{"id":2166,"date":"2013-03-24T22:55:29","date_gmt":"2013-03-24T18:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/barevarmenia.com\/travelblog\/?p=2166"},"modified":"2014-08-16T19:42:54","modified_gmt":"2014-08-16T15:42:54","slug":"the-great-lent-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barevarmenia.com\/travelblog\/the-great-lent-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Lent"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a>Purification of Body and Soul<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the church calendar we have festive and fasting days in the year.There are 158 fasting days the part of which are lent days and the others are long lasting fasts. One of the fasts, the most\u00a0popular with people, is the Great Lent. It lasts 48\u00a0days from Bun Barekendan (Fat Tuesday) to Saint\u00a0Resurrection Day (Easter).This year the Great Lent\u00a0begins on February 11 and lasts till the 31th\u00a0of\u00a0March, the eve of the Easter.
\nThe lent has great meaning and significance for\u00a0the Christian people.At first sight it is perceived as\u00a0self deprivation and restrained use of food. During\u00a0the lent period people use only food of vegetable\u00a0origin. But the sacrament of lent is not limited only\u00a0by not using some foods. During the lent period\u00a0people leave their inveterate habits sanctifying not\u00a0only their bodies but also their souls. The essential\u00a0meaning of the lent is to become spiritually sanctified after which people gain a new way of perception of life.
\nThe great lent period consists of 7 weeks each\u00a0Sunday of which has its council and history. The\u00a0Armenian Church has graced these Sundays by\u00a0individual names. These seven Sundays make a\u00a0chain of Bible stories which reflect the whole\u00a0process of human life and divine salvation.The first\u00a0Sunday is Bun Barekendan which is followed by\u00a0Expulsion Sunday which symbolizes the exile of\u00a0Adam from the paradise.
\nThe third is the Sunday of Prodigal Son and\u00a0points out the penitence, the term to turn to God and\u00a0to regain the lost paradise. The next one is the\u00a0Sunday of the Steward which shows the role of\u00a0wealth management in eternal salvation. The fifth\u00a0one, the Sunday of Judge, preaches the significance\u00a0of permanent prayer for salvation. The last one is\u00a0the Palm Sunday which summarizes the council of\u00a0the Advent of Christ.
\nThe 40 days of the lent symbolize the period\u00a0when Christ had been praying and fasting in the\u00a0desert. The 40 days of lent end with another week\u00a0of fasting that is known as Holy week. Holy week\u00a0includes the last events of Savior\u2019s earthly life: the\u00a0entrance to Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the\u00a0Betrayal, the Crucifixion, the Death, the Funeral\u00a0and the miraculous Resurrection.\u00a0This year the Great Lent is divided on March 7.
\nThis day is called Mijink (Median day of the Great\u00a0Lent).According to tradition on Median day people\u00a0bake an unleavened cake and put a coin in it. It is\u00a0believed that the coin will bring success to the person who find sit. To comprehend the significance of\u00a0the lent we should know that the fast is established\u00a0in paradise as the first commandment of God is to\u00a0keep a fast.
\nThus, keeping a fast is not just refusing to use\u00a0food of animal origin; first of all it symbolizes the\u00a0purification and sanctification of human soul.<\/p>\n

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