Great Lent (Velikiy Post)

Great Lent is the most intense liturgical season of the Orthodox year: a 40-day fast plus Holy Week, totaling approximately seven weeks of preparation for Pascha (Easter). It begins on Clean Monday and culminates in the Paschal celebration of the Resurrection. The season is characterized by intensified fasting, prayer, repentance, and a distinctive set of Lenten services that transform the entire texture of Orthodox worship.

Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (with Russian Orthodox and ROCOR-specific notes)

Overview

Great Lent (Velikiy Post, literally “Great Fast”) is the oldest and most important fasting period in the Christian calendar, with roots in the catechetical preparation of converts for baptism at Pascha and in the penitential discipline of the early Church. Schmemann writes that Lent is “the school of repentance” – a journey toward Pascha that is at the same time a journey deeper into the mystery of sin and the mystery of grace (Schmemann, Great Lent, ch. 1).

The structure of Great Lent is:

  • Four Preparatory Sundays (the Lenten Triodion opens with the first of them, the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee)
  • Clean Week (the first week of Lent, the strictest)
  • Weeks 2-6 of Great Lent
  • Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday
  • Holy Week (Strastnaya Sedmitsa, “Passion Week”)
  • Pascha (Easter)

The Preparatory Sundays

The journey toward Great Lent begins weeks before it starts, through a series of preparatory Sundays that gradually introduce the themes of repentance, exile, judgment, and forgiveness:

1. Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee (Nedelya o Mytare i Farisee)

Four Sundays before Great Lent

Gospel: Luke 18:10-14 (the Publican and the Pharisee in the Temple).

Theme: True repentance vs. self-righteous religiosity. The publican’s prayer – “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” – is the model for Lenten prayer. The hymns warn: “Let us flee from the proud speaking of the Pharisee and learn the humility of the Publican.”

Liturgical note: The week following this Sunday is completely fast-free (no fasting even on Wednesday and Friday), as a corrective against Pharisaic pride in fasting.

2. Sunday of the Prodigal Son (Nedelya o Bludnom Syne)

Three Sundays before Great Lent

Gospel: Luke 15:11-32 (the Prodigal Son).

Theme: No matter how far one has wandered, the Father welcomes the repentant sinner home. The hymns say: “I have wasted in riotous living the riches which the Father gave me… but receive me as the Prodigal, O merciful Father.”

Beginning with this Sunday, Psalm 136 (137) is added at Matins after the Polyeleos: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept…” This psalm of exile is sung on this Sunday and the two that follow (Meatfare and Cheesefare), introducing the theme of humanity’s exile from Paradise (The Lenten Triodion, trans. Mother Mary and Ware).

3. Sunday of the Last Judgment / Meatfare Sunday (Nedelya Myasopustnaya)

Two Sundays before Great Lent

Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46 (the Last Judgment – the sheep and the goats).

Theme: The final accountability before God. The criterion of judgment is love shown to “the least of these.” This Sunday is also called Meatfare because it is the last day meat is consumed before Pascha.

Liturgical note: The Saturday before Meatfare is a Universal Memorial Saturday (Roditelskaya Subbota) – one of the great days of prayer for all the departed.

4. Sunday of Forgiveness / Cheesefare Sunday (Syropustnaya Nedelya / Proshchenoye Voskreseniye)

The Sunday before Great Lent

Gospel: Matthew 6:14-21 (on forgiveness and fasting).

Theme: The expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise (commemorated in the hymns) and the necessity of mutual forgiveness as the foundation of Lenten repentance.

Liturgical note: This is the last day dairy products and eggs are consumed (hence “Cheesefare”). At the evening Vespers, the Ceremony of Mutual Forgiveness (Chin Proshcheniya) takes place: the entire congregation – clergy and laity – ask forgiveness from one another, bowing to each person individually: “Forgive me, a sinner.” “God forgives, and I forgive.” This is one of the most moving services of the Orthodox year.

At this Vespers, the Lenten vestments are put on for the first time, and the Lenten melody begins. The transition from the bright “Alleluia” of the normal cycle to the somber Lenten tone is palpable.

