunday: “Having witnessed the Resurrection of Christ…” This prayer is also recited at every Sunday Matins service. It is a very old prayer; we find it already in the Resurrection or Easter Matins and the Sunday Matins of the ninth century. It was also included in the oldest liturgical services of the monasteries of Mt. Athos. In that resurrectional and profoundly dogmatic prayer we find the very words: “We adore Your Cross…”

Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky, O.S.B.M., in his pastoral letter on “The Veneration of the Holy Cross” says:

“The essence of the veneration of the Cross cannot be more clearly and more gloriously expressed than it is in the service of the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross. Our Rite has always joined this veneration of the Cross with the commemoration of the Resurrection. Bowing before the Cross, we pray: ‘We adore Your Cross, Lord, and we glorify Your Resur- rection. This is the true Christian meaning of the Cross. Beyond the Cross the Christian sees the glory of the Resurrection and the joy of everlasting bliss.”

The whole Vespers and Matins services of this Sunday, the sticheras, canon and sessional hymns, are a sublime hymn of praise in honor of the Cross of our Lord. We sing in Great or Solemn Vespers:

“Rejoice, O Life-Giving Cross, most beautiful paradise of the Church, tree of Immortality, which gave us the joy of everlasting glory, by which the legions of demons are driven away, the choir of Angels rejoice and the assemblies of the faithful celebrate. You are the invincible weapon, the immovable fortress, the victory of kings, the glory of priests, grant that we also may share the passion of Christ and experience His great mercy.” “Rejoice, O Life-Giving Cross, sure victory of religion, gate of paradise, defense of the faithful, bulwark of the Church. Through You corruption has been overcome, the power of death has been crushed, and we have been lifted up from earth to heaven. You are the invincible weapon, conqueror of demons, glory of martyrs, true ornament of the religious, and haven of salvation, – O Cross, bestow upon the world Your great mercy.”

In the first Ode of the canon of St. Theodore the Studite, we read,

“Today is a day of triumph, for through the Resurrection of Christ death has disappeared, the star of life has shone forth, Adam has been raised and he exults with joy; therefore, let us rejoice singing the song of victory.”

The Rite of Venerating the Cross

On this Sunday a solemn rite of veneration of the holy Cross is carried out during the Matins service in the following manner: After the Vespers service the beautifully decorated Cross is carried from the sacristy and placed on the altar. On the following day, during Matins service at the Great Doxology, the priest takes the Cross from the altar, places it upon his head and goes out to the middle of the church and there places it on the tetrapod. The troparion “Save your people….”, is then sung. After this they sing three times: “We adore Your Cross….. and each time a prostration is made. While the sticheras of the feast are being sung, the faithful come forward and devoutly kiss the holy Cross.

While the faithful are venerating the Cross, the following stichera is sung:

“Come, all you faithful, let us adore the life-giving tree, upon which Christ the King of glory willingly stretched out His arms and raising us up, restored us to that original happiness, the enemy stole from us in the past, seducing us by vain pleasures so that we became estranged from God. Come, all you faithful, let us bow down before the tree, through which we have become worthy to crush the heads of invisible enemies. Come, all you nations, let us extol the Cross of the Lord with hymns of praise: Rejoice, O Cross, perfect salvation of fallen Adam. Our most faithful kings glory in you, for by your power they overcame their enemies. Today we Christians with awe kiss you, we glorify the crucified God upon you and say, ‘O Lord, crucified on the Cross, have mercy on us, for you are good and you love mankind.”’

Instead of the Trisagion Hymn, at the Divine Liturgy on this day, we sing, “We adore your cross, O Lord…” This hymn in honor of the holy Cross we sing as we bow before the Cross and devoutly kiss it, at the conclusion of each church service throughout the whole week until Friday.

The Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross, indeed, teaches us to understand the great significance the Holy Cross has for us, not only during the Lent, but also throughout our whole life. This Sunday tells us that wherever we find the Cross, there will we find strength, victory, salvation and the pledge of resurrection to eternal life of bliss.

To arouse ourselves to a greater veneration and love for the holy Cross, let us frequently call to mind those profound thoughts expressed by the great venerator of the holy Cross, St. Ephrem the Syrian (+373) in the following hymn:

“The Cross is the resurrection of the dead. The Cross is The Cross is The Cross is the hope of Christians. the staff of the lame. the consolation of the poor.The Cross is the dethronement of the proud.
The Cross is the hope of the hopeless.
The Cross is the helm of those who sail.
The Cross is
the harbor of the storm-tossed.
The Cross is the father of orphans.
The Cross is the comfort of the afflicted.
The Cross is the protector of youth.
The Cross is the glory of men.
The Cross is the crown of the aged.
The Cross is the purity of virgins.
The Cross is the bread of the hungry and the fountain of the thirsty.

