The first day of Lent, the Great Canon song gives the believer “key” to understanding the harsh journey he has to go to Resurrection repentance, newness of life, return to God. Creation of St. Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, Canon exceeds the amount any other canon hymnodic. At the same time, the depth of the ideas they contain, calls the faithful to graft the spiritual life the way Christ to Calvary and to the Resurrection, which is synthesized road destiny of humanity.

Lent is a spiritual journey towards the Resurrection. With all the work that the Church Fathers have sprinkled throughout the 48 days of fasting, the believer is helped to grow spiritually and to be closer to God. Among these jobs, a special place Canon of St. Andrew consisting of Archbishop Cretei.Canonul Saint Andrew of Crete is celebrated on the first and fifth week of Lent; First week on the evening of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during the Mass called Great Compline (after Vespers service) when Canon stanzas are divided into four parts, corresponding to four days; Wednesday the fifth week of Lent in the Mass called “the Great Canon Denia” when sung entirely.

Actor of salvation history

Canon consists of nine sections called “songs” composed, in turn, the stanzas (tropes), between which are inserted prayer “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me!”. Troparul opening each of the nine songs, called “Heirmologion”, meaning “connection” is sung once at the beginning and repeat after following troparia respective song. Whenever prayer is uttered “Have mercy on me …” is a bow – a bow to the ground – bows purpose being to engage in prayer the human person in its entirety: body and soul. (The monasteries are three prostrations for each of the nearly 300 troparia) .Canonul is called “the Great” for both length and height and finesse of the ideas contained therein. If a commonly liturgical canon comprises up to 30 stanzas, canon of St. Andrew has over 250. Regarding the content, Canon of the great themes intertwined guinea fowl (Adam and Eve, heaven and falling into sin, Noah and the Flood, David, the promised land, Christ Church) confession of sin and repentance.

Moreover, as says Father Alexander Schmemann in his work, “Lent”, “events of sacred history are revealed as events of my life, God’s actions in the past as acts directed towards me and my salvation, sin tragedy and betrayal as my personal drama “.Credinciosul participating in service if Canon is taken by the hand and wore a long journey that begins with the creation of the world and continues until the threshold beyond this life into eternity; throughout the journey is invited to watch and ponder various moments of salvation history. In this process, discover that it is not a spectator, but sees himself participating directly in facts and events that previously would have considered external, foreign to him.

Dialogues of repentance

Prayer faithful gathered in the church is not a monologue, but a dialogue voice that takes place in the mysterious depths of human existences. Believers talk to people invisibly present with them: The God in Trinity, Mother of God, Venerable Mary of Egypt and St. Andrew of Crete itself. Here’s an example of dialogue with Saint Mary of Egypt, “He whom you loved him you wanted, Mother, on whose traces you go, That you found out and gave repentance one merciful God; , whom continually ask him to save us from passions and perils and new “Canon of St. Andrew of Crete .About point, Father Alexander Schmemann says is” to reveal sin and thus lead us to repentance; his sin, not by definitions and the string, but through a deep meditation on the great biblical stories, which is really a history of sin, repentance and forgiveness. “

Scripture, rediscovered by the Great Canon

What is a canon?

The word “canon” is often used in ecclesiastical language, with different meanings. In hymnography, he is a concatenation of songs composed by the rules, as regards their number and extent, forming a single integral unit, used as such in worship. The perfect form of this kind of creative hymnographic consists of nine groups of songs. The number was inspired by the nine songs that we find in Scripture (such as the song of Moses, of Isaiah or the song of Mary, her head. I of the Gospel of Luke), which were used in the worship of the Church of the first centuries . It reiterates and the nine orders of angels. In most canons, the second missing, the image of the troop fallen angels.

It differs Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, the other liturgical works of the same gender?

Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is the perfect form of this kind of creative hymnographic. It impresses not only by its size (over 250 tropes), but by the depth and beauty of how to express repentance. St. Andrew of Crete managed to gather together countless images of repentance from Scripture, from the fall of Adam in paradise until the Resurrection of the Savior, identifying with them and urging us also to do the same. Each event evoked is presented as the reality of my life, giving me the chance to realize sin to repent and trust in God’s mercy.

Getting to the kingdom veşnicăPentru some, the Great Canon service is long and perhaps boring. Why does this happen?

If we feel this is a clear sign of the fact that we do not nourish the faith of Scripture. We get bored if we listen singing or reading it is about people or events about which we know almost nothing. Canon service is a challenge for each of us to rediscover Scripture and, especially, to try to live as ea.Ar urges us have to realize that now, in the first week of Lent, the Church offers us an atmosphere different from what we usually live. Coming from the hustle and bustle of our daily and entering a service of Compline large, united with the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, find a quiet atmosphere, a song mild, with little light “Lord have mercy,” repeated like forever with prayers, as the lenten that you can not listen regardless. It suddenly something else. In fact, this is the point position and its jobs: help us to become something else, become the Easter beings, namely to “get” from “old” to “new man”. And if this atmosphere bores us, not the fault of the Church. It is, in fact, the image of the kingdom of God, which is eternal his praise. Jobs and do nothing but make us a foretaste of the beauty of the Kingdom and to get used to it.

St. Andrew, the Archbishop of Crete

Author Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete and Crete is. He was born in Damascus, around 660 into a Christian family who has given a good education. Tradition says he was silent until the age of seven, when the parents brought in a church in Jerusalem and receiving the sacraments, he began to speak. After the death of his parents, was a monk at the monastery “St. Sava “in Jerusalem. He became secretary of patriahului Jerusalem. He was sent in 685, to Constantinople, to sign documents VI century Ecumenical Council, which condemned in 681, heresy Monothelite (Monothelites the person of Jesus Christ taught that there is only the will of God, and not the human) .No to returned to Jerusalem. Remained the imperial capital, he was ordained a deacon, receiving the commission to lead an orphanage and a home for the elderly. It was noted, as his biographers say, by “preaching and catechesis act of wisdom” Around the year 712, was elected archbishop of Gortyn in Crete. Hence, the name that is known now: Crete and Crete. Although signed documents VI Ecumenical Synod, yielding to pressures Bardanes king Philip (711-713), has learned Monothelite. Soon, however, it was denied and returned to Church teaching. Knowing fall from your own experience, alienation from God, knew then and deep repentance, and for that reason he was called “the mystery of repentance mystagogue”.

He passed away in 740, in the city Ieriso island of Mytilini (Lesvos), he returned from a trip made in Constantinople. He was buried in the oldest church in oraş.În outside his classic work – Canon – St. Andrew wrote sermons on the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation canons, the raising of Lazarus, the Dives Sunday at St. Anna conception and a small poem expressing their adherence to decisions VI Ecumenical Synod.

source: ziarullumina.ro