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1. The Old Testament forerunners of the Quaternary were the fasts of:
Multiple correct answers are possible.Correct answers: №2,5Correct!Comment:The Old Testament describes two instances of people abstaining from food and drink for 40 days, these were the prophets Moses and Elijah.
And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. (Ex.34:28)
" And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, «Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.» (1Ki.19:7)So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. (1Ki.19:8)
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2. What is the last week (Sunday) before Great Lent?
Multiple correct answers are possible.Correct answers: №1,2,3Correct! -
3. Great Lent has historically been closely associated with the Sacrament of:
Correct answer: №3Correct!Educational materials: Great Lent and Consumer Society -
4. Great Lent has its own special liturgical book, it is called:
Correct answer: №1Correct!Educational materials: TriodionComment:The main book from which the services of Great Lent are read is called the Lenten Triodion. Its name is explained by the fact that an abbreviated canon of three songs is read at Lenten Matins.
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5. On which days of Great Lent (not feast days) is it not proper to celebrate the Liturgy (including the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts)?
Correct answer: №2Correct!Educational materials: LiturgyComment:Liturgy is not celebrated on the following days during the year:
- Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week.
- On Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of the Weeks of Great Lent.
- On Great Pentecost, if this day does not coincide with the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 25 March (7 April A.D.), when the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is to be celebrated.
- On the Friday before the feasts of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany of the Lord, if the feast days are on Sundays or Mondays.
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6. This prayer is read twice at the end of each Lenten service from Monday to Friday. Please name it:
Correct answer: №2Correct!Educational materials: The Prayer of Saint Ephrem the SyrianComment:The Prayer of Saint Ephrem the Syrian is read twice at the end of each Great Lenten service from Monday to Friday.
The reading of the Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian stops on Friday evening and resumes on Sunday evening.
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7. According to the Statutes, each week of Great Lent, the entire Psalter is read:
Correct answer: №2Correct!Educational materials: Psalms -
8. On which Saturdays of Great Lent is the Funeral Service for the deceased members of the Church, the Parastasis, held?
Correct answer: №1Correct!Educational materials: ParastasisComment:The requiem service on Meatfare Saturday (Parastasis) provides a standard for all other services of commemoration of the dead and is still performed on the second, third, and fourth Saturdays of Great Lent.
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9. During the Great Lent the books of the Old Testament are read completely and in order:
Correct answer: №4Correct!Comment:The Old Testament during the services of Great Lent is read in two ways: first, the reading of the Psalter twice, and second, the "lectio continua," that is, the complete reading of the three books of the Old Testament: Genesis, the prophet Isaiah, and the Proverbs of Solomon.
The verses from these three books are read daily during Great Lent from Monday to Friday inclusive; the books of Genesis and Proverbs at the Vespers, the prophecies of Isaiah at the Sixth Hour.
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10. After each Great Lenten service, the following are praised in special verses:
Correct answer: №2Correct!Educational materials: MartyrsComment:...among the different kinds of holiness, we appeal only to the martyrs, at every Great Lenten service, they only are eulogised in the special verses dedicated to them. Because just the martyrs who chose Christ over everything else in the world, including life itself; they rejoiced in Christ so much that they could say, together with St. Ignatius of Antioch, when dying, "Now we begin to live".... They are witnesses of the Kingdom of God, because only those who have seen and tasted Its sweetness are capable of such highest self-forgetfulness. They are our companions, our inspirers during Great Lent, which is the time of the struggle for the restoration of the Divine, heavenly and eternal nature in our souls.
Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann
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11. Is it allowed to get married during Great Lent?
Correct answer: №2Correct!Educational materials: The Sacrament of MarriageComment:No marriages are performed during any continuous period of Lent throughout the year. After Lent, weddings may be performed from the second week after Easter.
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12. The rules of gastronomic fasting are defined by:
Correct answer: №3Correct!Educational materials: Eight Questions About FastingComment:Fasting and bodily labour are done by man to curb unholy passions, and bodily sickness is higher and stronger than fasting, feats and bodily labour, therefore fasting and bodily labour will not be demanded from the infirm one; he only has to thank God continually and pray to Him to give him patience.
Unknown elder, from the " Otecnik".
There is no bodily fasting for the sick, infirm and old people, and it is often harmful for those (who are sick, infirm and old). It is necessary to emphasise mental fasting: abstinence of sight, hearing, tongue, thoughts and so on. This will be a true fast, useful for everyone and always.
Hegumen Nikon (Vorobyev).