…Therefore, let us make the sign of this Life-Giving Cross on our forehead, lips and breast… Let us not leave the Cross even for one hour, even for one moment, and let us not do anything without it, but whether we are going to sleep, or getting up; whether we are eating or drinking, whether we are traveling on land, sailing the sea, or crossing rivers, we should adorn all the members of our body with the sign of the Life-Giving Cross.”

“We pay homage to Your undefiled image, good Lord, and beg pardon for our faults, Christ our God.” (Troparion)

The first Sunday of the Great Fast is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy. What do we mean by “orthodoxy”? The word “orthodoxy” stems from the Greek word “orthodoxia” (orthos right; doksa – opinion) which signifies the true faith and the true worship of God. We are not speaking here of orthodoxy as we understand it today as being opposed to the Catholic Church, but orthodoxy, as applied to the whole Church of Christ until the schism between the Eastern and Western Churches which occurred in the eleventh century under the patriarch Cerularius (1054). The orthodoxy that we celebrate this Sunday is universal-catholic orthodoxy, pro- fessed by the entire Church of Christ of the first centuries in the battle against the heresy of Iconoclasm (Gr eikon= image; klastes=a breaker; an image breaking heresy). The Sunday of Orthodoxy is a festival for the whole Church, both Eastern and Western. It is the festive celebration of the decisive victory over Iconoclasm and other heresies.

The Council of Constantinople in the year 842 instituted the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy and decreed that it be celebrated yearly. The purpose of this feast is to pay solemn public homage and veneration to the holy icons of Jesus Christ, the Blessed Mother of God, and all the Saints. The first celebration of Orthodoxy, that is, the first public veneration of holy icons after the condemnation of the heresy of Iconoclasm, occurred on the first Sunday of Lent in 842 A.D. This Sunday, even today, is called the Sunday of the Veneration of Holy Icons, although this feast bears no relation to the Great Fast. Let us examine closely the history of Iconoclasm and the reason for instituting the Sunday of Orthodoxy.

Origin of Iconoclasm

One of the striking features of the Eastern Church is the ancient and special veneration of sacred icons of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, the Angels, and the Saints. The Church of Christ deeply respects and honors the holy icons as it also does holy relics. She places them in church for public veneration and recommends that we venerate them privately in our homes, and wear small icons around our necks in the form of little crosses or medals.

Holy icons were accorded public and private homage in the Eastern Church until the reign of Leo III the Isaurian (717-741). Under the influence of two bishops from Asia Minor hostile to the worship of images, he condemned the veneration of holy icons as idolatry. He began his campaign against holy icons by ordering the icon of Jesus Christ to be removed from above the gate of his imperial palace. Later, he issued an imperial decree in 730 prohibiting the veneration of holy icons throughout the empire. This decree marked the beginning of a long, relentless, bitter and bloody campaign against sacred images in the Eastern Church. This struggle with short intervals of peace, lasted over a hundred years and ended in a brilliant victory in favor of the veneration of holy icons.

The emperor’s decree ordered all holy icons to be destroyed or burned and their defenders to be cast into prison, sent away into exile and even tortured. The Patriarch Ger- manus 1 (713-730) refused to endorse the Emperor’s decree against icons; consequently, the emperor had him removed from office, and appointed in his place the obsequious Patriarch Anastasius (730-754). The Roman popes, first Gregory II (715-731), then later Gregory III (731-741), wrote letters of protest to the emperor and at their Roman synods condemned the war against holy icons.

Emperor Constantine V Copronymus (741-775), son of Leo the Third, obstinately prolonged the iconoclastic war of his father and urged the Church to officially condemn the veneration of holy icons. With this aim in view he summoned the bishops in 754 to Constantinople for a synod, which under his influence prohibited the veneration of holy images.

The Condemnation of the Iconoclasm

Permission to venerate holy icons was granted under the rule of Empress Irene who in 784 removed the iconoclast Patriarch Paul from office, and appointed Patriarch Tarasius (794-806) in his place. With the approval of the Empress Irene and the Apostolic See, he called a Council which met at Nicea in 787. This Council is known in the Church as the Seventh Ecumenical Council. The Church honors the memory of the Fathers who participated in this Council in the month of October.

