exvigilare

From Orthodoxy in America

First Sunday of Great Lent.

The First Sunday of Great Lent is dedicated to the final triumph of the Church over the iconoclasts and the restoration of the Holy Icons to the churches, which took place on the First Sunday of Lent, March 11, 843. Thus it is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy. As the Orthodox triumphed during the iconoclastic controversy because of the dedication of the Martyrs and Confessors who suffered for the Faith, so too, we strive to imitate these Martyrs by our own ascetical self-denial. A special feature of this day is the Office of Orthodoxy, at which a procession with the Holy Icons is made, and sixty anathemas pronounced against various heretics and heresies of the 4th-14th Centuries.

The clergy and children of our church processed around the church, stopping on each side for prayers. As they processed they held aloft icons from both home and from church, signifying the “new” church law allowing the display of icons.

(Yes, Amy, you’re losing your mind. Just kidding - I’d started the blog post for next week but forgot to set the timestamp properly. So the 2nd Lenten Sunday post appeared before the 1st Lenten Sunday post. Sigh. Well, I’m a sinner - forgive me. I’m kind of a putz, too. Forgive me for that, too!)