Forgiveness Sunday • Orthros & Divine Liturgy • February 22, 2026 скачать в хорошем качестве

Forgiveness Sunday • Orthros & Divine Liturgy • February 22, 2026

Forgiveness Sunday • Orthros & Divine Liturgy • February 22, 2026 Matins Gospel Reading : Luke 24:1-12 Epistle Reading : St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 13:11-14; 14:1-4 Gospel Reading : Matthew 6:14-21 MEMORY VERSE: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21) WHAT HAPPENED IN THE BIBLE STORY? Jesus taught His disciples that forgiveness is not optional, because refusing to forgive shuts a person off from God’s mercy. He also warned them not to turn fasting into a performance for others, but to do it quietly and sincerely for God, who sees everything. Finally, He told them not to build their life on money and possessions that can be lost, but to build up lasting treasure with God. What we value most will guide our hearts. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Great Lent is a holy season when the Church invites us to deepen our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We start by examining our hearts and seeking true repentance. As members of the Body of Christ, we do not struggle alone. Jesus calls us to forgive and be reconciled with one another, especially before approaching the Holy Eucharist. Christ also teaches that fasting should be humble and private, done for God rather than for attention, and joined to prayer as a way to rely on Him and grow in self-control. This practice is ancient. Throughout history, from the Prophet Moses and our Lord Jesus Christ to the Apostles and the Church today, prayer and fasting together have been strong tools against temptation and evil. As we enter Great Lent, let us turn our hearts to God, love our neighbor, and keep the fast with love Today we commemorate: • Forgiveness Sunday The Holy Fathers have appointed the commemoration of Adam's exile from the Paradise of delight here, on the eve of the holy Forty-day Fast, demonstrating to us not by simple words, but by actual deeds, how beneficial fasting is for man, and how harmful and destructive are insatiety and the transgressing of the divine commandments. For the first commandment that God gave to man was that of fasting, which the first-fashioned received but did not keep; and not only did they not become gods, as they had imagined, but they lost even that blessed life which they had, and they fell into corruption and death, and transmitted these and innumerable other evils to all of mankind. The God-bearing Fathers set these things before us today, that by bringing to mind what we have fallen from, and what we have suffered because of the insatiety and disobedience of the first-fashioned, we might be diligent to return again to that ancient bliss and glory by means of fasting and obedience to all the divine commands. Taking occasion from today's Gospel (Matt. 6:14-21) to begin the Fast unencumbered by enmity, we also ask forgiveness this day, first from God, then from one another and all creation. • The Finding of the Precious Relics of the Holy Martyrs in the Quarter of Eugenius The holy relics of these Saints were found in the quarter of Constantinople called Eugenius when Thomas was Patriarch of that city (607-610). • Our Righteous Fathers Thalassius and Baradatus • Anthousa the Martyr & her 12 Servants