On the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, His Eminence Metropolitan Vladimir celebrated the Holy and Divine Liturgy in the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Nativity of the Lord in Chisinau.
Together with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Moldova, prayers were offered by the Metropolitan Secretary and the Cathedral Dean, Protopriest Vadim Cheibas.
During the Divine Liturgy, the fragment of the Gospel of St Luke (chapter 15, verses 11-32) was read, in which the parable of the prodigal son’s return is told.
According to justice, the prodigal son had to be punished, and according to the mercy and love of the Father, he was forgiven, because the value of the person, of the soul of man is greater than what he can do in a certain period of his life, even if he commits sin. When the soul of fallen man decides to rise up from sin and ask God for forgiveness, the merciful Father recovers, lifts up, revives, gives life to those who repent. First we see that the repentance of the prodigal son is one that comes from a hard trial. And this shows us that we generally repent when we go through hardship.
Today’s Gospel prepares us for the Holy and Great Lent, it calls us to think about what we have wasted in our lives in sin, in alienation from God, in selfish passions, having been able to gather in our souls, in exchange for these, through prayer and good works, light and riches of the soul that no one will take from us.
During the divine service, the Hierarch officiated two ordinations: deacon Ghenadie Valuță was ordained priest and appointed toin the parish of Holy Great-Martyr Demetrius from the town of Anenii Noi, and subdeacon Capiton Catan, graduate of the 2017 class of Chisinau Orthodox Seminary, was ordained deacon for the Metropolitan Cathedral.
Next Sunday the Orthodox Church will celebrate the Sunday of the Dreadful Judgement, or the Meet-fare Sunday.
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