This the Second Sunday of Great Lent, is dedicated to the memory of the 14th century Saint, Gregory of Palamas. He initially started out in his life as a young scholar, monastic and eventually Archbishop of Thessaloniki, serving as a shining example to his contemporaries.
The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the earliest Christian feasts, and was already being celebrated in the fourth century. There is a painting of the Annunciation in the…
This Sunday, the first Sunday of Great Lent is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy, or the Triumph of Orthodoxy. This Sunday is an impressive reminder of the centrality of Christ in the Orthodox Church. It is a spiritual feast during which we Orthodox Christians reaffirm our confession of faith in Jesus Christ and His saving work. It is the day in which we lift up Christ in praise and glorification.
This Sunday March 14, 2021 is Cheesefare Sunday, the Sunday of Forgiveness. The gospel for this the last of the preparatory Sunday’s before Great Lent is from Matthew 6:14-21. Forgiveness is the central theme of this Sunday for let us recall the words of the Apostle Peter, “turn to God, so that He will forgive your sins!” (Acts 3:19).
This Sunday we hear the words of the Gospel of the Last Judgement from the Evangelist Matthew 25:31-36. This Sunday is also known as Meatfare Sunday because it is the last day before the Feast of Feasts, on which the eating of meat is allowed. Next week is Cheesefare Sunday, when in addition to refraining from meat, we begin our fasting, according to the Church, from dairy products etc, thus ushering us into the more stricter discipline of Great and Holy Lent.
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