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<\/a>In these first days of Lent, the Church gathers us all around the analogue to sing together the Great Canon of St. Andrew the Cretan, a text rich in symbolism and dense in meaning.<\/p>\nFrom a terminological point of view, the canon, coming from the Hebrew “qaneh”, means reed, measure, generally designating the rules of faith and Christian life of the Church’s authority, those natural laws of the Church. Liturgical canons appeared in the late 7th and early 8th centuries, largely replacing the liturgical hymns called kontakion. St. Andrew the Cretan was considered the “father of the canons”, being the first compiler of canons and the originator of this new hymnographic species in the Greek Church.<\/p>\n
The Great Canon of St Andrew Chrysostom is so called from two perspectives: firstly, because of its breadth, since it is the only canon with 250 troparia, to which other hymnographers later added certain troparia dedicated to St Andrew Chrysostom and to the Virgin Mary of Egypt, and secondly, because of its spiritual depth, as the synopsis of the synoptic synopsis written by Nichiphorus Callistus Xanthopol suggests.<\/p>\n
It is not known for certain why St. Andrew Chrysostom wrote the Great Canon. There are, however, opinions circulated by scholars who say that this canon was written as a form in which St. Andrew Chrysostom asks forgiveness from God for an act committed in 712, when the new usurper Byzantine Emperor Philippikos Bardanes forced certain Orthodox bishops to sign a synodal act in Constantinople, by which the decisions of the Sixth Ecumenical Council would not be recognized, and among the participants of this synod would have been St. Andrew Chrysostom, who would have signed that decree. Therefore, some Western authors have asserted that this reason was the basis for the composition of the Great Canon, but it is very difficult to prove this, because the Canon makes no reference to this aspect, and on the other hand, it is not known whether the time of the writing of the Canon was during the youth of St. Andrew, or in the period of Constantinople, or after 712, when he became Archbishop of Gortina, on the island of Crete. Personally, I believe that the hymn of St. Andrew the Cretan, by the form it took and the manner of its composition, was developed in Constantinople and from there it was transmitted throughout the Christian world. The Great Canon is a miniature Bible<\/strong><\/p>\n The Great Canon was developed as a penitential canon, even though it is not called a penitential canon, but is called “the great” in Christian worship. Introduced into worship since the time of St. Andrew Chrysostom, the Canon is read in the first week of Lent, divided into four fragments, and in an exhaustive version only on Thursday of the fifth week of Great Lent. It was introduced into worship at these well-defined times precisely because it has a wholly penitential content, referring to and offering biblical models of those who have done wrong but have risen in repentance.<\/p>\n The Great Canon is a miniature Bible. By reading the Great Canon you can get to know the whole scriptural history, through the eight songs about Old Testament characters, and the last song, the ninth, with New Testament characters.<\/p>\n In the service of the Great Canon, the prayer “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me” appears very often, accompanied by the worshipper’s adoration with the sign of the Holy Cross and the metanoia. There is a link between prayer, the Holy Cross and the metanoia with a special significance.