FEB 27: VESPERS OF FORGIVENESS – 12:00 PM.
On the afternoon of the Sunday of Forgiveness the Church conducts the first service of Great Lent, the Vespers of Forgiveness. On the Sunday of Forgiveness focus is placed on the exile of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, an event that shows us how far we have fallen in sin and separated ourselves from God. The service directs us further on the path of repentance and helps us to acknowledge our need for forgiveness from God and to seek forgiveness from our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the first time that the Lenten prayer of St. Ephraim accompanied by prostrations is read. At the end of the service all the faithful approach the priest and one another asking for mutual forgiveness. The following is a copy of the vespers from the Metropolitan Cantor Institute:
02-06-05CheesefareSundayAfternoonVespers