Regarding the veneration of holy icons, the Council of Nicea adopted the doctrine of St. John Damascene (675-749), the distinguished theologian of the Eastern Church.

The Council clearly stressed the distinction between worship or “latria”, denoting the highest worship paid to God alone and “dulia”, which denotes the honor and veneration paid the most Pure Virgin Mary, the Angels and Saints. The Council teaches that holy icons are merely visible symbols of invisible persons, to whom we give veneration. When venerating holy icons, we do not worship the paper, canvas or wood on or from which holy icons are produced; we give veneration only to the persons whom they represent. The Council places the veneration of holy icons on the same level as the veneration given the Book of the Holy Gospel, the Cross, and the sacred relics of Saints.

The Triumph of Orthodoxy

With the beginning of the ninth century, during the reign of Leo V the Armenian (813-820), a new persecution against holy icons was launched; it lasted until 842. In that year Empress Theodora restored the use and veneration of holy icons and deposed the iconoclast Patriarch John VII, and in his place installed Methodius I (842-846). Patriarch Methodius I, who was also persecuted and tortured for the cause of holy icons, immediately convoked a synod at Constantinople that finally restored the veneration of holy images. This decisive victory is known as the “Triumph of Orthodoxy” and is celebrated by the Eastern Church each year on the Sunday of Orthodoxy.

Among the staunch defenders of holy icons are the Patriarch Germanus I, St. John Damascene, St. Andrew of Crete, Martyr (1767), St. Theodore Studite (759-826) and Patriarch Methodius I.

Patriarch Methodius I was believed to have composed the “Ceremony of Orthodoxy”, a public profession of faith that was read at the Divine Liturgy on the Sunday of Orthodoxy. In the course of time, this “Rite of Orthodoxy” underwent various alterations. This rite also found its way into our native land and was observed in the cathedral churches. This ceremony consists of a profession of faith, a public veneration of the icons of Jesus Christ and the most Holy Mother of God, a prayer of thanksgiving to God for victory over the heresies, prayers for the living and the dead and finally, a proclamation of an anathema upon the heretics.

The spirit that pervades the liturgy of the Sunday of Orthodoxy is one of joy, victory, triumph, honor and veneration for the holy icons.

“Today, O faithful, let us clap our hands with joy,” says the canon in the first Ode of the Matins service, “and cry: ‘How wonderful are Your works, O Christ, and how great Your power, for You bring to fulfillment our unity and harmony. Come, all you enlightened by God, and let us celebrate this joyous day. Today heaven and earth rejoice and the angelic choirs and assemblies of peoples especially celebrate.”

“Today the light of devotion has shone forth to all,” we sing in the sticheras of Great Vespers, “banishing the deceit of impiety like a cloud, and illumining the hearts of the faithful. Come, all you orthodox Christians, let us devoutly fall down before the venerable icons of Christ.”

In the Matins service we sing at the sticheras of Praises:

“Today is a day filled with joy and gladness, for the true dogma shines with splendor, and the Church of Christ is adorned once more with glorious images, and the unity of the faithful is pleasing to God.”

In the eighth Ode of the canon of Matins we read: “Pre-serving the ancestral laws of the Church, we depict images of Christ and the Saints, and as we kiss them with our lips, in heart and desire, we cry out, all the works of the Lord bless the Lord.”

The Saturday of St. Theodore Tiro

Here it may be appropriate to recall briefly the great martyr, St. Theodore Tiro (†306) whose memory the Church honors on the Saturday before the Sunday of Orthodoxy.
Tradition has it that Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363), when persecuting the Christians, wished to desecrate the Christian fast by ordering all the food in the markets of Constantinople to be sprinkled every day of the first week of the fast with the blood of the pagan sacrifices. The great martyr, St. Theodore Tiro, however, appeared in a vision to the bishop of Constantinople, Eudokius, and warned him of the evil intent of the emperor and told him to notify all the faithful not to buy food at the markets, but instead to eat cooked wheat with honey, which in Greek is called kolyba. Evidently, the Lord wished to show us in this way how He cherished the value of the Christian fast.

“The beginning of the fast – it is time for repentance, the day of salvation, O Soul; watch, therefore, and close the doors to the passions and lift up your eyes to God.”

