This is all done to remind the believers that the Lent is to start the following day.Īs for the Rite of the Lenten weekdays, the Vespers Prayers are not prayed.ĭuring the Prime Raising of Incense on Lenten weekdays, the priest begins with the Thanksgiving Prayer, and the congregation chants the hymn Kieryalason instead of the Verses of Cymbals. Also, Psalm 150 is chanted during communion in the tune of the Lenten Saturdays and Sundays, followed by the Praise of the First Week of the Holy Lent, and the concluding creed for the end of service for the Saturdays and Sundays of the Holy Lent. The Divine Liturgy is also prayed in the Annual Rite with the exception that the Fraction is read that of the Great Lent. The readings however are taken from the Lectionary of the Great Lent and not from the annual readings.
In the Rite of the Great Lent, the Liturgy of the Catechumens on the Sunday preceding the Holy Lent is prayed as usual.
As for Passion Week, it retains is own exclusive tunes of sadness and grief. The hymns themselves are divided into two types: The first is for the Saturdays and Sundays of the Holy Lent only, while the second pertains to the weekdays of the Holy Lent. The hymns of the Great Lent, starting from the Week of Preparation to the end of the Holy Forty Days, retain the themes of asceticism and chastity. In general, the Fast is a means of disciplining both the soul and the body.
This rule however need not apply on those who suffer from a physical sickness or disability, and are thus given permission to eat fish.” As for laymen, they are also prevented from partaking of the Holy Communion until they have once again fasted and received the absolution. The Dioscolia clearly states that: “any bishop, priest, deacon, sub-deacon, reader, or psalmist, who does not fast the Holy Forty Days and the fasts of Wednesdays and Fridays is prohibited from performing any service in the Church and partaking of the Holy Communion until he has fasted and received an absolution. It is vital to keep in mind that the fathers emphasized the grave importance of fasting during this time. However, if one could not fast both days together, then it is acceptable to fast throughout Saturday alone.”
The duration and the ranking of the Holy Lent is documented in the holy Dioscolia, indicating that “the forty days that Jesus Christ our Saviour fasted are to be fasted until sunset, along with the abstaining from any flesh and anything that belongs to the flesh.” Also, it is mentioned that, “the week preceding the Holy Forty Days (the Week of Preparation) is to be classified as one of the established fasts of the church, on which the rules of the Holy Forty Days are to be observed.” As for the Holy Pascha week, (the week following the Holy Forty days) the Dioscolia states “it is to be fasted solely on bread, salt and water until the end of sunset.” With regards to Great Friday and Bright Saturday, “they are to be fasted with full abstinence until the cock crows very early Sunday morning. Thus, Passion Week was separate from the rest of the Holy Lent, until the time of Pope Demetrius, the twelfth Patriarch of Alexandria, instituted the basis of the Holy Lent that is used to this present day, and appointed the time for the Holy Feast of Passover. They also celebrated the Feast of Passover on 22 Meshir, followed by Passion Week a few days later, and concluding with the celebration of the Holy Feast of the Resurrection. In the past, the holy fathers began fasting the Holy Lent on the day following the Feast of the Epiphany (12 Tobe), as revealed to them by the Gospel, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil” (Lk. It is fasted for a total of 55 days, consisting of the Week of Preparation, the Holy Forty Days, Lazarus Saturday, and the Holy Pascha Week. The Great Lent is considered to be the most blessed and profound spiritual period in the Coptic Calendar.