On Monday of the first week of Lent
On Tuesday of the first week of Lent
On Wednesday of the first week of Lent
On Thursday of the first week of Lent
On Wednesday (evening) of the fifth week of Lent
The Great Canon is an outstanding liturgical work of a touching, penitential nature, read in the Church during divine services on certain days of Lent. The fundamental role in writing the text of the canon belongs to Saint Andrew of Crete.
The original text of the Great Canon, composed by a Cretan saint, was subsequently completed by other Christian authors.
Despite the fact that this work in itself was distinguished by great artistic merit and had high theological, spiritual and moral significance, subsequent church writers found ways to enrich and decorate it, bringing it to the level of the highest liturgical example.
It is believed that the original version was written by Andrei Kritsky under the influence of personal experiences and searches, deep repentant contrition.
The Great Canon is one of the last works of St. Andrew, written by him in old age. This is confirmed by characteristic details in the text of the canon itself: “I have been cast down, O Savior, before Thy gates, so in my old age do not cast me aside into hell” (1st canto, 13th troparion; the numbering of troparions is given according to the full version of the canon on Thursday of the 5th week of Lent), “From my youth, O Christ, I have transgressed Thy commandments... with despondency life has passed away" (1st canto, 20th troparion), "My days have perished, like the sleep of one who rises: even as Hezekiah climbed down on my bed, be kissed on my belly in the summer" (7th canto, 20th troparion).
They claim that the canon was written by him for himself. One of the motives for compiling the canon, it is believed, could have been an episode from the biography of the saint. The Byzantine emperor Philippicus Vardanus (711–713) was a convinced Monothelite and in 712 forced some bishops, including St. Andrew, to sign the condemnation of the VI Ecumenical Council. Soon the wicked emperor was overthrown, Orthodoxy was restored, but the Monk Andrew could not help but worry about his cowardice and expressed his repentance in the text of the Great Canon.
Thus, accepting the opinion that Saint Andrew composed his canon in old age and that the events of 712 could have become an additional incentive for the writing of the Great Canon, we can propose an extended dating for the work itself: 720–730s.
What was the original scope of the canon compiled by St. Andrew? On the one hand, no one doubts that the penitential troparia (most of them) are the author’s. On the other hand, it can definitely be said that the troparia in honor of St. Mary and St. Andrew were added after the 11th century. However, on the question of the origin of the Irmos, Trinity and Mother of God, researchers differ. Archbishop Filaret (Gumilevsky) believed that the irmos did not belong to Saint Andrew, and they were later added to the canon by the Monk John of Damascus. I.A. Karabinov believed that the irmos were compiled by the Monk Andrew himself, but in relation to his canons in general he says: “The Trinity and most of the Theotokos in the canons of St. Andrew hardly belong to him, for there are such manuscripts where there are no Trinity canons, but others are set to the Theotokos. Perhaps both the Trinity and part of the Theotokos belong to the pen of St. Theodore the Studite.” Finally, our contemporary Protodeacon V. Vasilik says: “The Great Canon is initially a complete work, only the troparia dedicated to Andrew of Crete himself and Mary of Egypt are later... everything else belongs to Saint Andrew.”
The fundamental difference between the Great Canon and others is the volume of its content: in the modern Triodion, the Great Canon itself has 213 penitential troparions. If we add to this number 11 irmos, 18 troparions in honor of the Venerable Mary, 9 troparions in honor of the author of the canon, 10 Trinity and 11 Theotokos, then we get a total of 272 hymns in the entire canon in the form used in the service of Thursday of the 5th week.
Meanwhile, he was called Great not only for the vastness of his content, but also for his poetic perfection, the depth and sublimity of the material presented, and the penetration of the feelings displayed. Researchers of the Great Canon note a large number of parallels in its content with the works of the Church Fathers: martyr. Justin the Philosopher, St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Basil the Great, St. John Chrysostom, Evagrius of Pontus, Rev. Maximus the Confessor, Rev. Roman Sladkopevets and many others.
Historically, the line of the canon unfolds along the entire history of the Old and New Testaments: from the life of Adam and Eve through the era of patriarchs, kings and prophets to the life of Christ and His followers. The vast majority of troparia from cantos 1–8 narrate the events of the Old Testament, while New Testament themes are present only in full in the 9th canto and in the final part of some cantos from 1 to 8. At the same time, there are songs where allusions to the New Testament are completely absent (7th canto), or they are barely noticeable (3rd canto). In the 8th canto there is a clear boundary between the “Old Testament” and “New Testament” troparions: the troparion “I brought all the Old Testament to your soul, to the likeness...”, as it were, draws a line to the Old Testament theme.
Thematically, the Great Canon touches on such important sections of Orthodox Christian teaching as dogmatic, moral, ascetic, highlights the abomination and danger of sin, and reveals the beauty of virtue.
Beginning with words expressing hope and trust in God as a Helper and Patron, the canon reproduces the cry of a repentant soul about sins. The theme of deep personal repentance is combined with the theme of the relationship between God and man in general, and together with the theme of personal transformation and deification. In this way, each individual pilgrim is placed in integral connection with the destinies of the world.
The canon provides many edifying examples borrowed from the lives of participants in biblical history: from vileness, wickedness, lawlessness to contrition of heart, self-sacrifice and Christian deed. At the same time, episodes of Old Testament history are harmoniously intertwined with fragments of the New Testament and appeals to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through exposing the spiritual state of sinners and righteous people, through outlining their relationship with the Creator, the canon sets up the listener or reader for a thoughtful understanding of their own life, immersion in moral introspection; warns against evil, orients toward goodness, zeal for virtue; teaches not to forget about Divine Truth and Mercy, Longsuffering and Love.
The main goal of the creative impulse of Saint Andrew and the authors who supplemented the text was to incline the sinner to heartfelt prayer, unfeigned, sincere repentance, firm, unshakable hope in God, to awaken (or strengthen) the desire to ascend from a state of spiritual darkness to a state of holiness; from neglect of God's grace to trust, love and complete obedience to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
There is a legend that the widespread church practice of reading the canon during divine services was formed and established after a powerful earthquake that occurred in Constantinople in 790.
Then, being protected from the effects of the earthquake, the nuns, trusting in the Lord, read this canon in private. Over time, other Christians began to resort to it, using it in days of disaster, and then it began to be read widely during Lent.
In modern practice, the Great Canon is read twice during divine services: in separate parts on the first 4 days of the 1st week of Lent and in its entirety on Thursday of the 5th week of Lent (if the Annunciation or a patronal feast occurs on Thursday, then the service of the Great Canon is moved to Tuesday of the 5th week).
* * *
Saint Andrew of Crete Patristic Library