The Triodion (, ; , ; , ), also called the Lenten Triodion (, ), is a

liturgical book A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official Church service, religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of ...

used by the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

churches. The book contains the

propers The proper (Latin: ''proprium'') is a part of the Christian liturgy that varies according to the date, either representing an observance within the liturgical year, or of a particular saint or significant event. The term is used in contrast to the ...

for the

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

period preceding Pascha (Easter) and for the weeks leading up to the fast. The canons for weekday

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn). The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which w ...

in the Triodion contain only three

ode An ode (from ) is a type of lyric poetry, with its origins in Ancient Greece. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structu ...

s and so are known as "triodes", after which the Triodion takes its name. The period which the book covers extends from the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee (the tenth week before Pascha: twenty-two days before the beginning of Great Lent), and concludes with the Midnight Office of

Holy Saturday Holy Saturday (), also known as Great and Holy Saturday, Low Saturday, the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday, Saturday of the Glory, Easter Eve, Joyous Saturday, the Saturday of Light, Good Saturday, or Black Saturday, among other names, is t ...

. The Triodion contains the propers for: * The Pre-Lenten period, begins with a week in which there is no fasting, including on Wednesdays and Fridays, which are normally kept as fast days throughout the year (with few exceptions). *The ''Apokreo'' marks the change of diet to the fasting practice of Lent: meat is no longer eaten after the "First Apokreo Sunday" (i.e. the 8th Sunday before Easter). (in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, the "Leave-taking from Meat") coincides with the

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

celebrations which, although officially discouraged by the Church as

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

remnants, are very popular. * The week following ''Apokreo'' is ''Tyrinĕ'' which culminates on ''Tyrinē'' Sunday (literally "Cheese Sunday" or "Second Apokreo Sunday") and just before

Clean Monday Clean Monday (, ''Kathara Deftera''), also known as Pure Monday, Green Monday or simply Monday of Lent is the first day of Great Lent throughout Eastern Christianity and is a moveable feast, falling on the sixth Monday before Palm Sunday whic ...

, where milk and dairy products can be consumed but not meat or eggs. * "Clean Monday" signifies the first day of "The Forty Days of Great Lent" (or "the Lenten Fast"), meals focus on a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

type diet including fish and exclusion of oil on certain days. Fasting ends on Good Friday and celebrations commence Easter/

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...

). This period also coincides with the springtime birth of new lambs. * Great and Holy Week (up to and including the Midnight Office of Great and Holy Saturday) In the edition of the Lenten Triodion used by the

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists ( Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

and those who follow the Ruthenian recension, the contents of the Triodion end with the service of

Lazarus Saturday Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Churches) refers to the moveable feast before Palm Sunda ...

and do not contain the services of

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

, which are to be found in the

Pentecostarion The Pentecostarion (, ; , , literally "Flowery Triodon"; ) is the liturgical book used by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches that includes the texts for the Paschal Season, but varies in exact span between different tradition ...

References

External links

Complete original text in the Greek language, Retrieved 2013-08-10
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130805064004/http://www.anastasis.org.uk/triodion.htm Snippets of the text in the English language, Retrieved 2013-08-10 {{Eastern Orthodox liturgical books Church Slavonic literature Eastern Orthodox liturgical books

See also

References

External links