The Patriarch of Romania, His Beatitude Daniel, issued a homily over the weekend, where noted that only prayer conducted with humility is received by God, speaking on the occasion of the pre-Lenten period leading up to the Great and Holy Week of Easter.
His Beatitude, the Primate of the Romanian Orthodox Church, also referred to the four consecutive Sundays, beginning with Sunday, Feb. 9, that prepare the faithful for the Great Lent.
The Patriarch of Serbia, His Holiness Irinej, also referred to the Pre-Lenten period, known by its ecclesiastical term as the Triodion, saying that the period of the Great Lent prepares us for the Resurrection of Christ.