<\/p>\n The significance is primarily spiritual. On the one hand, the Cross means suffering, it means pain, it means compassion, but on the other hand, it is the Cross that takes us further, that leads us to the Resurrection. The primordial aspect or the red thread of the Great Canon must not be understood solely in the sense of repentance; repentance in the Great Canon is transformed into Resurrection, and sorrow, that “penthos” of which the Holy Fathers speak, is transformed into joy, because in Lent man does not participate only in the suffering and sufferings of the Savior, but in communion with the risen Christ. It is precisely for this reason that the sign of the Holy Cross, the symbol that unites the earthly with the divine, the earthly with the heavenly, ultimately makes accessible the message that the Great Canon conveys to us: the encounter and union with Christ. This union, however, is made first of all by participating in our sacrifice, a sacrifice accompanied by an exclamation to ask God’s mercy, to forgive our sins, and at the same time by metanoia, which can have two great meanings: that “metanoia”, that is, change of mind, change of our own nature, our thoughts and our state of sinfulness, and on the other hand, metanoia, seen as a liturgical act, prostration before God the Creator and Savior.<\/p>\n The Great Canon is not long, our patience is short<\/strong><\/p>\n In an article published in “Theology and Life” it is mentioned that the central idea of the Great Canon is not the (re)revelation of man through the Mystery of Penance, but creation seen as Eucharist.<\/p>\n In a central way, the Liturgy and the Great Canon lead man and creation to the way of Golgotha, where through the death of Christ death itself is put to death.<\/p>\n In the Great Canon, we personally experience the drama of man’s search for the true face of man, which is the Savior Jesus Christ, that man who enters the way of perfection, the way of the epaktosis, through purification from sin, through enlightenment and perfection, through the crucifixion of his own sins. The Eucharist, on the other hand, is ultimately the call of us who are children of God by grace to a full freedom that can only be lived through Christ. It is for this reason that the Eucharist and the Canon have an extraordinary value at stake: man lives truly free when he experiences divine freedom, when he no longer lives a singular life in which he finds himself at the center of the world, but lets Christ be the center of his life. The Great Canon calls creation to identification and liberation from the heavy chain of sin.<\/p>\n At first glance, the service of the Great Canon is notable for its length and for the spiritual mourning and mournful monologue that emerge from its texts. But it is not the Great Canon that is long, it is our patience that is short. The goal of repentance reflected in the Great Canon of St. Andrew Chrysostom is not an abstract uncovering of sins, but an overcoming of them. Man, created in the image of God, must know that repentance is the right attitude, well pleasing to the Creator, the only one capable of restoring the primordial beauty of creation. Through repentance, man heals his wounded soul, repairs his alienation from God. In repentance there is no longer the feeling of guilt, which makes the soul sorrowful, but there is the deep feeling, the living and conscious reception of divine love, which descends into the depths of the human being, into the depths