The complaint of the faithful of the sick people that they pray badly and do not hold the feat was solved by Saint Tikhon, saying: "to the sick, what prayer is there? Thanksgiving and sighing. This is the substitute for every feat. Be of good cheer.
Priest Sergius Filimonov
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13. The events of the Last Supper and the institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist by Jesus Christ are dedicated to:
Correct answer: №3Correct!Educational materials: The Law of God. Holy ThursdayComment:Holy Thursday is dedicated to these events. All Christians try to come for receiving Communion on this day.
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14. Which liturgy is served on Sundays of Great Lent?
Correct answer: №2Correct!Educational materials: LiturgyComment:The Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is served on Sundays of Great Lent.
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15. Beginning on Wednesday of Holy Cross Week, special Litanies are read at the Liturgies of the Presanctified Gifts until Great Wednesday:
Correct answer: №2Correct! -
16. In the divine service of the fourth Week (Sunday) the Church offers a high example of the fast life in the person of the ascetic:
Correct answer: №1Correct!Educational materials: About Sacraments of ChurchComment:In the service of the Fourth Week (Sunday) the Church offers a high example of the fast life in the person of the sixth-century ascetic, Rev. John Clumacus, who asceticised on Mount Sinai from 17 to 80 years of age and in his work "The Ladder of Paradise" he represented the path of man's gradual ascent to spiritual perfection along the ladder of the soul, ascending from earth to eternally lasting glory. There are 30 such degrees in the "Ladder", according to the number of years of the Saviour's earthly life before His entering into public service to the human race.
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17. On Thursday of the Fifth Week at Matins, the entire, complete Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read. This divine service is called:
Correct answer: №3Correct!Educational materials: St. Mary's StandingComment:At Matins on Thursday of the Fifth Week the whole Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete and the Life of the Venerable Mary of Egypt (5th-6th centuries), who ascended by repentance from the depths of sin to the height of perfection and holiness. This divine service is therefore called otherwise Mary's (or more rarely: Andrew's) Standing. Practically, it is celebrated on Wednesday evening.
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18. The Saturday of the fifth week is called the Saturday of the Akathist, and the service itself is named:
Correct answer: №2Correct!Educational materials: AkathistComment:On Saturday of the Fifth Week (in church practice, Friday evening), the Akathist to the Blessed Virgin Mary ("To the Victorious Leader...") is read, - the only (!) Akathist prescribed by the Church's Statutes.
The Saturday of the Fifth Week is called the Saturday of the Akathist, and the service itself is called "Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos".
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19. On Saturday of the Sixth Week – Palm Week the Church remembers the miracle of the Resurrection by the Lord Jesus Christ:
Correct answer: №1Correct!Educational materials: The Raising of LazarusComment:The raising of Lazarus is the last great miracle of Christ, the last glimpse of His Glory before the Passion Night. The Evangelist John describes this event as an eyewitness, with remarkable, almost palpable authenticity. You see literally every detail: the timidity of the disciples, their hesitation, and finally their determination to face the danger. Jesus, with eyes full of tears, at the tomb; the sisters, overwhelmed by grief; Martha's confusion, the stone rolled away and the imperious call heard in the beyond: "Come out, Lazarus!". A silent figure in a shroud on the threshold of the crypt... He Who would soon have to pass through the gates of death Himself declares Himself its victor.
Archpriest Alexander Men
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20. During Great Lent one of the Twelve Great Feasts is always celebrated:
Correct answer: №3Correct!Educational materials: Twelve Great FeastsComment:The Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem is celebrated a week before Easter, on the 6th Sunday of Great Lent.
The Holy (Palm) week is dedicated to the remembrance of the Lord's solemn Entry into Jerusalem, where He went to suffer and die on the Cross. This event is described by all the Evangelists: Mt. 21, 1 - 11; Mk. 11, 1 - 11; Lk. 19, 29 - 44; Jn. 12, 12 - 19.
This feast is called the Week of willows (branches), Flower-bearing Week, and in Russian also Willow Sunday because of the custom of consecrating palm branches on this day, which are replaced in Russia by willows.
The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary does not always coincide with Great Lent.
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21. The week after 40 days of Great Lent (Holy Forty Days) is called:
Correct answer: №2Correct!Educational materials: Holy WeekComment:The fast of Holy Forty Days ends on Friday of Palm Week. On this day one of the sticheras is chanted: "Having fulfilled Forty Days, we ask to see the Holy Week of Thy Passion, O Man-loving One". Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday serve as a transition from the Holy Forty Days to Holy Week.