(Canon of the Monday Matins of the First Week of Lent).

The time of the Great Fast is for every Christian a time for spiritual combat in which the soul and body are engaged. The soul engages in this combat by praying and meditating more fervently, keeping watch over the senses, by practicing the virtues, and by doing good works. This interior disposition of the soul is manifested outwardly in our body through corporal acts of fasting and penance. There is no spiritual fasting without mortification of the body. “The more you subtract from the body,” says St. Basil the Great,

“the more brightness of spiritual health you will add to the soul. For it is not by increasing bodily strength, but by perseverance and patient endurance in trial that we gain strength against the invisible enemies.” (On the Fast I)

The traditional practice of the fast in the Church is carried out in two ways: either by total abstinence from all food and drink for a certain period of time, that is fasting in the strict sense of the word; or, by abstaining from certain foods only for a certain period of time, and this kind of fasting is called abstinence.

Having considered the development, duration and purpose of the Great Fast, we shall consider the manner of fasting.

The Original Fast Properly So-Called

Originally, there was no definite norm or Church rules governing the duration or the manner and practice of the Great Fast. Since this was left to the good will of the faithful, different ways of fasting developed. The historian Socrates (c. 379-440) gives the following testimony regarding contemporary fasting:

“One can see also a disagreement about the manner of abstinence from food, as well as about the number of days. Some wholly abstain from things that have life; others feed on fish only of all living creatures; many together with fish, eat fowl also, saying that according to Moses, these were likewise made out of the waters. Some abstain from eggs, and all kinds of fruits; others partake of dry bread only; still others eat not even this; while others having fasted till the ninth hour (that is, to three o’clock in the afternoon our time), afterwards take any sort of food without distinction.” (History of Church, 5,22)

The last words of Socrates in the above testimony indicate that in his time, the essence of fasting was not the kind of food to be eaten, but was rather the duration of the time of total abstinence from food. In other words, the essential thing in fasting was that during the day only one meal was eaten, usually after three o’clock in the afternoon or after sunset. St. Basil, in his treatise on Fasting says:

“You wait till evening to eat, while all day you sit in court.” (10) St. John Chrysostom says: “No one among us will think that abstaining once till evening will be sufficient for salvation.” (On Genesis, hom. 4).

Even in monasteries where food was eaten only once a day throughout the year, during the Great Fast the monks did not eat at all for several days.

The pilgrim Silvia Egeria (fourth century) speaking of the monks of Jerusalem says that some of them during the Great Fast “having taken food after the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, do not eat again until Saturday”. (28)

Abstinence from Certain Foods

Originally, after a whole day of fasting, the faithful ate every kind of food in the evening. In the fifth century restrictions were placed on certain types of food. This occurred under the influence of the desert monks who took food only once a day and also put restrictions on the type of foods. The common food of the desert monks was bread, water and fruit. The pilgrim Silvia Egeria reports in her Diary that the monks of Jerusalem during the Great Fast “take no leaven bread, no olive oil, nothing which comes from trees, but only water and a little flour soup.” (28) Slowly the dry food of the monks became also the common food of the laity during the Great Fast. The Council of Laodicea (c. 364) decreed that the faithful fast on dry food “throughout the entire Forty Days Fast”. (50)

Saturdays and Sundays of the Great Fast

In the Eastern Church the Saturdays and Sundays of lent are not regarded as fast days, in the sense that on those days there is no strict fast, i.e., total abstinence from food to a designated time, but even on those days there gradually came into existence the practice of eating only certain types of food, such as bread, fruits, fish and in some places even milk. This means that on Saturday and Sunday there was no strict fast, but only abstinence.

The Kievan Metropolitan George during the Great Fast permitted all the laity to eat only fish twice a day on Saturday and Sunday. The Synod of Lviv (1891), speaking of the Forty Days Fast declared: “that, according to the present custom among the people, also Saturdays and Sundays are to be observed as fast days.” (Title XI) However, considering the distinction between fasting, in the strict sense, and abstinence, the Synod says: “However, in this matter one must consider local customs and needs.” (Title XI)

The Great Fast in our Church

Among our people the holy Great Fast has always been held in great respect and strictly observed. The Kievan Metropolitan George (1072-1073) commanded such a fast during the Forty Days Fast, i.e., the Great Fast. During the first week of fasting: dry food, i.e., bread, water and fruit could be eaten once a day, without any other drink. During the remaining weeks of the fast on Monday, Wednesday and Friday dry food was permitted once a day; on Tuesday and Thursday – thin gruel with olive or poppy-seed oil was allowed once a day; on Saturday and Sunday fish could be eaten twice a day; on the feast of the Annunciation fish only was permitted.

