Lenten Saturdays, with the exception of the first, dedicated to the
memory of the Holy Martyr Theodore Tyron, and the fifth, the Saturday
of the Akathistos, are days of =commemoration of the departed=. And
it would be good to restore this practice of one weekly universal
commemoration of all Orthodox Christians departed this life, of their
integration in the Eucharist which is always offered "on behalf of all
and for all."
Each Sunday in Lent, although it preserves its basic meaning: that of
the weekly feast of Resurrection, has its own special theme:
The First Sunday--=Triumph of Orthodoxy=--commemorates the victory of
the Church over the last major heresy: Iconoclasm (842).
The second Sunday is dedicated to the memory of =St. Gregory Palamas=,
a great Byzantine mystic and theologian of the 14th century, who
centered his teaching on the high calling of man, on his "deification"
in Christ.
The third Sunday is the Sunday "=of the Veneration of the Holy Cross=."
At Matins the Cross is brought in a solemn procession from the sanctuary
and placed in the center of the Church, where it remains for the whole
week. This rite announces the approaching of the Holy Week, with its
commemoration of Christ's Passion. A special veneration of the Cross
takes place at the end of each service.
Fourth Sunday--=St. John of the Ladder=, one of the greatest Ascetics,
who in his "Spiritual Ladder" described the various stages of spiritual
life.
Fifth Sunday--=St. Mary of Egypt=, whose life is a most wonderful example
of repentance.
On Saturdays and Sundays, days of Eucharistic celebration, the dark
vestments are replaced by light ones, the Lenten melodies are not sung
and the prayer of St. Ephrem with prostrations is omitted. The order of
services is not of the Lenten type, yet =fasting= remains a rule and
cannot be broken. Each Sunday night at Great Vespers a special =Great
Prokimenon= (verses from a psalm) inaugurates a new week in the
penitential effort.