Today, 7 March 2011, the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, celebrated the service of the Great Canon of Saint Andrew the Cretan, at the Patriarchal Cathedral of Bucharest, assisted by a group of priests and deacons.

The service of the Canon began at 16.00 hours, in the Cathedral, in the presence of hundreds of faithful.

To end with the service, His Beatitude delivered a sermon in which he underlined, among other things, the importance of fasting in the life of the faithful, showing that it is a sign of man’s love for God.

“We fast in order to pray more and better, we fast to repent more intensely, more sincerely and more humble, we fast to have the Holy Communion more often. We fast not because we follow some strict rules, imposed by the Church, but because we love God more than the gifts He gives us. We love Him, the Giver, more than our material food, than our convenience, or than our success. So, fasting is a sign of our love for God”, said the Patriarch of Romania as Trinitas Radio station informs us.

This canon is a liturgical hymn made up of several lines (over 250) organised in 9 chants. Every chant begins with an irmos (a stanza that announces the following lines) and ends with two praises of honour, one addressed to the Holy Trinity and one to the Mother of God. This hymn is better known as the “Great Canon”, not only for the great number of lines, but also for the depth of its theological teaching. The richness and beauty of the canon represent for faithful an urge to repentance and to Bible meditation. Many personalities of the Old Testament who served God with much devotion are especially evoked; so, the faithful are urged to be hospitable like Abraham, patient like Job, diligent like James for the fulfilment of the desires they have, and fasters like Moses.

The Canon of Saint Andrew the Cretan is celebrated during the first and fifth week of the Lent. During the first week it is divided into four parts from Monday till Thursday, while Wednesday, the fifth week, it is complete.