Tuesday in the first week.
Lenten Triodion — translated by Mother Mary and Kallistos Ware
9 The D iary o f a Russian Priest (London, 19 6 7), p. 12 8 .
19 enable us, as the Triodion puts it, to ‘draw near to the mountain of prayer’ .10 Prayer and fasting should in their turn be accompanied by alms giving - by love for others expressed in practical form, by works of compassion and forgiveness. Eight days before the opening of the Lenten fast, on the Sunday of the Last Judgement, the appointed Gospel is the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matt. 2 ^ :3 1 - 4 6 ) , reminding us that the criterion in the coming judgement will not be
the strictness of our fasting but the amount of help that we have
given to those in need. In the words of the Triodion: Knowing the commandments of the Lord, let this be our way of life: Let us feed the hungry, let us give the thirsty drink, Let us clothe the naked, let us welcome strangers, Let us visit those in prison and the sick. Then the Judge of all the earth will say even to u s: ‘ Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you.’ 11 This stanza, it may be noted in passing, is a typical instance of the ‘ evangelical’ character of the Orthodox service-books. In common with so many other texts in the Triodion, it is simply a paraphrase of
the words of Holy Scripture.12
It is no coincidence that on the very threshold of the Great Fast,
Translated by Mother Mary and Kallistos Ware. Edition triodion.en.ware.