OCA Chancery
Syosset, New York
To the Venerable Hierarchs, Reverend Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America
Dearly beloved,
“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light” (Eph. 5:14).
These words of Saint Paul express one of the most basic aspects of Great Lent. They disclose to us an understanding that provides the foundation and therefore the very meaning of our entrance into these days that lead us to the bright and holy Pascha of the Lord. But before we can benefit from these words of the Apostle, we must first recognize that two extreme approaches to the Fast continue to prevail in the Church.
For some, entering the Great Fast primarily consists of a change in diet accompanied by a change in liturgical form. In addition, Great Lent continues to provide the context for those who make their annual confession in order to receive the Eucharist. But beneath these externals—including the beauty and solemnity of the Church’s liturgical rhythm—one’s entrance into the Fast proceeds more from an obligation than from the heart’s desire to run the course of the ascetical race. The reasons for this reduction vary. Yet permeating all these reasons is the fact that we live in a culture that aggressively opposes the very character of Christian asceticism. For this reason alone Great Lent has at times become—both for clergy and laity—an imposed form that has little if any impact on the mind and heart.
For others, Great Lent is a time to exercise ascetical zeal. However this zeal does not always stem from love but from a spirit of competition and prideful judgment. In keeping the letter of the law they seek to set themselves above and apart from those who do not meet their own standards. They preach Christ—but their words proceed out of rivalry and partisanship and not from a desire to build up the body of the Lord. They pray and fast, but there is no repentance which humbles and renews the weary and burdened soul.
These extremes mentioned above weaken the Gospel. Both extremes yield to the form of piety while denying its saving power (cf. 2 Timothy 3:4-5). Great Lent is given to us as a gift. But it can only be recognized and received as a gift if we are able to transcend all its reductions and misconceptions. To do this requires us to awake from the deadly sleep of indifference and arrogance. Thus, Great Lent is the path of spiritual and physical renewal. It leads both the catechumens and the faithful into the bridal chamber of the Lord. It is the path in which repentance, prayer and fasting are a response to the divine love supremely revealed in the crucified Christ. Great Lent draws us out of ourselves so that our love for God is expressed by a limitless and unselfish love for our neighbor. It is therefore prayer and fasting refreshed by repentance, and rooted in love for God and neighbor, that must characterize our ascetical zeal. And it is this zeal that brings us into the Lord’s Pascha which has set us free from the oppression of sin and death.
Forgiving one another, let us encourage each other to remain upon the path of the Great Fast. Let us heed the call of the Apostle to arise from sleep so that the imperishable prize of the Savior’s Resurrection may be ours to share with all who yearn for new and eternal life.
Asking your forgiveness if I have offended you in any way, I remain,
With love in Christ,
+ THEODOSIUS
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada