Moscow, 10 March 2008 (RIA-Novosti)
On the first day of Great Lent, Patriarch Aleksei II of Moscow and all Russia shall complete the Great Vespers with the reading of the Canon of St Andrew of Crete at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on Moscow, according to the press service of the Moscow Patriarchate. The Orthodox Church teaches that the Great Lent prepares Christians so that they may worthily celebrate Easter, the great festival of the resurrection of Christ, which falls on 27 April this year.
The Great Lent is considered the most important, it is the strictest, and the lengthiest of the four Lents, and it is connected with the Gospel account of how the Lord Christ fasted for 40 days in the desert. Immediately following the Great Lent proper is Holy Week, which is dedicated to commemorating the final days in the earthly life of Christ and his Holy Passion. Thus, believers fast before Easter for almost two months, that is to say, seven weeks. This strict tradition is preserved today only in the Orthodox and Uniate churches.
The Great Lent is a time of repentance, meditation, and attention to prayer, and fasting from not only food, but from all harmful habits and amusements. In the words of one of the greatest Christian theologians of the fourth century, St John Chrysostom, “Let us fast not only with our mouths, but, also with our sight, our hearing, hands, legs, and all other members of our body”. There is a purpose to the Lenten effort. One practises abstention, one purifies the soul from carnal passions and sinful thoughts, and one submits the body and the soul to the Holy Spirit.
At the beginning of the Great Lent, the reading of the Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete follows the Great Vespers. This service contains deeply spiritual prayers that draw analogies between ordinary sinners and biblical figures who also sinned and repented of their actions. Also, at this time, the clergy dress in dark purple vestments. This continues until the Lent is completed with the celebration of the most important Christian holiday, Easter.
Olga Lipich
RIA-Novosti
http://www.rian.ru/society/20080310/101017060.html (in Russian)
