CATECHETICAL HOMILY For the Opening of Holy and Great Lent of Patriarch + BARTHOLOMEW

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Prot. No. 119

CATECHETICAL HOMILY

For the Opening of Holy and Great Lent

 

+ BARTHOLOMEW

By God’s mercy Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch

To the Plenitude of the Church

May the grace and peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; and from us, prayer, blessing, and forgiveness.

Most honorable brother Hierarchs and blessed children in the Lord,

Filled with sacred emotion, we enter once again, by God’s goodwill, into Holy and Great Lent, the arena of ascetic struggle, the time of fasting and repentance, of humility and prayer, of spiritual vigilance and love, with the eyes of our heart directed to the life-giving Cross of the Lord, which guides us all toward Holy Pascha that opens the gates of Paradise to the human race.

This blessed period now opening before us constitutes an opportunity to comprehend once more the truth of asceticism according to Christ and its inseparable association with the Eucharistic realization of the Church, whose every expression and dimension is illumined by the light and joy of the Resurrection. The spirit of asceticism is hardly a foreign element introduced into Christianity, nor is it the result of influence by dualistic ideologies outside the Church. Asceticism is another word for the Christian existence, connecting it with absolute trust in Divine Providence, with the inexhaustible spiritual gladness of a life dedicated to Christ, with self-transcendence and self-offering, with charitable love and respect for all creation.

Asceticism is not a matter of self-willed choices and subjective particularities, but of submission to the rule and the “catholic experience” of the Church. It has been described as an “ecclesiastical” rather than an “individual” event. Life in the Church is indivisible. Repentance, prayer, humility, forgiveness, fasting, and philanthropic deeds are interconnected and interwoven. In the Orthodox tradition, there is no asceticism as an end in itself, for that only leads to an overestimation of individual effort and feeds tendencies of self-justification.

Great Lent is the appropriate time to experience the Church as the place and the manner in which the gifts of divine Grace are revealed, always as a foretaste of the joy of the Lord’s Resurrection, the cornerstone of our faith and the all-radiant horizon of “the hope within us.” It is by divine inspiration that the Church honours on Cheesefare Saturday the sacred memory of saintly men and women who have shone brightly in asceticism, for they are the supporters and companions of the faithful in the long course of asceticism. In the arena of spiritual struggle, we have the benevolence of the Triune God with us, the protection of the All-Holy Mother of God and Mother of us all, and the intercessions of the saints and martyrs of the faith.

Healthy Christian asceticism is the participation of the whole human being—as a unity of spirit, soul, and body—in the life in Christ, without undervaluing matter and the body, and without a Manichaean reduction of spirituality. As it has been written, Christian asceticism is ultimately a struggle “not against, but for the body”; as the Gerontikon affirms: “We have been taught not to destroy the body, but to destroy the passions.”

Unfortunately, and inaccurately, Christian asceticism has been labelled by contemporary thinkers as a denial of the joy of life and as a restriction of human creativity. Nothing could be further from the truth! As release from “having” and from attachment to the possession of things, and especially as liberation from the ego, from “seeking one’s own,” and from the “having of our being,” asceticism is the source and expression of genuine freedom.

What can be more truthful than the exodus from the captivity of “individual right” and the openness and love for our fellow human beings, the inner “good change” and steadfastness in fulfilling God’s commandments? What could be more creative than fasting, when it is a holistic attitude of life and expresses the ascetic and Eucharistic spirit of the Church, when it is a “common struggle” and not an “individual feat”? What could be more existentially striking than repentance and internal conversion, as a vital direction toward the truth and a renewed discovery of the power of divine Grace, of the depth of life in Christ and the hope of eternal life?

It is truly impressive that, when the early Christian character of Holy and Great Lent as a period of preparation for Holy Baptism in the Divine Liturgy of the Resurrection was replaced by the “ethos of repentance,” there nevertheless remained its experience as a “second baptism.” For this reason, the period of fasting and repentance is not sorrowful. Our hymnology speaks of the “spring of fasting,” while theology calls Great Lent a “spiritual spring” and a “period of joy and light.” All of this assumes special timeliness and significance in the face of the anthropological confusion of our time, as well as the new alienations rooted in contemporary civilization.

With these sentiments and thoughts, reminding all the children of the Holy Great Church of Christ throughout the Lord’s dominion, that on the day of the Akathist Hymn, the festivities will culminate, marking the 1400th anniversary of the year 626—when, in expression of gratitude to the Theotokos for the deliverance of the City of Constre from a perilous siege, the Akathist Hymn was chanted standing in the sacred Church of Blachernae—we wish you all a smooth course of the Fast, with asceticism and patience, with thanksgiving and doxology.

May we all, speaking the truth in love and being sanctified in the Lord, travel this way toward the fullness of joy in His radiant Resurrection.

 

Holy and Great Lent 2026

X BARTHOLOMEW of Constantinople

Your fervent supplicant for all before God

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To be read in churches on Cheesefare Sunday, 22 February 2026, immediately after the Holy Gospel.

 

 

Ἀριθμ. Πρωτ.119

 

ΛΟΓΟΣ ΚΑΤΗΧΗΤΗΡΙΟΣ

ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΕΝΑΡΞΗ

ΤΗΣ ΑΓΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΜΕΓΑΛΗΣ ΤΕΣΣΑΡΑΚΟΣΤΗΣ

 

+ Β Α Ρ Θ Ο Λ Ο Μ Α Ι Ο Σ

ΕΛΕῼ ΘΕΟΥ

ΑΡΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΣ ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥΠΟΛΕΩΣ - ΝΕΑΣ ΡΩΜΗΣ

ΚΑΙ ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙΚΟΣ ΠΑΤΡΙΑΡΧΗΣ

ΠΡΟΣ ΟΛΟ ΤΟ ΠΛΗΡΩΜΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑΣ,

ΧΑΡΗ ΚΑΙ ΕΙΡΗΝΗ

ΑΠΟ ΤΟΝ ΣΩΤΗΡΑ ΚΑΙ ΚΥΡΙΟ ΜΑΣ ΙΗΣΟΥ ΧΡΙΣΤΟ,

ΑΠΟ ΕΜΑΣ ΔΕ ΕΥΧΗ, ΕΥΛΟΓΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΣΥΓΧΩΡΗΣΗ

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Τιμιώτατοι ἀδελφοὶ Ἱεράρχες καὶ τέκνα ἐν Κυρίῳ εὐλογημένα,

 Πλήρεις ἱερᾶς συγκινήσεως, εἰσερχόμαστε καὶ ἐφέτος, μὲ τὴν εὐδοκία τοῦ Θεοῦ, στὴν Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή, στὸ στάδιο τῶν ἀσκητικῶν ἀγώνων, τὸν καιρὸ τῆς νηστείας καὶ τῆς μετανοίας, τῆς ταπεινώσεως καὶ τῆς προσευχῆς, τῆς πνευματικῆς ἐγρηγόρσεως καὶ τῆς φιλαδελφίας, μὲ τὰ μάτια τῆς καρδιᾶς στραμμένα πρὸς τὸν ζωηφόρο Σταυρὸ τοῦ Κυρίου, αὐτὸν ποὺ μᾶς ὁδηγεῖ ὅλους πρὸς τὸ Ἅγιο Πάσχα, αὐτὸ ποὺ διανοίγει τὶς πύλες τοῦ Παραδείσου στὸ γένος τῶν ἀνθρώπων.

 Ἡ εὐλογημένη περίοδος ποὺ ἀρχίζει εἶναι εὐκαιρία γιὰ νὰ συνειδητοποιήσουμε καὶ πάλι τὴν ἀλήθεια τῆς ἀσκήσεως σύμφωνα μὲ τὸν Χριστὸ καὶ τὴν ἄρρηκτη σύνδεσή της μὲ τὴν εὐχαριστιακὴ πραγμάτωση τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἡ ὁποία σὲ ὅλες τὶς ἐκφάνσεις καὶ διαστάσεις της φωτίζεται ἀπὸ τὸ φῶς καὶ τὴ χαρὰ τῆς Ἀναστάσεως. Τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἀσκητισμοῦ δὲν εἶναι καθόλου ἕνα παρείσακτο στοιχεῖο στὸν Χριστιανισμό, οὔτε εἶναι ἀποτέλεσμα ἐπιρροῆς ἐξωεκκλησιαστικῶν δυαλιστικῶν ἰδεολογημάτων. Ἄσκηση εἶναι μία ἄλλη λέξη γιὰ τὸν χαρακτηρισμὸ τῆς χριστιανικῆς ὑπάρξεως, ἡ ὁποία τὴν συνδέει μὲ τὴν ἀπόλυτη ἐμπιστοσύνη στὴ Θεία πρόνοια, μὲ τὴν ἀνεξάντλητη πνευματικὴ εὐφροσύνη τῆς ἀφιερωμένης στὸ Χριστὸ ζωῆς, μὲ τὴν αὐθυπέρβαση καὶ τὴν αὐτοπροσφορά, τὴν φιλάνθρωπη ἀγάπη, τὸν σεβασμὸ πρὸς ὅλη τὴν κτίση.  

 Ἡ ἄσκηση δὲν εἶναι ὑπόθεση αὐτοβούλων ἐπιλογῶν καὶ ὑποκειμενικῶν ἰδιαιτεροτήτων, ἀλλὰ ὑποταγὴ στὸν κανόνα καὶ τὴν «καθολικὴ πεῖρα» τῆς Ἐκκλησίας. Ἀποτελεῖ, ὅπως ἔχει λεχθεῖ, «ἐκκλησιαστικό», ὄχι «ἀτομικό», γεγονός. Ἡ ζωὴ στὴν Ἐκκλησία εἶναι ἀδιαίρετη. Μετάνοια, προσευχή, ταπεινοφροσύνη, συγχωρητικότητα, νηστεία, ἔργα εὐεργετικά, εἶναι ἀλληλένδετα καὶ ἀλληλοπεριχωρούμενα. Δὲν ὑπάρχει στὴν Ὀρθόδοξη παράδοση ἄσκηση ὡς αὐτοσκοπός, ἡ ὁποία πάντοτε ὁδηγεῖ σὲ ὑπερεκτίμηση τῆς ἀτομικῆς προσπάθειας καὶ τροφοδοτεῖ τάσεις αὐτοδικαίωσης. Ἡ Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστὴ εἶναι ὁ κατάλληλος χρόνος γιὰ τὴ βίωση τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὡς τόπου καὶ τρόπου ἀποκαλύψεως τῶν δωρεῶν τῆς Χάριτος τοῦ Θεοῦ στὴν Ἐκκλησία, πάντοτε ὡς πρόγευση τῆς χαρᾶς τῆς Ἀναστάσεως τοῦ Κυρίου, ὡς τοῦ ἀκρογωνιαίου λίθου τῆς πίστεώς μας καὶ τοῦ ὁλόφωτου ὁρίζοντα τῆς «ἐλπίδας ποὺ ἔχουμε μέσα μας». Μὲ θεία παρακίνηση ἡ Ἐκκλησία τιμᾷ κατὰ τὸ Σάββατο τῆς Τυροφάγου τὴν πανίερη μνήμη τῶν Ἁγίων ἀνδρῶν καὶ γυναικῶν ποὺ ἔλαμψαν μὲ τὴν ἄσκησή τους, οἱ ὁποῖοι εἶναι οἱ ἀρωγοὶ καὶ συνοδοιπόροι τῶν πιστῶν στὴ μακρὰ διαδρρομὴ τῆς ἄσκησης. Στὸ στάδιο τῶν πνευματικῶν ἀγωνισμάτων ἔχουμε τὴν εὐαρέσκεια τοῦ Τριαδικοῦ Θεοῦ, τὴν Παναγία Μητέρα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ὅλων μας σὰν σκέπη, καὶ ὡς πρεσβευτὲς τοὺς Ἁγίους καὶ τοὺς μάρτυρες τῆς πίστεως.

 Ὁ ὑγιὴς χριστιανικὸς ἀσκητισμὸς εἶναι συμμετοχὴ τοῦ ὅλου ἀνθρώπου, ὡς πνευματικῆς, ψυχικῆς καὶ σωματικῆς ἑνότητας, στὴν ἐν Χριστῷ ζωή, χωρὶς ὑποτίμηση τῆς ὕλης καὶ τοῦ σώματος καὶ χωρὶς κάποια μανιχαΐζουσα συρρίκνωση τῆς πνευματικότητας. Ὅπως ἔχει γραφεῖ, ἡ χριστιανικὴ ἄσκηση εἶναι ἐν τέλει «ἀγώνας ὄχι κατὰ ἀλλὰ ὑπὲρ τοῦ σώματος», σύμφωνα καὶ πρὸς τὰ λόγια τοῦ Γεροντικοῦ: «Ἐμεῖς δὲν διδαχθήκαμε νὰ σκοτώνουμε τὸ σῶμα, ἀλλὰ τὰ πάθη».

 Ἀτυχῶς καὶ ἄστοχα, ὁ χριστιανικὸς ἀσκητισμὸς χαρακτηρίστηκε ἀπὸ σύγχρονους διανοητὲς ὡς ἄρνηση τῆς χαρᾶς τῆς ζωῆς καὶ ὡς περιστολὴ τῆς ἀνθρωπινης δημιουργικότητας. Τίποτα δὲν εἶναι ἀναληθέστερο τούτου! Ἡ ἄσκηση, ὡς ἀπαλλαγὴ ἀπὸ τὸ ἔχειν καὶ τὴν προσκόλληση στὴν κατοχὴ πραγμάτων καί, κατ᾿ ἐξοχήν, ὡς ἀπελευθέρωση ἀπὸ τὸ ἐγώ, ἀπὸ τὸ «ζητεῖν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ», ἀπὸ τὸ «ἔχειν τοῦ εἶναι μας», εἶναι πηγὴ καὶ ἔκφραση γνήσιας ἐλευθερίας. Τί εἶναι πιὸ ἀληθινὸ ἀπὸ τὴν ἔξοδο ἀπὸ τὴ φυλακὴ τοῦ «ἀτομικοῦ δικαιώματος» καὶ ἀπὸ τὴν ἀνοιχτοσύνη καὶ τὴν ἀγάπη πρὸς τὸν συνάνθρωπο, ἀπὸ τὴν ἐσωτερικὴ «καλὴ ἀλλοίωση» καὶ τὴν σταθερότητα στὴν ἐφαρμογὴ τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ; Τί εἶναι πιὸ δημιουργικὸ ἀπὸ τὴ νηστεία, ὅταν αὐτὴ εἶναι ὁλιστικὴ στάση ζωῆς καὶ ἐκφράζει τὸ ἀσκητικὸ καὶ εὐχαριστιακὸ πνεῦμα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ὅταν εἶναι «κοινὸ ἄθλημα» καὶ ὄχι ἀτομικὸ ἀγώνισμα; Τί εἶναι ὑπαρξιακὰ πιὸ συγκλονιστικὸ ἀπὸ τὴν μετάνοια, τὴν ἐσωτερικὴ μεταστροφή, ὡς ζωτικὴ κατεύθυνση πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθεια, τὴν ἐκ νέου ἀνακάλυψη τῆς δύναμης τῆς Θείας Χάριτος, τοῦ βάθους τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ ζωῆς καὶ τῆς ἐλπίδας τῆς αἰώνιας ζωῆς; Εἶναι ἐντυπωσιακὸ τὸ γεγονὸς ὅτι, ὅταν ἀντικαταστάθηκε ὁ πρωτοχριστιανικὸς χαρακτήρας τῆς Ἁγίας καὶ Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστῆς ὡς περιόδου προετοιμασίας γιὰ τὸ Ἅγιο Βάπτισμα στὴ Θεία Λειτουργία τῆς Ἀναστάσεως, ἀπὸ τὸ «ἦθος τῆς μετανοίας», παρέμεινε ἡ βίωσή της ὡς «δευτέρου βαπτίσματος». Γιὰ τὸν λόγο αὐτό, ἡ περίοδος τῆς νηστείας καὶ τῆς μετανοίας δὲν εἶναι σκυθρωπή. Ἡ ὑμνολογία μας ὁμιλεῖ γιὰ τὸ «ἔαρ τῆς νηστείας» καὶ ἡ Θεολογία ἀποκαλεῖ τὴν Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστὴ ὡς «πνευματικὴ ἄνοιξη» καὶ «περίοδο χαρᾶς καὶ φωτός». Ὅλα αὐτὰ ἀποκτοῦν ἰδιαίτερη ἐπικαιρότητα καὶ ἀξία ἐνώπιον τῆς σύγχρονης ἀνθρωπολογικῆς σύγχυσης καὶ τῶν νέων ἀλλοτριώσεων ποὺ ἔχουν πολιτισμικὴ προέλευση.

 Μὲ αὐτὰ τὰ αἰσθήματα καὶ τὶς σκέψεις, ὑπενθυμίζοντας στὰ τέκνα τῆς Ἁγίας τοῦ Χριστοῦ Μεγάλης Ἐκκλησίας ποὺ βρίσκονται σὲ ἅπασα τὴν δεσποτεία Κυρίου ὅτι, κατὰ τὴν ἡμέρα τοῦ Ἀκαθίστου Ὕμνου θὰ κορυφωθοῦν οἱ ἑορτασμοὶ γιὰ τὴν συμπλήρωση 1400 ἐτῶν ἀπὸ τὸ ἔτος 626, ὅταν, πρὸς ἔκφραση εὐγνωμοσύνης πρὸς τὴν Θεοτόκο γιὰ τὴ διάσωση τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ἀπὸ ἐπικίνδυνη πολιορκία, ἐψάλη «ὀρθοστάδην» στὸν Ἱερὸ Ναὸ τῶν Βλαχερνῶν ὁ Ἀκάθιστος Ὕμνος, εὐχόμαστε πρὸς ὅλους σας εὔδρομο τὸ στάδιο τῆς νηστείας, μὲ ἄσκηση καὶ ὑπομονή, μὲ εὐχαριστία καὶ δοξολογία. Εἴθε, ἀληθεύοντας μὲ ἀγάπη καὶ ἁγιαζόμενοι ἐν Κυρίῳ, νὰ βαδίσουμε τὴν ὁδὸ πρὸς τὴν ὁλοκληρωμένη χαρὰ τῆς λαμπροφόρου Ἀναστάσεώς Του.  

                                                                                                  Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστὴ 2026,

† ὁ Κωνσταντινουπόλεως Βαρθολομαῖος διάπυρος πρὸς Θεὸ εὐχέτης ὅλων σας

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Νὰ διαβαστεῖ στὴν Ἐκκλησία κατὰ τὴν Κυριακὴ τῆς Τυρινῆς, 22 Φεβρουαρίου, ἀμέσως μετὰ τὸ Ἱερὸ Εὐαγγέλιο.