The Eastern Orthodox Lent always begins on Monday, which is designated as "Clean Monday", the day when Orthodox faithful begin a spiritual and moral purification through fasting, prayer, meditations, repentance, attending Lenten religious services and partaking of the Sacraments of Confession and Communion.
Observing 40 days of Great Lent means "to change our lifestyle, go to church more often and receive the Holy Sacraments," the patriarch said in his message. "But the most important thing is to work on ourselves — seven weeks of work on the most fertile and the most important holy soil — the soil of overcoming our weaknesses. No spiritual growth and no other growth will be possible without it," he added.
During the first week of Lent, the Russian patriarch will hold special services twice a day in churches and monasteries in Moscow and the Moscow region.
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