18 February 2018. It’s Forgiveness Sunday… Lent Starts Tomorrow

Forgiveness Sunday

Sebastyan Likan

undated

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Forgive Me!

God Forgives!

Today is Forgiveness Sunday… all Orthodox Christians ask forgiveness of those about them for their offences of the past year.  For us, Lent begins on Clean Monday… then, we’re on the Lenten road to Easter. Lent isn’t an end in itself… it’s a preparation for the Easter Feast of the Resurrection… the central moment of the Church Year, as we Orthodox Christians see it. This year, Easter is on 8 April, my birthday. It’s a double feast for me! To all my friends, “Forgive Me!” for all that I’ve done and not done… may the Good Lord give you a most profitable Lent, leading to a most glorious and joyous Radiant Easter!

BMD

Forgiveness Sunday

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It’s no surprise, Orthodox Christians are keen on the Rite of Forgiveness and the service that surrounds it… here’s a little more about this observance. It’s the last Sunday before the start of Lent, so the Rite of Forgiveness occurs during Vespers before the cross and the icons of the Saviour and the Most-Holy Birthgiver. By the way, the rite is very evocative. Firstly, the priest asks for forgiveness. He makes a reverence before the holy things and kisses them; then, he asks forgiveness from the clergy and believers. After that, all present ask forgiveness from one another. On this day, we can bring to those near us our sincere repentance for all our voluntary and involuntary sins so that we can remove the heavy stone of guilt from ourselves. Of course, we heartily forgive everybody else. Because of this, God forgives us and this puts us right with Him. The clergy are in dark vestments to remind us that the Great Lent is beginning… the Holy 40 Days of the Fast. Brothers and sisters, may God help you to carry out this podvig*, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the sake of love to our family, and for the sake of the Holy Image which is hidden in us, but which can shine a light to illuminate the souls of others!

• Podvig: Should NEVER be “Englished”… one of the most powerful words in the Russian language. There are literally no English equivalents strong enough. Podvig has overtones of “epic”, “heroic”, “bravery”, “self-sacrifice”, “victory”, “effort”, and “triumph”. It’s best to leave it as is, and admit that English lacks the necessary material to give meaning to this word.

Marfa-Mariinskoe House of Mercy

18 February 2018

Youth Department of the Diocese of the City of Moscow

Facebook

Today is Forgiveness Sunday

Please forgive! 

If they ask for and seek forgiveness from the soul and you answer with forgiveness, as hidden sin burdens and injures the soul, your life won’t be in turmoil! On this last day of Maslenitsa… give forgiveness!

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Dear Friends!

Today is Forgiveness Sunday. I ask everyone I’ve wronged to forgive me; let’s bury all our disputes and misunderstandings. Let’s show kindness, to bring comfort our souls. I ask all of you to go to your loved ones to ask them for forgiveness; those who forgive will receive forgiveness. Let universal peace and happiness reign amongst us!

Thanks,

Aleksei Zhuravko

26 February 2017

Aleksei Zhuravko

Facebook

Editor:

Aleksei Zhuravko is one of the patriot leaders in the Donbass. Never forget that the Peoples Republics rest on the double foundation of Socialism and Orthodox Christianity. The Uniate aggressors, on the other hand, believe in Oligarch Capitalism and Western Heterodoxy. You may support one or the other, but not both. I think that it’s no mystery where my sympathies lie.

BMD

25 February 2017. From the Russian Web… It’s Maslenitsa! For ALL Of Us!

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I used the original caption from the original post I saw on vK. Maslenitsa is the last fling before the onset of the Great Lent. It’s our Russian Mardi Gras… it lasts the whole week before Clean Monday, the beginning of the fast. You party hearty until the cannon goes off at midnight… then, “Maslenitsa’s over! It’s Lent! It’s time to fast”. As everyone knows, “A house is not a home until there’s a cat in it”… such is our Russian folk wisdom. Therefore, even our cats and our other animals share in our festive mood, too. Maslenitsa has pagan roots, like so much else in traditional Christianity, but don’t let that make you drop it. That’s crackbrained… the Church has “baptised” many things, and Maslenitsa is one of them (besides being tonnes o’ fun). The last day of Maslenitsa coincides with the Sunday of Forgiveness on the formal Church calendar. We ask forgiveness of others and extend it to those who ask it of us. Besides this, the women of the family go to visit the family graves, asking forgiveness of the departed, laying blini on the grave (and sometimes pouring out some vodka, too). In country parts, many people do kindnesses to animals.

Christ came to transfigure and redeem the WHOLE world… not just mankind and not just “religious” things. Think on that…

BMD