According to the religious order of our Church, during the four days of the first week of the Lent the Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete was celebrated within the Great Compline service. During the first day of the Lent, the Great Canon service was celebrated by the Patriarch of Romania, His Beatitude Daniel, then the next days, by Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Bucharest, His Grace Varsanufie Prahoveanul, Assistant Bishop to the Patriarch Varlaam Ploieșteanul, and the cultural exarch of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Timotei Aioanei.
The purpose of fasting is to strengthen our relationship with God
On 18 March 2013, the faithful present in the Patriarchal Cathedral enjoyed the presence of the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church who celebrated the canon service, at 16.00 hours. Because we are during the Lent, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel was wearing black cassock and white kamelaykion, the well know insignia of the patriarchal dignity. To end with the religious service, the Patriarch of Romania delivered a sermon in which he emphasised the fact that the purpose of fasting is to strengthen our relationship with God: “We began the period of the Lent of the Holy Easter which is a period of preparation for meeting more often the Christ crucified and risen. The purpose of the Lent is to strengthen our relationship with God, have our sins forgiven and feel the joy of the presence of His merciful love in our life. Thus, we fast not because fasting is an obligation or constraint, but because we love God more than the gifts we received from Him. Fasting is a constraint from food and sins. It means a replacement of the food of animal origin with the vegetal one more suitable for prayer according to the experience of the Holy Fathers. When fasting, people want to show that they love God-the-Giver much more than the temporary limited gifts, namely to give up the material food in order to increase the spiritual food, because we forget about God whenever we are fed up. We forget that good health and everything else related to our life are gifts of God. During the Lent period we try not to be enslaved by the material things, but to find our freedom again in the relationship of love, obedience and conversation with God. So, fasting is not a loss, but a change of priorities. First of all we want to be fed with the loving presence of Christ in our life.”
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel has also shown that the Lent period is a school of pious love, of the admittance of the fact that all our life is a gift of God.
Fasting must be accompanied by mercy and prayer
To end with the religious service of the Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete celebrated the second day of the Lent, on 19 March 2013, His Grace Varsanufie Prahoveanul delivered a sermon in which he urged the faithful to join prayer and mercy.
We must join fasting and doing good deeds, prayers and lectures of the holy books, especially of the Holy Scriptures. Fasting must be accompanied by mercy and prayer; mercy means good deeds, while the prayer is the only time here, on earth that we spend with God, said His Grace.
The Church calls us to repentance, to complain our sins
Wednesday, 20 March 2013, His Grace Varlaam Ploieșteanul spoke to the faithful present at the Great Canon service about the repentance to which the Church calls us during the Lent, pointing out the importance of prayer for reaching the Kingdom of God.
We must add to the other spiritual facts and physical effort, the restraint from food, drink, from various things related to our daily comfort, going to Church, making reverences, and praying more – His Grace urged the faithful.
The last part of the religious service of the Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete was celebrated Thursday, 21 March 2013, by Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Timotei Aioanei, who showed in the sermon delivered that this period of repentance of the Lent must be insisting: “The repentance period means first of all obedience to the words of the Lord, a good beginning, as the Church Fathers said – repent every time you made a mistake”, Archimandrite Timotei Aioanei, great ecclesiarch of the Patriarchal Cathedral said.
Tronos psalter group of the Patriarchal Cathedral, Nicolae Lungu chorus of the Romanian Patriarchate and the chorus of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of Bucharest gave the liturgical answers these days of the beginning of the Lent.
The canon of Saint Andrew of Crete (660 – 740) or the Great Canon, as also named, is made up of 259 stichera unlike 30, as an ordinary canon is. This service, typical for the Lent, emphasises the need of repentance absolutely necessary for restoration and salvation.
