The first Sunday of Great Lent, called the Triumph of Orthodoxy, was celebrated at the Nativity of the Lord Cathedral in a Divine Liturgy officiated by His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir and the clergy of the Cathedral.
The Divine Liturgy culminated with an impressing sermon, when the church-goers were told about the importance of this day and about each Christian’s responsibility as limb of the One Holy Universal and ApostolicChurch.
The Sunday of Orthodoxy is specifically important for this is when all Orthodox breathing prays for all those who fell off from the Church, so that they all return to the Christ’s Body. This is the day celebrating the victory over iconoclasm, gained at the 7th OEcumenical Council in 787 and reinforced at the Council of 843. The service of this day commemorates the restoration of worship of icons in the Church Typicon and in the life of Christians.
This very significant day was a true holiday bearing strong symbolism for deacon Vitalie Golban, who was ordained priest.
On this beautiful occasion, the Archpastor of the Moldovan Church urged father Vitalie to be a true and fearless confessor of the Orthodox Faith, following the example of ever-commemorated fathers of the Orthodox Church who, with the cost of their own lives, preached the teaching of Christ and remained unshakable in their faith, bringing entire nations to the baptism of salvation.