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Great Lent is the time of preparation for the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. It is a time of renewed prayer, fasting, and repentance. In the Orthodox Church, Great Lent is not a season of morbidity and gloominess, however, it is a time to express sorrow for our sins. During the lenten season, we should devote more time reading the Holy Bible and meditation. Foremost, our activity during this period should include attendance for all the many beautiful lenten services worshipping with our family and friends.

The Sundays of Great Lent:

Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy
This is a historical feast commemorating the return of the icons to the churches in the year 843 after they had been banned for several decades. The heresy of iconoclasm was overcome.

St. Gregory Palamas
It was St. Gregory (de.1359) who bore living witness that men can become divine through the grace of God in the Holy Spirit. St. Gregory clearly teaches that by cooperating with the God who makes all things possible, we can attain eternal life.

Veneration of the Cross
The Kingdom of God comes only through the Cross and through suffering. The Cross stands in the midst of the church in the middle of the lenten season not merely to remind men of Christ’s redemption and to keep before them the goal of their efforts, but also to be venerated as that reality by which man must live to be saved. “He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:38)

St. John of the Ladder (Climacus)
Abbot of St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai (6th century) and author of the work, The Ladder of Divine Ascent. In this work, St. John outlines the steps essential for attaining communion with God - steps which remind us that the way to the Kingdom constantly requires enormous effort for entrance into God’s Kingdom.

Saint Mary of Egypt
A repentant harlot, Mary tells us, that no amount of sin and wickedness can keep a person from God if he truly repents. St. Mary recognized her sinfulness and sought to bring about an essential change in her life. She ran from her sinfulness and devoted the remainder of her life to placing God’s will above her own.