Ascent to Jerusalem
Fifth Week of Great Lent
Sermon by Priest Vasily, Community of St. Righteous Procopius of Ustyug, Syktyvkar
Priest Vasily congratulated the worshippers on their participation in the Divine Liturgy, and in his sermon said:
"...The fifth week of Great Lent reminds us again and again and brings us closer to Easter. And on this shortened path, we know that the Lord will not avoid the Cross and the crucifixion. And at the same time, every year the Church reminds us in its services, in its long-established order, that we remain like the brothers Zebedee, James and John, about whom, on the one hand, it was clearly stated that Christ would die in Jerusalem, to which they ascend, to which they go, without fail, without changing their path. This path is obligatory.
The ascent to Jerusalem, to Zion, an ascent like an ascension into heaven, they imply, as they do, the ascent to the Cross and the descent into hell. And when the Zebedee brothers answer the question of whether they can drink the cup and be baptized with the baptism that awaits the Savior, they answer: "Mozheva..."
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Russian Orthodox Church
2026 A.D.