In a social media post marking the beginning of Holy and Great Lent, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America encouraged Orthodox Christian faithful to “intensify our spiritual practice, and to do so within our souls, as well as within our communities.”
The full message is as follows:
“The pattern of Great Lent is before us, unchanging from year to year. The call is to intensify our spiritual practice, and to do so within our souls, as well as within our communities.
Our Season of the Fast should be a time of shattering, a time of stripping away the concentric and egocentric circles and cycles of indifference, of selfishness, of greed, of delusion, and of all the hellish surrounds that impede our spiritual growth. It should be a time in which we apply ourselves rigorously to the rhythm of the Church – Her many services and special prayers. For in these experiences, we shall obtain opportunities for self-transformation.
We shall learn how to offer the oblation, in the time and manner of the Divine Will, such that the good pleasure of God shall perform the immolation of sin and the restoration of righteousness on the altar of our hearts.”
See His Eminence’s social media post here.
