21 March 2021

Academy celebrated the Triumph of Orthodoxy

On March 20 and 21, the Bishop of Zvenigorod Theodorite, Rector of the Moscow theological Academy, celebrated Sunday services and performed the rite of the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

The Triumph of Orthodoxy was established in the 9th century and manifested the victory over the iconoclasm.

Iconoclasts taught that icon worship is idolatry. They cruelly persecuted icon-worshipers by sending them to exile, torturing and even killing them. For more than 100 years, the Orthodox defended the doctrine about the image of the Savior, the Mother of God and saints. Holy fathers taught that the honor given to an image does not refer to wood or paints but to the one depicted on an icon. The Savior can be depicted because He came into the world.

In 843, Empress Theodora convened a Council in Constantinople, which restored the veneration of icons and condemned the iconoclastic heresy. On that day, a solemn procession of the priesthood and righteous parishioners went on with icons in their hands for the first time in decades of persecution. Empress Theodora arranged a great celebration that fell on the first week of the Great Lent. Since then, the Church has annually celebrated the restoration of the icon veneration also called the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

On March 20, the Bishop of Zvenigorod Theodorite officed an all-night vigil at the Intercession Academic Church. Dmitry Gorstka, a 4th year undergraduate student, delivered s sermon, which was dedicated to the recalling of death.

«If our actions, thoughts or deeds are filled with the recalling of death, it makes us constantly remember God. To remember Him is to live with Him. Who among us does not want this? Everyone do. If we do something, we have to do our best bringing it through the prism of remembrance of God. So, it is clear that mortal memory makes a useful tool to remember an eternal life with God and to prevent terrible or aggravating things in our earthly life».

On March 21, Bishop Theodorite celebrated the Divine Liturgy together with teachers and students in the priesthood at the Intercession Church of the Moscow Theological Academy.

After reading the Gospel, Bishop Theodorite addressed an assembly with his archpastoral word.After reading the Gospel, Bishop Theodorite addressed an assembly with his archpastoral word.

Ashraf Beyuk, a 4th-year undergraduate student, delivered a sermon. He spoke about how holy fathers taught about the icon veneration and called on the believers to study their faith in order to protect and keep it pure.

«St. John of Damascus, who was one of the defenders of icon-worshiping, says that the Law of Moses forbided depicting God, because no one has ever seen Him. However, when Jesus Christ incarnated, the law lost its power, and we can represent an image of the True man and the True God. Talking about icons of the saints and the Mother of God, John Damascene says that many people had a portrait of the king or his relatives. It is a sign of respect and remembering them. An icon reminds us their holy lives and deeds giving a chance to unfold a bit a mystery of an eternal life.

Today we venerate icons and holy relics with joy, glorify saints, the Mother of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. However, even nowadays so-called Christians reject icons and distort the teaching of the Church. So, to defend the Orthodox faith, we need to know it well.

The veneration of icons was preserved in the Church by the deeds and works of holy fathers. We have to study their legacy and the Holy Scriptures to make the Orthodoxy shine safely and brightly in our lives».

At the end of the service, Bishop Theodorite together with the academic clergy performed a rite of the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

After that, Hieromonk Vyacheslav (Sorokin), Vice-rector for educational work, took a word on behalf of the teachers, staff and students of the Academy and greeted the Bishop of Zvenigorod Theodorite on the day of his patron saint.