Sunday of Forgiveness (Cheesefare)

This coming Sunday, March 14, is the Sunday of Forgiveness. It is also the 4th of the pre-Lenten Sundays and perhaps more commonly known as Cheesefare Sunday or simply Cheesefare. This Sunday remembers the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise, as well as marking the last day of eating cheese or cheese products until the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection on Pascha.

After the Divine Liturgy we will be celebrating a portion of Forgiveness Vespers, followed by the Rite of Forgiveness. Covid-19 precautions will be followed.

The Gospel reading for the Sunday of Forgiveness is Matthew 6:14-21. Building on the themes of the previous Sunday’s (repentance and judgement), we are now – as always – prompted to orient ourselves toward forgiveness and reconciliation.

As Fr. Alexander Schmemman reminds us:

Now, forgiveness stands at the very center of Christian faith and of Christian life because Christianity itself is, above all, the religion of forgiveness. God forgives us, and His forgiveness is in Christ, His Son, Whom He sends to us, so that by sharing in His humanity we may share in His love and be truly reconciled with God. Indeed, Christianity has no other content but love. And it is primarily the renewal of that love, a return to it, a growth in it, that we seek in Great Lent, in fasting and prayer, in the entire spirit and the entire effort of that season. Thus, truly forgiveness is both the beginning of, and the proper condition for the Lenten season.
Forgiveness Sunday | Orthodox Church in America