Patr. Daniel: Lent Is a School of Restraint and Repentance
Patr. Daniel taught that Great Lent is a spiritual school of repentance, calling believers to choose the Giver over His gifts through fasting, prayer, and humility.
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA — His Beatitude Patr. Daniel delivered a homily entitled “Lent Is a Spiritual School of Restraint and Repentance” during the Great Canon service on Monday, marking the first day of Great Lent. The service was celebrated in the historic St. Great Martyr George Chapel of the Patriarchal Residence.
Reflecting on the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, the Patriarch emphasized that fasting is a path to spiritual freedom—“a school of liberation from selfish passions and growth in virtues.” Citing St. Basil the Great, he noted that fasting was first instituted in Paradise as a test of obedience, inviting humanity to choose between the Giver and His gifts. True repentance, he said, requires prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and a change of life.
Patr. Daniel also explained the Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian, describing it as “an epiclesis of the Liturgy of Penance”—an invocation for the transformation of the repentant heart. Great Lent, he concluded, prepares the faithful for Pascha through humility, obedience, and renewed communion with Christ.
Previously, the UOJ reported that the Romanian Orthodox Church called for nationwide prayers for peace.
