Metropolitan Vladimir of Chisinau and all Moldova celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Metropolitan Cathedral on the Sunday of the Prodigal son.
This is the second preparatory Sunday before the beginning of Great Lent.
Concelebrating to the first hierarch of the Orthodox Church of Moldova was Bishop Ioan of Soroca, Metropolitan Vicar. The arch-pastors were assisted at the Liturgy by archpriest Vadim Cheibas, metropolitan secretary and Cathedral Dean, and numerous priests and deacons of the holy shrine.
Liturgical responses were provided by the metropolitan choir directed by Angela Angheni.
The Sunday Gospel Reading presents a passage from the Gospel of Luke (15: 11-32), where Lord Jesus Christ tells a parable about the Prodigal son, who, after a period of delusion and sinful life, comes to his senses and decides to return to his Father.
The parable associates the prodigal son and his parent with the humanity that abandons God, but, coming to senses, decides to return to the Heavenly Father. This act of coming to one’s senses means repentance. In Greek, the word repentance (metanoia) means changing of one’s mind, of one’s way of thinking, showing that true repentance is possible only when one decides to abandon previous vicious state and improve his spiritual life, returning to the Source of life – God.
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