Great Lent is a period of personal reflection struggle. Its purpose is to refresh usfrom the staleness of our spiritual lifeand to purify our hearts, so that we can better fathom the celebration of Pascha as the greatest victory in human history:the defeat of death. Because of this greater intensity of spiritual life, Great Lent is often likened to an arena, a battle, a sports contest where the prize is the victory of Pascha.
Below is one of the hymns that describe this contest, and is chanted in the Matins service on the day before the beginning of Lent: The arena of the virtues has been opened! Let all who wish to struggle for the prize enter now; let them gird themselves for the noble contest of the fast; for those who strive rightly are justly crowned! Let us take up the armour of the cross and make war against the enemy. Let the faith be our invincible wall, prayerour breastplate and our helmet the giving of alms; and let us usefasting as our sword, to cut away all evil from our heart. If we do this, we shall receive the true crown at the Day of Judgment from Christ the king of all! This hymn very eloquently describes that to fight this spiritual battle, we need to be well-prepared and to have the correct armour. As the hymn describes, the spiritual armour is made of:
1.The invincible wall of faith You cannot defend a city if you do not have strong walls. We are asked to have faith in Jesus, the King ofthe city, who will help us in the battle. The wall of faithis invincible, as Jesus says: “if you have faith as amustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move” (Matt 17:20).
2.The breastplate of prayer Our prayer, just like the breastplate, has the power to prevent the arrows of the enemy from harming us. St John of the Ladder describes prayer as “the reparation of sin, a bridge over temptation, a barricade against affliction”. The Lord instructs us to “watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Matt 26:41). Great Lent provides us with many opportunities for prayer, with frequent regular services such as the Great Compline, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and the Salutations to the Theotokos, as well as personal prayer, including the use of the Jesus Prayer and the prayer of St Ephrem.
3.The helmet of alms giving Just as the helmet protects the head, alms giving protects our thoughts by guiding them towards works of love. Almsgiving is often a litmus test of our faith, as the apostle James writes: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someonesays he has faith but does not haveworks?” (James 2:14).
4.The sword of fasting - Fasting, when done with humility and prayer, has the power to “cut away all evil from our heart”. The self-control that accompanies fasting increases our spiritual strength, renews the health of thesoul, makes us more watchful and vigilant, thus making our prayer even more fervent. Fasting need not be limited to food, but should also include abstaining from other pleasures and watching over what comes out ofour mouth. It is easy to see Great Lent as simply an arduous set ofrules. However, when seen in the context of using this armour to fight the spiritual battle, Great Lent becomes an opportunity for wonderful discovery, freedom and victory, for subjugation of the passions and for unionwith our Creator who in His love endured the Cross and enforced the greatest victory in history.

Great Lent is a period of reflection and heightened spiritual struggle. Its purpose is to refresh usfrom the staleness of our spiritual lifeand to purify our hearts, so that we can better fathom the celebration of Pascha as the greatest victory in human history:the defeat of death. Because of this greater intensity of spiritual life, Great Lent is often likened to an arena, a battle, a sports contest where the prize is the victory of Pascha.
Below is one of the hymns that describe this contest, and is chanted in the Matins service on the day before the beginning of Lent: The arena of the virtues has been opened! Let all who wish to struggle for the prize enter now; let them gird themselves for the noble contest of the fast; for those who strive rightly are justly crowned! Let us take up the armour of the cross and make war against the enemy. Let the faith be our invincible wall, prayerour breastplate and our helmet the giving of alms; and let us usefasting as our sword, to cut away all evil from our heart. If we do this, we shall receive the true crown at the Day of Judgment from Christ the king of all! This hymn very eloquently describes that to fight this spiritual battle, we need to be well-prepared and to have the correct armour. As the hymn describes, the spiritual armour is made of:
1.The invincible wall of faith You cannot defend a city if you do not have strong walls. We are asked to have faith in Jesus, the King ofthe city, who will help us in the battle. The wall of faithis invincible, as Jesus says: “if you have faith as amustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move” (Matt 17:20).
