According to the Armenian Church liturgical calendar, the season of Great Lent begins on the Monday following Boun Barekendan.
This sacred period lasts forty days, concluding on the Saturday before Palm Sunday, commemorating the Lazarus resurrection, and followed by the Sacred Fast of Holy and Great Week (Passion Week).
Throughout the entire season of Great Lent, the Church prepares the faithful to receive, with profound reverence, the joyful news of the glorious Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to partake in the Holy Eucharist. During this time, the faithful observe abstinence from certain foods, especially those derived from animals.
On nearly every Sunday of Great Lent, as prescribed by the Armenian Church calendar, the faithful hear the Gospel parables to serve as spiritual awakenings. Like the ringing of church bells, these parables call the faithful to remain vigilant in their faith.
During this time, every believer is called to distance themselves from sin through repentance and penance, purify their soul from sin, and remain ever-vigilant, always prepared for the Lord’s Coming, much like the wise virgins.
In the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord commands: “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The season of Lent is a time for spiritual perfection, reconciliation with God, and the restoration of harmony with Him. These perfections, as exemplified in God’s image and likeness, are the ideals to which all Christians strive. As the Apostle Paul so profoundly expressed at the close of his earthly journey:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. “ (2 Timothy 4:7-8).