The Meaning of the Holy Week in the Orthodox Church
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THE MEANING OF THE HOLY LENT & HOLY WEEK IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH Η Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή και η Μεγάλη Εβδομάδα στην Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία 2015 ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 5761 E. COLORADO ST. LONG BEACH, CA 90814 “Open to me the gates of repentance, O Giver of Life: for early in the morning my spirit HOLY WEEK SERVICES seeks Your Holy Temple…” (ΛΕΙΤΟΥΡΓΙΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΗΣ ΕΒΔΟΜΑΔΑΣ) Dearly Beloved, As we commence our annual journey through the Great Fast, the words of this hymn should resound Sunday, 4/5 within us. We began chanting them at the first Sunday of the Triodion and we will continue to hear Των Βαΐων. Palm Sunday. them throughout our Lenten journey as a continual reminder of the purpose of this holy season: repentance or metanoia. During the Lenten season our Orthodox Faith places the tools of repentance in our hands, inviting us to use Orthros 8:45 am. Divine Liturgy 10:00 am them to deepen our relationship with God. The hymn tells us that repentance is found in the holy temple of the Most 1st Bridegroom Service 7:00 pm. (5pm ‐ 7pm Confession) High God. Naturally when we hear “temple” we think of our church and the many Lenten services and programs that areset before us. We can find repentance when we partake of the spiritual banquet of Lenten services and educational opportunities offered in our parishes and participate in them, listen to them, and heed their counsel. Holy Monday, 4/6 Του Νυμφίου. 2nd Bridegroom Service 7:00 pm (5pm ‐ 7pm Confession) During Great Lent, the banquet of holy services replaces, or is intended to replace, the banquets and parties that dominate the rest of the year. Our diets will change so that we may focus on the other changes that are needed in our Holy Tuesday, 4/7 (Των 10 Παρθένων) lives. A hymn from Clean Monday (Kathara Deftera) says it best, “May this first day of the fast, be for you, my soul, a time of abstinence from sin, of turning towards God and drawing near to Him.”Turning toward God also happens in Του Νυμφίου. 3rd Bridegroom Service 7:00 pm (5pm ‐ 7pm Confession) the temple, to be sure, but when we hear “temple”, we can also understand it to mean the Body of Christ, our fellow parishioners, and our neighbors. Holy Wednesday, 4/8 (Της Αλειψάσης Τον Κύριον) Turning toward God and turning away from sin involves turning toward our world and increasing our acts of philan- Sacrament of Holy Unction 3:00 pm thropy and charity. As we hear on the Sunday of the Last Judgment, “Knowing the commandments of the Lord, let Orthros for Mystical Supper 7:00 pm (Sacrament of Holy Unction) this be our way of life: let us feed the hungry, let us give the thirsty drink, let us clothe the naked, let us welcome strangers, let us visit those in prison and the sick.” Holy Thursday, 4/9 (Ο Μυστικός Δείπνος) Increasing our philanthropic and charitable activity as individuals, parishes, and as a Metropolis, are just as important Liturgy of St. Basil 10:00 am during Great Lent as observing the fast. How does replacing a hamburger with shrimp in our diets brings us closer to Ακολουθία των Παθών (12 Ευαγγέλια). God or inaugurate His Kingdom when we observe hunger and poverty in our communities? Financial donations, but Service of Passion 7:00 pm more importantly, person-to-person, face-to-face support, care, and assistance is the command of the Lord. Our Me- tropolis Strategic Plan calls for an increase in our works of philanthropy and charity. Great Lent places this challenge before us – on a daily basis. And whom shall we assist? Our prayers during Lent place no limits on our philanthropic Holy Friday, 4/10 (Τα Άγια Πάθη Του Κυρίου) acts and concerns. The Anaphora of the Liturgy of Saint Basil, which we will hear for the next five Sundays, offers Reading of the Royal Hours 1:00 pm the gifts for all humanity and concludes with the phrase, “and unite us all to one another….” The prayer connects us Αποκαθήλωσις. Decent from the Cross 2:30 pm and invites us to identify with all the people that have been named. The prayer is a prayer of catholicity and solidarity for all, no matter their status in life, and with no conditions upon their worthiness for such mention or for our solidar- Επιτάφιος. Lamentations Service 7:00 pm ity with them. Holy Saturday, 4/11 (Η Ταφή Του Κυρίου) During the Great Fast we are thus given two interrelated commands: to look inward through the services and ascetic disciplines, and to look