The Weeks of Great Lent

Clean Week (Chistaya Sedmitsa) – Week 1

The first week of Great Lent is the strictest in terms of fasting (see Fasting Rules). The Typikon prescribes xerophagy or complete abstinence from food on certain days.

The defining service of Clean Week is the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete (Velikiy Pokayannyy Kanon Svyatogo Andreya Kritskogo). This immense penitential poem (250 troparia) is divided into four parts and read at Great Compline on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings of the first week. It is a sweeping meditation on the entire Bible – from Adam and Eve through the prophets, kings, and apostles – applied to the theme of personal repentance. The refrain is: “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.” The Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian is read with prostrations throughout.

The Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian (Molitva Prepodobnogo Yefrema Sirina):

“O Lord and Master of my life, give me not the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.
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 blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.”

This prayer, accompanied by prostrations (full bows to the ground), is read at every Lenten weekday service and is the most characteristic prayer of Great Lent (Schmemann, Great Lent, ch. 2).

The Sundays of Great Lent

Each Sunday of Lent has a distinctive theme:

  1. Sunday of Orthodoxy (Torzhestvo Pravoslaviya) – First Sunday. Celebrates the triumph of icon-veneration over iconoclasm (843). The Rite of the Triumph of Orthodoxy is served, with a procession of icons. The Synodikon (a text anathematizing heresies and glorifying the defenders of the faith) is read. In ROCOR, this service is given particular solemnity.

  2. Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas – Second Sunday. Commemorates the great defender of hesychasm and the theology of the uncreated divine energies (14th century). His teaching on deification (theosis) and the uncreated light of Tabor is central to Orthodox theology.

  3. Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross (Krestopoklonnaya Nedelya) – Third Sunday (the midpoint of Lent). The Cross is brought to the center of the church for veneration, as at the feast of the Exaltation. The hymns say: “We venerate Thy Cross, O Master, and we glorify Thy holy Resurrection.”

  4. Sunday of St. John Climacus (of the Ladder) – Fourth Sunday. Commemorates the author of The Ladder of Divine Ascent (Lestvitsa), the classic manual of monastic spirituality.

  5. Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt – Fifth Sunday. Commemorates the great penitent who lived in the desert for 47 years after a life of sin, a model of radical repentance.

  6. Palm Sunday – see Great Feasts.

Special Lenten Services

Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts: Served on Wednesday and Friday evenings (see Divine Liturgy for details). In many Russian parishes, it is served as an evening service, preceded by Lenten Hours during the day.

Lenten Matins: The weekday Matins of Lent includes the singing of “Alleluia” instead of “God is the Lord,” additional kathismata (the Psalter is read through twice per week during Lent), and the Lenten Troparia with prostrations. The overall character is deeply penitential.

The Akathist to the Theotokos: At Matins of the Saturday of the fifth week (Saturday of the Akathist / Subbota Akafista), served Friday evening in parish practice, the full Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos is sung. This is the original Akathist – the prototype of all subsequent akathists – traditionally attributed to St. Romanos the Melodist or to Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople (7th century); the actual author is unknown. The Triodion appoints the hymn to be sung in four sections (stases) at points through this Matins; this is the Russian usage. In Greek parish practice, the four sections (the “Salutations,” Chairetismoi) are instead sung one per week at Small Compline on the first four Friday evenings of Lent, with the complete Akathist on the fifth Friday (The Lenten Triodion; OCA liturgical outlines, “Saturday of the 5th Week: The Akathist Hymn”).

The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete (complete reading): On Thursday of the fifth week (Stoyanie Marii Yegipetskoi), the entire Great Canon (all 250 troparia, which were read in four parts during the first week) is read in a single service. The Life of St. Mary of Egypt is also read. This service can last three hours or more.

Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday

Lazarus Saturday (Lazareva Subbota): The Saturday before Palm Sunday. The raising of Lazarus (John 11) is commemorated. This day is a foretaste of Pascha – proof that Christ is the Lord of life and death. The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is served. Fish roe (caviar) is permitted but not fish.

Palm Sunday (Verbnoe Voskresenie): See Great Feasts. Fish is permitted.

