What does orthodox lent mean

Following Cheesefare Sunday also known as Forgiveness Sunday , dairy is removed, initiating the strict fasting of Great Lent. The original purpose of the pre-Pascha fast now known as Great Lent was the fasting of catechumens who were being prepared for baptism and entry into the Church.

However, it quickly became a time for those who were already Christian to prepare for the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. It is the living symbol of man's entire life which is to be fulfilled in his own resurrection from the dead with Christ. It is a time of renewed devotion: of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is a time of repentance, a real renewal of minds, hearts and deeds in conformity with Christ and his teachings.

It is the time, most of all, of return to the great commandments of loving God and neighbors. Please consider supporting OrthodoxWiki. We are to replace them with listening to spiritual music, reading or listening to Scripture and other edifying books, exchanging youtube videos on secular matters with matters of faith, etc. Buy some new spiritual books to read. If you will not do this on all days, then do it at least on Wednesdays and Fridays when Christ was betrayed and when Christ was crucified.

Prepare for and go to a meaningful and well-prepared Confession at least once during the 40 day fast of Great Lent i. Well prepared means doing a full examination of conscience, such as found in prayer books, or the following on our website holyorthodox.

Why before Holy Week? Great Lent and Holy Week are distinct from one another and have different purposes. Many want to fast, but cannot do the strictest levels of fasting for various reasons. The full fast prescribed in the Typikon of the Monastery of St. Sabbas--no meat, eggs, dairy through the whole period. One may eat olive oil and small portion of wine only on Saturdays and Sundays and Annunciation, fish with backbone only on Annunciation, Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday.

One may eat shellfish through the period. No hard liquor strong drink. Abstain from all meat throughout Great Lent and Holy Week. Abstain from eggs and dairy throughout, but when this is not possible most definitely on Pure Week, on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the period, and during Holy Week.

Hard liquor is to be abstained from throughout all of Lent. During Holy Week from Holy Monday to Great Saturday , try to fast as strictly as possible, and especially from Thursday evening after supper until Saturday night, abstaining from meat, eggs, dairy, fish, and alcohol.

Eat no full meals but only collations small meals for health from Thursday night after supper until Saturday after the Basil Liturgy, but then still eat only fasting foods. Following the midnight Liturgy we break the ascetical fast and eat all kinds of foods as it is the Feast of feasts, with a completely fast-free week following.

Eat no meat, eggs or dairy on Pure Monday, nor on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout. Abstain from a whole meat group mammal meat, for example, since mammals are closest to humans, or at least from a whole group such as beef or pork throughout the whole period, and all meat, eggs and cheese on Wednesdays betrayal and Fridays crucifixion.

During Holy Week, try to fast as strictly as possible, but especially from Thursday evening after supper until Saturday night from meat, eggs and cheese, eating no full meals but only collations small meals for health until after the final Resurrection Liturgy. Give up at least one type of mammal meat pork, beef, etc. For Presanctified Liturgy , fast until midday, eat fasting foods as needed after that, and abstain from all food for 4 hours prior to Communion Communion usually comes about 50 minutes into the Presanctified Liturgy.

In other words, if Presanctified Liturgy starts at say 7pm, communion would be about pm. Count back 4 hours from that start abstaining from food around pm. This Sunday commemorates the triumphant entrance of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem received Christ as a king, and, therefore, took branches of palms and went out to meet Him, laying down the palms in His path.

The people cried out the prophecy of Zechariah: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel" v. They had heard of the works and words of Christ, especially about the resurrection of Lazarus. All the events related to Christ had a Messianic meaning for the Jews at the time. This vexed the high priests and pharisees. As usual, Christ went to the Temple to pray and teach. That evening Christ departed for Bethany. The tradition of the Church of distributing palms on this Sunday comes from the act of the people in placing the branches of palms in front of Christ, and henceforth symbolizes for the Christian the victory of Christ over evil forces and death.

The period of Great Lent includes the days of Holy Week. This is the time when Christians who went through the whole period of Lent in prayer and fasting approach the Feast of Feasts to celebrate the Passions of Christ and His Resurrection.

During the entire Lent the faithful try to practice and live the ideals and standards of this period in the light of Easter. This is why the Hymnology of the entire period of Lent, especially during Holy Week, refers to the Resurrection of Christ as the center of the Christian Faith. Each day of Holy Week is dedicated to the Events and teachings of Christ during His last week on earth.

