The Great Penitential Canon of Andrew of Crete is read on the first four days of Great Lent, one part at a time. The entire creation is read in the seventh week. The Canon teaches people repentance. Accept your sins and learn to deal with them. Also, this scripture instructs to follow the example of pure and unselfish people.
About Andrew of Crete
Reverend Andrew was born somewhere in the 660s of our era, in the city of Damascus. Legends say that until the age of seven the child could not talk. Andrei's parents were believers and often attended church. Once, during communion, God's blessing descended on Kritsky and he spoke. After this miracle, Andrey was sent by his parents to study the basics of religion.
When the guy was 14 years old, he was transferred to serve in Jerusalem, in the Monastery of the Holy Sepulcher. Andrei was a very versatile young man, so he was immediately identified as a notary.
Then Andrew moved to Constantinople, where he served in an orphanage as a deacon for 20 years. In the same city he beganwrite their own hymns, which are still widely used in the Orthodox Church.
After this, the future saint was sent to the island of Crete as a bishop. There he faithfully served the church, instructing heretics on the true path and giving support to believers. Andrew built several orphanages and churches in Crete. For his faithful service he received the rank of archbishop. In 1740 the monk died on his way from Constantinople to the island of Crete.
About canons
Andrew of Crete was the first to write canons instead of kontakia. The saint has hymns for all major holidays: Christmas, Easter, Palm Sunday and others. Many of them are also used in modern liturgical menaia. The canons are closely related to "biblical songs". The structure of this chant is as follows. First comes the irmos, which is the connecting chain between the biblical song and the content of the canon. Next come the troparia. They sing along with the songs. The most outstanding work, undoubtedly, is the great canon of St. Andrew of Crete. He teaches us repentance. It is best to ask for forgiveness from the Lord in Lent, when the canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read.
Canon content
In his canon, Andrew briefly touches on the entire Bible. From the 1st to the 8th song, this is the Old Testament, after - the New. Andrew evaluates each story of the biblical characters of the canon from the point of view of human morality. If this is a bad deed, then he talks about its sinfulness, and if it is good, then he declares that this should be strived for. The author hints to usthat we can save our soul when we give up our vices and strive for virtue.
Song 1
In the first song, the canon of Andrew of Crete talks about original sin. Eve succumbed to Satan's temptation and gave the apple to Adam. He, in turn, was tempted by power and tried it. In this song, Andrew says that we are all sinners, and if the Lord punished Adam and Eve for violating one commandment, then how will he punish us who violate almost all of them. We can only repent and ask God for forgiveness.
Song 2
In the second song, the great canon of Andrew of Crete talks about how we all succumbed to carnal consolation. First, they pulled on their clothes, ashamed of their naked body, which was created in the likeness of the Lord. The second - put at the head of pleasure and beauty of the body, not the soul. Even in this song of the great canon of Andrew of Crete it is said that we are subject to all earthly passions and, unfortunately, do not want to fight them. For all these sins, we must sincerely ask God to forgive us. The main thing is to understand your bad deeds yourself and strive to get rid of them.
Song 3
In it, the great penitential canon of Andrew of Crete tells how the Lord could not stand the outrage that was happening in Sodom and burned the city. Only one righteous Lot managed to escape. Andrew calls on every person to renounce the pleasures of Sodom and run away as soon as possible. The sins of this city haunt us every day, tempting us to repeat them, I think many succumb. But most importantly -Stop and think about what lies ahead for us. What kind of afterlife will we have after Sodom entertainment.
Song 4
It states that laziness is a great sin. If a person, like a vegetable, moves forward, not realizing himself and the world around him, then his end will be corresponding. The patriarch in the song worked day and night to have two wives. One of them meant industriousness, and the other - reason. Through this combination, we can improve our contemplation and our activity.
Song 5
The penitential canon of St. Andrew of Crete tells about Saint Joseph, who was betrayed by his brothers and his beloved and sold into slavery. He calmly endured everything, did not get angry at his fate. Andrei says that each of us can betray his neighbor. But the trouble is that we betray ourselves and our soul every day. Without enduring any disasters, we break the commandments of the Lord and do not even think about it.
Song 6
Andrey in this song calls for humanity to take the right path. Do not turn away from the Lord, like some historical characters. And to believe that just as God delivered the sick from leprosy by the hand of Moses, so our soul can be forgiven for its sins.
Song 7
In the seventh ode, the canon of St. Andrew of Crete says that no matter how grave sins a person commits, if he sincerely repents, he will be forgiven. Otherwise, the punishment of the Lord will be great. You need to pray to God in his three guises and the Mother of God with repentance and a request forforgiveness.
