PREPARING FOR LENT

Lent is preceded by preparation of the week (Sunday), and Week.Order of services and of the preparation week of Lent is set out in the Lenten Triodion. It begins with the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee and ends on Holy Saturday, covering the 70-day period.

Precede Lent - Lent - Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, the week and the Week of the Prodigal Son, week, Week of Meat-fare (meat otpustnaya) Week and Week of Cheesefare (raw-otpustnaya, cheese, carnival).

In prep Week Church prepares the faithful for the gradual introduction of the post of abstinence: After a solid week of recovering positions Wednesday and Friday, followed by the highest level of prep abstinence - the prohibition to eat meat. In prep services Church, recalling the early days of the world and man, the blessed state of grandparents and their fall, the coming to earth of the Son of God for the salvation of man, has the faithful to duty, repentance and spiritual struggles.

In Synaxarion cheese Saturday said that just "as leaders before the militia troops, was standing in line, talking about the exploits of old men, and so encourage the soldiers, and the Fathers come into the post indicate holy men shined in the post, and teach that fasting is not only alienating fare, but to restrain the language of the heart and eyes. "

Such a preparation for Lent is an ancient post of the established church. So, already famous preachers IV century St. Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria in his conversations and words spoken about abstinence in the week preceding Lent. In the VIII century, St Theodore the Studite and Joseph made service on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, and Meatfare Cheesefare, in IX century George, Metropolitan of Nicomedia, was canon of the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee.

Preparing for fasting and penance, the Church in the first Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee's example reminds of humility, as the beginning and basis of true repentance, every virtue, and pride as the main source of sins that defile the man, alienated him from the people, makes an apostate, crammed itself sinful selfhood shell.

Humility, as a path to spiritual elevation, showed himself God the Word, resigned to the infirm condition of human nature - "to SPAR servant" (Philippians 2, 7).

In the hymns for the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee Church calls reject - "reject" vysokohvalnuyu pride lyutoe heave offering, which is harmful, "velikohvalnoe kichenie" and "dmenie (nadmevanie) ugly."

To awaken feelings of repentance and contrition for sin in the Church sings in prep Week Sunday morning, beginning with the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee and finishing fifth Sunday of Lent, after the Gospel, singing "Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ" and the reading of the 50th Psalm, before canon heartwarming verses (Troparion) "Repentance E Open to the door, O Giver of Life," "On the paths of salvation will guide me. Mother of God, "" I have set the committed fierce mindful, accursed, tremble. " Bringing together the 70-day period of the Triodion with 70-year stint in the Babylonian captivity of Israel, the Church in some prep Week mourns a new spiritual Israel captured the singing of Psalm 136, "By the rivers of Babylon."

The basis of the first verses - "Repentance Open to E-door" - are based on the parable of the Publican: taken out of it for the image comparison penitential feelings. At the heart of the second song - "On the paths of salvation" - is a parable of the prodigal son. At the heart of the third - "A lot of the committed my fierce" - the prediction of the Savior of the Last Judgment.

On the Sunday of the Prodigal Son parable of the Gospel (Luke 15, 11 - 32), from which the name of the week itself, the Church shows an example of inexhaustible mercy of God to all sinners who with sincere repentance to the Lord. No sin can not shake the humanity of God. Heart, repent and turn from sin, infiltrated hope in God, God's grace comes to meet the, kiss it, decorates and celebrates peace with it, whatever it was sinful before, to his regret.

The Church teaches that the fullness and joy of life is blessed union with God and in constant communication with him, and the removal of this communication serves as a source of spiritual disaster.

Showing the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee true beginning of repentance, the Church reveals the full force of his: with true humility and repentance possible forgiveness of sins. Because no sinner should not despair of the gracious help of the Heavenly Father.

Meat-fare week is also called the Sunday of the Last Judgment, as it reads on the Liturgy Gospel (Mt. 25. 31 - 46).

Saturday Meatfare, also called THE SATURDAY, Church makes remembrance "of the century all the dead faith of the dead pozhivshih piety and piously, or pustyneh or during gradeh, or Maury, or on land, or at any place ... even from Adam and to this day, God posluzhivshyya clean, our fathers and brothers, friends and relatives, together, every man, in conversation posluzhivshago true to God prestavlshagosya mnogovidno and diverse. " Church asks diligently "sim (them) in the hour of response Dachi gracious God and His desnago Deisis poluchiti in joy, in the part of the righteous and the saints lot lighter, and be alone worthy of His Kingdom."

