On Sunday, March 2, 2025, in the afternoon, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the First Lenten Vespers (Vespers of Forgiveness) at the Patriarchal Church.
At the conclusion, the Hierarchs in attendance, along with the fathers of the Patriarchal Court, clergy, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the faithful, paid their respects to the Ecumenical Patriarch, seeking his forgiveness as a spiritual preparation for entering the sacred period of Holy and Great Lent.
On the morning of the same day, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the Divine Liturgy, attended by Metropolitans Chrysostomos of Myra, Apostolos of New Jersey, and Ioakeim of Bursa, along with clergy, Greece’s Minister of Labor, Niki Kerameus, Archons Offikalioi, local believers from Constantinople, and numerous pilgrims from abroad.
After the Gospel reading, the Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod, Archimandrite Bosporios, read the Catechetical Homily of the Ecumenical Patriarch for the commencement of Holy and Great Lent.
Immediately afterward, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew met with Minister Niki Kerameus, who is on a private pilgrimage visit to Constantinople with her family.
