At the invitation of the editors of the German-language theological website “Feinschwarz.net”, Sergii Bortnyk has written an article reflecting on the meaning of Great Lent for Orthodox Christians, particularly during the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In particular, he wrote about the distinctive features of the academic programme at the Theological Academy and the tradition of monastic tonsure during the Lent. A significant portion of the text consists of reflections on Great Lent, based on Ilya Zabezhinsky’s book “The Diary of Great Lent”. In particular, he reflects on whether politicians and representatives of municipal services should be forgiven, on the relationship between the monastic rule of our tradition and the daily life of the laity, and on the dialectic of repentance and joy in the annual cycle of church services.
Sergii Bortnyk’s text concludes with two quotations from the Gospel of Matthew. On the one hand, “The kingdom of heaven is taken by force” (11:12), and on the other, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (11:28). Link to the publication in German is here – https://www.feinschwarz.net/in-die-ewigkeit-gerichtet/.
You can read the text of the mentioned reflections on our website in Ukrainian and in German:
- https://www.academic-initiative.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/velykyi_pist.pdf (in Ukrainian)
- https://www.academic-initiative.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/fastenzeit.pdf (in German)
