On the evening of Cheesfare (Forgiveness) Sunday, 2 March 2025, the first Lenten Vespers, called the “Vespers of Forgiveness,” was celebrated in an atmosphere of deep reverence at the Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady in Sydney.
The Service was officiated by Archbishop Makarios of Australia, who was joined by Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis and Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia, Chief Secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod, as well as by the Chancellor of the Holy Archdiocese, Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne Christophoros Krikelis, and by other clergy of the city of Sydney.
Present also in the greatly crowded Cathedral were the Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Ioannis Mallikourtis, Theo Penklis, Archon of the Great Church of Christ and Vice-President of the Archdiocesan Council, Elia Economou, President of the Parish of St. Spyridon, Sydney and Vice-President of the Intercommunities Council of New South Wales, among others
During the Service, the Encyclical of Archbishop Makarios for the beginning of Holy and Great Lent was read by Their Graces the Bishops, in Greek and English. “The call of our Church for Great Lent,” it emphasised, among other things, “is repentance, which refers to a continual journey, a steady reorientation of our existence towards Christ.”
At the end of the Vespers, His Eminence appropriately wished all those present for the spiritual period of Lent and exchanged, according to the tradition of our Church, the embrace of love and forgiveness with the Bishops, the clergy and the devout faithful.