Holy Week (Strastnaya Sedmitsa)

Holy Week is not part of the 40 days of Great Lent but a distinct liturgical period. It is the most solemn week of the Orthodox year, reliving the final days of Christ’s earthly life hour by hour.

Holy Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – Bridegroom Matins

The Matins of the first three days of Holy Week is called Bridegroom Matins (Utrenia Zhenikhova) because the troparion begins: “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh at midnight…” The icon of Christ the Bridegroom (Zhenikh) – Christ wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe – is placed in the center of the church.

Monday: The withering of the fig tree; the story of Joseph (Genesis) as a type of Christ.
Tuesday: The Parable of the Ten Virgins; the Parable of the Talents.
Wednesday: The sinful woman who anointed Christ (cf. Luke 7:36-50). The Hymn of Kassiani (Pesn’ Kassii) is sung – a powerful poem attributed to the nun Kassiani (9th century), placing the penitent woman’s words in the first person: “I will kiss Thine immaculate feet and wipe them with the hairs of my head…”

On Wednesday evening (in some parishes; the timing varies, with others serving it earlier in Holy Week or at another point in Lent), the Mystery of Holy Unction (Soborovaniye / Anointing of the Sick) is celebrated communally for all the faithful, not only the sick. The general anointing during Holy Week is a widespread custom in both the Greek tradition (where Holy Wednesday evening is the usual time) and in Russian and ROCOR parishes; it is custom rather than a universal rubric of the Typikon.

Holy Thursday

The Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is served (combined with Vespers in some traditions). The Institution of the Eucharist is commemorated. The Gospel reading is a composite from all four Evangelists recounting the Last Supper, the washing of the disciples’ feet, and the betrayal.

In cathedrals and monasteries, the Washing of the Feet (Umovenie Nog) ceremony is performed by the bishop.

Thursday evening: The Matins of Holy Friday – the Service of the Twelve Gospels (Utrenia s Chteniem 12 Strastnykh Evangeliy). Twelve Gospel passages narrating the Passion of Christ, from the Farewell Discourse (John 13-17) through the burial, are read in sequence, interspersed with antiphons, troparia, and other hymns. The faithful stand holding lit candles. After the reading of the fifth Gospel (the Crucifixion), the Cross with the body of Christ (Raspyatiye) is carried out and placed in the center of the church. This is one of the longest and most intense services of the year.

In Russian popular piety, the faithful bring their lit candles home from this service to light the lampada (icon lamp) – a tradition that has deep roots.

Holy Friday (Velikaya Pyatnitsa)

No full Liturgy is served on Holy Friday. The Church does not celebrate the Eucharist on the day of Christ’s death (this is the only day of the year when no Eucharistic service of any kind is appointed – not even the Presanctified Liturgy). The single exception: when the Annunciation (March 25 OS) falls on Holy Friday, the Typikon’s rubrics for the feast direct that the full Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom be served, combined with Vespers – the Annunciation is never transferred.

Royal Hours are read in the morning (the expanded Hours with Old Testament, Epistle, and Gospel readings at each Hour).

Vespers of Holy Friday (served in the early afternoon, around the ninth hour – approximately 3:00 PM, the hour of Christ’s death): The Gospel of the removal of Christ’s body from the Cross is read. During the service, the Plashchanitsa (Epitaphios) – a large cloth icon depicting the body of Christ lying in the tomb – is carried out in procession and placed on a decorated table (grob, “tomb”) in the center of the church. The faithful venerate the Plashchanitsa with prostrations and kissing.

Matins of Holy Saturday (served Friday evening): The Lamentations (Pokhvaly) – a complex service structured around Psalm 118 (119), divided into three stases (sections), with short poetic verses (stikhi) interspersed. The themes are the burial of Christ, the grief of the Theotokos, and the descent of Christ into Hades. At the end of the Lamentations, the Plashchanitsa is carried in procession around the outside of the church (or, in cold weather, around the inside), representing the burial of Christ. The Great Doxology is sung.

This is an extraordinarily beautiful and mournful service. In Russian practice, the Lamentations are sung to distinctive and haunting melodies.