St. Theodosius Pechersky (c. 1035-1074), following the rule of St. Theodore the Studite, introduced the following fast into the Kievan-Pechersky monastery (also called the “Monastery of the Caves” – “pechera” is the Ukrainian word for “cave”). Throughout the six weeks of the Great Fast food was permitted once a day. During the first week it consisted of dry food, that is bread and fruit. During the remaining five weeks, on Wednesday and Friday, as in the first week, and on other days – vegetables and porridge without oil was permitted. During the first week of the Great Fast, and afterward on Wednesday and Friday of the remaining weeks wine was forbidden; exceptions were made, however, for the sick and the aged. Instead of wine during that time, a special drink was prepared which consisted of pepper, caraway seeds and anise. On the other remaining days of subsequent weeks, one glass of wine was allowed. On Saturdays and Sundays food could be taken twice a day with wine. During Passion Week the fast was even stricter.

Our Synods, first the Synod of Zamost (1720), then afterward the Synod of Lviv (1891), relaxed this once very strict fast somewhat for the faithful of our Church. The Synod of Zamost permitted dairy products during the Forty Days Fast. With regard to this matter it issued the following prescription: “Beginning with Monday following the Sunday of Cheesefare to the feast of the Holy Pasch (Easter) and even before that fast one week only with dairy products.” (Title XVI) The Synod of Lviv, besides dairy products during the Great Fast permitted meat also on certain days, after the recitation of certain prescribed prayers.The greatest relaxation of all fasts in the whole Catholic Church came after the Second Vatican Council. Following the directives of this Council, our Ukrainian Catholic Bishops together with the Major Archbishop Cardinal Joseph approved the relaxation of all fasts for our Church, including the Forty Days Fast. A decree on fasting issued by Major Archbishop Joseph in 1966 prescribed that all the faithful are bound to abstain from meat on all the Fridays of the year. Besides this, they are also bound to abstain from meat and dairy products on the first day of Lent and on Great Friday.

This decree also reminds all the faithful of the continuing obligation of prayer, mortification and the cultivation of the spiritual life: “Let all these great relaxations,” the final words of the decree states, “be at the same time a strong incentive and encouragement to repent and to avoid sin and offences against God. Let all faithful Christians remember that the Christian spirit scarcely dwells, if at all, in the family where prayer has become silent, the practice of fasting has disappeared, and even the memory of it is forgotten. Therefore, let the relaxed fast increase our zeal in prayer, meditation and participation in divine services, almsgiving, labor, frequent Confessions and Holy Communions.” (Blahovisnyk, Year II, Bk. 2-4)

“Because we did not fast we were banished from paradise. So then let us fast so as to return back to paradise.” (St. Basil, On Fasting I)

Although our time has brought with it many changes in church laws, traditions, and discipline, and the Second Vatican Council has relaxed the rules for fasting, including the Great Fast, nevertheless, the Forty Days Fast still has significance for our spiritual life. For various reasons, today we may be unable to fast in the same way as our ancestors did; yet even today we are obliged to a spiritual fast – that is, we are obliged to refrain from sin, and from giving in to our evil inclinations. We are also obliged to pray and to practice virtue and good deeds. In reality then, the most important goal of the Great Fast is our spiritual renewal.
In the last chapter we discussed the institution and duration of the Great Fast, now we shall speak about its purpose as recorded in three different periods of history:

1. Apostolic Times:
For the Apostles and First Christians, the day of the Jewish Pasch was a sorrowful day commemorating the death of Jesus Christ, therefore, they celebrated this day with prayer, contrition and fasting. This association of the Pasch with fasting lasted a long time. Even in the second century one may find the word “Pasch” used to denote “fasting”. This practice seems to echo the time when the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ took place on one and the same day. This association of the sad event of Christ’s death with the joyful event of His resurrection has left its traces in our Great Saturday services in which the lenten service is merged with the resurrection service.

2. The Paschal Fast and the Catechumenate:
The third and fourth centuries witnessed the greatest flourishing of the catechumenate. Catechumens were those who were being prepared for the sacrament of Baptism. This preparation extended over a period of three years and terminated solemnly during the Great Fast. The concluding acts of this preparation were: the giving of a name to thecatechumen at the beginning of the Great Fast, an exorcism of evil spirits which took place daily throughout the whole lenten period, the last instructions in the truths of the holy faith, the final examination and then, the Baptism itself which took place on Great Saturday. Some of these acts were incorporated into the daily service.

