Feast of Orthodoxy
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The Feast of Orthodoxy (or Sunday of Orthodoxy or Triumph of Orthodoxy) is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Church and other churches using the Byzantine Rite to commemorate, originally, only the final defeat of iconoclasm on the first Sunday of Lent in 843, and later also opposition to all heterodoxy.
History
Despite the teaching about icons defined at the
Service
A special service is celebrated in, usually, only cathedrals and monasteries.
After orthros (matins) or the Divine Liturgy, a procession is made with icons to some destined spot (often merely around the church). Meanwhile, a Canon, attributed to St. Theodore the Studite, is sung.
Once the procession arrives at the place, the Synodikon (decree of the Synod of Constantinople) is proclaimed aloud by the
There are inevitably differences between the Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic lists. The Orthodox acclaim Photius, Michael Cerularius, other anti-Roman patriarchs and many emperors. They curse Pope Honorius among the Monothelites, the opponents of Hesychasm. The Synodicon used by Greek-Catholics tends to omit a large number of these names. Also, there are minor differences between the Synodika of individual autocephalous churches.
In Greek usage, the
The service as it had been used in the
Liturgical texts
The liturgical texts for the Canon, Synodicon etc., and the
The First Sunday of Great Lent originally commemorated the Prophets such as
readings appointed for the day continue to reflect this older usage.Theological significance
The name of this Sunday reflects the great significance which icons possess for the Orthodox Church. They are not optional devotional extras, but an integral part of Orthodox faith and devotion. The debate involved important issues: the character of Christ's human nature, the Christian attitude towards matter, and the true meaning of Christian
References
- ISBN 1-56563-130-7.
- ISBN 0-14-020592-6.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Feast of Orthodoxy". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links
- Sunday of Orthodoxy article from Orthodox Wiki
- Homily on the Triumph of Orthodoxy by Patriarch of Moscow