Forgiveness Vespers: Great Lent Begins This Evening

February 22, 2026 · Liturgical Life · Parish Office

This Sunday evening is Forgiveness Vespers, the service that begins Great Lent. It starts with the bright, festive tone of a Sunday Vespers and shifts midway into the first somber notes of the Lenten season. At the end, the entire community will approach one another, one by one, to ask and receive forgiveness for all offenses of the past year, known and unknown. Many people find this the most difficult and most necessary service of the year. Great Lent begins tonight. Come ready for it.