In a deeply prayerful atmosphere, the First Lenten Vespers of the Holy and Great Lent—known as the Vespers of Forgiveness—was celebrated on the evening of Cheesefare Sunday, February 22, at the Holy Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Theotokos in Sydney.
Presiding at the service was Archbishop Makarios of Australia. Concelebrating in prayer were Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of St George at Yellow Rock, Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia, Archsecretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod, and Bishop Christoforos of Kerasounta, Protosyncellus of the Holy Archdiocese.
A large number of clergy from the city of Sydney also took part in the service, while numerous faithful filled the Holy Cathedral. Among those present was Athanasios Lamprou, Communications Adviser at the Public Diplomacy Office of the Consulate General of Greece in Sydney, who represented the Consul General, Georgios Skemperis, as well as Presidents and representatives of organisations and institutions of the Holy Archdiocese.
At the conclusion of Vespers, Archbishop Makarios addressed the faithful, speaking about the significance of the period of the Holy and Great Lent, which constitutes a challenge and an opportunity for the spiritual progress of believers.
As he noted at the outset: “This blessed period is a challenge for all Christians to become better—not in the ways the modern world presents to us, but to become better spiritually.”
The Archbishop then focused on one of the fundamental prerequisites for spiritual growth and elevation: repentance. After sharing a teaching story from the Gerontikon with the faithful, he encouraged them, in the course of their spiritual struggle during the Holy and Great Lent, to make sincere and heartfelt repentance their foremost concern.
Concluding, His Eminence offered a paternal appeal to all to walk this path without hatred, divisions or resentments. He wished them a fruitful spiritual struggle and, finally, according to custom, exchanged the kiss of forgiveness with the concelebrating bishops, clergy and faithful.