Song 8
Andrey tells us that our Lord gives everyone according to his merits. If a person lived righteously, he will ascend to heaven, like Elijah in a chariot. Or in life he will receive the support of God, like Elisha for dividing the Jordan River. If you live in sin, like Gehaziah, then the soul will burn in a fiery hyena.
Song 9
In this song, the great canon of Andrew of Crete says that people have forgotten the ten commandments of God, engraved on the tablets by Moses. They are not attached to the writing of the gospel. Once upon a time, Jesus came into our world to save us. He blessed babies and old people, because some had not yet had time to repent of their sins, while others could no longer. If a person is of sound mind, then he himself should ask the Lord for forgiveness.
Songs recited on the Tuesday of Lent
Song 1
This tells how Cain killed his brother out of jealousy. Andrei asks to live his life righteously, not thinking to whom and what the Lord has given. If a person lives according to the commandments of God, then grace will soon come to him. We must strive to be like Abel, who with a pure soul brought his gifts to the Lord.
Song 2
Calls on people to repent for having rejected spiritual we alth and attaching importance only to material things. In the pursuit of clothing and other benefits, they completely forgot to pray to the Lord. We forget that a mentally rich person will be much happier.
Song 3
This song of the canon of Andrew of Crete calls to live asNoah, to whom the Lord alone gave a chance to be saved. Or like Lot, the only survivor of Sodom. Because if we sin, we will suffer the fate of people during the flood.
Song 4
There is strength in knowledge. One must strive to see God in oneself, and a ladder to heaven will be built, like the patriarchs. In everyday life we imitate Esau, who hates everyone. We must live in love and harmony.
Song 5
As the entire Jewish people lived in Egyptian slavery, so our soul lives all the time in sin. We must muster up the courage to end slavery. Even if at first it will be necessary to suffer, then in the end we will acquire true freedom of the spirit. Then life will become much easier and more pleasant.
Song 6
Continues to talk about the adventures of Moses, who sought to lead the people out of Egyptian slavery. People do not have much faith to endure a little wandering in the name of a good cause. So we need everything at the same time. We need to believe in the Lord and ask for forgiveness, and then we can free our souls from the slavery of sins.
Song 7
The song of the great canon of St. Andrew of Crete tells how we repeat the sins and addictions of biblical characters, but do not have the strength and desire to follow the great martyrs. Our body indulges in sinful acts such as adultery without considering the consequences for the soul.
Song 8
The eighth song tells about people who were able to find the strength to repent and accept the Lord into their souls. So Andrey calls usrenounce the past sinful life and go towards God. At the end of the eighth song, the Old Testament is summed up - one must not repeat the sins of the biblical characters and strive to live like the righteous of this Holy Scripture.
Song 9
In the ninth canon of St. Andrew of Crete gives comparisons from the New Testament. Just as Jesus resisted Satan's temptation in the wilderness, so we must resist all temptations. Christ began to work miracles on earth, thus showing that everything in this world is possible. The main thing is to believe and live according to the commandments of the Lord, and then our soul can be saved on the Day of Judgment.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, 9 songs are also read. Since the first days of the creation of the world, there have been people who glorified the Lord our God with their deeds. Andrew calls on people to repent of their sins and become like those saints in everyday life. Praise the name of the Lord by doing deeds worthy of it. Also remembered in the songs are great sinners who turned their backs on God, gave priority to material goods, or succumbed to the temptation to try the forbidden fruit. The Lord punished them according to their merit for their deeds. So our soul after death awaits the day of judgment, on which it will not be possible to lie, it will not be possible to hide our atrocities with some imaginary excuses. Therefore, Andrew calls on us to repent during our lifetime, ask the Lord for the forgiveness of sins and strive to change our actions for the better. Learn to resist temptation. There is nothing difficult in this. Just by remaining human, you will see that most of the commandments of the Lord indicate to live without envy and gluttony, without betrayal anddesire to receive someone else's.
Thursday
On this day of Great Lent, the last part of the canon is read. As in previous songs, virtues are sung here and the sins of mankind, which have been committed over the centuries, are condemned. Also in this part they appeal to the Lord, Jesus, the Virgin Mary with a request to forgive sins and give them the opportunity to repent.
Also, the canon of St. Andrew of Crete teaches to admit one's mistakes, not to look for blame for a bad life in others. Accept your sinfulness as a proven fact. But that doesn't mean you have to put up with it. On the contrary, admitting guilt is the first step towards forgiveness. If we stop now, we have a chance of eternal life after death.
It is when the canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read, during Great Lent, that we have the opportunity to realize our sins and start a new life. A life that will please God. Then humanity will be able to feel grace, peace and wait for the day of judgment with peace of mind.
