Celebrating the Triumph of Orthodox Christianity as One United Family in Christ

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.

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CELEBRATING THE TRIUMPH OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY AS ONE UNITED FAMILY IN CHRIST

On the first Sunday of Great and Holy Lent is the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the triumph of the only true and authentic Church of Christ our Lord and Savior. The theme of this Sunday since 843 A.D. has been that of the victory of the holy icons. In that year the iconoclastic controversy, which had raged on and off since 726 A.D., was finally laid to rest, and holy icons and their veneration were restored on the first Sunday of Great and Holy Lent. Since then, this Sunday has been commemorated as the "Triumph of Orthodoxy."

The name of this Sunday reflects the great significance which holy icons possess for the Orthodox Church. 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 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 churches is often covered with holy icons painted on walls and domed roofs, and there is always an icon screen, or iconostasis, separating the Sanctuary from the Nave, often with several rows of holy icons.  No Orthodox Christian home is complete without an icon corner (iconostasion), 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 doctrinal distinction between the veneration paid to holy icons and the worship due to God alone. The former is not only relative, but it is also in fact paid to the person represented by the holy icons. This distinction safeguards the veneration of holy icons from any accusation of idolatry.

The theme of the triumph of the holy icons, by its emphasis on the Incarnation, points us to the basic Christian truth that the One Whose death and Resurrection we celebrate at Pascha was none other than the Logos/Word of God Who became human in Jesus Christ.

On the evening of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the area sister Orthodox churches, and fellow Orthodox Christians come together at the divine service of Vespers to celebrate together, as one Orthodox Christian family, the triumph of Orthodoxy. All Orthodox Christians bring with them a holy icon and participate in the procession of the icons. At the end of the service, people line up to venerate the holy icons held by the officiating priests. 

The Pan-Orthodox Vespers will take place at our sister church of Saints Peter and Paul Serbian church on Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. Father Vladimir Lang is the host priest and the homilist is Father Gregory Owen of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Following the holy service, the parish has prepared a Lenten supper for all attending.

I respectfully request that our parish of Saint Andrew is well-represented at Vespers. It is the only time that we as fellow Orthodox Christians come together. It is extremely important that we, as brothers and sisters in Christ, strengthen our friendship, brotherly love, and relationship with each other. We live in a very dangerous and uncertain world that continues to persecute our Christian faith. Persecution against our Lord and Savior Christ and His Holy Church continues throughout the world. The number of heresies are abundant and seek to undermine the Gospel of Christ and cause more divisions, confusion, hatred, and to distort the image of Christ. It is said that there are approximately 37,000 denominations worldwide among Protestant Christians. Most of us witness the systematic effort to dilute Christianity by and through secularization.

Let us turn to the only Head of the Church our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the Founder of the Church, to guide, protect, inspire and strengthen us to continue our struggle against the forces of the Evil One.

May God bless you and keep you.

With love in His Divine Diakonia (Ministry),

+Father George