To become a Christian and a member of the Church through Baptism was regarded as an important event in the life of the newly-baptized and in the life of the Church. For this reason, this joyful event was usually celebrated on the great feasts of the Pasch (Resurrection), Pentecost or the Theophany. In the third century, the rite of baptism was associated above all with the feast of the Pasch. The catechumens prepared themselves for baptism by fasting and prayer. Under the influence of the catechumenate the pre- paschal fast was extended to forty days. As time went on, the rest of the faithful also began to observe this fast together with the catechumens. St. Justin the Martyr (†167) speaks about this custom of the faithful observing the fast together with the catechumens. He says that those who embraced the Christian faith

“were taught to implore God by fasting and prayer for the forgiveness of past sins, and we pray and fast together with them.” (Apol. 1,61)

3. The Great Fast An Endeavor of Soul and Body: The institution of the catechumenate contributed not only to the extension of the Great Fast to forty days, but also to the fact that, in time, all the faithful adopted this fast so that it became the pre-paschal fast for the whole Church. Later, when the institution of the catechumenate lost some of its meaning, the Forty Days Fast became an independent ritual. Today, it is observed by the faithful as a time for special prayer, fasting and penance, and as a spiritual preparation for the feast of the Pasch (Resurrection). This attitude of the Church finds its most beautiful expression in our lenten services, customs and practices. We shall mention certain ones here.

a.) Lenten Services:
The lenten services differ from the ordinary church services in that they include more prayers, more psalms and more readings, especially from the Old Testament. During lenten services the entire Psalter is read twice a week. Predominant throughout these services is the spirit of penance and sorrow for sins. The Lenten sticheras in Vespers and Matins either lament the fall of man into sin, summon us to penance and sor row, extol the benefits of fasting and good works, or inspire us to master our senses and to practice virtue. “Let us fast in a manner pleasing and acceptable to God,” says one of the stichera of the aposticha in the Vespers of the first Monday, “genuine fasting is alienating oneself from evil, restraining the tongue, putting aside hatred, parting company with conconcupiscence, falsehood and the breaking of oaths, abstaining from all these things is real fasting.” In the aposticha of Matins of the first Monday, we sing:

“The fast has arrived, the mother of purity, the discoverer of sins, the preacher of penance, the companion of the Angels and the salvation of man: Let us, the faithful, cry out: O God, have mercy on us.”

b. Lenten Penances and Prostrations:
In the first centuries of Christianity the practice of public penance for various sins and offences prevailed in the Church. Following the wishes of the Church, many penitents performed their penance during the Great Fast. Just as the faithful adopted the Forty Days Fast from the catechumens, so too, under the influence of Church discipline they began to regard themselves as penitents and to perform various penitential acts during the Great Fast. From this stems the profound penitential spirit of our lenten services.
Closely connected with our lenten services are inclinations. These inclinations are made either by bowing from the waist or to the ground (the low, profound bow or prostration), and they are performed at all lenten services from Monday through Friday.
The prayer of St. Ephrem (+373) with accompanying preparations merits special consideration. This prayer, repeated at every lenten service, can be regarded the official lenten penitential prayer of our Church, expressing, as it does, the whole content and purpose of the Great Fast. We give it here in its entirety:

“O Lord and Master of my life, drive from me the spirit of discouragement, negligence, ambition and idle talk. (Prostration).
“Grant me, your servant, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and charity. (Prostration).
“Yes, my Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins, and not judge my brother, for you are blessed forever, and ever. Amen.” (Prostration).

The Kyievan Metropolitan George (1073) in his “Rules” for priests and laity prescribes for all the faithful to make three hundred prostrations daily during the Forty Days Fast.

c. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts:
A typical lenten service is the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. Already in the first centuries there was a custom during the Forty Days Fast to omit the celebration of the Divine Liturgy because, at that time, it was still linked with agape, that is the love banquet, and this was not in keeping with the spirit of fasting. Furthermore, the Divine Liturgy was regarded as a joyful mystery; for this reason, its celebration was limited to Saturday and Sunday. On the other days of the week, to give the faithful an opportunity to receive Holy Communion, the Divine Liturgy was replaced by other services, from which the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts developed in time. Actually, this is not a Liturgy in the sense of the word, for it does not have the consecration of bread and wine; but rather, it is a Vespers service combined with the rite of Holy Communion, for which the bread was previously consecrated. Hence the name of Presanctified Gifts.

