LETTER
.
HIS Eminence THE GREAT SAVA
Metropolitan of WARSAW and ALL POLAND
Brothers and sisters!
"With joy let us begin the season of Lent, let us make spiritual feats its foundation, let us purify the soul, let us purify the body, let us fast from all lust, as we fast from food, enjoying the goodness of the Spirit, let us do all this with love, so that we may all be honored to see the adorable Passion of Christ, Divine and Holy." Pacha, spiritually rejoicing.
( Stichira, O Lord, to Thee I call, Holy Supper on Hard Sunday)
By God's will, we once again in our earthly life, together with Mother Church, experience the liturgical period of Great Lent, called the Holy Forty Days. Lent is a spiritual springtime, a time of increased effort in prayer and repentance. It is a time when Mother - our Church - once again gives us the opportunity for spiritual renewal in our daily earthly life.
Brothers and sisters!
For Orthodox Christians in our complex, difficult time, full of spiritual dilemmas, all kinds of temptations and experiences, Lent has a special spiritual significance. It is a time of prayer and abstinence. This is indicated by the liturgical texts of the Church, which call and urge us to intensify our efforts in prayer and, above all, to repent of our sins: "Lent has come, the mother of abstinence, the denouncer of of sins, the messenger of repentance, the life of angels and the time of salvation of people," we hear in the texts of the first week of Great Lent. ( Stichira na stikhovna, Matins on Monday of the 1st week of the 1st week of Great Lent).
Lent occupies a special place in the hierarchy of spiritual values. Its origins go back to the creation of man. Fasting as abstinence is the result of man's obedience and fulfillment of the will of God, exemplified by the forefathers Adam and Eve.
It took many forms in Old Testament times, took on increasing spiritual significance over time, and was practiced throughout the history of the Old Testament.
The fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and practices came in the New Testament in the person of Jesus Christ, who himself set the example of how to fast. Preparing for a public sermon, He went into the desert and fasted there for forty days and nights, abiding in prayer (Lk. 4:1-2). Thus He gave us an example of temperance. The Savior said: This generation does not come out except through prayer and fasting (Mt. 17:21; cf. Mk. 9:29). Thus Christ sanctified the fasting observed by the holy Apostles, Teachers and our Ancestors. Thanks to their zeal, fasting has passed on to us as a means of sanctification and union with God. Moreover, it is a means of our spiritual participation in the life, suffering, death and glory of the God-Man Jesus Christ. For this reason, Lent is often called a spiritual ladder, on the steps of which we climb up to a high spiritual building, until the days of Holy Week of the Lord's Passion, Holy Saturday and Easter night.
Brothers and sisters!
The main idea of fasting is to exalt the soul over the body, to feel the divine love of God and to repent of sins. True fasting includes both the bodily side, which consists of abstaining from a certain type of food, and the spiritual side, which includes instructions for increased prayer, repentance of sins, and reflection on our spiritual life. Fasting is an endeavor to abstain from passion, to abstain from the tongue, and to rid ourselves of all evil. Fasting as abstinence makes man capable of victory over his own sinfulness and the weaknesses of human nature.
Brothers and sisters!
The period of Lent - spiritual spring - is the best and most favorable time for repentance: "O Lady of Life, open to me the gates of repentance, for my spirit longs for Your holy temple, and the temple of my body is defiled, but as You are generous, cleanse it, by Your gracious grace," we hear at Matins on Sundays and weeks of Lent. Repentance is a change of mind, a kind of declaration to change ourselves and become better. It is a spiritual bath - it is the renewal of baptism and the cleansing of conscience. It is a covenant made with God to improve our lives. Repentance means to condemn oneself, but also to renounce all despair and to continue to fight against evil. It helps a person to realize his spiritual nothingness and sinfulness.
Fasting, prayer and repentance are the best weapons to fight against evil - Satan, whose manifestations are so numerous in the world around us. Modern Christianity is going through difficult and complex moments. There are more and more conflicts, national and religious disagreements in the society. There is a constant war in the Holy Land, and many people are dying. In Ukraine, neighboring Poland, the ongoing armed conflict has moved to the religious level. The Orthodox Church is divided, persecution continues, and churches are being forcibly taken away. There is anxiety in the country. The world created by God has lost its original harmony, and the whole world lies in evil (1 Jn. 5, 19).
On the eve of the beginning of Lent, Mother Church, in Christ's words, "This generation comes only through prayer and fasting" (Mt 17:21; cf. Mk 9:29), especially calls us all faithful to fast together, pray intensely and purify ourselves spiritually. Let these actions be a sacrifice pleasing to God that will be accepted for the sake of ending all unrest and conflict in the world.
Dear Brothers and sisters!
As we enter the days of the Holy Forty-Thirty, according to our church custom, I ask all of you, on behalf of myself and all the clergy, to forgive our sins which we have committed in word, deed, thought and feeling: forgive us sinners!
May the grace of God dwell with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption. Amen. (Eph. 6:24).
By the grace of God, humble
+SAVA
Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland
.