2.The breastplate of prayer Our prayer, just like the breastplate, has the power to prevent the arrows of the enemy from harming us. St John of the Ladder describes prayer as “the reparation of sin, a bridge over temptation, a barricade against affliction”. The Lord instructs us to “watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Matt 26:41). Great Lent provides us with many opportunities for prayer, with frequent regular services such as the Great Compline, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and the Salutations to the Theotokos, as well as personal prayer, including the use of the Jesus Prayer and the prayer of St Ephrem.
3.The helmet of alms giving Just as the helmet protects the head, alms giving protects our thoughts by guiding them towards works of love. Almsgiving is often a litmus test of our faith, as the apostle James writes: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someonesays he has faith but does not haveworks?” (James 2:14).
4.The sword of fasting - Fasting, when done with humility and prayer, has the power to “cut away all evil from our heart”. The self-control that accompanies fasting increases our spiritual strength, renews the health of thesoul, makes us more watchful and vigilant, thus making our prayer even more fervent. Fasting need not be limited to food, but should also include abstaining from other pleasures and watching over what comes out ofour mouth. It is easy to see Great Lent as simply an arduous set ofrules. However, when seen in the context of using this armour to fight the spiritual battle, Great Lent becomes an opportunity for wonderful discovery, freedom and victory, for subjugation of the passions and for unionwith our Creator who in His love endured the Cross and enforced the greatest victory in history.

Great Lent is a period of personal reflection and spiritual struggle. Its purpose is to refresh usfrom the staleness of our spiritual lifeand to purify our hearts, so that we can better fathom the celebration of Pascha as the greatest victory in human history:the defeat of death. Because of this greater intensity of spiritual life, Great Lent is often likened to an arena, a battle, a sports contest where the prize is the victory of Pascha.
Below is one of the hymns that describe this contest, and is chanted in the Matins service on the day before the beginning of Lent: The arena of the virtues has been opened! Let all who wish to struggle for the prize enter now; let them gird themselves for the noble contest of the fast; for those who strive rightly are justly crowned! Let us take up the armour of the cross and make war against the enemy. Let the faith be our invincible wall, prayerour breastplate and our helmet the giving of alms; and let us usefasting as our sword, to cut away all evil from our heart. If we do this, we shall receive the true crown at the Day of Judgment from Christ the king of all! This hymn very eloquently describes that to fight this spiritual battle, we need to be well-prepared and to have the correct armour. As the hymn describes, the spiritual armour is made of:
1.The invincible wall of faith You cannot defend a city if you do not have strong walls. We are asked to have faith in Jesus, the King ofthe city, who will help us in the battle. The wall of faithis invincible, as Jesus says: “if you have faith as amustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move” (Matt 17:20).
2.The breastplate of prayer Our prayer, just like the breastplate, has the power to prevent the arrows of the enemy from harming us. St John of the Ladder describes prayer as “the reparation of sin, a bridge over temptation, a barricade against affliction”. The Lord instructs us to “watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Matt 26:41). Great Lent provides us with many opportunities for prayer, with frequent regular services such as the Great Compline, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and the Salutations to the Theotokos, as well as personal prayer, including the use of the Jesus Prayer and the prayer of St Ephrem.
3.The helmet of alms giving Just as the helmet protects the head, alms giving protects our thoughts by guiding them towards works of love. Almsgiving is often a litmus test of our faith, as the apostle James writes: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someonesays he has faith but does not haveworks?” (James 2:14).
4.The sword of fasting - Fasting, when done with humility and prayer, has the power to “cut away all evil from our heart”. The self-control that accompanies fasting increases our spiritual strength, renews the health of thesoul, makes us more watchful and vigilant, thus making our prayer even more fervent. Fasting need not be limited to food, but should also include abstaining from other pleasures and watching over what comes out ofour mouth. It is easy to see Great Lent as simply an arduous set ofrules. However, when seen in the context of using this armour to fight the spiritual battle, Great Lent becomes an opportunity for wonderful discovery, freedom and victory, for subjugation of the passions and for unionwith our Creator who in His love endured the Cross and enforced the greatest victory in history.

