Archbishop Elpidophoros of America celebrated Divine Liturgy on Forgiveness Sunday at Church of Our Savior in Rye, NY on Sunday, February 22, 2026.
He was welcomed by Archdiocesan District Chancellor Fr. Elias Villas, who is the presiding priest of the parish, Archons and community members.
For his remarks, he read the message of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for Holy and Great Lent saying, “Most honorable brother Hierarchs and blessed children in the Lord, Filled with sacred emotion, we enter once again, by God’s goodwill, into Holy and Great Lent, the arena of ascetic struggle, the time of fasting and repentance, of humility and prayer, of spiritual vigilance and love, with the eyes of our heart directed to the life-giving Cross of the Lord, which guides us all toward Holy Pascha that opens the gates of Paradise to the human race. This blessed period now opening before us constitutes an opportunity to comprehend once more the truth of asceticism according to Christ and its inseparable association with the Eucharistic realization of the Church, whose every expression and dimension is illumined by the light and joy of the Resurrection.”
His mother was also in attendance.
Photos by Orthodox Observer/Dimitrios Panagos
