What Happens During Great Lent?
The services of Great Lent are constructed to aid us in a somber review of the gap between who we are and what we should be, as the image and likeness of God. The royal gates to the altar area remain closed as a physical reminder of Man’s separation through sin from the Kingdom of God. The priest’s vesting and the altar cloths are of a somber color, usually purple. The daily hymns reflect this sober mindedness as the prayers entreat God through His saints to have mercy on us sinners. Although Orthodox are most familiar with the services of Holy Week, few know the entire collection of services that make up the entire Lenten season. Every Orthodox Christian should take full advantage of the beauty and spiritual healing offered by the Church to properly and fully prepare themselves for the greatest event of Christianity – the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So let’s review the entire schedule of services.
The Lenten session is prefaced by the Triodion (Τριῴδιον) period, which means “three odes” and covers the preparatory weeks leading up to Holy Week. This period includes the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee, Sunday of the Prodigal Son and Sunday of Last Judgment which is called Meatfare Sunday (Apókreō-literally: the “Leave-taking from Meat”) in Greek. Meatfare Sunday marks the change of diet to the fasting practice of Lent, as meat is no longer eaten after this day. The following week, is Forgiveness Sunday, AKA Cheesefare Sunday (Tyrinĕ, – literally: “Cheese Sunday”) and occurs just before Clean Monday.
Included as part of the Lenten services are the Saturdays of Souls liturgies (Ψυχοσάββατα) set aside for the commemoration of the dead. Saturday was chosen since Christ lay dead in the tomb on a Saturday. (John 20:1 and Matt. 27:62-66) As for why we have these memorial services, the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church, being so moved in their love for man, decreed that a common memorial be made for all pious Ortho-dox Christians from all ages past who because of an untimely death in a faraway place, or other adverse circumstances, have died without being deemed worthy of the appointed memorial services. In the Saturday of Souls liturgies, of which there are three, we thus pray universally for all of the departed. The faithful offer koliva, and names of their departed are all read during the memorial portion of the service. The Scripture readings refer to the dead and their hope of salvation through Christ who has “trampled down death by death”…