The Council of Laodicea (c. 364) prescribed: “It is not permitted during the Great Fast to offer up the Bread (that is the Holy Liturgy), except on Saturday and Sunday” (rule 49). The Sixth Ecumenical Council of Trullo (691) decreed: “On all the days of the Great Fast, with the exception of Saturday and Sunday, and the feast of the Annunciation, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts must be celebrated.” (rule 52).
When the zeal of the first Christians gradually began to diminish and the custom of daily and frequent Holy Communion was abandoned, the Great Fast became also the time of preparation for a worthy reception of Holy Communion on the feast of the Pasch.

d. Lenten Sermons:
In former times, the faithful attended services even twice a day during the Great Fast. At these services, sermons were delivered. St. Basil the Great, during one week in lent, delivered in nine homilies a series of beautiful discourses on the “Hexameron” that is, on the six days of the creation of the world. It was then that he preached twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. He has left us two beautiful discourses on the meaning and benefits of fasting.

“Fasting is not a new invention, but a treasure received from the Fathers. All that is ancient is worthy of praise. Respect the antiquity of fasting! It is as old as man himself.”

(St. Basil, On Fasting I)

The Great Holy Fast, called also the Forty Days Fast, is one of the oldest and most sacred Christian practices. The history of the Great Fast is long and rich in tradition, dating from Apostolic times. The pre-paschal fast is called Great, not only because of its duration but also because of its significance in the life of the Church and of every Christian.
The Fathers of the Church have the greatest respect and the highest praises for the holy fast. Regarding its antiquity, St. Basil (329-379) wrote:

“Allow me again to appeal to history and to recall that fasting is very old and that all the saints observed it as though it were an inheritance from parents, transmitted from father to son. Thus did this treasure come down to us as an unbroken tradition.” (On Fasting I)

Let us examine the development and duration of this spiritual treasure of the Church.

How Did the Pre-Paschal Fast Develop?

From Apostolic times, the Apostles and the first Christian community began to replace the day of the Jewish Passover with that of the commemoration of the passion and death of our Lord. For them, the anniversary of the death of Christ was a very sad day, so to celebrate it worthily, they fasted on that day. Thus the original celebration of the Christian Pasch (Passover) began with a fast. This was the Pasch of the crucifixion. According to the testimony of St. Irenaeus (125-203), which the Church historian, Eusebius (260-340) mentions, the present Forty Days Fast can be traced back to a time when fasting was restricted to one or two days. This fast was not regarded as a pre-paschal fast but as the Pasch itself. According to this testimony some kept the Paschal fast for one day, others for two, others even more, and some fasted forty hours. (History of the Church, 5,24)

In post-apostolic times the Church of the second and third centuries began to attend not only to the sad anniversary of the death of Christ, but also to the joyful anniversary of His Resurrection, so that along with the Pasch of the Crucifixion, the Pasch of the Resurrection with the elimination of the paschal fast slowly gained prominence. Even in apostolic times some had already begun to abandon the fast on the very day of the Jewish Pasch (Passover), and others on the following Sunday. According to the testimony of the historian Socrates (379-440), those who celebrated the Pasch together with the Jews, that is, on the fourteenth day of Nisan, af- firmed that this had been handed down to them by the Apostles and the evangelist St. John; those who celebrated the feast of the Pasch on the Sunday following the Jewish Pasch, maintained that they had received this custom from Sts. Peter and Paul. “Neither one,” remarks Socrates, “can produce any written documents to confirm their positions.’ (History of the Church, 5,22)

From this disputes arose between those who celebrated the Pasch with the Jews and those who celebrated it the following Sunday. These long disputes were finally resolved by the Council of Nicea (325).

The canonical documents, of the third century speak of the time when the paschal fast ended. According to the canons of Hippolytus, the solemn conclusion of the fast took place at the dawn of Resurrection Day; according to the Didascalia, at the third hour of the night; and according to the Apostolic Constitutions, at cock-crow.

