This morning the Divine Liturgy of the Consecrated Gifts is celebrated, and in the afternoon the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read together with Small Communion.
The Great Canon is the longest church hymn from the category of canons. Its use during the period of Great Lent is due to its profoundly hagiographical, didactic and theological content, which, in essence, is a call to repentance, forgiveness and humility. Through the imagery of this particular poem, all prominent figures of both the Old and New Testament are praised, whose lives and deeds are offered as examples to be emulated or avoided.
Touching, among other things, are the poet's references to St. Mary of Egypt, a model of penance, also venerated on the fifth Sunday of Lent, following the Wednesday of the Great Canon.
"My soul, my soul, what are you doing, the end is near and you will be troubled. Awake, let Christ God, the omnipresent and all-sufficient, appear to you." Let this characteristic place in the Great Canon be a guide to our own repentance, that we may come to the worship of the great feast of Easter with spiritual collectiveness and watchfulness, as far as humanly possible, freed from the elements that prevent us from participating. in the Supper of the Kingdom of God.
The Great Canon is the longest church hymn from the category of canons. Its use during the period of Great Lent is due to its profoundly hagiographical, didactic and theological content, which, in essence, is a call to repentance, forgiveness and humility. Through the imagery of this particular poem, all prominent figures of both the Old and New Testament are praised, whose lives and deeds are offered as examples to be emulated or avoided.
Touching, among other things, are the poet's references to St. Mary of Egypt, a model of penance, also venerated on the fifth Sunday of Lent, following the Wednesday of the Great Canon.
"My soul, my soul, what are you doing, the end is near and you will be troubled. Awake, let Christ God, the omnipresent and all-sufficient, appear to you." Let this characteristic place in the Great Canon be a guide to our own repentance, that we may come to the worship of the great feast of Easter with spiritual collectiveness and watchfulness, as far as humanly possible, freed from the elements that prevent us from participating. in the Supper of the Kingdom of God.
Share:
