The Third Sunday of the Great Fast is called the Adoration of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.

"The ceremonies are closely parallel to those at the feasts of the Exaltation of the Cross (14/27 September) and the Procession of the Cross (1/14 August). The solemn veneration of the Cross on this third Sunday in Lent prepares us for the commemoration of the Crucifixion which is soon to follow on Great Friday, and at the same time it reminds us that the whole of Lent is a period when we are crucified with Christ: as the Synaxarion says, 'Through the forty-day fast, we too are in a way crucified, dying to the passions'."

[Metropolitan Kallistos]

During the veneration of the Cross and at other times during the services on this day we sing, slowly and solemnly the following verse:

We venerate Thy Cross, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.

THE FIRST SUNDAY OF THE GREAT FAST is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy. This is because it celebrates the second and final restoration of Icons to our churches in the year 843, after the defeat of the Iconoclasts who had banned their veneration for many years. A great procession was held on this Sunday, led by the Emperor and his mother Saint Theodora, carrying Icons through Constantinople. Before this event, the Sunday had been dedicated to Moses and the Prophets, who are still remembered in some of the sticheras of the day. In many large churches, the "Rite of Orthodoxy" is served after the Liturgy in which not only are those who suffered for the sake of the Holy Icons honoured by name but also all who defended the truth at the First Seven Councils and throughout the history of the Church. In addition, sixty anathemas are pronounced against prominant heretics of past ages.

On Saturday 4th February we shall be celebrating our second Patronal Feast, which is always kept on the weekend closest to the day of the Martyrdom of Saint Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev (25th January/7th February 1918), the first of the New Martyrs of Russia.

On this website you can find the wonderful collection of full lives of many of the better-known New Martyrs (from St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church near Dallas, Texas) but each year more and more names of Martyrs are added to our Russian Church Calendar as research yields fresh details of the period of persecution. Nor are the names confined to those shot in the 1930s. One inspiring figure, Bishop Afanasy of Kovrov, died at liberty in 1962. A little before this, he noted in his diary the following stark and terrifying figures:

"June 27, 1954,was the 33rd anniversary of my Episcopal consecration. During that time I spent 33 months in my diocese; 32 months enjoying freedom but unable to exercise my duties; 76 months in exile; 254 months in prison or in hard labour."

In these few lines are summed up the reasons why we must gather and celebrate the memory of our Orthodox Martyrs and must implore their prayers for us in all our weaknesses and necessities.

On Sunday 31st July we remember a number of great monastic saints, including Our Holy Father Pambo, the Hermit of the Egyptian desert in the fourth century. No unnecessay word ever passed his lips and he never answered a request for spiritual advice without prior prayer and pondering in his heart. Once the Patriarch of Alexandria, Theophilus, was visiting the monks nearby and Pambo was begged by them to give "a word" to the great hierarch. He replied, "If my silence is of no help to him, neither will my words be."

On this day we keep the feast of the Dormition of the Righteous Anna, Mother of the Theotokos (Mother of God). So important was she regarded in Byzantine times that it was established that she and her husband St Joachim should always be named at the end of any prayer or blessing mentioning the saints, as the "ancestors of God." On this day also, in 1918, were slain the Grand-Duke Michael Alexandrovich, brother of the Tsar-Martyr and briefly his successor, together with his secretary Nicholas Johnson. As can be guessed from the name the latter was of English descent and an icon was recently painted of him in this country. They died at Perm, not far from Alapaevsk, where Saint Elizabeth was martyred.

On Sunday 31st July we remember a number of great monastic saints, including Our Holy Father Pambo, the Hermit of the Egyptian desert in the fourth century. No unnecessay word ever passed his lips and he never answered a request for spiritual advice without prior prayer and pondering in his heart. Once the Patriarch of Alexandria, Theophilus, was visiting the monks nearby and Pambo was begged by them to give "a word" to the great hierarch. He replied, "If my silence is of no help to him, neither will my words be."

Among many other saints, including the famous Olga, Princess of Kiev and earliest of all the saints of Kievan Russia, we should mention the Serbian Hieromartyrs who suffered during the War period 1941-1945. Many Serbian Orthodox were martyred in the most atrocious ways during this time at the hands of the Croatian Fascist Ustashi, who were also fanatical Roman Catholics. Five bishops were slaughtered and many helpless peasants. Today we remember specifically a group of twenty-eight parish priests by name.

This year we shall keep the memory of the Royal Martyrs of Russia: the God-crowned Tsar-Martyr Nicholas Alexandrovich, the Tsaritsa Alexandra Feodorovna and their children, the Tsarevich Alexis and the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. They were brutally slain in the cellar of the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg after midnight on 4th/17th July 1918. Their servants were also shot, either with them or soon afterwards, ten persons in all, including a humble cook and the sailor, Clement Nagorny, who had cared for the sick Tsarevich since early childhood. On the same night, Blessed Maria Ivanovna, the fool-for-Christ of Diveyevo, began to shout and scream: "They are killing the princesses with bayonets!"

Sunday the 17th July is actually the day of the martyrdom of the Imperial Family (in 1918): the Tsar-Martyr Nicholas Alexandrovich, his wife and children. Our own Saint, Grand Duchess Elizabeth and those with her, were slain on the following day (18th). Because this is our main Feast, we are reversing the order and will remember Saint Elizabeth on Sunday and the Royal Martyrs on Monday. It is important to remember that theRoyal Martyrs were not killed accidentally ("by local Bolsheviks") but as part of a terrible, and nearly succesful, attempt to extirminate the entire House of Romanov. In the same period the Tsar's brother, Grand Duke Michael, was also slain at Perm.

The Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul occupies a position in the Church's year only just below that of the Twelve Great Feasts. It is preceded by fast which varies in length but which this year lasts for three weeks. The feast originated in Rome, where the Apostles were both martyred and where two huge basilicas were erected in the time of Saint Constantine the Great. On 29th June (now 12th July in the modern calendar) the Liturgy was celebrated at St Peter's and the next day at St Paul's "Outside the Walls." The two saints are always mentioned and celebrated together in our Orthodox services.

On Sunday 3rd of July we follow the Russian Saints by remembering All the Saints of the British Isles (or as some now prefer, "the Isles").This includes all the early Celtic saints of Britain and Ireland as well as the Anglo-Saxon saints who shone forth after the mission of Saints Gregory and Augustine. Many of them, of course, have their own separate feast days during the year.

On Sunday 26th June we remember All the Saints of the Russian Land. This feast was instituted by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1918 (which re-established the Patriarchate) to follow the Sunday of All Saints. The Canon at Matins is very beautiful and is a spiritual journey through Russian history, mentioning many of the saints by name.

The Feast of All the Saints of every age and land is always kept on the Sunday after Pentecost-Trinity Sunday - this year the 19th June. It is a great celebration and marks the end of the use of the special services of the Pentecostarion. It is also the second feast of our cathedral in London, as this was originally the Anglican parish church of All Saints Ennismore Gardens. When it became Orthodox the principal dedication of the Dormition of the Mother of God was added, as this had been the title of the Russian Embassy chapel from the time of the Emperor Peter I.

The Great Feast of the ASCENSION of Our Lord and Saviour is always celebrated on a Thursday, that is exactly forty days after the Sunday of the Resurrection, as the Gospels clearly state. These days it is widely neglected by Orthodox christians although, of the feasts occuring on weekdays, it is only exceeded in impotance by Christmas and the Baptism of the Lord and ought to be always remembered. It is essentially a joyful feast, for as the Kondak of the day says, Christ has not really departed but remains "inseparable from us." Moreover he has united "things on earth with the heavens" - that is, he has elevated our human nature to a place at the right hand of the Father. Finally, He has told us that unless He ascends to the Father, the Holy Spirit will not be sent to us on the Day of Pentecost.

As happens so often, the Troparion of the day sums up beautifully the deepest meaning of the feast:

THOU hast Ascended in glory, O Christ our God, having gladdened Thy disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit; and they were assured by the blessing that Thou art the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world.