out ward through acts of philanthropy and charity to our neighbor. Our inward Lenten jour- Liturgy of St. Basil 10:00 am ney is meant to be an outward Lenten reach to all in need, restoring our proper relationship to all. The Canon 11:15 pm Ακολουθία της Αναστάσεως. Resurrection Service and Liturgy 12 midnight. May these Holy Days of the Great fast which are upon us, be filled with the understanding of God’s precepts pro- vided for us during this period, for the salvation of our souls as we prepare to navigate the great ocean of the fast and Supper to follow Liturgy reach the joy of His Holy Resurrection. Easter Sunday, 4/12 With Love in Christ, ΤΟ ΑΓΙΟΝ ΠΑΣΧΑ, HOLY EASTER. Agape Service 11:00 am + G E R A S I M O S Metropolitan of San Francisco and man that Adam and Eve destroyed in the Garden of Eden. The Gospel writers do not say any‐ PRESANCTIFIED LITURGY thing of the descent into hell. Only St. Peter speaks of it in his words on the day of Pentecost (Acts Προηγιασμένες Λειτουργίες 2:14‐39) and, in the 3rd chapter of his first Epistle (1 Peter 3:19) –“He went and preached unto the Κάθε Τετάρτη της Τεσσαρακοστής. spirits in prison.” The iconography comes to us mostly from the apocryphal gospel of Nicodemus in which Christ’s triumph over Satan and the power of Death is thrillingly described. Of all the Lenten rules, one is unique to Orthodoxy, and so gives us a key to its liturgical spirit: it forbids the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on weekdays in Lent, as incompatible with PASCHAL HOMILY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM fasting, the sole exception being the Feast of the Annunciation. But so as not to deprive the faith‐ If there are devout and God‐loving people here, let them enjoy this beautiful, radiant festival. If ful of ʺthe food of immortalityʺ, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is prescribed, that is, a there are prudent servants, enter joyously into the Lordʹs joy. Whoever may be spent from fast‐ ʺEucharistic synaxisʺ without the Consecration. The festal nature of the Eucharist is thus re‐ ing, enjoy now your reward. Whoever has toiled from the first hour, receive today your just set‐ served for Saturdays and Sundays in Lent, while on the days of total fasting, Wednesdays and tlement If any came after the third hour, celebrate gratefully. If any of you arrived after the sixth, Fridays, the people receive the Holy Gifts that were sanctified on the previous Sunday. have no misgivings, you have lost nothing. If some have been at late as the ninth, come forward, do not be at a loss. If any of you have arrived only at the eleventh hour, do not be dismayed for The Presanctified Liturgy was from the start an evening service, Communion following being late. The Master is gracious: He accepts the last even as the first; He gives rest to those of Vespers, to be conducted after the Ninth Hour, i.e. three oʹclock in the afternoon. The daylong the eleventh as well as to those who have labored from the first; He is lenient with the last while fast was thus broken early in the evening, much as the total fast on Sunday is broken after Com‐ looking after the first; to the one He gives, to the other He gives freely; He accepts the labors and munion. It is likely that this service was not always confined to Lent, but was common to all of welcomes the effort; honors the deed, but commends the intent. So, all of you, enter into the joy the Churchʹs fasting seasons. However, permeated as it is with the ʺbright sadnessʺ of Lent, it of our Lord: first and second, share the bounty. Rich and poor alike, celebrate together Sober or has taken on a special beauty and solemnity. As we pray for the Catechumens, those being made heedless, honor the day. Those who fasted and those who did not, rejoice today. The table is full, ready for Holy Baptism on Holy Saturday, we sense a direct connection with the Christian everyone fare sumptuously. The calf is fatted; no one go away Church of the early centuries, and understand the initial character of Lent as preparation for hungry. Everyone, savor the banquet of faith; relish the riches of His goodness. No one need la‐ Baptism and for Pascha. ment poverty, for the kingdom is seen as universal. No one need grieve over sins; forgiveness has dawned from the tomb. No one need fear death; the Saviorʹs death has freed us from it. On the preceding Sunday, at the Prothesis, after dedicating the principal Amnos, or While its captive He stifled it. He despoiled Hades as He descended into it; it was angered when ʺLambʺ, to be distributed in Holy Communion that day, the Priest prepares as many additional it tasted His flesh.