Great Lent

GREAT LENT ~ Essential Writings

Explore Fr Steven's Lenten Reading List, classics for our spiritual growth - Updated for 2021!

Keep up with Fr Steven's Lenten Meditations

Fr. Alexander Schmemann: GREAT LENT - A School of Repentance
Archbishop Kallistos Ware: The Meaning of the Great Fast - The True Nature of Fasting
Notes on Abp Kallistos Ware's 'Meaning of the Great Fast' - by Mother Paula

Keeping Great Lent in the spirit of St Silouan & Elder Sophrony - Video Talk by Fr. Zacharias
Fr Alexander Schmemann: Great Lent ~ Journey to Pascha
Fr Thomas Hopko: Great Lent (from The Orthodox Faith book series)
Way of the Ascetics: On a Resolute and Sustained Purpose
St John Maximovitch: Stand Fast and Watch!
Metropolitan Laurus: The Ascetic Struggle of Living in the World

The above are just some of the helpful articles we have featured in our parish's annual Great Lent Brochure. This year's edition is available in church, and by download (below).

Scroll down for more Great Lent Resources . . .

Great Lent Calendar with Smartphone Sync

Now available in PDF download and in church...

2021 Great Lent & Holy Week Calendar Trifold

All special lenten services,
plus fasting guidelines,
Holy Week & Pascha schedule,
with articles and helps for our lenten journey...

The ideal reminder for your desk or refrigerator.

"Open to me the doors of repentance..."

GREAT LENT

~ The School of Repentance ~

Guide to exploring our Great Lent Resources

The Pre-Lenten Period - A rich collection of articles, icons, videos and other helps to "warm us up" for the Lenten effort. Covers the period from the Sunday of Zacchaeus, up through the Sunday of Forgiveness, on which we celebrate the wonderful Forgiveness Vespers, which marks the liturgical beginning of Great Lent.

Great Lent - Remain on this page, and scroll down for key articles and features on Great Lent. Read an article a day as part of your Lenten effort! Updated throughout the course of the Fast.

Great Lent ~ Resources for the Journey - This unique blog of Christ the Savior~Holy Spirit features special selections of books, recordings, audio podcasts, videos, cookbooks, and much, much more. Updated during the course of the Fast. Subscription enabled.

Lenten Worship - The whole tone, length and feel of the divine services change dramatically during Great Lent. Learn about the significance of the unique weekday services, as well as the importance of the Sundays of Lent in this special section.

On Fasting - Clear instruction on how we fast during the Great Fast, with spiritual insights as to why.

On Confession - A special collection of aids to preparing for the Sacrament of Repentance, distilled from the writings of St Theophan the Recluse.

Holy Week Resources are featured in a new section. Here you will find a very helpful article tracing the Timing of the Passion and Holy Week, and a special series of articles highlighting each day's events, and explaining the special services, hymns, scripture passages and major themes for each day.

More Resources for the Journey

~ The Great Fast ~

'Let Us Rouse Ourselves to Spiritual Efforts!'

~ ~ ~

PARISH RESOURCES

Lenten Meditations from Fr. Steven - We strive to post these immediately as they appear, though certainly on a weekly basis.

Special Articles from Fr. Steven - Brief, topical helps for the Fast, in printable PDF format:

Stand Fast and Watch! - A Sermon by St John the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco

Great Lent ~ Resources for the Journey - Our Special Parish Blog devoted to strengthening us all for the Fast, featuring videos, articles, books, and other resources.

FEATURED ARTICLES

The Lenten Triodion: The complete text, with quick links for easy navigation. Covers every day of Lent through Holy Week.

Monachos.net: Resources for Great Lent: A special section of Monachos.net, with hymns from the Triodion, patristic resources, icons and much more. Includes the Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete complete text.

Great Lent Resource Page on Mystagogy Blog - Literally dozens of articles by noted Orthodox writers on everything related to our lenten effort. Covers the many special commemorations of Lent, ascetical practices, saints associated with Great Lent, and much, much more.

On Repentance That Leads to Joy - on St John Climacus (Monachos.net)

Fasting Abundantly - special article on OrthodoxyToday.org

Notes on 'The Meaning of Great Lent' by Abp Kallistos Ware (from The Lenten Triodion)

The Meaning of the Great Fast: The True Nature of Fasting - Abp Kallistos Ware, complete text

The Life of St Mary of Egypt

Special Great Lent messages from St Gregory Palamas Monastery:

St Theophan the Recluse - Four Homilies on Prayer; Classic texts on prayer by the revered 19th century Russian Bishop and translator/editor of the Philokalia:

Fr George Metallinos - The Orthodox Teaching on Heaven and Hell

A Glossary of Terms on Orthodox Anthropology

May Christ our True God richly bless your Lenten Journey!

Making Lent Real in the Orthodox Home

The beautiful new St Tikhon's Prayer Book! - Back in stock!

One of the many fruitful ways to enter into the lenten spirit, is to incorporate into our daily prayers some of the hymns and prayers of the Lenten Triodion, the Book of Great Lent. First among these is the Lenten Prayer of St Ephraim the Syrian, which is said in the Church during the weekday services of Lent. Here is Fr Steven's article on this profound prayer:

Read: 'On the Lenten Prayer of St Ephraim the Syrian'

Another powerful way to 'make Lent real' in our lives, is to include in our prayers these penitential troparia, which in Church are offered after the reading of the Sunday Matins Gospel, beginning with the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, and continuing through to the Fifth Sunday (St Mary of Egypt). Many Orthodox amend their morning prayer rule during Great Lent by replacing the usual Morning Hymns to the Trinity ("Having arisen from sleep..., etc.") with these Lenten hymns:

The Triodion Morning Hymns

Taken from the Jordanville Prayer book. Order online here.

Open to me the doors of repentance, O Life-giver. For my spirit rises early to pray towards Thy holy temple, bearing the temple of my body all defiled. But in Thy compassion, purify me by the loving kindness of Thy mercy.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit...

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy; and according to the multitude of Thy compassions, blot out my transgression. When I think of the multitude of evil things I have done, wretch that I am, I tremble at the fearful Day of Judgment. But trusting in the mercy of Thy loving kindness; like David I cry to Thee: Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy.

Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages, Amen.

Theotokion: Make straight for me the paths of salvation, O Mother of God. For I have profaned my soul with shameful sins, and have wasted my whole life in laziness. But by thy intercessions deliver me from all uncleanness.

Lord have mercy (12 times)

Followed by the Lenten Kontakion for the preceding Sunday.
(e.g. Publican and the Pharisee, Prodigal Son, etc.)

Including in our prayers the various Triodion Sunday kontakia during the following week, helps keep us synchronized with the spiritual pulse of the Church. By beginning this practice with the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, we will find we are better prepared for the beginning of Lent three weeks later. These hymns can be found on our various special pages for the Pre-Lenten Sundays, and the Sundays of Great Lent, and are published weekly in our parish church bulletin.