My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE. Ο ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΕΝ ΤΩ ΜΕΣΩ ΗΜΩΝ! ΚΑΙ ΗΝ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΑΙ.
FIRST SUNDAY OF GREAT AND HOLY LENT: THE TRIUMPH OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY
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The Sunday of Orthodoxy is the First Sunday of Great and Holy Lent. The dominant theme of this Sunday since 843 AD has been that of the triumph of the holy icons. In that year Iconoclastic Controversy, which had raged on and off since 726 AD, was finally laid to rest, and holy icons and their veneration were restored on the First Sunday in Lent. Ever since, this Sunday has been commemorated as the "Triumph of Orthodox Christianity."
Literally, iconoclasm is the destruction of religious icons and other sacred images or monuments, usually for religious or political motives. In Christian circles, iconoclasm has generally been motivated by a literal interpretation of the Second of the Ten Commandments, which forbids the making and worshipping of "graven images." This is clearly a misinterpretation of the Decalogue because if one continues to read the Book of Exodus one would encounter the command of Moses to build the Tabernacle: a visible icon of the invisible God.
People who engage in such practices are called iconoclasts, a term that has come to be applied to any person who breaks or disdains established dogmas or conventions. Conversely, people who revere or venerate religious images are called iconodules (or servants of icons) or iconophiles (or friends of icons).
The First Iconoclastic Period: 730-787 AD
Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (reigned 717-741) banned the use of icons of Jesus, Theotokos, and the Saints and commanded the destruction of these images in 730 AD. The Iconoclastic Controversy was fueled by the refusal of many Christian residents outside the Byzantine Empire, including many Christian living in the Islamic Caliphate, to accept the Emperor's theological arguments. Saint John of Damascus was one of the most prominent of these. Ironically, Christians living under Muslim rule at this time had more freedom to write in defense of icons than did those living in the Byzantine Empire. Saint John of Damascus's teaching centered around his clarification and distinction of the terms worship and veneration, teaching that we worship God, depicted in the icon, and simply venerate the icon itself as an image of the prototype. In his defense of icons he wrote, "I do not worship creation over the Creator."
The first iconoclastic period came to an end when Leo IV (Constantine V's son) died and his widow, Empress Irene, came into power. An iconophile, she initiated the Second Synod (Council) of Nicea in 787 AD, at which the veneration of Holy Icons was affirmed, although the worship of icons was expressly forbidden. Among the reasons were the Doctrine of the Incarnation: because God the Son (Jesus Christ) took on flesh, having a physical appearance, it is now possible to use physical matter to depict God the Son and to depict the Saints. Icon veneration lasted through the reign of Empress Irene's successor, Nicephorus I (reigned 802-811 AD), and the two brief reigns after his.
The Second Iconoclastic period: 813-843 AD
Emperor Leo V (reigned 813-820 AD) instituted a second period of iconoclasm in 813 AD, which seems to have been less rigorously enforced since there were fewer martyrdoms and public destructions of icons. Leo was succeeded by Michael II, who was succeeded by his son, Theophilus. Theophilus died, leaving his wife, Theodora the Iconodule or Iconophile, regent for his minor heir, Michael III. Like Irene 50 years before her, Theodora mobilized the Iconodules and proclaimed the restoration of icons in 843 AD. Since that time the first Sunday of Great and Holy Lent is celebrated as the feast of the "Triumph of Orthodoxy."
Rejoicing on the First Sunday of Great and Holy Lent the Triumph of Orthodox Christianity, we joyfully commemorate three events: one event belonging to the past; one event to the present; and one event which still belongs to the future.
Orthodox Christian teaching about the holy icons, as defined at the Seventh Ecumenical Synod of 787 AD, is embodied in the texts chanted on this Sunday:
From Vespers: "Inspired by your Spirit, Lord, the prophets foretold your birth as a child incarnate of the Virgin. Nothing can contain or hold you; before the morning star, you shone forth eternally from the spiritual womb of the Father. Yet you were to become like us and be seen by those on earth. At the prayers of those Your Prophets in Your mercy reckon us fit to see Your Light, "for we praise Your Resurrection, holy and beyond speech. Infinite, Lord, as Divine, in the last times You willed to become Incarnate and so finite; for when You took on flesh You made all its properties Your own. So we depict the form of Your outward appearance and pay it relative respect, and so are moved to love You; and through it we receive the grace of healing, following the Divine traditions of the Apostles."
"The grace of truth has shone out, the things once foreshadowed now are revealed in perfection. See, the Church is decked with the embodied image of Christ, as with beauty not of this world, fulfilling the tent witness, holding fast the Orthodox faith. For if we cling to the icon of him whom we worship, we shall not go astray. May those who do not so believe be covered with shame. For the image of Him Who became human is our glory: We venerate it, but do not worship it as God. Kissing it, we who believe cry out: O God, save your people, and bless your heritage."
"We have moved forward from unbelief to True faith, and have been enlightened by the Light of knowledge. Let us then clap our hands like the psalmist, and offer praise and thanksgiving to God. And let us honor and venerate the Holy Icons of Christ, of his Most Pure Mother, and of all the Saints, depicted on walls, panels, and sacred vessels, setting aside the unbelievers' ungodly teaching. For the veneration given to the icon passes over, as Saint Basil says, to its prototype. At the intercession of Your icon, Good Lord, asking forgiveness of our sins, O Christ Our God. For You freely willed in the flesh to ascend the Cross, to rescue from slavery to the enemy those whom You had formed. So we cry to You with thanksgiving: You have filled all things with joy, Our Savior, by coming to save the world."
The name of this Sunday reflects the great significance which holy icons possess for the Orthodox Church and Christian. They are not optional devotional extras, but an integral part of Orthodox Christian faith and devotion. They are held to be a necessary consequence of Christian faith in the Incarnation of the Logos/Word of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, in Jesus Christ. They have a sacramental character, making present to the believer the person or event depicted on them. So the interior of Orthodox Christian churches is often covered with holy icons painted on walls and domed roofs, and there is always an iconostasis (icon screen), separating the Sanctuary (Holy Altar) from the Nave (main church), often with several rows of holy icons. No Orthodox Christian home is complete without an icon corner, where the family prays.
Holy Icons are venerated by burning lamps and candles in front of them, by the use of incense and by kissing. But there is a clear distinction between the veneration paid to the holy icons and the worship due to God alone.
Before the Triumph of Orthodoxy came to be celebrated on the First Sunday of Great and Holy Lent, there was on this day a commemoration of Moses, Aaron, Samuel and the Prophets. Traces of this more ancient observance can still be seen in the choice of the Epistle reading at the Divine Liturgy and in the Alleluia verse appointed before the Gospel: "Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among them that call upon His Name." (References: The Lenten Triodion, Schmemann, Alexander. Great Lent: Journey to Pascha, Barrois, Georges. Scripture Readings in Orthodox Worship, Farley, Donna. Seasons of Grace: Reflections on the Orthodox Church Year, Orthodox Church in America, Iconoclasm at Wikipedia, Gerhart B. Ladner. The Concept of the Image in the Greek Fathers and the Byzantine Iconoclastic Controversy.)
Please remember! Pan-Orthodox Vespers on Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. followed by a Lenten supper at the Good Samaritan Center hosted by the parish of Saint Andrew. Please make every effort to attend.
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"--Saint John Chrysostom
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George