of soul and body, raising the creature once more to its destined place. Repentance is the begetter and bringer of joy, for its end is communion with the Giver of life. (Alexandru Prelipcean)<\/p>\n [:ro]<\/p>\n Din punct de vedere terminologic, canonul, provenind din ebraicul \u201eqaneh\u201d, \u00eenseamn\u0103 trestie, m\u0103sur\u0103, desemn\u00e2nd \u00een general regulile de credin\u0163\u0103 \u015fi de via\u0163\u0103 cre\u015ftin\u0103 ale autorit\u0103\u0163ii biserice\u015fti, acele legi naturale ale Bisericii. Canoanele liturgice au ap\u0103rut la sf\u00e2r\u015fitul secolului al VII-lea \u015fi \u00eenceputul secolului al VIII-lea, \u00eenlocuind \u00een mare m\u0103sur\u0103 imnurile liturgice numite condac. Sf\u00e2ntul Andrei Criteanul a fost considerat \u201ep\u0103rintele canoanelor\u201d, fiind primul alc\u0103tuitor de canoane \u015fi ini\u0163iatorul acestei noi specii imnografice \u00een Biserica greceasc\u0103.<\/p>\n Canonul cel Mare al Sf\u00e2ntului Andrei Criteanul se nume\u015fte astfel din dou\u0103 perspective: datorit\u0103 \u00eentinderii sale, fiindc\u0103 este singurul canon care are 250 de tropare, la care s-au ad\u0103ugat ulterior de c\u0103tre al\u0163i imnografi anumite tropare \u00eenchinate Sf\u00e2ntului Andrei Criteanul \u015fi Cuvioasei Maria Egipteanca, iar pe de alt\u0103 parte, datorit\u0103 profunzimii sale spirituale, a\u015fa cum las\u0103 de \u00een\u0163eles cuprinsul sinaxarului redactat de Nichifor Calist Xanthopol.<\/p>\n Nu se \u015ftiu cu certitudine motivele pentru care Sf\u00e2ntul Andrei Criteanul a scris Canonul cel Mare. Exist\u0103 \u00eens\u0103 opinii vehiculate de cercet\u0103tori, care afirm\u0103 c\u0103 acest canon a fost redactat ca o form\u0103 prin care Sf\u00e2ntul Andrei Criteanul \u00ee\u015fi cere iertare lui Dumnezeu pentru o fapt\u0103 s\u0103v\u00e2r\u015fit\u0103 \u00een anul 712, c\u00e2nd noul \u00eemp\u0103rat bizantin uzurpator Philippikos Bardanes i-a obligat pe anumi\u0163i episcopi ortodoc\u015fi s\u0103 semneze un act sinodal la Constantinopol, prin care hot\u0103r\u00e2rile Sinodului VI Ecumenic s\u0103 nu fie recunoscute, iar printre participan\u0163ii la acest sinod s-ar fi aflat \u015fi Sf\u00e2ntul Andrei Criteanul, care ar fi semnat acel decret. De aceea, unii autori occidentali au afirmat c\u0103 acest motiv a stat la baza alc\u0103tuirii Canonului cel Mare, \u00eens\u0103 e foarte greu de demonstrat acest lucru, fiindc\u0103 \u00een Canon nu se face nici o referire la acest aspect, iar pe de alt\u0103 parte, nu se \u015ftie dac\u0103 timpul scrierii Canonului a fost \u00een timpul tinere\u0163ii Sf\u00e2ntului Andrei, sau \u00een perioada de la Constantinopol, sau dup\u0103 712, c\u00e2nd el ajunge arhiepiscop al Gortinei, \u00een Insula Creta. Personal, cred c\u0103 imnul Sf\u00e2ntului Andrei Criteanul, prin forma pe care o avea \u015fi prin maniera compunerii sale, a fost elaborat \u00een Constantinopol \u015fi c\u0103 de acolo a fost transmis \u00een \u00eentreaga lume cre\u015ftin\u0103. Canonul cel Mare este o Biblie \u00een miniatur\u0103<\/strong><\/p>\n Canonul cel Mare a fost elaborat ca un canon peniten\u0163ial, chiar dac\u0103 nu are aceast\u0103 titulatur\u0103 de canon de poc\u0103in\u0163\u0103, ci se nume\u015fte \u201ecel mare\u201d \u00een cultul cre\u015ftin. Introdus \u00een cult \u00eenc\u0103 din vremea Sf\u00e2ntului Andrei Criteanul, Canonul se cite\u015fte \u00een prima s\u0103pt\u0103m\u00e2n\u0103 a Postului Mare, \u00eemp\u0103r\u0163it \u00een patru fragmente, iar \u00eentr-o versiune exhaustiv\u0103 doar \u00een joia s\u0103pt\u0103m\u00e2nii a cincea din Marele Post. A fost introdus \u00een cult \u00een aceste perioade bine delimitate tocmai pentru c\u0103 are un con\u0163inut totalmente peniten\u0163ial, referindu-se \u015fi oferind modele biblice ale celor care au gre\u015fit, dar care s-au ridicat prin poc\u0103in\u0163\u0103.