Lenten Triodion

The Triodion (Gk., "book of three odes";  "penitential" or "fasting triodion") contains the special prayers and hymns used during the Great Fast.   The title Triodion refers to the small canons with only three odes which are sung at Matins on weekdays of the Fast.   Because the Pentecostarion is sometimes called a Triodion as well , the more specific title Lenten Triodion is often used to distinguish the two books.

Contents of the Triodion

The "time of the Triodion" (another name for the season of the Great Fast) begins with the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee.  This Sunday and the next Sunday, the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, have special hymns that prepare us for the Fast
Beginning with the following Saturday, the Triodion has proper hymns for every day through the end of the Great Fast:

The Saturday of the Departed
The Sunday of the Last Judgment (Sunday of Meatfare)
Monday through Friday of Cheesefare Week
Saturday of Cheesefare Week (Memory of the Holy Ascetics)
The Sunday of Forgiveness (Sunday of Cheesefare; the fast begins on Sunday evening)

The First Week of the Great Fast
The First Sunday of the Great Fast
The Second Week of the Great Fast
The Second Sunday of the Great Fast
The Third Week of the Great Fast
The Third Sunday of the Great Fast
The Fourth Week of the Great Fast
        On Thursday, the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is sung
        On Saturday, the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos is sung
The Fourth Sunday of the Great Fast
The Fifth Week of the Great Fast
The Fifth Sunday of the Great Fast
The Sixth Week of the Great Fast

The Great Fast comes to an end at sundown on Friday of the sixth week.  The next eight days, from Lazarus Saturday to Great and Holy Saturday, make up Great and Holy Week.


The end, and Glory be to God!!!