The head of the Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Tikhon, has issued a message to clergy and faithful marking the beginning of Great Lent, the principal preparatory season before Easter for Orthodox Christians.

In his address, published on the official website of the Church, Metropolitan Tikhon urged believers to use the Lenten period for inner reflection and spiritual growth. He noted that contemporary culture often encourages constant expression of opinions and emotional reactions to events, whereas Christian tradition emphasizes restraint, sobriety and spiritual discernment.

“Let us begin not with confidence in our own righteousness, but with humility and self-examination,” he wrote, recalling the words of the Apostle Paul about the need to “examine yourselves.”

The primate stressed that the meaning of fasting goes beyond abstaining from certain foods. “Christians seek not merely to reject evil, but to acquire goodness — to draw nearer to God,” he said, highlighting spiritual renewal as the central aim of the season.

Great Lent lasts seven weeks and precedes the celebration of Easter, the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. Its dates change annually, as Easter is calculated according to ancient ecclesiastical rules established in the fourth century. In 2026, Orthodox Christians will celebrate Easter on April 12, with Great Lent beginning on February 23.

The Orthodox Church in America follows the Revised Julian calendar for most fixed feasts, meaning many church holidays coincide with widely observed dates in the United States and Canada. However, Easter and related periods, including Great Lent, are calculated according to the traditional Julian Paschalion, which often results in Orthodox Easter falling on a different date than Catholic and Protestant observances.