Meditations for Great Lent

Reflections on the Triodion

Vassilios Papavassiliou

Ancient Faith Publishing

Chesterton, Indiana

Meditations for Great Lent: Reflections on the Triodion

Copyright © 2012 by Theodore Christopher Vasilis

All Rights Reserved

Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version, © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Published by:

Ancient Faith Publishing

(formerly known as Conciliar Press)

A Division of Ancient Faith Ministries

P.O. Box 748

Chesterton, IN 46304

ISBN 10: 1-936270-60-9

ISBN 13: 978-1-936270-60-6

Second Printing

Cover calligraphy by Jan Powell

Interior design by Katherine Hyde

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Papavassiliou, Vassilios.

Meditations for Great Lent: reflections on the Triodion / Vassilios Papavassiliou.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-936270-60-6 -- ISBN 1-936270-60-9

1. Orthodox Eastern Church. Triodion. 2. Lent--Meditations. I. Title.

BX375.T75P37 2012

263’.92--dc23

2012036498

Contents

Introduction

A Guide to the Season of the Triodion

1 Humility

The Sunday of the Tax Collector & the Pharisee

2 Repentance

The Sunday of the Prodigal Son

3 Ascetic Love

The Sunday of the Last Judgment

4 Fast from Sin

Meatfare Week

5 Do Not Pass Judgment

6 Forgive and You Will Be Forgiven

Forgiveness Sunday

7 Return to Paradise

8 Passions and Virtues

The Prayer of St. Ephrem

9 The Virtue of Joy

Clean Week

10 The Cross and Resurrection

The Sunday of the Cross

11 The Canon of St. Andrew

Clean Week & Fifth Thursday of Lent

12 Journey to Pascha

Introduction

There is more to Lent than fasting, and there is more to fasting than food. This principle lies at the heart of the Lenten Triodion, the main hymnbook of Orthodox Lent. For the Orthodox Church, Lent is without doubt the richest and most distinctive season of the ecclesiastical year. The Lenten services, the spiritual lessons of the Triodion, and the biblical readings for the season invite us to simplify our lives and to immerse ourselves in the “bright sadness” of repentance.

Orthodox Lent begins on Clean Monday, seven weeks before Pascha, when Orthodox Christians celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection. But before Lent begins, it is announced in advance. This preparation for Lent is made above all through the Lenten Triodion, which makes its appearance in the liturgical life of the Church three weeks prior to Lent, on the Sunday of the Tax-Collector (or Publican) and the Pharisee. The Triodion remains a regular feature of the Church’s liturgical life until the end of Holy Week.

Written for the devout Christian, the Triodion is full of warnings against pride and hypocrisy—the ultimate spiritual sins to which religious folk are so susceptible. Its hymns teach us the true nature and purpose of fasting and of Lent itself.

This short book gives us a glimpse into the spiritual depth and meaning of Lent. The chapters are divided into Lenten themes, each beginning with a hymn of the Triodion and followed by a brief commentary on each theme. Some ...