Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure :
107-461: Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: Great Lent , or the Great Fast ( Greek : Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή, Megali Tessarakosti or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, Megali Nisteia , meaning "Great 40 Days", and "Great Fast", respectively), is the most important fasting season of
214-561: A Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the world's oldest recorded living language . Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now-extinct Anatolian languages . The Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods: In the modern era, the Greek language entered
321-570: A basis for coinages: anthropology , photography , telephony , isomer , biomechanics , cinematography , etc. Together with Latin words , they form the foundation of international scientific and technical vocabulary ; for example, all words ending in -logy ('discourse'). There are many English words of Greek origin . Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European language family. The ancient language most closely related to it may be ancient Macedonian , which, by most accounts,
428-538: A divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed. It is clear, therefore, that sacred tradition, sacred scripture and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God's most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under
535-508: A faster, more convenient cursive writing style with the use of ink and quill . The Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters, each with an uppercase ( majuscule ) and lowercase ( minuscule ) form. The letter sigma has an additional lowercase form (ς) used in the final position of a word: In addition to the letters, the Greek alphabet features a number of diacritical signs : three different accent marks ( acute , grave , and circumflex ), originally denoting different shapes of pitch accent on
642-610: A few feast days, and fish is permitted on Palm Sunday as well as the Annunciation when it falls before Palm Sunday, and caviar is permitted on Lazarus Saturday , meat and dairy are prohibited entirely until the fast is broken on Easter . Additionally, Eastern Orthodox Christians traditionally abstain from sexual relations during Lent. Besides the additional liturgical celebrations described below, Christians are expected to pay closer attention to and increase their private prayer. According to Byzantine Rite theology , when asceticism
749-573: A lesser extent, in the Western Mediterranean in and around colonies such as Massalia , Monoikos , and Mainake . It was also used as the official language of government and religion in the Christian Nubian kingdoms , for most of their history. Greek, in its modern form, is the official language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population. It is also the official language of Cyprus (nominally alongside Turkish ) and
856-400: A limited but productive system of compounding and a rich inflectional system. Although its morphological categories have been fairly stable over time, morphological changes are present throughout, particularly in the nominal and verbal systems. The major change in the nominal morphology since the classical stage was the disuse of the dative case (its functions being largely taken over by
963-453: A mixed syllable structure, permitting complex syllabic onsets but very restricted codas. It has only oral vowels and a fairly stable set of consonantal contrasts . The main phonological changes occurred during the Hellenistic and Roman period (see Koine Greek phonology for details): In all its stages, the morphology of Greek shows an extensive set of productive derivational affixes ,
1070-530: A place for Jesus in the heart ("I must abide at thy house"), overcoming gossip ("And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner"), repentance and almsgiving ("And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold"), forgiveness and reconciliation ("And Jesus said unto him, This day
1177-519: A portion of them (their canon at Matins, and their stichera from "Lord I Have Cried" at Vespers) is chanted at Compline . In addition to the added readings from Scripture, spiritual books by the Church Fathers are recommended during the Fast. One book commonly read during Great Lent, particularly by monastics , is The Ladder of Divine Ascent , which was written in about the 7th century by St. John of
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#17328556943641284-464: A proper noun and so capitalized as "Sacred Tradition" or "sacred Tradition". Among the earliest examples of the theological invocation of Tradition is the response of early orthodox Christianity to Gnosticism , a movement that used some Christian scripture as the basis for its teachings. Irenaeus of Lyons held that ' rule of faith ' ('κανών της πίστης') is preserved by a church through its historical continuity (of interpretation and teaching) with
1391-659: A quarter of the Akathist to the Theotokos . On the fifth Saturday, known as the Saturday of the Akathist, everywhere, the entire Akathist is sung at Matins. In “The Typikon Decoded”, Archbishop Job Getcha offers this comparison of the commemorations associated with the Sundays of Great Lent in the “Ancient Triodion”. These more ancient commemorations are retained in the hymnography still in use for
1498-425: A spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition and idle-talking, give me not. But rather, a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience and charity, bestow upon me Thy servant. Yea, my king and Lord, grant me to see my own failings and refrain from judging others: For blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen. The public reading of Scripture is increased during Great Lent. The Psalter ( Book of Psalms ), which
1605-456: A state of diglossia : the coexistence of vernacular and archaizing written forms of the language. What came to be known as the Greek language question was a polarization between two competing varieties of Modern Greek: Dimotiki , the vernacular form of Modern Greek proper, and Katharevousa , meaning 'purified', a compromise between Dimotiki and Ancient Greek developed in the early 19th century that
1712-597: Is a theological term used in Christian theology . According to this theological position, sacred Tradition and Scripture form one deposit , so sacred Tradition is a foundation of the doctrinal and spiritual authority of Christianity and of the Bible . Thus, the Bible must be interpreted within the context of sacred Tradition (and vice versa ) and within the community of the denomination . The denominations that ascribe to this position are
1819-892: Is believed to be the faithful and constant transmission of the teachings of the Apostles from one generation to the next. That "includes everything which contributes towards the sanctity of life and increase in faith of the People of God; and so the Church, in her teaching, life and worship [the Creeds, the Sacraments, the Magisterium , and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass], perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself is, all that she believes." The Deposit of Faith (Latin: fidei depositum ) refers to
1926-423: Is defined as not consuming food until evening (at sundown). The Lenten supper that is eaten after the fast is broken in the evening must not include certain foods. Foods most commonly abstained from are meat , fish , eggs , dairy products , wine , and oil. According to some traditions, only olive oil is abstained from; in others, all vegetable oils . While wine and oil are permitted on Saturdays, Sundays, and
2033-411: Is increased, prayer must be increased also. The Church Fathers have referred to fasting without prayer as "the fast of the demons" since the demons do not eat according to their incorporeal nature, but neither do they pray. Great Lent is unique in that, liturgically, the weeks do not run from Sunday to Saturday, but rather begin on Monday and end on Sunday, and most weeks are named for the lesson from
2140-714: Is moved to the nearest Saturday (excluding the Saturday of the Akathist), and in other churches, it is celebrated on the day of the feast itself. When some other important feast occurs on a weekday, such as the First and Second Finding of the Head of John the Baptist (February 24), the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste (March 9), etc., it is usually combined with the Lenten service, and wine and oil are allowed at
2247-606: Is named for the Gospel theme of the Sunday which concludes it. In the Slavic tradition, with the addition of Zacchaeus Sunday, some regard the pre-Lenten period as lasting four weeks, but there are no liturgical indications that the week following the fifth Sunday before Lent (whether preceded by Zacchaeus Sunday or otherwise) is in any way Lenten, because Zacchaeus Sunday falls outside the Triodion ,
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#17328556943642354-438: Is no feast day or special observance on that day. Since the season of Great Lent is moveable, beginning on different dates from year to year, accommodation must be made for various feast days on the fixed calendar ( Menaion ) which occur during the season. When these feasts fall on a weekday of Great Lent, the normal Lenten aspect of the services is lessened to celebrate the solemnity. The most important of these fixed feasts
2461-506: Is no public reading of the Epistles or Gospels . This is because the readings are particular to the divine liturgy, which is not celebrated on weekdays of Great Lent. There are, however, Epistles and Gospels appointed for each Saturday and Sunday. During the Great Fast, the church also increases its prayer for the dead , not only reminding the believer of his own mortality, and thus increasing
2568-655: Is normally read through once a week, is read through twice each week for the six weeks prior to Holy Week. Readings from the Old Testament are also increased, with the Books of Genesis , Proverbs and Isaiah being read through almost in their entirety at the Sixth Hour and Vespers . During Cheesefare Week, the readings at these services are taken from Joel and Zechariah , while during Holy Week they are from Exodus , Ezekiel and Job . Uniquely, on weekdays of Great Lent there
2675-479: Is not exclusively for the "professional" religious, but for each layperson as well, according to their strength. As such, Great Lent is a sacred Institute of the Church to serve the individual believer in participating as a member of the Mystical Body of Christ . It provides each person an annual opportunity for self-examination and improving the standards of faith and morals in their Christian life. The deep intent of
2782-449: Is not for the sake of fasting. Rather, these are means by which and for which the individual believer prepares himself to reach for, accept and attain the calling of their Savior. Therefore, the significance of Great Lent is highly appraised, not only by the monks who gradually increased the length of time of the Lent, but also by the lay people themselves. The Eastern Orthodox lenten rules are
2889-563: Is one Tradition, the tradition of the church, incorporating the scriptures and the teaching of the Church Fathers . As explained by Athanasius of Alexandria ( First Letter to Serapion , 28): "Let us look at the very tradition, teaching, and faith of the catholic Church from the very beginning, which the Logos gave (edoken), the Apostles preached (ekeryxan), and the Fathers preserved (ephylaxan). Upon this
2996-490: Is realized by deeds and words having in inner unity: the deeds wrought by God in the history of salvation manifest and confirm the teaching and realities signified by the words, while the words proclaim the deeds and clarify the mystery contained in them. ( Dei verbum , 2) The Magisterium has a role in deciding authoritatively which truths are a part of sacred Tradition. For the Eastern Orthodox Christian, there
3103-572: Is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham"), and the reason for the Passion and Resurrection ("For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost"). Greek language Greek ( Modern Greek : Ελληνικά , romanized : Elliniká , [eliniˈka] ; Ancient Greek : Ἑλληνική , romanized : Hellēnikḗ ) is an Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic branch within
3210-842: Is sometimes called aljamiado , as when Romance languages are written in the Arabic alphabet. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Greek: Transcription of the example text into Latin alphabet : Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English: Proto-Greek Mycenaean Ancient Koine Medieval Modern Holy Tradition Sacred tradition , also called holy tradition or apostolic tradition ,
3317-758: Is still used internationally for the writing of Ancient Greek . In Greek, the question mark is written as the English semicolon, while the functions of the colon and semicolon are performed by a raised point (•), known as the ano teleia ( άνω τελεία ). In Greek the comma also functions as a silent letter in a handful of Greek words, principally distinguishing ό,τι ( ó,ti , 'whatever') from ότι ( óti , 'that'). Ancient Greek texts often used scriptio continua ('continuous writing'), which means that ancient authors and scribes would write word after word with no spaces or punctuation between words to differentiate or mark boundaries. Boustrophedon , or bi-directional text,
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3424-462: Is the Great Feast of the Annunciation (March 25), which is considered to be so important that it is never moved, even if it should fall on the Sunday of Pascha itself, a rare and special occurrence which is known as Kyrio-Pascha . The fast is also lessened, and the faithful are allowed to eat fish, unless it is Good Friday or Holy Saturday. Whereas on other weekdays of Great Lent, no celebration of
3531-470: Is the season of repentance; let us begin it joyfully, O brethren..." ( Matins , Second Canon , Ode 8, Monday of Maslenitsa ). The making of prostrations during the services increases as well. The one prayer that typifies the Lenten services is the Prayer of Saint Ephrem , which is said at each service on weekdays, accompanied by full prostrations . One translation of it reads: O Lord and master of my life!
3638-611: Is to modern spoken English ". Greek is spoken today by at least 13 million people, principally in Greece and Cyprus along with a sizable Greek-speaking minority in Albania near the Greek-Albanian border. A significant percentage of Albania's population has knowledge of the Greek language due in part to the Albanian wave of immigration to Greece in the 1980s and '90s and the Greek community in
3745-576: Is two days before Ash Wednesday. Fasting continues throughout the following week, known as Passion Week or Holy Week , and does not end until after the Paschal Vigil early in the morning of Pascha (Easter Sunday). The purpose of Great Lent is to prepare the faithful to not only commemorate, but to enter into the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus . The totality of the Byzantine Rite life centers around
3852-466: The Apostles . Tertullian argued that although interpretations founded on a reading of all Holy Scripture are not prone to error, Tradition is the proper guide. Athanasius held that Arianism fell into error primarily by not adhering to Tradition. In the modern era, scholars such as Craig A. Evans , James A. Sanders , and Stanley E. Porter have studied how sacred Tradition in the Hebrew Bible
3959-544: The British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (alongside English ). Because of the membership of Greece and Cyprus in the European Union, Greek is one of the organization's 24 official languages . Greek is recognized as a minority language in Albania, and used co-officially in some of its municipalities, in the districts of Gjirokastër and Sarandë . It is also an official minority language in
4066-745: The Catholic , Eastern Orthodox , and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Assyrian churches (the Ancient Church of the East and the Assyrian Church of the East ). The Anglican and Methodist churches regard tradition, reason, and experience as sources of authority but as subordinate to scripture – a position known as prima scriptura . That is in contrast to the Lutheran and Reformed traditions , which teach that
4173-637: The European canon . Greek is also the language in which many of the foundational texts in science and philosophy were originally composed. The New Testament of the Christian Bible was also originally written in Greek. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world , the Greek texts and Greek societies of antiquity constitute the objects of study of the discipline of Classics . During antiquity , Greek
4280-725: The Gospel which will be read at the Divine Liturgy on its concluding Sunday. This is to illustrate that the entire season is anticipatory, leading up to the greatest Sunday of all: Pascha. During the Great Fast, a special service book is used, known as the Lenten Triodion , which contains the Lenten texts for the Daily Office (Canonical Hours) and Liturgies. The Triodion begins during the Pre-Lenten period to supplement or replace portions of
4387-510: The Indo-Iranian languages (see Graeco-Aryan ), but little definitive evidence has been found. In addition, Albanian has also been considered somewhat related to Greek and Armenian, and it has been proposed that they all form a higher-order subgroup along with other extinct languages of the ancient Balkans; this higher-order subgroup is usually termed Palaeo-Balkan , and Greek has a central position in it. Linear B , attested as early as
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4494-567: The Paschal Vigil , at which time it is replaced by the Pentecostarion , which begins by replacing the normal services entirely (during Bright Week ) and gradually diminishes until the normal services resume following the Afterfeast of Pentecost . On the weekdays of Great Lent, the full Divine Liturgy is not celebrated, because the joy of the Eucharist (literally "Thanksgiving") is contrary to
4601-550: The Pope , typically proceeding synods and ecumenical councils . Thus sacred Tradition should be distinguished from general tradition , folklore, traditionalism or conservatism which do not have an apostolic, patristic or universal pedigree. The Catholic Church views Tradition in much the same terms, as a passing down of that same apostolic faith, but, in a critical difference from the Eastern Orthodox position, Catholicism holds that
4708-747: The United Kingdom , and throughout the European Union , especially in Germany . Historically, significant Greek-speaking communities and regions were found throughout the Eastern Mediterranean , in what are today Southern Italy , Turkey , Cyprus , Syria , Lebanon , Israel , Palestine , Egypt , and Libya ; in the area of the Black Sea , in what are today Turkey, Bulgaria , Romania , Ukraine , Russia , Georgia , Armenia , and Azerbaijan ; and, to
4815-457: The church year within many denominations of Eastern Christianity . It is intended to prepare Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha (Easter). Great Lent shares its origins with the Lent of Western Christianity and has many similarities with it. There are some differences in the timing of Lent, besides calculating the date of Easter and how it is practiced, both liturgically in
4922-468: The genitive ). The verbal system has lost the infinitive , the synthetically -formed future, and perfect tenses and the optative mood . Many have been replaced by periphrastic ( analytical ) forms. Pronouns show distinctions in person (1st, 2nd, and 3rd), number (singular, dual , and plural in the ancient language; singular and plural alone in later stages), and gender (masculine, feminine, and neuter), and decline for case (from six cases in
5029-479: The liturgical book which governs the pre-Lenten period and Lent itself. In the Slavic liturgical traditions, Zacchaeus Sunday occurs on the fifth Sunday before the beginning of Great Lent (which starts on a Monday). Though there are no materials provided in the Lenten Triodion for this day, it is the very first day that is affected by the date of the upcoming Pascha (all the preceding days having been affected by
5136-417: The syntax of Greek have remained constant: verbs agree with their subject only, the use of the surviving cases is largely intact (nominative for subjects and predicates, accusative for objects of most verbs and many prepositions, genitive for possessors), articles precede nouns, adpositions are largely prepositional, relative clauses follow the noun they modify and relative pronouns are clause-initial. However,
5243-566: The 20th century on), especially from French and English, are typically not inflected; other modern borrowings are derived from Albanian , South Slavic ( Macedonian / Bulgarian ) and Eastern Romance languages ( Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian ). Greek words have been widely borrowed into other languages, including English. Example words include: mathematics , physics , astronomy , democracy , philosophy , athletics , theatre, rhetoric , baptism , evangelist , etc. Moreover, Greek words and word elements continue to be productive as
5350-462: The Bible alone is a sufficient/infallible basis for all Christian teaching – a position known as sola scriptura . For many denominations of Christianity, the writings of the Ante-Nicene Fathers , Nicene Fathers and Post-Nicene Fathers are included in sacred Tradition. The word tradition is taken from the Latin trado, tradere , meaning "to hand over". It is often treated as
5457-418: The Church is founded (tethemeliotai)". Sacred Tradition for the Eastern Orthodox is the deposit of faith given by Jesus to the Apostles and passed on in the Church from one generation to the next without addition, alteration, or subtraction. Vladimir Lossky described tradition as "the life of the Holy Spirit in the Church". Georges Florovsky wrote: Tradition is not a principle striving to restore
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#17328556943645564-408: The Divine Liturgy is permitted, there is a Liturgy (usually the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom ) celebrated on Annunciation—even if it falls on Good Friday . When the feast day of the patron saint of the parish church or monastery falls on a weekday of Great Lent, there is no liturgy (other than the Presanctified), but fish is allowed at the meal. In some churches the feast of a patron saint
5671-486: The Greek alphabet since approximately the 9th century BC. It was created by modifying the Phoenician alphabet , with the innovation of adopting certain letters to represent the vowels. The variant of the alphabet in use today is essentially the late Ionic variant, introduced for writing classical Attic in 403 BC. In classical Greek, as in classical Latin, only upper-case letters existed. The lower-case Greek letters were developed much later by medieval scribes to permit
5778-442: The Greek language was the Cypriot syllabary (also a descendant of Linear A via the intermediate Cypro-Minoan syllabary ), which is closely related to Linear B but uses somewhat different syllabic conventions to represent phoneme sequences. The Cypriot syllabary is attested in Cyprus from the 11th century BC until its gradual abandonment in the late Classical period, in favor of the standard Greek alphabet. Greek has been written in
5885-484: The Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece , Cyprus , Italy (in Calabria and Salento ), southern Albania , and other regions of the Balkans , Caucasus , the Black Sea coast, Asia Minor , and the Eastern Mediterranean . It has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning at least 3,400 years of written records. Its writing system is the Greek alphabet , which has been used for approximately 2,800 years; previously, Greek
5992-417: The Ladder when he was the Hegumen (Abbot) of Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai . The Ladder is usually read in the trapeza (refectory) during meals, but it may alternatively be read during the Little Hours on weekdays so that everyone can hear. Many of the laity also read The Ladder privately during Great Lent. The theme of The Ladder is not Great Lent itself, but rather it deals with
6099-416: The Resurrection. Great Lent is intended to be a "workshop" where the character of the believer is spiritually uplifted and strengthened; where their life is rededicated to the principles and ideals of the Gospel; where fasting and prayer culminate in deep conviction of life; where apathy and disinterest turn into vigorous activities of faith and good works. Lent is not for the sake of Lent itself, as fasting
6206-463: The Triodion can be divided into three sections: (1) the Pre-Lenten period, (2) the Great Forty Days, and (3) Holy Week. Before the forty days of Great Lent commence, there is a three-week Pre-Lenten season, to prepare the faithful for the spiritual work they are to accomplish during the Great Fast. During this period many of the themes which will be developed in the liturgical texts of the forty days are introduced. Each week runs from Monday to Sunday and
6313-437: The West, Sundays are included in the count while Holy Week is not. Great Lent officially begins on Clean Monday , seven weeks before Pascha ( Ash Wednesday is not observed in Eastern Christianity), and runs for 40 continuous days, concluding with the Presanctified Liturgy on Friday of the Sixth Week. The next day is called Lazarus Saturday , the day before Palm Sunday . Thus, in case the Easter dates coincide, Clean Monday
6420-425: The action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls. Thus, all of the teachings of the Catholic Church come from either Tradition or Scripture, or from the Magisterium interpreting Tradition and Scripture. These two sources, Tradition and Scripture, are viewed and treated as one source of Divine Revelation, which includes both the deeds of God and the words of God: This plan of revelation
6527-404: The acute during the late 20th century, and it has only been retained in typography . After the writing reform of 1982, most diacritics are no longer used. Since then, Greek has been written mostly in the simplified monotonic orthography (or monotonic system), which employs only the acute accent and the diaeresis. The traditional system, now called the polytonic orthography (or polytonic system),
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#17328556943646634-458: The apostles preached in person, that their stories and teachings were transmitted orally during the early Christian era, or that truth exists outside of the Bible. For sola scriptura Christians today, however, these teachings are preserved in the Bible as the only inspired medium. Since in the opinion of sola scriptura Christians, other forms of tradition do not exist in a fixed form that remains constant in its transmission from one generation to
6741-403: The apostles. Both are the inspired word of God ; the latter helps to inform understanding of the former. Sacred Tradition can never be in conflict with sacred scripture. Those in the Catholic faith believe that the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles were preserved in the scriptures as well as by word of mouth. This perpetual handing on of the tradition is called the "Living Tradition"; it
6848-423: The arrival of Proto-Greeks, some documented in Mycenaean texts ; they include a large number of Greek toponyms . The form and meaning of many words have changed. Loanwords (words of foreign origin) have entered the language, mainly from Latin, Venetian , and Turkish . During the older periods of Greek, loanwords into Greek acquired Greek inflections, thus leaving only a foreign root word. Modern borrowings (from
6955-409: The ascent of the soul from earth to heaven. That is, from enslavement to the passions to the building up of the virtues and its eventual theosis (union with God), which is the goal of Great Lent. Besides the Ladder , in some monasteries the Paradise of the Holy Fathers by Palladius and the penitential sermons of St. Ephrem the Syrian are read during Matins . Liturgically, the period of
7062-406: The attitude of repentance which predominates on these days. Since it is considered especially important to receive the Holy Mysteries (Holy Communion) during this season, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts —also called the Liturgy of St. Gregory the Dialogist — may be celebrated on weekdays. This service starts with Vespers during which a portion of the Body and Blood of Christ , which
7169-409: The believer during Great Lent is encapsulated in the words of Saint Paul : "forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" ( Philippians 3:13–14 ). Through spending more time than usual in prayer and meditation on the Holy Scripture and the Holy Traditions of the Church,
7276-513: The believer in Christ becomes through the grace of God more godlike. The emphasis towards this period differs somewhat from Western Christianity- the Eastern focus is less on repentance and more of an attempt to recapture humanity's original state. Observance of Great Lent is characterized by fasting and abstinence from certain foods, intensified private and public prayer, self-examination, confession , personal improvement, repentance and restitution for sins committed, and almsgiving . Fasting
7383-495: The country. Prior to the Greco-Turkish War and the resulting population exchange in 1923 a very large population of Greek-speakers also existed in Turkey , though very few remain today. A small Greek-speaking community is also found in Bulgaria near the Greek-Bulgarian border. Greek is also spoken worldwide by the sizable Greek diaspora which has notable communities in the United States , Australia , Canada , South Africa , Chile , Brazil , Argentina , Russia , Ukraine ,
7490-435: The date of the upcoming Pascha, the readings of the preceding weeks are either skipped (if Pascha will be early) or repeated (if it will be late) so that the readings for the 32nd Sunday after Pentecost always occur on the Sunday preceding the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee. In the Byzantine ("Greek") liturgical traditions, the Gospel reading for Zacchaeus remains in the normal lectionary cycle and does not always fall on
7597-441: The dative led to a rise of prepositional indirect objects (and the use of the genitive to directly mark these as well). Ancient Greek tended to be verb-final, but neutral word order in the modern language is VSO or SVO. Modern Greek inherits most of its vocabulary from Ancient Greek, which in turn is an Indo-European language, but also includes a number of borrowings from the languages of the populations that inhabited Greece before
7704-666: The divine liturgy is not celebrated on weekdays, the Typica occupies its place in the canonical hours , whether or not a liturgy is celebrated at vespers. On Saturday and Sunday the Divine Liturgy may be celebrated as usual. On Saturdays, the usual Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is celebrated; on Sundays the longer Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is used. The services of the Canonical Hours are much longer during Great Lent and
7811-528: The earliest forms attested to four in the modern language). Nouns, articles, and adjectives show all the distinctions except for a person. Both attributive and predicative adjectives agree with the noun. The inflectional categories of the Greek verb have likewise remained largely the same over the course of the language's history but with significant changes in the number of distinctions within each category and their morphological expression. Greek verbs have synthetic inflectional forms for: Many aspects of
7918-524: The entirety of divine revelation . According to Roman Catholic theology , two sources of revelation constitute a single "Deposit of Faith", meaning that the entirety of divine revelation and the Deposit of Faith is transmitted to successive generations in Scripture and sacred Tradition through the teaching authority and interpretation of the church's Magisterium, which consists of the church's bishops, in union with
8025-412: The extent that one can speak of a new language emerging. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language. It is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, " Homeric Greek is probably closer to Demotic than 12-century Middle English
8132-503: The faith once delivered, the understanding of it continues to deepen and mature over time through the action of the Holy Spirit in the history of the church and in the understanding of that faith by Christians, all the while staying identical in essence and substance: the development of doctrine . In the area of moral theology, Mark D. Jordan said that medieval texts appeared to be inconsistent. According to Giovanni Cappelli , prior to
8239-537: The fifth Sunday before Lent. In fact, it usually falls a few weeks before, and the fifth Sunday before Lent is known as the Sunday of the Canaanite Woman after the story in Matthew 15:21–28 . The Lenten significance of the Gospel account of Zacchaeus is that it introduces the themes of pious zeal (Zacchaeus' climbing up the sycamore tree; Jesus' words: "Zacchaeus, make haste"), restraint (Jesus' words: "come down"), making
8346-449: The language show both conservative and innovative tendencies across the entire attestation of the language from the ancient to the modern period. The division into conventional periods is, as with all such periodizations, relatively arbitrary, especially because, in all periods, Ancient Greek has enjoyed high prestige, and the literate borrowed heavily from it. Across its history, the syllabic structure of Greek has varied little: Greek shows
8453-463: The late 15th century BC, was the first script used to write Greek. It is basically a syllabary , which was finally deciphered by Michael Ventris and John Chadwick in the 1950s (its precursor, Linear A , has not been deciphered and most likely encodes a non-Greek language). The language of the Linear B texts, Mycenaean Greek , is the earliest known form of Greek. Another similar system used to write
8560-448: The many other countries of the Greek diaspora . Greek roots have been widely used for centuries and continue to be widely used to coin new words in other languages; Greek and Latin are the predominant sources of international scientific vocabulary . Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, or possibly earlier. The earliest written evidence is
8667-715: The meal. Regardless of the rank of the feast being celebrated, the Lenten hymns contained in the Triodion are never omitted, but are always chanted in their entirety, even on the feast of the Annunciation. On the Saturdays, Sundays, and a number of weekdays during Great Lent, the service materials from the Triodion leave no room for the commemoration of the Saint of the day from the Menaion . In order that their services not be completely forgotten,
8774-400: The monastic rules. These rules exist not as a Pharisaic law, "burdens grievous to be borne" Luke 11:46 , but as an ideal to be striven for; not as an end in themselves, but as a means to the purification of heart, the enlightening of mind, the liberation of soul and body from sin, and the spiritual perfection crowned in the virtue of love towards God and man. In the Byzantine Rite, asceticism
8881-465: The morphological changes also have their counterparts in the syntax, and there are also significant differences between the syntax of the ancient and that of the modern form of the language . Ancient Greek made great use of participial constructions and of constructions involving the infinitive, and the modern variety lacks the infinitive entirely (employing a raft of new periphrastic constructions instead) and uses participles more restrictively. The loss of
8988-540: The next and cannot be referenced or cited in its pure form, there is no way to verify which parts of the "tradition" are authentic and which are not. Prima scriptura is upheld by the Anglican and Methodist traditions of Christianity , which suggest that scripture is the primary source for Christian doctrine, but that "tradition, experience, and reason" can nurture the Christian religion as long as they are in harmony with
9095-615: The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus as a parallel to the Lazarus of Bethany who falls ill and is raised from the dead after four days in the tomb (John 11:1-45). A difference between the Eastern and Western observances is that while in the West the chanting of Alleluia ceases during Lent , in the East its use is increased. This is because for Christians, fasting should be joyous (cf. Matthew 6:16 ), and
9202-573: The past, using the past as a criterion for the present. Such a conception of Tradition is rejected by history itself and by the consciousness of the Orthodox Church. Tradition is the constant abiding of the Spirit and not only the memory of words. Tradition is a charismatic, not a historical event. The Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Christianity claim that the Bible alone is the source for Christian doctrine. This position does not deny that Jesus or
9309-406: The previous Pascha). This day has one sole Pre-Lenten feature: the Gospel reading is always the account of Zacchaeus from Luke 19:1–10 , for which reason this Sunday is referred to as "Zacchaeus Sunday" (though the week before is not called "Zacchaeus week"). This reading actually falls at the end of the lectionary cycle, being assigned to the 32nd Week after Pentecost. However, depending upon
9416-516: The public worship of the church and individually. One difference between Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity is the calculation of the date of Easter (see Computus ). Most years, the Eastern Pascha falls after the Western Easter, and it may be as much as five weeks later; occasionally, the two dates coincide. Like Western Lent, Great Lent itself lasts for forty days, but in contrast to
9523-622: The regions of Apulia and Calabria in Italy. In the framework of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , Greek is protected and promoted officially as a regional and minority language in Armenia, Hungary , Romania, and Ukraine. It is recognized as a minority language and protected in Turkey by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne . The phonology , morphology , syntax , and vocabulary of
9630-546: The regular services. This replacement begins gradually, initially affecting only the Epistle and Gospel readings, and gradually increases until Holy Week when it entirely replaces all other liturgical material. During the Triduum even the Psalter is eliminated, and all texts are taken exclusively from the Triodion. The Triodion is used until the lights are extinguished before midnight at
9737-455: The sense of unworthiness must always be tempered with hope in God's forgiveness. In fact, days which follow the Lenten pattern of services are referred to as "days with Alleluia". This theme of "Lenten joy" is also found in many of the hymns of the Triodion, such as the stichera which begin with the words: "The Lenten Spring has dawned!..." ( Vespers Aposticha , Wednesday of Maslenitsa ) and "Now
9844-465: The sixth century, the church's teachings on morality were incoherent. According to John T. Noonan, "history cannot leave a principle or a teaching untouched; every application to a situation affects our understanding of the principle itself". The Second Vatican Council taught on Tradition, Scripture, and Magisterium in Dei verbum , n. 10: Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of
9951-592: The spirit of penitence, but also to remind him of his Christian obligation of charity in praying for the departed. A number of Saturdays during Great Lent are Saturdays of the Dead , with many of the hymns of the Daily Office and at the Divine Liturgy dedicated to remembrance of the departed. These Saturdays are: In addition, the Lity , a brief prayer service for the departed, may be served on each weekday of Great Lent, provided there
10058-437: The stressed vowel; the so-called breathing marks ( rough and smooth breathing ), originally used to signal presence or absence of word-initial /h/; and the diaeresis , used to mark the full syllabic value of a vowel that would otherwise be read as part of a diphthong. These marks were introduced during the course of the Hellenistic period. Actual usage of the grave in handwriting saw a rapid decline in favor of uniform usage of
10165-464: The structure of the services is different on weekdays. The usual evening small compline is replaced by the much longer service of Great Compline . While in the Russian tradition Great Compline is used on Friday night (though some parts are read rather than sung and some Lenten material is replaced by non-Lenten hymns), in the Greek practice, ordinary Compline is used together with, on the first four weeks,
10272-412: The task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus. This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with
10379-426: The word of God, committed to the Church. Holding fast to this deposit the entire holy people united with their shepherds remain always steadfast in the teaching of the Apostles, in the common life, in the breaking of the bread and in prayers (see Acts 2, 42, Greek text), so that holding to, practicing and professing the heritage of the faith, it becomes on the part of the bishops and faithful a single common effort. But
10486-520: The “Contemporary” Sundays of St Gregory Palamas, St John of the Ladder, and St Mary of Egypt. On each of these, the troparia of the 1st Canon at Matins reference the more ancient commemoration, the Prodigal Son, Good Samaritan, and the Rich Man and Lazarus respectively. During Palm Week, between the Sunday of St Mary of Egypt and Lazarus Saturday, the 1st Canon at Matins on each weekday references
10593-544: Was reserved the previous Sunday, is brought to the prothesis table . This is followed by a solemn great entrance where the Holy Mysteries are brought to the altar table, and then, skipping the anaphora (eucharistic prayer) , the outline of remainder of the divine liturgy is followed, including holy communion . Most parishes and monasteries celebrate this liturgy only on Wednesdays, Fridays and feast days , but it may be celebrated on any weekday of Great Lent. Because
10700-568: Was a distinct dialect of Greek itself. Aside from the Macedonian question, current consensus regards Phrygian as the closest relative of Greek, since they share a number of phonological, morphological and lexical isoglosses , with some being exclusive between them. Scholars have proposed a Graeco-Phrygian subgroup out of which Greek and Phrygian originated. Among living languages, some Indo-Europeanists suggest that Greek may be most closely related to Armenian (see Graeco-Armenian ) or
10807-546: Was also used in Ancient Greek. Greek has occasionally been written in the Latin script , especially in areas under Venetian rule or by Greek Catholics . The term Frankolevantinika / Φραγκολεβαντίνικα applies when the Latin script is used to write Greek in the cultural ambit of Catholicism (because Frankos / Φράγκος is an older Greek term for West-European dating to when most of (Roman Catholic Christian) West Europe
10914-541: Was by far the most widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world . It eventually became the official language of the Byzantine Empire and developed into Medieval Greek . In its modern form , Greek is the official language of Greece and Cyprus and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union . It is spoken by at least 13.5 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey , and
11021-581: Was recorded in writing systems such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary . The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin , Cyrillic , Coptic , Gothic , and many other writing systems. The Greek language holds a very important place in the history of the Western world. Beginning with the epics of Homer , ancient Greek literature includes many works of lasting importance in
11128-566: Was under the control of the Frankish Empire ). Frankochiotika / Φραγκοχιώτικα (meaning 'Catholic Chiot') alludes to the significant presence of Catholic missionaries based on the island of Chios . Additionally, the term Greeklish is often used when the Greek language is written in a Latin script in online communications. The Latin script is nowadays used by the Greek-speaking communities of Southern Italy . The Yevanic dialect
11235-488: Was understood and used by New Testament writers to describe Jesus Christ . According to Catholic theology , Paul the Apostle exhorted the faithful to "stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter" ( 2 Thessalonians 2:15). The Pauline epistles form part of sacred scripture ; what he passed on by " word of mouth " is part of sacred Tradition, handed down from
11342-637: Was used for literary and official purposes in the newly formed Greek state. In 1976, Dimotiki was declared the official language of Greece, after having incorporated features of Katharevousa and thus giving birth to Standard Modern Greek , used today for all official purposes and in education . The historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language are often emphasized. Although Greek has undergone morphological and phonological changes comparable to those seen in other languages, never since classical antiquity has its cultural, literary, and orthographic tradition been interrupted to
11449-653: Was written by Romaniote and Constantinopolitan Karaite Jews using the Hebrew Alphabet . In a tradition, that in modern time, has come to be known as Greek Aljamiado , some Greek Muslims from Crete wrote their Cretan Greek in the Arabic alphabet . The same happened among Epirote Muslims in Ioannina . This also happened among Arabic-speaking Byzantine rite Christians in the Levant ( Lebanon , Palestine, and Syria ). This usage
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