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22. When is the penitential prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian is read for the last time in Great Lent?
Correct answer: №3Correct!Educational materials: Archbishop Averky (Taushev), Divine Services of Holy WeekComment:This prayer is read in the church during the Hours on Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week and during the whole of Holy Forty Days, except Saturdays and Sundays; on the first three days of Holy Week, too.
On Holy Wednesday, at the end of the liturgy at the point "Blessed be name of the Lord...", the prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian with three earthly bows is read for the last time and "the bows that are used in the church are completely abolished". This ends completely everything that is characteristic for the Great Lenten divine service. The special Passion-tide services begin.
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23. What colour are the vestments, which clergymen wear on Saturdays and Sundays of Great Lent, if no great feasts are celebrated on these days?
Correct answer: №2Correct!Comment:On Saturday and Sunday days of Great Lent, if no major feasts are observed on these days, the colour of the vestments is purple. On the other days (weekdays) of Great Lent, if there are no feasts, the colour is black.
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24. In which of the four multi-day fasts does the Church Charter (Typikon) prescribe the reading of the prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian?
Multiple correct answers are possible.Correct answers: №1,2,3,4Correct!Educational materials: Prayer of Ephrem the SyrianComment:The Prayer of Ephrem the Syrian is a prayer, accompanied by earthly bows, which is read during the weekly services of Great Lent, and according to the Church Statutes should also be read during the service with the "Alleluia" on the weekdays of the minor fasts. See Typikon, ch. 9.
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25. Can meat be eaten during Meatfare Week?
Correct answer: №1Correct!Educational materials: Meatfare weekComment:Meatfare Week is the penultimate sunday before Great Lent (the third of the four preparatory sundays). It is the last day before the Great Lent, when the Church Charter allows to eat meat food. In the following week dairy products are still allowed.
Note: "week" in the Church Slavonic language is sunday, and the modern word "week" corresponds to the name " seven days week".
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26. Arrange the Weeks (Sundays) of Great Lent in sequence.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- Gregory Palamas
- St. Mary of Egypt
- Palm Week
- Adoration of Cross
- St. John Climacus
- Triumph of Orthodoxy
Matching question: drag items on the right so that they match items on the left.Correct answer: nullCorrect!Educational materials: LentComment:Weeks of Great Lent:
- Week 1 of Great Lent. Triumph of Orthodoxy.
- Week 2 of Great Lent. St. Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica (Thessaloniki) (†1359).
- Week 3 of Great Lent. Adoration of Cross (Mk.8:34–9:1).
- Week 4 of Great Lent. St. John Clumacus (6th century).
- Week 5 of Great Lent. St. Mary of Egypt (6th century).
- Week 6, Palm Week, otherwise known as Flower-bearing Week, the Palm Sunday (John 12:1–18), the Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem.
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27. Is it true that Great Lent was instituted in the spring because peasants were reaching the end of their food supply by that time?
Correct answer: №2Correct!Comment:No, this is not true. Firstly, Great Lent, like the one-day fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays, is the oldest Church rule: its beginnings can be found as far back as in the 1st century. In ancient Russia the fast came through Byzantium from the ancient Christian Church, from apostolic times, it was also known in the times of the Old Testament (Exod.34:28; Dan.10:2-3; Ezd.8:21-23; 2 Sam.12:16-20; Ion.3:5-10; Joel.1:14, 2:12-15; Zech. 8:19). In the New Testament fasting is sanctified by Jesus Christ - by his personal example of strict 40-day fasting in the wilderness before going out for public ministry and by the commandment about fasting to his disciples (Mt.6:16,18; Mt.17:21). Christ's disciples also fasted (Acts 13:2-3). Therefore, when we assert the "naturalness" of fasting during the period when the peasants had nothing to eat, we forget that there are four fasts in the annual cycle. Besides, although peasants who had cattle and poultry did not eat meat the whole year, a good cow could be milked all the year round, chickens could lay eggs the most part of the year, so that if they wanted, the peasants could eat milk, meat and eggs in spring. At the same time, the duration of Great Lent is connected not with the lack of food supplies of peasants, but with the imitation of the forty-day fast of the Saviour in the desert (Lk.4:2), and also it was a standard time of fasting for those who wanted to be baptised: in the ancient Church people were baptised on Easter, and those who were baptised would have prepared for this event for 40 days, praying in the temple, learning the basics of faith and fasting.
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28. On the Week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy the victory over all the heresies that distorted the Orthodox Christian doctrine at different times is celebrated. What historical event was the reason for the establishing of this ancient feast?