<\/p>\n Canonul cel Mare este o Biblie \u00een miniatur\u0103. Citind Canonul cel Mare po\u0163i ajunge s\u0103 cuno\u015fti \u00eentreaga istorie scripturistic\u0103, prin cele opt c\u00e2nt\u0103ri despre personaje din Vechiul Testament, \u015fi prin ultima c\u00e2ntare, cea de-a noua, cu personaje din Noul Testament.<\/p>\n \u00cen slujba Canonului cel Mare, apare foarte des rug\u0103ciunea \u201eMiluie\u015fte-m\u0103, Dumnezeule, miluie\u015fte-m\u0103!\u201d, \u00eenso\u0163it\u0103 de \u00eenchinarea credinciosului cu semnul Sfintei Cruci \u015fi de metanie. Este o leg\u0103tur\u0103 dintre rug\u0103ciune, Sf\u00e2nta Cruce \u015fi metanie, cu o \u00eensemn\u0103tate aparte.<\/p>\n Semnifica\u0163ia este \u00een primul r\u00e2nd una duhovniceasc\u0103. Crucea \u00eenseamn\u0103 pe de o parte suferin\u0163\u0103, \u00eenseamn\u0103 durere, \u00eenseamn\u0103 compasiune, dar pe de alt\u0103 parte, Crucea e cea care ne duce mai departe, ne duce spre \u00cenviere. Aspectul primordial sau firul cel ro\u015fu al Canonului cel Mare nu trebuie \u00een\u0163eles numai \u00een sensul de poc\u0103in\u0163\u0103; poc\u0103in\u0163a \u00een Canonul cel Mare se transform\u0103 \u00een \u00cenviere, iar durerea, acel \u201epenthos\u201d de care vorbesc Sfin\u0163ii P\u0103rin\u0163i, se transform\u0103 \u00een bucurie, pentru c\u0103 omul nu particip\u0103 \u00een Postul cel Mare numai la suferin\u0163a \u015fi patimile M\u00e2ntuitorului, ci particip\u0103 la comuniunea cu Hristos Cel \u00eenviat. Tocmai de aceea semnul Sfintei Cruci, simbolul care une\u015fte cele telurice cu cele dumnezeie\u015fti, cele p\u0103m\u00e2nte\u015fti cu cele cere\u015fti, accesibilizeaz\u0103 p\u00e2n\u0103 la urm\u0103 mesajul pe care Canonul cel Mare ni-l transmite: \u00eent\u00e2lnirea \u015fi unirea cu Hristos. Unirea aceasta se face \u00eens\u0103 mai \u00eent\u00e2i particip\u00e2nd prin jertfa noastr\u0103, o jertf\u0103 \u00eenso\u0163it\u0103 de o exclama\u0163ie de a cere mila lui Dumnezeu, de a ne ierta p\u0103catele, \u015fi \u00een acela\u015fi timp de metanie, care poate avea dou\u0103 sensuri mari: acea \u201emetanoia\u201d, adic\u0103 schimbarea min\u0163ii, schimbarea propriei firi, a g\u00e2ndirii \u015fi a st\u0103rii de p\u0103c\u0103to\u015fenie, iar pe de alt\u0103 parte, metania, privit\u0103 ca \u015fi act liturgic, prosternarea \u00een fa\u0163a Dumnezeului Cel Creator \u015fi M\u00e2ntuitor.<\/p>\n Nu slujba Canonului este lung\u0103, r\u0103bdarea noastr\u0103 este scurt\u0103<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00centr-un articol publicat \u00een \u201eTeologie \u015fi via\u0163\u0103\u201d se men\u021bioneaz\u0103 c\u0103 ideea central\u0103 a Canonului cel Mare nu este (re)descoperirea omului prin Taina Poc\u0103in\u0163ei, ci crea\u0163ia v\u0103zut\u0103 ca Euharistie.<\/p>\n \u00cen mod central, Liturghia \u015fi Canonul cel Mare conduc omul \u015fi crea\u0163ia spre drumul Golgotei, unde prin moartea lui Hristos se omoar\u0103 \u00eens\u0103\u015fi moartea.