By inscrutable Providence are different death in humans. "It is proper as Vedat - said in Synaxarion - Thou not in the pit, all ye vpadayuschii, and fire, and the sea, and the desolation glagolemye and jelly (cold) and smooth, the direct command of God these things strazhdut, This bo essence of God fate , ihzhe Peninsula (a) are of good pleasure (of God), Peninsula (other)'s permission for the same, the other for the sake of reference, and the rebuke (prevention), and other utselomudreniya happen. "

Saturday Meatfare Church in its philanthropy especially praying for those who died, were not the church or the funeral prayers of the church in general, "psalms and hymns institutionalized memory Receive." Church prays "in part uchiniti righteous," "ordeal cover water, swearing reaped a coward (earthquake) is embraced by ordeal, and murderers ubisha, and fire came ordeal." Lifted up prayers for those who are ignorant and in his mind ended his life, those whom the Lord, all the useful vedy, hath died of sudden death - "the sadness and joy predshedshyya unreliable (unexpectedly)" and of those who died in sea or on land, rivers, springs, lakes, which are prey animals and birds killed by the sword, burned by lightning, freezing in the cold and the snow, buried under a landslide or earth walls, killed through poisoning, strangling and hanging from nearby, killing from any other kind of sudden and violent death.

The idea of the end of our lives at the memory of departed already in eternity sobering effect on everyone who forgets about eternity and all my soul clings to fleeting and perishable.

Meatfare Week (Sunday) is dedicated to the latest reminder of the universal and the Judgment of the living and the dead (Matt. 25, 31 - 46). This reminder is necessary for people to indulge in sins has neither carelessness and negligence of his salvation in the hope of ineffable mercy of God. Church in hymns and troparia service this week investigation shows a lawless life, the sinner stands before God's judgment unflattering.

Recalling the last judgment of Christ, the Church at the same time points, and the true meaning of the most hope for the mercy of God. God is merciful, but He is the righteous judge. In the liturgical hymns of the Lord Jesus Christ as pravosudnym and his court - the righteous and incorruptible test (neumytnoe torture, neumytny court). And entrenched, and blithely rely on the mercy of God, sinners must therefore bear in mind the spiritual responsibility for his moral condition, and the church all their worship of the Week aims to bring them to the realization of his sinfulness.

Which is the case repentance and life, especially pay attention to? First and foremost, the deeds of love and mercy, for the Lord will deliver his court mostly for charity, and, moreover, possible for all, not to mention the other virtues, is not equally available to everyone. No man can say that he could not help the hungry, drink to the thirsty, visit the sick. The real value of their business have mercy when they are a manifestation of owning a heart of love and connected to the spiritual things of mercy, and that body. and soul neighbors facilitated.

The last preparatory to the Holy Week of Lent is called Cheese, Cheesefare, carnival, carnival. This Week, used cheese food: milk, cheese, butter, eggs.

Church, condescending to our weakness and gradually introduces us to exploit the post, established in the last Week, before Lent to eat cheese food "that we, the meat and mnogoyadeniya led to a strict abstinence from pleasant ... little by little dishes took over, that is a feat of fasting ". In Cheesefare Wednesday and Friday post put more strict (before the evening).

Chants cheese Week Church inspires us that this is already the eve of Week of repentance Forefeast abstinence predochistitelnaya WEEK. In these hymns of Holy Church invites purely abstinence, recalling the original fall, which occurred on the excess.

In remembrance of the cheese is made Saturday holy men and women, in the struggle of the post shined. An example of the holy ascetics Church strengthens us to exploit the spiritual, "like so and primitive, gentle vzirayusche Life of them, and mnogovidnyya razlichnyya do virtues yakozhe komuzhdo force is" keeping in mind that the holy ascetics and ascetic, glorified by the Church, were the people in positions of sickness flesh like us.

The last Sunday before Lent has Triodion inscription (name): "In Cheesefare Sunday, banishment of Adam." On this day, the event commemorated the expulsion of our first parents from paradise.