dear brothers and sisters, the first week of lent has ended, and today , first sunday, is called the week of the triumph of orthodoxy. we find the origins of this holiday in the first centuries of christianity, after three fierce centuries of persecution by pagans under emperor constantine the great, it was established in the byzantine empire. it would seem that this should have served to usher in a prosperous, calm time for christians. however, during this period , false heretical teachings began to arise, distorting the teachings of the church, including heresy iconoclasm, whose followers denied the veneration of holy icons. however , the tradition of venerating holy icons...

existed since ancient times in the christian church, it was based on the holy scriptures, and remained inviolable until the 7th century, but in 730, the byzantine emperor levi the isaurian, succumbed to the influence of the retics, banned the veneration of icons. then the orthodox, especially the monks, began to fight for the right to depict jesus christ on icons.

the persecution of the orthodox was no longer by pagans, but by other christians, falsely understood the orthodox faith. in 787, the seventh ecumenical council took place, which confirmed the correctness of the defenders of the holy icons, but for a long time the disputes did not subside, so only several decades later, under the pious empress theodora, iconoclasm began. was finally recognized as heresy. the establishment of orthodox doctrine was marked by a festive service in the st. sophia cathedral in constantinople, held on the first sunday of great lent in 843. then the holy icons were solemnly brought into the cathedral and the due death was performed for them. in honor of this event, it is still celebrated today.

a service that was called the rite of the triumph of orthodoxy, that is, the correct praise of god and confession of faith. the rite itself was established by patriarch methodius of constantinople, and to this day it is performed on the first sunday of great lent in all orthodox churches of our church. this service establishes not only the orthodox teaching on icon veneration, but all dogmas. resolutions adopted at seven ecumenical councils. so, on this significant day in the history of our church, we triumph, professing the doctrine of the true orthodox church, proclaiming glory to the eternal memory of all those ascetics of our faith who labored in establishing them. the triumph of orthodoxy is the day when we celebrate the victory of god's truth over human inventions. on this day we remember the words

of christ the savior, who said: “i will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” this promise is given. we need to ask ourselves: what do we know about god, to what extent our life is consistent with the commandments, do we testify about god to other people, or here... our faith is limited, it is extremely important for every orthodox person, especially during lent, to think about these questions, because today, celebrating the triumph of orthodoxy, each of us i must realize that behind this we are celebrating an event in church history, there is

a feat of the confessors of our church, who , despite the threat to their lives, defended the truth of god, this encourages... to think about whether we testify to our faith in such a way that it found a response among people who are still far from the church, so that this day becomes for them a triumph that transforms the soul and leads to holiness. let us remember that the lord, turning to the apostles, says to all of us: go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit. this is how we are all called.

they were amazed to see the courage, perseverance, purity of morals, faithfulness of christians, living according to the gospel is accessible to every person , living as the lord teaches us, and this will be the best evidence of our faith, the faith given lord before other people, taking part in today's celebration of the church of christ. everyone can make their small contribution to the preaching of the christian faith, which will consist in being a believer not only in words, but in deeds, in one’s actions, in prayer to god, which gives strength to live according to the gospel.

concluding the first, one of the most strict and important weeks of great lent, with the joyful holiday of the triumph of orthodoxy, let us remember. that it is the path of spiritual improvement that leads a person to true joy, therefore the main result not only of the first days of fasting, but of the entire life of a christian is joy and peace in the holy spirit. and having embarked on the path of fasting, trying to pray more often, be more attentive to our spiritual life and ascetically limit ourselves in some ways, each of us becomes able... to join in the triumph of the orthodox faith. and it is very important for every christian on the day of great lent to try to take an effective, living part in the sacraments of confession, repentance and communion of the holy mysteries of christ. these

the sacraments were established so that a christian, through them, could cleanse his soul, ease it and... guests for the bright holiday of christ's resurrection. may god's blessing be upon us all.

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