HIS Eminence THE GREAT SAVA
Metropolitan of WARSAW and ALL POLAND
Brothers and sisters!
"With joy let us begin the season of Lent, let us make spiritual feats its foundation, let us purify the soul, let us purify the body, let us fast from all lust, as we fast from food, enjoying the goodness of the Spirit, let us do all this with love, so that we may all be honored to see the adorable Passion of Christ, Divine and Holy." Pacha, spiritually rejoicing.
( Stichira, O Lord, to Thee I call, Holy Supper on Hard Sunday)
By God's will, we once again in our earthly life, together with Mother Church, experience the liturgical period of Great Lent, called the Holy Forty Days. Lent is a spiritual springtime, a time of increased effort in prayer and repentance. It is a time when Mother - our Church - once again gives us the opportunity for spiritual renewal in our daily earthly life.
Brothers and sisters!
For Orthodox Christians in our complex, difficult time, full of spiritual dilemmas, all kinds of temptations and experiences, Lent has a special spiritual significance. It is a time of prayer and abstinence. This is indicated by the liturgical texts of the Church, which call and urge us to intensify our efforts in prayer and, above all, to repent of our sins: "Lent has come, the mother of abstinence, the denouncer of of sins, the messenger of repentance, the life of angels and the time of salvation of people," we hear in the texts of the first week of Great Lent. ( Stichira na stikhovna, Matins on Monday of the 1st week of the 1st week of Great Lent).
Lent occupies a special place in the hierarchy of spiritual values. Its origins go back to the creation of man. Fasting as abstinence is the result of man's obedience and fulfillment of the will of God, exemplified by the forefathers Adam and Eve.
It took many forms in Old Testament times, took on increasing spiritual significance over time, and was practiced throughout the history of the Old Testament.
The fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and practices came in the New Testament in the person of Jesus Christ, who himself set the example of how to fast. Preparing for a public sermon, He went into the desert and fasted there for forty days and nights, abiding in prayer (Lk. 4:1-2). Thus He gave us an example of temperance. The Savior said: This generation does not come out except through prayer and fasting (Mt. 17:21; cf. Mk. 9:29). Thus Christ sanctified the fasting observed by the holy Apostles, Teachers and our Ancestors. Thanks to their zeal, fasting has passed on to us as a means of sanctification and union with God. Moreover, it is a means of our spiritual participation in the life, suffering, death and glory of the God-Man Jesus Christ. For this reason, Lent is often called a spiritual ladder, on the steps of which we climb up to a high spiritual building, until the days of Holy Week of the Lord's Passion, Holy Saturday and Easter night.
Brothers and sisters!
The main idea of fasting is to exalt the soul over the body, to feel the divine love of God and to repent of sins. True fasting includes both the bodily side, which consists of abstaining from a certain type of food, and the spiritual side, which includes instructions for increased prayer, repentance of sins, and reflection on our spiritual life. Fasting is an endeavor to abstain from passion, to abstain from the tongue, and to rid ourselves of all evil. Fasting as abstinence makes man capable of victory over his own sinfulness and the weaknesses of human nature.
Brothers and sisters!
The period of Lent - spiritual spring - is the best and most favorable time for repentance: "O Lady of Life, open to me the gates of repentance, for my spirit longs for Your holy temple, and the temple of my body is defiled, but as You are generous, cleanse it, by Your gracious grace," we hear at Matins on Sundays and weeks of Lent. Repentance is a change of mind, a kind of declaration to change ourselves and become better. It is a spiritual bath - it is the renewal of baptism and the cleansing of conscience. It is a covenant made with God to improve our lives. Repentance means to condemn oneself, but also to renounce all despair and to continue to fight against evil. It helps a person to realize his spiritual nothingness and sinfulness.
Fasting, prayer and repentance are the best weapons to fight against evil - Satan, whose manifestations are so numerous in the world around us. Modern Christianity is going through difficult and complex moments. There are more and more conflicts, national and religious disagreements in the society. There is a constant war in the Holy Land, and many people are dying. In Ukraine, neighboring Poland, the ongoing armed conflict has moved to the religious level. The Orthodox Church is divided, persecution continues, and churches are being forcibly taken away. There is anxiety in the country. The world created by God has lost its original harmony, and the whole world lies in evil (1 Jn. 5, 19).
On the eve of the beginning of Lent, Mother Church, in Christ's words, "This generation comes only through prayer and fasting" (Mt 17:21; cf. Mk 9:29), especially calls us all faithful to fast together, pray intensely and purify ourselves spiritually. Let these actions be a sacrifice pleasing to God that will be accepted for the sake of ending all unrest and conflict in the world.
Dear Brothers and sisters!
As we enter the days of the Holy Forty-Thirty, according to our church custom, I ask all of you, on behalf of myself and all the clergy, to forgive our sins which we have committed in word, deed, thought and feeling: forgive us sinners!
May the grace of God dwell with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption. Amen. (Eph. 6:24).
By the grace of God, humble
+SAVA
Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland
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