Correct answer: №4Correct!Educational materials: The Triumph of OrthodoxyComment:The Council of Constantinople in 843 was gathered by the widow of the last Byzantine iconoclastic emperor Theophilus, Empress Theodora, to restore icon veneration in the Orthodox Church of the East.
At the Second Ecumenical Council of 381, the Creed was finally formulated. At the Council of Chalcedon in 451 the oros on the two natures of Christ was adopted, refuting the heresies of the Monophysites and Nestorians. At the Seventh Ecumenical Council of 787, in response to the iconoclasts, the theological grounding of iconoclasm was approved.
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29. The canon of Matins of the second week of Great Lent contains the words: "Thou hast utterly broken the sword and arrows of the wrong-minded, and the pride of Barlaam, and all the power of heretics like a spider's web, like a great stone, O holy one.” What did St. Gregory Palamas, whose memory is commemorated on this day, argue with the Calabrian monk Barlaam about?
Correct answer: №3Correct!Educational materials: St. Gregory PalamasComment:The monk Barlaam of Calabria believed that the Tabor Light was a creation of God, while St. Gregory Palamas argued that it was an action of Divine energy in the created world. The doctrine defended by the saint is important for Orthodoxy, because from it it is obvious that God-communion and God-knowledge are possible for man through the reception of Divine energy. He proved that by means of fasting and prayer isychast monks, can reach the same state, in which the Apostles were, and can see the Uncreated Divine Light. The teachings of St. Gregory are commemorated in Great Lent as a reminder of the importance of spiritual and fasting feats in the life of a Christian.
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30. During the Week of Adoration of Cross, the Divine Service is dedicated to the glorification of the Cross of the Lord. Does the festive service on the Week of Admiration of Cross include the rite of the Exaltation of the Cross, when the Cross, decorated with flowers, is brought to the middle of the church and the priest alternately blesses all sides of the world with the Cross?
Correct answer: №2Correct!Educational materials: Week 3 of Great Lent, the week of Admiration of CrossComment:This ancient rite is served only on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on the 27th of September. In the week of the Exaltation of the Cross the Cross is being worshipped: the Cross is brought to the middle of the church, and three earthly bows are made before it. The rite of worship of the Cross is also celebrated on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, and also on the Feast of the The Origin Precious Wood honest and life-giving Cross of the Lord, on the 14th of August.
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31. The 4th week of Great Lent is called the Week of St. John Climacus, famous for his writing "The Ladder" - a guide on the path of spiritual perfection. There are 30 chapters in the book - "steps" of virtue, which one can consistently climb to reach Paradise. Which step is the first one, according to the words of St. John Climacus?
Correct answer: №3Correct!Educational materials: 4th week of Great Lent, St. John ClimacusComment:"The Ladder" of St. John Climacus begins with a virtue of denying of worldly life. However, this does not mean that the saint urges all readers seeking salvation in monasteries - he writes that for the laity this feat consists in keeping the commandments.
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32. At Matins on Thursday on the fifth week of the Len, a service called "Mary's Standing" is celebrated. The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read in its complete length, together with the Life of St. Mary of Egypt. Which of the following events and circumstances in the life of the saint are described?
Multiple correct answers are possible.Correct answers: №1,2,4Correct!Educational materials: Venerable Mary of EgyptComment:Yes, we know from the hagiography that the Venerable Mary received communion before going into the desert after repentance, and then, after spending many years in the desert, received communion from the elder Zosima shortly before her death. Venerable Mary was a repentant prostitute - that is why we remember Mary of Egypt during Lent - because she showed an example of how much transformation and spiritual feats a sincerely repentant person is capable of. The hagiography describes that the ascetic crossed the Jordan, treading water to receive communion from the elder Zosima.
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33. On which day does the season of Great Lent end according to the Jerusalem liturgical statutes?
Correct answer: №3Correct!Comment:On Friday before Lazarus Saturday, according to the church statutes, the forty-day Lent is completed, as indicated by the verse, "Having fulfilled Forty Days, we ask to see the Holy Week of Thy Passion...". Coming days are Lazarus Saturday and Palm Week, the feasts between the Forty Days and Holy Week, and then a special time - Holy Week.
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34. How many and what kind of bows does the Orthodox Charter prescribe to be made at each refrain of "Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me" of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete?
Correct answer: №4Correct!Comment:Bows while reading the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete are mentioned in the Church Charter: "Let us make on each troparion three throws, saying this refrain: "Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me".
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