This year, all the services for Holy and Great Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as well as the night of PASCHA, will be served at the chapel of the Sisterhood.

Unfortunately, many Orthodox these days are unfamiliar with these beautiful and spiritually uplifting services and sometimes even content themselves with only attending the Matins of PASCHA at midnight on Saturday. All Orthodox should at least try to come to the Matins of Holy Friday (ie the service on Thursday evening) with its twelve Gospel readings relating the Lord's Passion, and to the Vespers on Friday afternoon when the Burial Shroud (or Winding Sheet - the Plashchenitsa) is brought to the middle of the church.

All these services are contained in THE LENTEN TRIODION (in the translation of Metropolitan Kallistos) with a lot of wonderful explanatory material. Those unable to attend the services should at least try to read them at home using this book.

Another neglected day is the morning of Great Saturday, when in the early Church the catechumens were baptised. It is a truly wonderful and joyful Liturgy, commencing with many readings from the Old Testament. It is especially suited to those whose family commitments make it difficult to attend the PASCHA night services.

For those who have no books to consult, the following websites can be recommended:

http://www.monachos.net/content/lent has a great deal of useful material explaining the spiritual significance of the last week of the Triodion;

http://www.anastasis.org.uk/triodion.htm is one of the only sites to have all the actual texts of the services online.

The services during the first week of Lent are beautiful, spiritual and long. Each day from Monday to Thursday a section of the Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete is chanted at Great Compline. On Wednesday and Friday the solemn and moving Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served in the morning. On Saturday the miracle of the Great Martyr Theodore is commemorated (the early martyrs are constantly remembered during the Fast).

It would be impossible to describe all these services here. All that can be said is that Orthodox Christians should familiarise themselves with the beautiful words of the LENTEN TRIODION which contains the special services of the Great Fast. There is a very good English translation of this by Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) which also contains his explanatory introduction and one of the best accounts of the true meaning of Christian fasting available in any language.

The Kontakion of the Great Canon:

My soul, O my soul, rise up! Why art thou sleeping? The end draws near, and soon thou shalt be troubled. Watch, then, that Christ thy God may spare thee, for He is everywhere present and fills all things.

See link for the complete text of the Great Canon arranged for the first week of the Fast: www.monachos.net/content/patristics/patristictexts/484

On Sunday 6th March we will keep the last Sunday before the Great Fast begins. It is called Forgiveness Sunday not only because the Gospel at the Liturgy warns us that we must forgive each other if we expect GodÕs forgiveness but also because later in the day, at the first Vespers of the Fast itself, we bow before one other asking mutual forgiveness.

There is another theme of this Sunday which is the one most emphasised in the hymns of the Vigil Ð that of the Fall of man from the Paradise God created for him. To regain this Paradise we need to struggle spiritually in the coming Fast.

This day is also called Cheesefare Sunday because it is the last day on which dairy products should be eaten until the Day of the Resurrection.

Stichera at Vespers on Sunday evening from the Lenten Triodion:

Let us set out with joy upon the season of the Fast, and prepare ourselves for spiritual combat. Let us purify our soul and cleanse our flesh; and as we fast from food, let us abstain also from every passion. May we persevere with love and so be counted worthy to see the solemn Passion of Christ our God, and with great spiritual gladness to behold his Holy Passover.

Like the other Sundays before Lent, this prepares us for one of the spiritual messages of the Great Fast Ð this time the calling to mind of the Day of the Second Coming of Christ, when each will be judged according to his or her deeds. The Gospel of this day (Matthew 25:31-46) recounts the event unforgettably in Our SaviourÕs own words.

This is also the last day on which meat should be eaten until the Sunday of Pascha but during the following week all foods except meat, including eggs, cheese and fish, are permitted, even on Wednesday and Friday.

Sedalion from the Triodion (the Service Book containing the special services of the Lenten period):

I think upon the fearful day and lament my evil acts. What answer shall I give to the immortal King? And with what boldness shall I the Prodigal gaze upon the Judge? O compassionate Father, Only-begotten Son and Holy Spirit, have mercy on me.