On this second preparatory Sunday before the Honorable and Great Fast, the Holy Church presents to us one of the most sublime and comforting parables of Christ—the story of the Prodigal Son and the Merciful Father. This divine narrative of fall and repentance, human weakness, and the boundless love of the Heavenly Father is a spiritual call for each of us to return to the house of grace and salvation. It assures us that no matter how far we may have wandered, there is always a path back to sonship and freedom, and that the loving eyes of God are always watching for our return.
This year, the Sunday of the Prodigal Son in our Monastery was enriched by a special blessing—the visit of His Eminence, Metropolitan Mark of Berlin and Germany. With the blessing of His Beatitude, Archbishop Stephen of Ohrid and Macedonia, this esteemed hierarch traveled to our Holy Monastery, accompanied by his honorable delegation, which included two priests and a group of about twenty Orthodox faithful from Germany.
Bishop Mark, a native of Germany, had long desired to visit the Orthodox sanctuaries of Macedonia, particularly the Bigorski Monastery, about which he had heard many times. He was, at one time, a colleague and friend of our great philologist, Blazhe Koneski, with whom he shared a deep love for language and spirituality.
With spiritual joy, the hierarch presided over last night’s vigil, and this morning, in the monastic spirit of silence and prayer, he officiated the Divine Eucharist, concelebrating with our beloved Elder, Bishop Parthenius of Antania, and the brotherhood of clergy.
After the reading of the Holy Gospel, Elder Bishop Parthenius delivered a divinely inspired sermon, speaking about the ineffable love of God, which calls us back from our wanderings in the distant lands of sin, and about the joy of the Heavenly Father, Who always welcomes us back into His embrace.
At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Bishop Mark also addressed the faithful, speaking about obedience as the foundation of the Christian life, highlighting Saint Simeon the God-Receiver, whose feast was celebrated that day, as an example of a life filled with trust and surrender to the will of God.
This spiritual encounter was truly a blessing for our Monastery, filled with love, communion, and repentant joy, all of which prepare us for the holy ascetic journey of the Fast—the path of returning to the house of our Heavenly Father.
