Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center Holy and Glorious Pascha Preparation - Great Lent

Great Lent is the time of preparation for celebrating Pascha. Great Lent has five Sundays: Triumph of Orthodoxy, Holy Relics and St Gregory Palamas, Veneration of the Holy Cross, Commemoration of our Holy Father John Climacus, and Commemoration of our Venerable Mother St. Mary of Egypt

Sundays of Great Lent or Pascha Cycle
Sunday	Name	Day of Great Lent	Day before Transition Period	Apostolos	Gospel	Action	Saint
Vespers of Clean Monday	Service of Forgiveness	Vespers of 1st day of Great Lent	Eve of 40th day before Transition Period			Forgive
Clean Monday	1st day of Great Lent	1st day of Great Lent	40th day before Transition Period	1 Cor. 3:18-23	Lk. 21:8-36
1	Sunday of Triumph of Orthodoxy	7th day of Great Lent	34th day before Transition Period	Heb. 11:24-26, 32-40, 12:1-2A	John 1:43-51	Procession with holy ikons and presentation for veneration
2	Sunday of Veneration of Holy Relics Gregory Palamas	14th day of Great Lent	27th day before Transition Period	2nd Cor. 4:6-15	Mk. 2:1-12	Procession with holy relics and presentation for veneration	All Saints have Relics St. Gregory Palamas
3	Sunday of Veneration of Holy Cross	21st day of Great Lent	20th day before Transition Period	Heb. 4:14-5:6	Mk. 8:34-9:1	Procession with Holy Cross and presentation for veneration
4	Commem- oration of Our Holy Father John Climacus	28th day of Great Lent	13th day before Transition Period	Heb. 6:13-20	Mk. 9:17-31		Our Holy Father John Climacus
5	Commem- oration of Our Venerable Mother Mary of Egypt	35th day of Great Lent	6th day before Transition Period	Heb. 9:11-14	Mk. 10:32b-45		Our Venerable Mother Mary of Egypt
Friday after Fifth Sunday	Last day of Great Lent	40th day of Great Lent	1st day before Transition Period	Eph. 2:4-10	Mt. 4:1-11

Great Lent is our season of preparation for celebrating Holy and Glorious Pascha or the Resurrection of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Liturgy of St Basil the Great

The Divine Liturgy of Our Father among the Saints Basil the Great is mostly the same as the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, except for the prayers called the Anaphora. These are the prayers from the time of the Great Entrance to the reception of Holy Communion. In the Divine Liturgy of St Basil, the prayers of the Anaphora are especially beautiful and rich in theology, praising God and remembering all the wonderful gifts God has given us and the salvation-granting actions God has performed. Some of these prayers are recited aloud so that you can hear them. Try to pay attention and to reflect on the many aspects of our relationship with God that they talk about.

The Divine Liturgy of St Basil is different from the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom also in some of the songs that are sung. During Great Lent, the Kontakion of the Annunciation (Al Bisharah) ("Nah nou abeed aki" or "Triumphant Leader") is sung instead of the usual Kontakion "O never-failing Protectress of Christians." This comes at the end of the Troparia of the day, after the Little Entrance with the Gospel Book and before the Trisagion. And instead of the usual Hirmos ("It is truly right to call you blessed, O Theotokos") after the sanctification of the Holy Gifts, when we pray "Especially for our all-holy, spotless, most highly blessed and glorious Lady, the Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary," we sing "In you, O full of grace, all creation rejoices" ("In al-baraya"). Everyone who knows these songs should join in singing them.

Pascha Cycle

The Sundays of Great Lent are within the Pascha Cycle. The Sundays of Great Lent are between the Fourth Sunday of the Triodion: Sunday of Cheese fare - Forgiveness and the Transition Period between Great Lent and Great and Holy Week. Great Lent begins on Clean Monday and ends on the Friday after the Fifth Sunday of Lent.

How to determine when the First Sunday of Great Lent occurs

Great Lent is Forty Days.
A count back from the date of Pascha is made.

Traditions

Traditions of Great Lent and Holy Week Melkite Greek Catholic Church Eparchy of Newton

More Information

Saint Ignatios of Antioch Melkite Greek Catholic Church Then click on Resources. The first category is Lenten Information.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Lent But Were Afraid to Ask St. George Melkite-Greek Catholic Church, Sacramento, CA

The Triodion Celebrations for Great Lent Saint Joseph Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Lawrence, Massachusetts, Click on The Triodion Celebrations for Great Lent

Ikon

The Triodion Celebrations for Great Lent Saint Joseph Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Lawrence, Massachusetts, Click on The Triodion Celebrations for Great Lent

Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center
Martha Liles
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Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center is dedicated to my cousins: Bucky (Richard C. Liles), Shirley (Shirley Jean Liles Buck), and Donna (Donna Bertha Liles Campbell). Bucky fell asleep in the Lord on Dec. 12, 2000, Shirley fell asleep in the Lord on Nov. 8, 2001, and Donna fell asleep in the Lord on March 9, 2020.
O God of all spirits and of all flesh, who have destroyed death, overcome the devil, and given life to the world: grant, O Lord, to the souls of your servants Bucky and Shirley, who has departed from this life, that it may rest in a place of light, in a place of happiness, in a place of peace, where there is no pain, no grief, no sighing. And since You are a gracious God and the Lover of Mankind, forgive him/her every sin he/she has committed by thought, or word, or deed, for there is not a man who lives and does not sin : You alone are without sin, your righteousness is everlasting, and your word is true. You are the Resurrection and the Life, and the repose of your departed servants Bucky and Shirley. O Christ our God, and we send up glory to You, together with your eternal Father and your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and always and for ages upon ages. Amen.

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Last Updated: Wednesday, June 03, 2020, 19:25:34, CDT
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