Great Lent is a period of personal reflection and heightened spiritual struggle. Its purpose is to refresh usfrom the staleness of our spiritual lifeand to purify our hearts, so that we can better fathom the celebration of Pascha as the greatest victory in human history:the defeat of death. Because of this greater intensity of spiritual life, Great Lent is often likened to an arena, a battle, a sports contest where the prize is the victory of Pascha.
Below is one of the hymns that describe this contest, and is chanted in the Matins service on the day before the beginning of Lent: The arena of the virtues has been opened! Let all who wish to struggle for the prize enter now; let them gird themselves for the noble contest of the fast; for those who strive rightly are justly crowned! Let us take up the armour of the cross and make war against the enemy. Let the faith be our invincible wall, prayerour breastplate and our helmet the giving of alms; and let us usefasting as our sword, to cut away all evil from our heart. If we do this, we shall receive the true crown at the Day of Judgment from Christ the king of all! This hymn very eloquently describes that to fight this spiritual battle, we need to be well-prepared and to have the correct armour. As the hymn describes, the spiritual armour is made of:
1.The invincible wall of faith You cannot defend a city if you do not have strong walls. We are asked to have faith in Jesus, the King ofthe city, who will help us in the battle. The wall of faithis invincible, as Jesus says: “if you have faith as amustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move” (Matt 17:20).
2.The breastplate of prayer Our prayer, just like the breastplate, has the power to prevent the arrows of the enemy from harming us. St John of the Ladder describes prayer as “the reparation of sin, a bridge over temptation, a barricade against affliction”. The Lord instructs us to “watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Matt 26:41). Great Lent provides us with many opportunities for prayer, with frequent regular services such as the Great Compline, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and the Salutations to the Theotokos, as well as personal prayer, including the use of the Jesus Prayer and the prayer of St Ephrem.
3.The helmet of alms giving Just as the helmet protects the head, alms giving protects our thoughts by guiding them towards works of love. Almsgiving is often a litmus test of our faith, as the apostle James writes: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someonesays he has faith but does not haveworks?” (James 2:14).
4.The sword of fasting - Fasting, when done with humility and prayer, has the power to “cut away all evil from our heart”. The self-control that accompanies fasting increases our spiritual strength, renews the health of thesoul, makes us more watchful and vigilant, thus making our prayer even more fervent. Fasting need not be limited to food, but should also include abstaining from other pleasures and watching over what comes out ofour mouth. It is easy to see Great Lent as simply an arduous set ofrules. However, when seen in the context of using this armour to fight the spiritual battle, Great Lent becomes an opportunity for wonderful discovery, freedom and victory, for subjugation of the passions and for unionwith our Creator who in His love endured the Cross and enforced the greatest victory in history.

Great Lent is a period of personal reflection and heightened spiritual struggle. Its purpose is to refresh usfrom the staleness of our spiritual lifeand to purify our hearts, so that we can better fathom the celebration of Pascha as the greatest victory in human history:the defeat of death. Because of this greater intensity of spiritual life, Great Lent is often likened to an arena, a battle, a sports contest where the prize is the victory of Pascha.
Below is one of the hymns that describe this contest, and is chanted in the Matins service on the day before the beginning of Lent: The arena of the virtues has been opened! Let all who wish to struggle for the prize enter now; let them gird themselves for the noble contest of the fast; for those who strive rightly are justly crowned! Let us take up the armour of the cross and make war against the enemy. Let the faith be our invincible wall, prayerour breastplate and our helmet the giving of alms; and let us usefasting as our sword, to cut away all evil from our heart. If we do this, we shall receive the true crown at the Day of Judgment from Christ the king of all! This hymn very eloquently describes that to fight this spiritual battle, we need to be well-prepared and to have the correct armour. As the hymn describes, the spiritual armour is made of:
1.The invincible wall of faith You cannot defend a city if you do not have strong walls. We are asked to have faith in Jesus, the King ofthe city, who will help us in the battle. The wall of faithis invincible, as Jesus says: “if you have faith as amustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move” (Matt 17:20).