The faithful who participate in the services of this week are more conscious of their duties to themselves and to their neighbors through fasting, praying, giving alms, forgiving the trespasses of others; in other words, participating, day by day, in the spirit of the Gospel of Christ. Great Lent before Easter is when the Christian participates fully in preparing himself to praise and glorify his God as Lord and Savior.

Great Lent is like a "workshop" where the character of the faithful is spiritually uplifted and strengthened; where his life is rededicated to the principles and ideals of the Gospel; where the faith culminates in deep conviction of life; where apathy and disinterest turn into vigorous activities of faith and good works.

Lent is not for the sake of Lent itself, as fasting is not for the sake of fasting. But they are means by which and for which the individual believer prepares himself to reach for, accept and attain the calling of his Savior. Therefore, the significance of Great Lent is highly appraised, not only by the monks who gradually increased the length of time of the Lent, but also by the lay people themselves, although they do not observe the full length of time.

As such, Great Lent is the sacred Institute of the Church to serve the individual believer in participating as a member of the Mystical Body of Christ, and, from time to time, to improve the standards of faith and morals in his Christian life.

The deep intent of the believer during the Great Lent is "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus", Philippians George Mastrantonis.

The Institute of Lent There are institutes and symbols adopted by nations, churches or groups of men which represent certain ideals accumulated in the past.

The Origin of Fasting One may ask how the Institute of fasting originated. The Further Development of Fasting Over the years, the days of fasting increased to seven before Easter.

Fasting is not for the sake of fasting alone: Fasting was devised in order to humble the body. If, therefore, the body is already in a state of humbleness and illness or weakness, the person ought to partake of as much as he or she may wish and be able to get along with food and drink. Canon 8 of St. Timothy of Alexandria, The Meaning of the Feast Days of Lent Great Lent is a period of time when the people are more conscious of their spiritual character. Many verses in the Old Testament refer to this: Thus says the Lord of Hosts: the fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore, love, truth and peace Zechariah In continuation of the practice of fasting, the Christian Church determined the period of Lent to depend upon the great Feast of Easter, as set forth by the First Ecumenical Synod in John of Climax , Fifth Sunday St.

On four Friday evenings a fourth of the Akathist Hymn is read, with the entire Hymn read the fifth Friday. The Four Preparatory Weeks The Sunday of the Tax Collector and Pharisee John Arrogance is the perversion of the soul and spirit of man; it is the greatest weapon of the evil one; it is the mother of hypocrisy; it is the obstacle of spiritual progress: it is the degradation of civilization; it is the greatest enemy of man; it is the opposite of repentance; it is the corruption of the conscience of man.

This is why the Church designated the first Sunday of preparation for acceptance of the Message of the Resurrection of Christ, with the Parable of the Tax Collector and Pharisee being read. The root of evil, arrogance, should be uprooted and replaced with the virtue of humbleness, which is the teaching of this Parable.

The highest degree of man's arrogance is when a person speaks to God in prayers as did the Pharisee, who said, "God I thank thee", only for the opportunity to enumerate his achievements publicly, comparing himself to others who, according to him, were sinners, saying "I am not like other men, sinners, or even like this tax collector".

He extolled himself saying, "I fast, I give tithe", which he did. But the more he boasted, the more he condemned himself through arrogance. It is the consequence of arrogance. Prodigality is the unreckoning extravagance in sensuality. The prodigal is one who cannot be saved, whose life is dissolute, who squandered his father's property. Prodigality, then, is the second basic corruption toward which man is inclined.

This is why this Parable is known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the subject matter of this week. Despite the characterization in this Parable, its main subject is the warm parental love of the Father. The father's love was unbroken and firm for his prodigal son. His love was shown more at the return of his son than in the beginning, despite the fact that his son squandered his "properties".

In the end, however, the son exchanged his prodigality for repentance, and this is the crux of the parable. This moment changes the prodigal son into the prudent son, expelling arrogance with repentance. While the son was returning to his father, he kept rehearsing over and over again: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you".

But when the son saw his father's house from afar, his father saw him, and ran to him and embraced him warmly. Thus, the son did not have the opportunity to tell his father what he had been rehearsing. The son at the beginning said, "give me", but in the end he asked, "make me", which is the depth of repentance and obedience, the challenging factors of a Christian.

And this reason must obviously concern me , my life, my faith, my membership in the Church. I must try to understand it, to follow as much as I can the teachings of my Church, be Orthodox not only by name, but in life itself. What then is repentance? Great Lent gives the answer to this question.