Orthodox Christians pray, as Great Lent dawns, that God would open to us the “gates of repentance.” Great Lent, which literally means the “Great Fast,” refers to a glorious season of “bright sadness” when we turn to the Lord with renewed prayer, fasting, almsgiving. During the 40-Day Fast, Orthodox are called to lay aside normal entertainments, put away all gossiping and backbiting, all meat and dairy (if one is healthy), so that we might focus all of our energies on loving our Lord Jesus Christ and our brothers and sisters. Whether you are an Orthodox Christian or not, we invite you to participate with us in Lenten worship, which is remarkable for its ancient beauty and intensity. Our complete Lenten Calendar is available (through Holy Week and Pascha). Services for the specially intense Clean Week (the first week of Great Lent) are included below:
Schedule for Clean Week 2012
Sun, Feb 26: 10am Liturgy
& 5pm Forgiveness Vespers
Mon, Feb 27: 7am Lenten Matins
& 6:30pm Compline w/ St. Andrew Canon
Tue, Feb 28: 7am Lenten Matins
& 6:30pm Compline w/ St. Andrew Canon
Wed, Feb 29: 7am Lenten Matins
& 5:55pm Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts
Thu, Mar 1: 7am Lenten Matins
& 6:30pm Compline w/ St. Andrew Canon
Fri, Mar 2: 7am Lenten Matins
& 11:30am Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts
Saturday, March 3: 6:15pm Litya for Departed
& 6:30pm All-Night Vigil
Sunday, March 4: 10am Liturgy
& 6pm Orthodoxy Vespers in Louisville (at Assumption GOA)
Teaching Series: “Road of Orthodoxy”
Beginning on Wednesday evening, February 22, and continuing each Wednesday evening of Great Lent (i.e., through April 4th), Father Justin Patterson will be offering an engaging, yet basic course on early Christian and Orthodox Christian history. Father Justin will make use of power point slides, photos, and short videos to help bring the story of the Church to life. For the basic structure of his talks, Father Justin will be taking Fr. Alexander Schmemann’s classic book The Historical Road of Orthodoxy as his guide. This 7-part series is open to everybody, and will include the teen group of St. Athanasius, as well. Class time begins at about 7:30pm and will last 45-50 minutes.