The Duration of the Great Fast

In the third century, the pre-paschal fast in some Churches lasted for a whole week, the week that today we call Passion Week. Toward the end of the third century the Great Fast had been extended to forty days. The first clear testimonies concerning the forty days pre-paschal fast date from the fourth century. The first testimony is presented to us by the Council of Nicea, which states that local synods should convene “once before the Forty Days Fast, so that after removing all disorders, a pure gift may be offered to God, and they should convene one other time in the autumn.” (can. 5)

Although in the fourth century the Forty Days Fast became a recognized practice, nevertheless, it is not yet clear- ly defined, nor is it generally accepted. In certain places a fast still is observed which falls between the ancient short fast and the Forty Days Fast, namely, the twenty-day fast. This fast was observed, especially in the West, where the Forty Days Fast appeared at a much later date than in the East.

Referring to the duration of the fast before the Pasch (Easter) in various countries, the historian Socrates, reports:

“The fast before the Pasch is observed variously in localities; namely, in Rome, before the Pasch the faithful fast for three weeks, except Saturdays and Sundays. In Illyrium, throughout all Greece and Alexandria they fast for six weeks before Easter and this is called the Forty Days Fast. In other places, the people fast seven weeks before the feast of the Pasch.”

(History of the Church. 5,22)
In Egypt, important testimony regarding the gradual transition from the short fast to the Forty Days Fast is found in the paschal letters of St. Athanasius the Great (c. 297-373). In 329, in the first of these letters, he does not specifically mention the Forty Days Fast but speaks only of the beginning of the “holy fast” associated with the Monday of Passion Week. In the eleventh paschal letter of 340 written in Rome and addressed to bishop Serapion of Thmuis, who in the absence of St. Athanasius had governed the Church in Egypt, St. Athanasius gives the following instruction: “Notify the brethren regarding the Forty Days Fast and at the same time instruct them that when the whole world fasts, we alone, who live in Egypt should not expose ourselves to ridicule by not fasting, but rather rejoicing during that time.” In the nineteenth letter of 346, St. Athanasius speaks of the observance of the Forty Days Fast as an indispensable condition for a worthy celebration of the Pasch (Easter):

“He who neglects the Forty Days Fast and enters without reflecting the holy of holies with an impure heart, he does not celebrate the feast of the Pasch.”

Wherever the custom of the six week fast was in practice, it began on the Monday of the second week of our present day Fast. At the time this practice prevailed, the first week of the Forty Days Fast had not yet become an integral part of the fast.
According to an ancient tradition of the Eastern Church, Saturdays and Sundays were not regarded as fast days. Therefore, so that the total number of fast days would be forty, the fast was extended from six to seven weeks. By the end of the fourth century the pre-paschal fast or Forty Days Fast had already become an accepted practice in both the Eastern and Western Churches.

Is the Number “40” to be Taken Literally or Symbolically

Although we speak of a “forty-day fast”, nevertheless in the Eastern Church this forty day fast lasts only thirty-six and a half days. Seven weeks of fast, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, leaves only thirty-five days. To this number Holy Saturday and half the night before Easter must be added. But this still leaves thirty-six and a half days of fast which constitutes one tenth of the whole year.

The Latin Church has a six week fast, including Saturdays, so that even in the West the Quadragesima (or Forty Days Fast) consisted of only thirty-six days. Therefore, in order to have a full forty days fast, the Latin Church in the seventh century added still another four days to the beginning of the fast. The Latin Church therefore, begins her fast on “Ash Wednesday”, that is, the Wednesday of our first week of the fast.

From ancient times the number “40”, like the numbers 3, 7 and 9, was regarded as having a symbolic meaning, and it is in the symbolic rather than the literal sense that “40” days of the pre-paschal fast must be understood. In the Old Testament we read about the Flood which lasted for 40 days (Gen. 7,4), the forty years that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness (Nm 14,33), the forty days fast of Moses, before he received the tablets of the law from God (Ex. 34,28), and the 40 days journey of Elias to the mountain Horeb (I Kings 19,8). In the New Testament, the Gospels speak of the fortieth day on which Joseph and Mary presented the child Jesus in the temple, the 40 days fast of our Lord in the desert (Mt. 4,2), and the 40 days sojourn of our Lord on earth after His resurrection (Acts 1,2).

Holy Church from the very beginning sanctified the number “40”. During the first centuries, the practice of a forty day penance was customary. This was followed by the Forty Days Fast before the Pasch (Easter). In our Rite, a child is brought to church forty days after its birth so that the rite of Churching may be performed over it; also on the fortieth day after death, we commemorate the dead.