Forgiveness Sunday
The Holy Fathers have appointed the commemoration of Adam's exile from the Paradise of delight here, on the eve of the holy Forty-day Fast, demonstrating to us not by simple words, but by actual deeds, how beneficial fasting is for man, and how harmful and destructive are insatiety and the transgressing of the divine commandments. For the first commandment that God gave to man was that of fasting, which the first-fashioned received but did not keep; and not only did they not become gods, as they had imagined, but they lost even that blessed life which they had, and they fell into corruption and death, and transmitted these and innumerable other evils to all of mankind. The God-bearing Fathers set these things before us today, that by bringing to mind what we have fallen from, and what we have suffered because of the insatiety and disobedience of the first-fashioned, we might be diligent to return again to that ancient bliss and glory by means of fasting and obedience to all the divine commands. Taking occasion from today's Gospel (Matt. 6:14-21) to begin the Fast unencumbered by enmity, we also ask forgiveness this day, first from God, then from one another and all creation.
His Grace Bishop Gerasimos of Abydos served in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America for many years and taught at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. This book is a collection of the notes taken by Presbytera Mendrinos from the bishop’s Basic Orthodox Theology course. It also includes interviews from clergy who knew Bishop Gerasimos during his days residing on the campus of Hellenic College-Holy Cross.
On Monday, February 28, 2022 on behalf of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, His Grace Bishop Apostolos of Medeia accepted the invitation of Metropolitan Antony of Hierapolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA (Ecumenical Patriarchate) to participate in the PRAYER VIGIL FOR UKRAINE at the St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Memorial Church in Bound Brook, NJ.
On Friday, February 25, 2022, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America arrived in Thessaloniki, Greece in order to inaugurate a special five-part pilgrimage series organized by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in celebration of its one hundredth year.
