On Sunday, March 9, 2025, Archdiocesan District Chancellor Fr. Elias Villis, Fr. George Hazlaris, and the parish of the Church of Our Saviour in Rye, NY welcomed Archbishop Elpidophoros of America for the Lenten Contrition Vespers.
Also participating were clergy from across the Archdiocesan District along with members of the Archdiocesan District Byzantine Choir, who lent their beautiful voices to service.
The Contrition is a service of prayer focusing on repentance, forgiveness, and seeking God’s mercy.
The Vespers service will be held on Sunday evenings during the Lenten period in different parishes across the District.
During the homily Archbishop Elpidophoros drew attention to the root of the word κατάνυξις (contrition): νύξις means “to stab or cut as in piercing, and in ancient Greek, it also has the sense of bewilderment, as if you are shocked by the wound.” This experience of contrition “can be truly stupefying! Because we normally concentrate on the world around us, its problems and its problem-makers. We rarely look deep within and behold the workings of our inner universe, and this is why contrition is so valuable, even if it hurts a little to see ourselves as we really are.”
Photos: Orthodox Observer/Dimitrios Panagos
