The first Sunday of Great Lent is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy because it commemorates the restoration of the Holy Icons and the triumph of the Orthodox Faith against the terrible heresy of the Iconoclasts, i.e. those heretics who refused to honor the Holy Icons. For more than a hundred years the Church was disturbed by the evil doctrine of iconoclasm.
The first Emperor to persecute the Church was Leo the Isaurian, and the last was Theophilos, the spouse of Saint Theodora (February 11), who reigned after her husband's death and re-established Orthodoxy in the time of Patriarch Methodios (June 14). Empress Theodora proclaimed publicly that we do not kiss the Icons as a sign of worship, nor do we honor them as "gods," but as images of their prototypes.
In the year 843, on the first Sunday of the Fast, Saint Theodora and her son, Emperor Michael, venerated the Holy Icons together with the clergy and the people. Since that time this event has been commemorated every year, because it was definitively determined that we do not worship the Icons, but we honor and glorify all the Saints who are depicted on them. We worship only the Triune God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and no one else, neither a Saint, nor an Angel.
Originally, the Holy Prophets Moses, Aaron, and Samuel were commemorated on this Sunday. The Alleluia verses appointed for today’s Liturgy reflect this older usage.
Translation of the relics of Saint Nikephoros, Patriarch of Constantinople
Saint Nikephoros (Nikēphóros) was a dignitary at the court of the empress Irene (797-802), and then after receiving monastic tonsure, he became known for his piety. In the year 806 he was elevated to the patriarchal throne. The saint was a zealous defender of the holy Icons. When the Iconoclast emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820) came to rule, the saint in 815 was exiled to Prokonnis, where he died in the year 828.
In the year 846 the holy relics of Patriarch Nikephoros were opened, and were found incorrupt and fragrant. They transferred them from Prokonnis to Constantinople and placed them for one day in Hagia Sophia, and then transferred them to the Church of the Holy Apostles. The saint’s hands are preserved in the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos.
The saint left behind three writings against Iconoclasm. The main Feast of Saint Nikephoros is celebrated on June 2, but today we commemorate the finding and transfer of his holy relics.
Martyr Sabinus (Abibus) of Egypt
The Holy Martyr Sabinus suffered in Egypt in the year 287.
Martyrs Africanus, Publius, and Terence, of Carthage
The Holy Martyrs Africanus, Publius, and Terence suffered in the third century at Petrium. Their memory is celebrated also on April 10.
Hieromartyr Publius, Bishop of Athens
Saint Publius was Bishop of Athens (after Saint Narcissus) during the second century. He was one of the Seventy Apostles (January 4), and a disciple of Saint Dionysios the Aereopagite (October 3). The God-pleasing hierarch ruled his flock as a good shepherd, and he gave his life for his rational sheep, after he had perfected it by a martyric death during the persecution of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180).
Martyr Alexander of Macedonia
The Holy Martyr Alexander was a presbyter in the city of Pidna, not far from Thessalonica. The saint converted many pagans to Christianity by his preaching. During the persecution against Christians under the emperor Maximian Galerius (305-311), Saint Alexander was subjected to fierce tortures, and then beheaded.
Martyr Christina of Persia
The Holy Martyr Christina of Persia was scourged to death for confessing her faith in Christ, during the fourth century.
