The Five Sundays of Great Lent 2026

 

The First Sunday of Great Lent (March 1, 2026) is dedicated to the final triumph of the Orthodox Church over the iconoclasts and the restoration of the Holy Icons to the churches, which took place on the First Sunday of Lent, March 11, 843.  Thus, it is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy.  As the Orthodox triumphed during the iconoclastic controversy because of the dedication of the Martyrs and Confessors who suffered for the Faith, so too, we strive to imitate these Martyrs by our own ascetical self-denial.  A special feature of this day is the procession of the Holy Icons and the sixty anathemas pronounced against various heretics and heresies of the Fourth though the Fourteenth Centuries.

 

The Second Sunday of Great Lent (March 8, 2026) is dedicated to Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonike. Saint Gregory’s triumph over the heretics of his time is seen as a renewal of the Triumph of Orthodoxy of the previous Sunday.  Another theme of this Sunday is that of the Prodigal Son as a model of repentance, for which a special Canon is devoted at the Sunday Matins.

 

The Third Sunday of Great Lent (March 15, 2026) is dedicated to the Cross and the bringing-out of the Precious Cross, which closely parallels the celebration of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on September 14.  This day is also referred to as the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross.  At this time, we are at mid-Lent and we are reminded of the upcoming crucifixion of the Lord and we are strengthened to persevere in our Lenten struggles.

 

The Fourth Sunday of Great Lent (March 22, 2026) is dedicated to Saint John Climacus (John of the Ladder), Abbot of Mount Sinai, who because of his ascetical writing serves as a model of a true Christian ascetic.  The Ladder, the work of Saint John Climacus, is appointed by the Church to be read during Great Lent.

 

The Fifth Sunday of Great Lent (March 29, 2026) is dedicated to Saint Mary of Egypt, who was a harlot living in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, who later repented and lived the rest of her life in solitude in the Egyptian desert, serving as a model of repentance to all Christians. 

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