2.The breastplate of prayer Our prayer, just like the breastplate, has the power to prevent the arrows of the enemy from harming us. St John of the Ladder describes prayer as “the reparation of sin, a bridge over temptation, a barricade against affliction”. The Lord instructs us to “watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Matt 26:41). Great Lent provides us with many opportunities for prayer, with frequent regular services such as the Great Compline, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and the Salutations to the Theotokos, as well as personal prayer, including the use of the Jesus Prayer and the prayer of St Ephrem.
3.The helmet of alms giving Just as the helmet protects the head, alms giving protects our thoughts by guiding them towards works of love. Almsgiving is often a litmus test of our faith, as the apostle James writes: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someonesays he has faith but does not haveworks?” (James 2:14).
4.The sword of fasting - Fasting, when done with humility and prayer, has the power to “cut away all evil from our heart”. The self-control that accompanies fasting increases our spiritual strength, renews the health of thesoul, makes us more watchful and vigilant, thus making our prayer even more fervent. Fasting need not be limited to food, but should also include abstaining from other pleasures and watching over what comes out ofour mouth. It is easy to see Great Lent as simply an arduous set ofrules. However, when seen in the context of using this armour to fight the spiritual battle, Great Lent becomes an opportunity for wonderful discovery, freedom and victory, for subjugation of the passions and for unionwith our Creator who in His love endured the Cross and enforced the greatest victory in history.

Great Lent is a period of personal reflection and heightened spiritual struggle. Its purpose is to refresh usfrom the staleness of our spiritual lifeand to purify our hearts, so that we can better fathom the celebration of Pascha as the greatest victory in human history:the defeat of death. Because of this greater intensity of spiritual life, Great Lent is often likened to an arena, a battle, a sports contest where the prize is the victory of Pascha.
Below is one of the hymns that describe this contest, and is chanted in the Matins service on the day before the beginning of Lent: The arena of the virtues has been opened! Let all who wish to struggle for the prize enter now; let them gird themselves for the noble contest of the fast; for those who strive rightly are justly crowned! Let us take up the armour of the cross and make war against the enemy. Let the faith be our invincible wall, prayerour breastplate and our helmet the giving of alms; and let us usefasting as our sword, to cut away all evil from our heart. If we do this, we shall receive the true crown at the Day of Judgment from Christ the king of all! This hymn very eloquently describes that to fight this spiritual battle, we need to be well-prepared and to have the correct armour. As the hymn describes, the spiritual armour is made of:
1.The invincible wall of faith You cannot defend a city if you do not have strong walls. We are asked to have faith in Jesus, the King ofthe city, who will help us in the battle. The wall of faithis invincible, as Jesus says: “if you have faith as amustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move” (Matt 17:20).
2.The breastplate of prayer Our prayer, just like the breastplate, has the power to prevent the arrows of the enemy from harming us. St John of the Ladder describes prayer as “the reparation of sin, a bridge over temptation, a barricade against affliction”. The Lord instructs us to “watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Matt 26:41). Great Lent provides us with many opportunities for prayer, with frequent regular services such as the Great Compline, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and the Salutations to the Theotokos, as well as personal prayer, including the use of the Jesus Prayer and the prayer of St Ephrem.
3.The helmet of alms giving Just as the helmet protects the head, alms giving protects our thoughts by guiding them towards works of love. Almsgiving is often a litmus test of our faith, as the apostle James writes: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someonesays he has faith but does not haveworks?” (James 2:14).
4.The sword of fasting - Fasting, when done with humility and prayer, has the power to “cut away all evil from our heart”. The self-control that accompanies fasting increases our spiritual strength, renews the health of thesoul, makes us more watchful and vigilant, thus making our prayer even more fervent. Fasting need not be limited to food, but should also include abstaining from other pleasures and watching over what comes out ofour mouth. It is easy to see Great Lent as simply an arduous set ofrules. However, when seen in the context of using this armour to fight the spiritual battle, Great Lent becomes an opportunity for wonderful discovery, freedom and victory, for subjugation of the passions and for unionwith our Creator who in His love endured the Cross and enforced the greatest victory in history.