The Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent. It is the celebration of the victory over the iconoclasts by the decision of the Seventh Ecumenical Council. The service is to commemorate the restoration of icons for use in services and private devotional life of Christians.

~ ~ ~

“Part of what icons are in the East is easier to understand in light of what happened to icons in the West, not only religious artwork but painting as a whole. What happens if you ask an art historian to tell the story of Western art after the Middle Ages, roughly from the Renaissance to the Neo-classicists? The story that is usually told is a story of Western art growing from crude and inaccurate depictions to paintings that were almost like photographs. It is a story of progress and advancement. Orthodoxy can see something else in the story. Western art became photorealistic, not because they progressed from something inferior, but because their understanding of symbol had disintegrated.”

- Jonathan Hayward

As the Prophets beheld, as the Apostles taught,
As the Church received, as the Teachers dogmatized,
As the Universe agreed, as Grace illumined,
As the Truth revealed, as falsehood passed away,
As Wisdom presented, as Christ awarded,

Thus we declare, thus we assert,
Thus we proclaim Christ our true God and honor His saints,

In words,
In writings,
In thoughts,
In sacrifices,
In churches,
In holy icons.

On the one hand, worshiping and reverencing Christ as God and Lord.
And on the other hand, honoring and venerating His Saints as true servants of the same Lord.

This is the Faith of the Apostles.
This is the Faith of the Fathers.
This is the Faith of the Orthodox.
This is the Faith which has established the Universe.

Blessed are those who love the beauty of Thy House.

I wish I could describe this day for you.

I cannot really say what it’s like to feel lost in worship. To know the words, but also know that I do not yet fully understand them. To sing hymns that have been sung by so many for so long, and not once do they actually feel old. I could experience the Liturgy every day for the rest of my life and never stop finding something new within it.

Wisdom, let us attend!

As the gospel book was brought out before the church, the children sang the hymn. It was so sweet and so beautiful that, for a moment, Father simply couldn’t sing. And so we did. The word liturgy means “the work of the people.” I wish I could express what it was like to stand in the midst of those voices.

Save us, O Son of God, who did rise from the dead. We sing to You, Alleluia!

I wish to tell you what it’s like to look around the church and see that you are surrounded by the saints. In one moment, 2000 years of history is more present and alive than you can possibly imagine.

With faith, hope, and love, draw near.

I wish that everyone could know what it feels like to stand together, to wait together, to receive the Eucharist together. To know what the ‘unity of the faith’ is really like.

We have seen the Light, the True Light, and have received the Heavenly Spirit. We now have found the True Faith, by our worshiping the undivided Trinity.

Change is never an easy thing. Today we stood together and said goodbye to a beloved priest. We will miss him and his wonderful wife. We love them, and we wish them the best.

“I am no longer your priest, but I will always be your friend.”