The Great Lent: A Period of Contemplating the Crucifixion of Christ

Fr. Barouyr Shernezian

The Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church places the holy resurrection of Jesus Christ at the very center of its faith and teachings. This fundamental belief shapes not only our theology but also our worship, our art, and our daily spiritual practice. For this reason, in Armenian Church tradition, whether in our sacred spaces or liturgical life, we never depict Jesus on the cross. The crosses used in our liturgical services and adorning our churches are always empty, bearing only the sign of the cross itself. While one might occasionally find a depiction of Christ on the cross as an image or icon rather than a sculpture, this is the exception rather than the rule. This practice carries profound meaning: it serves as a constant reminder to believers that Jesus rose from the dead. He is no longer on the cross. Every Sunday, through the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, we proclaim the holy resurrection of Christ. When we declare "Glory to Christ" in our services, we actively remember and participate in His victory over death.

            The Great Lent in the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church tradition represents a deliberate and meaningful shift- a turning of our spiritual attention from the resurrection toward the cross. This period of forty-plus days invites us to refocus our hearts and minds on Christ's crucifixion so that we might more deeply appreciate and understand what it truly means that Jesus rose from the dead for us. Several liturgical changes mark this sacred season. During the Great Lent, the curtain of the sanctuary is closed, and an icon or picture of Christ's crucifixion is placed before the holy altar. This powerful symbol reminds us of the moment of Christ's death, when the curtain separating humanity from the Holy of Holies was torn. The closed curtain during Lent helps us understand that through His sacrifice, through His blood shed on the cross, Jesus did not simply open the curtain but tore it open. He split it, granting us access to God not through our own worthiness but through His abundant mercy. We were not deserving, by our behavior or our lives, to have that curtain between God and us opened.

            During the morning service preceding the Divine Liturgy, the Gospel readings transition from those focused on the Holy Temple to narratives of Christ's crucifixion, referred to as “Khacheloutyan Avedaran.” Even in the Service of the Oil-Bearing Women, the readings do not recount the resurrection but instead focus on the crucifixion and entombment of Christ. During the Divine Liturgy, when “Sourp Asdvadz” is sung, the phrase “Vor Khatchetsar” (“whom you crucified…”) is included. Additionally, throughout Great Lent, congregants do not partake in the Holy Eucharist or Holy Communion. This practice helps us understand what it means to feel separated from God, to experience, in a small way, what it was like before Christ, when humanity could not communicate directly with God. Not only was the curtain closed, but we did not have the grace of receiving His body and blood into our very existence. This period helps us feel, in a limited way, what it meant to be excommunicated from God before Christ's sacrifice.

            These are but a few examples of the simple yet profound changes we make during Great Lent. They guide us to walk with Christ through the most difficult path He took for us, for our sins, so that He might freely grant us a new life of resurrection, paid for with His body and blood. This is also a time to understand how deeply sin can negatively impact our lives. We who always celebrate the resurrection can easily take Christ's victory for granted. The Great Lent calls us to contemplate that Jesus paid an extraordinary price to secure our freedom from sin and death. As the Apostle Paul teaches us, our lives are a participation in both the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20) But without truly understanding the crucifixion, we cannot fully grasp the resurrection.

            This is why the tradition of the Great Lent in the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church differs from that of other churches. It is also why we have preserved this tradition without reform. When we journey through all the stages of the Great Lent, through each Sunday and each liturgical change, we embark on a path with Christ that leads through the cross to the climax of His life: the resurrection that changed the course of humanity and the course of our own lives. And we receive this journey through His grace. I pray that every one of us may benefit from this beautiful tradition of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church. May we fully participate in Jesus' life and ministry. May we contemplate the sufferings of Christ, sufferings that He endured because of us and for us, so that we may truly appreciate the life gifted to us by Christ. For it is from the empty tomb that our lives truly begin with the resurrection.