Holy Saturday (Velikaya Subbota)

The Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is served (combined with Vespers). Fifteen Old Testament readings (the paremii) precede the Epistle, taking the faithful on a journey through salvation history: Creation, the Exodus, the crossing of the Red Sea, Jonah, the Three Youths in the fiery furnace, etc. During the reading of the passage about the crossing of the Red Sea, the clergy change from dark Lenten vestments into white – the first glimpse of Paschal joy. The Epistle (Romans 6:3-11) speaks of baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. The Gospel (Matthew 28:1-20) recounts the Resurrection.

In the early Church, this was the primary baptismal liturgy. The hymn “As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27), sung in place of the Trisagion, reflects this baptismal origin.

Pascha (Paskha)

The Midnight Office

Late Saturday night, the faithful gather. The Midnight Office is served. The canon of Holy Saturday (“Do not lament me, O Mother…”) is read. The Plashchanitsa is carried from the center of the church back to the altar.

The Paschal Procession

Just before midnight, all lights in the church are extinguished. The clergy and faithful, carrying lit candles, process outside the church. The church doors are closed (representing the sealed tomb). The procession circles the church, arriving at the closed west doors.

At midnight, the priest intones: “Glory to the holy, consubstantial, life-creating, and undivided Trinity…” and then sings for the first time:

“Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!”

The troparion is repeated – first softly, then with increasing joy and volume, taken up by the clergy and the entire congregation. The doors of the church are flung open (the stone is rolled away), and the faithful enter the church, now blazing with light. The Paschal celebration has begun.

Paschal Matins

The Paschal Matins is the most joyful service of the year. Its structure is unique:

  • The Paschal Canon of St. John of Damascus is sung: “It is the Day of Resurrection! Let us be radiant, O peoples! Pascha, the Lord’s Pascha! For from death to life, and from earth to heaven, has Christ our God brought us, singing the song of victory!”
  • Between each ode of the Canon, the clergy make a procession through the church, censing and exclaiming: “Christ is risen!” The people respond: “Indeed He is risen!” (Khristos Voskrese! – Voistinu Voskrese!)
  • The Paschal Stichera are sung: “Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered… This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”
  • The Catechetical Homily of St. John Chrysostom is read (or chanted) – a short, fiery sermon inviting all to the Paschal feast: “Let all partake of the feast of faith! Let all enjoy the riches of goodness!… Let no one grieve over sins, for forgiveness has shone forth from the tomb!… Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in a tomb!”
  • The Paschal Hours replace the ordinary Hours, consisting entirely of Paschal hymns.

The Paschal Liturgy

The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom follows immediately. The Gospel (John 1:1-17) – “In the beginning was the Word…” – is traditionally read in multiple languages, symbolizing the universal proclamation of the Resurrection to all peoples. In ROCOR, it is commonly read in Church Slavonic, English, and one or more additional languages.

After the Liturgy, the Paschal foods – kulich (Paschal bread), paskha (a sweet cheese dish), eggs, and meats – are blessed. The Great Fast is ended. The feast begins.

Bright Week (Svetlaya Sedmitsa)

The week following Pascha is Bright Week. There is no fasting of any kind. The Royal Doors of the iconostasis remain open all week (a unique feature, symbolizing that the gates of paradise are now open). The Paschal services are repeated daily.

(The Lenten Triodion, trans. Mother Mary and Kallistos Ware, passim; Schmemann, Great Lent, chs. 1-7)

See Also

References

  • The Lenten Triodion. Trans. Mother Mary and Kallistos Ware. London: Faber and Faber, 1978; South Canaan, PA: St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press.
  • Schmemann, Alexander. Great Lent: Journey to Pascha. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1969.
  • Schmemann, Alexander. The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1988.
  • Chrysostom, John. Catechetical Homily for Pascha. (Read at every Paschal Matins.)
  • Andrew of Crete, St. The Great Canon. Various translations.
  • Bulgakov, Sergei V. Handbook for Church Servers (Nastolnaya Kniga). 2nd ed., 1900.
  • Hapgood, Isabel Florence. Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church.