<\/p>\n \u00cen Canonul cel Mare, noi tr\u0103im personal drama omului \u00een c\u0103utarea chipului adev\u0103rat al omului, care este M\u00e2ntuitorul Iisus Hristos, acel om care intr\u0103 pe drumul des\u0103v\u00e2r\u015firii, pe drumul epactezei, prin purificarea de patimi, prin luminare \u015fi des\u0103v\u00e2r\u015fire, prin r\u0103stignirea propriilor p\u0103cate. Pe de alt\u0103 parte, Euharistia este p\u00e2n\u0103 la urm\u0103 chemarea noastr\u0103, a celor ce suntem fii ai lui Dumnezeu prin har, la o libertate deplin\u0103, care nu poate fi tr\u0103it\u0103 dec\u00e2t prin Hristos. Tocmai de aceea, miza Euharistiei \u015fi a Canonului are valen\u0163e extraordinare: omul tr\u0103ie\u015fte cu adev\u0103rat liber atunci c\u00e2nd experiaz\u0103 libertatea divin\u0103, c\u00e2nd nu mai tr\u0103ie\u015fte o via\u0163\u0103 singular\u0103, \u00een care se g\u0103se\u015fte pe sine \u00een centrul lumii, ci-L las\u0103 pe Hristos s\u0103 fie centru al vie\u0163ii sale. Canonul cel Mare cheam\u0103 crea\u0163ia la identificare \u015fi la eliberarea din lan\u0163ul cel greu al p\u0103catului.<\/p>\n La prima vedere, slujba Canonului Mare se remarc\u0103 prin lungime \u015fi prin doliul duhovnicesc \u015fi monologul de jale, care reies din textele lui. \u00cens\u0103, nu slujba Canonului este lung\u0103, ci r\u0103bdarea noastr\u0103 este scurt\u0103. Scopul poc\u0103in\u0163ei reflectat \u00een Canonul cel Mare al Sf\u00e2ntului Andrei Criteanul nu este o descoperire abstract\u0103 a p\u0103catelor, ci o dep\u0103\u015fire a lor. Omul, creat dup\u0103 chipul lui Dumnezeu, trebuie s\u0103 \u015ftie c\u0103 poc\u0103in\u0163a este atitudinea corect\u0103, bine pl\u0103cut\u0103 Ziditorului, singura capabil\u0103 s\u0103 readuc\u0103 frumuse\u0163ea primordial\u0103 a f\u0103pturii. Prin poc\u0103in\u0163\u0103, omul vindec\u0103 sufletul s\u0103u r\u0103nit, repar\u0103 \u00eenstr\u0103inarea sa de Dumnezeu. \u00cen poc\u0103in\u0163\u0103 nu se mai g\u0103se\u015fte sentimentul de culpabilitate, care face ca sufletul s\u0103 se \u00eentristeze, ci se tr\u0103ie\u015fte sentimentul profund, receptarea vie \u015fi con\u015ftient\u0103 a dragostei divine, care coboar\u0103 \u00een ad\u00e2ncul fiin\u0163ei umane, \u00een ad\u00e2ncul sufletului \u015fi al trupului, ridic\u00e2nd f\u0103ptura din nou la locul menit. Poc\u0103in\u0163a este n\u0103sc\u0103toare \u015fi aduc\u0103toare de bucurie, c\u0103ci finalul ei este comuniunea cu D\u0103t\u0103torul vie\u0163ii. (Alexandru Prelipcean)<\/p>\n [:]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [:en] In these first days of Lent, the Church gathers us all around the analogue to sing together the Great Canon of St. Andrew the Cretan, a text rich in symbolism and dense in meaning. From a terminological point of view, the canon, coming from the Hebrew “qaneh”, means reed, measure, generally designating the rules … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","post","publish","author-stefan","post-17191","format-image","category-minuni","post_format-post-format-image","has-format"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17191"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17194,"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17191\/revisions\/17194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sfioanevanghelistul.ca\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\u00cen aceste prime zile ale Postului Mare, Biserica ne adun\u0103 pe to\u0163i \u00een jurul analogului pentru a c\u00e2nta \u00eempreun\u0103 Canonul cel Mare al Sf\u00e2ntului Andrei Criteanul, un text bogat \u00een simbolistic\u0103 \u015fi dens \u00een \u00een\u0163elesuri.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n