Its Meaning for Orthodox Christians by The Rt. Rev. Alexander Schmemann DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA New York 1970 Second Printing 1977...

THE TIME OF REPENTANCE "Brethren, while fasting bodily, let us also fast spiritually; let us loosen every bond of injustice; let us destroy the strong fetters of violence; let us tear up every unjust writing; let us give bread to the hungry and let us welcome the homeless poor to our houses, that from Christ our God we may receive the great mercy." ( Stichira, Wednesday of the First Week ) We are approaching again the Great Lent—the time of repentance, the time of our reconciliation with God. Re

(Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee) On the eve of this day (i.e. on Saturday at Vespers) the liturgical book of the Lenten season—the Triodion makes its first appearance and texts from it are added to the usual liturgical material of the weekly Resurrection service. They develop the first major theme of repentance: humility . The Gospel lesson (Luke 18:10-14) teaches us that humility is the condition of repentance. The parable of the Publican and Pharisee pictures a man who is always pleased w

(Sunday of the Prodigal Son) The Gospel reading of this day (Luke 15:11-32) gives us the second theme of Lent and repentance: that of the return to God . It is not enough to acknowledge sins and to confess them. Repentance remains fruitless without the desire and decision to change life, to go back to God, to begin the movement of ascension and purification. We must realize that we have lost our spiritual beauty and purity and we must want to recover them: "... I shall return to the compassionat

(Meat Fare Sunday) On Meat Fare Saturday (preceding this Sunday) the Church prescribes the universal commemoration of all her departed members. The Church is unity and love in Christ. We all depend on each other, belong to each other, are united by the love of Christ. Our repentance, therefore, would not be complete without an act of love towards all those who have departed this life before us. Repentance is primarily the recovery of the spirit of love: "By this shall all men know that you are m

(Cheese Fare Sunday) This is the last day before Lent. Its liturgy develops three themes: (a) " the expulsion of Adam from the paradise of bliss. " Man was created for paradise—for knowledge of God and communion with Him. His sins have deprived him of this blessed life and his existence on earth is an exile. Christ, the God-man, opens the doors of Paradise to every one who follows Him and the Church is our guide to the heavenly fatherland. (b) Our fast must not be hypocritical, a show off. We mu

The Lent begins with the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. Written in the seventh century by one of the greatest hymn-writers of the Orthodox Church, this canon is the purest expression of repentance. The author contemplates the great history of salvation, recorded in the Old and the New Testaments and applies its various images to the state of his sinful soul. It is a long, pathetic lamentation of a Christian who discovers again and again how much God has loved him, how much He ha

On weekdays of Lent this prayer is read twice at the end of each service: first, with a prostration after each of its petitions, then with one final prostration. Here is the text: "O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk." Prostration. "But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant." "Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother; for Thou art blessed unto ages of ag

A characteristic feature of Lenten services is the use of the Old Testament, normally absent from the daily cycle of worship. Lessons from three books of the Bible are read daily throughout Lent: Genesis and Proverbs at Vespers, Isaiah at the Sixth Hour. These readings indicate that Lent is a time of preparation , a spiritual return to the Old Testament, which announced and prepared the coming of Christ and the inauguration in Him of a new life. The book of Genesis tells us the story of Creation

The liturgical book of Lent is the Triodion . Besides the biblical readings, it contains special Lenten hymns to be sung every day at Matins and Vespers. Of a special beauty are the "idiomela" of St. Theodore of Stoudion, short penitential hymns, one sung at Matins and one at Vespers, which more than anything else express the Lenten spirituality of the Orthodox Church. Here are a few examples: "Let us begin, O people the spotless fast, for it is the salvation of our souls. Let us make our devoti

The Psalms occupy a very central position in Orthodox worship. But in Lent the use of the psalter is doubled. Normally it is read once every week; during Lent it is read twice. Of course this is done mainly in monasteries, yet it is important to know that the Church considers the psalms to be an essential spiritual food for the Lenten season....

On weekdays of Lent (Monday through Friday) the celebration of the Divine Liturgy is strictly forbidden. They are non-liturgical days (with one possible exception, the Feast of Annunciation). The reason for this rule is that the Eucharist is by its very nature a festal celebration, the joyful commemoration of Christ's Resurrection and glorification and His presence among His disciples. But twice a week, on Wednesday and Fridays, the Church prescribes the celebration after Vespers, i.e., in the e

The spirit of Lent is also expressed in the liturgical music. Special lenten tones and melodies are used for responses at litanies, for the "Alleluias" and the hymns of the Presanctified Liturgy. Slow, deep and solemn, these melodies provoke in us a longing for purity, and also the sadness for not living up to the "pristine beauty" for which we were created.... And finally, as an external symbol of this state of repentance, preparation and humility, dark purple vestments are used in the Church..

Lenten Saturdays, with the exception of the first, dedicated to the memory of the Holy Martyr Theodore Tyron, and the fifth, the Saturday of the Akathistos, are days of commemoration of the departed . And it would be good to restore this practice of one weekly universal commemoration of all Orthodox Christians departed this life, of their integration in the Eucharist which is always offered "on behalf of all and for all." Each Sunday in Lent, although it preserves its basic meaning: that of the

The first universal precept is that of fasting. The Orthodox teaching concerning fasting is different from the Roman Catholic doctrine and it is essential to understand it. Roman Catholics identify fasting with a "good deed," see in it a sacrifice which earns us a "merit." "What shall I give up for Lent?"—this question is very typical of such an attitude toward fasting. Fasting thus is a formal obligation, an act of obedience to the Church, and its value comes precisely from obedience. The Ortho

We must always pray. But Lent is the time of an increase of prayer and also of its deepening. The simplest way is, first, to add the Lenten prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian to our private morning and evening prayers. Then, it is good and profitable to set certain hours of the day for a short prayer: this can be done "internally"—at the office, in the car, everywhere. The important thing here is to remember constantly that we are in Lent, to be spiritually "referred" to its final goal: renewal, pe

We cannot be in church daily, but it is still possible for us to follow the Church's progress in Lent by reading those lessons and books which the Church reads in her worship. A chapter of the Book of Genesis, some passages from Proverbs and Isaiah do not take much time, and yet they help us in understanding the spirit of Lent and its various dimensions. It is also good to read a few Psalms—in connection with prayer or separately. Nowhere else can we find such concentration of true repentance, o

And, last but not least: there must be an effort and a decision to slow down our life, to put in as much quiet, silence, contemplation, meditation. Radio, TV, newspapers, social gatherings—all these things, however excellent and profitable in themselves, must be cut down to a real minimum. Not because they are bad, but because we have something more important to do, and it is impossible to do without a change of life, without some degree of concentration and discipline. Lent is the time when we

Forgiveness Sunday Vespers. Complete text of the service of Vespers on the eve of Great Lent, with music for the Great Prokimenon of the day. Introduction by Father Alexander Schmemann. 27 pp. $.50 The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. The full text of the lenten service of Holy Communion with appendices for the movable verses and readings. Contains complete text with musical notation for the antiphonal chanting of the Psalms. Introduction by Father Thomas Hopko. 62 pp. $.75 Passion Gospels. T