Today Sunday of Forgiveness, also known as Cheesefare Sunday, is the last of the preparatory Sundays before Great Lent.
The name of the day, which is the same for the previous week as well, derives from the fact that the faithful are allowed to eat eggs and dairy (but not meat) in order to ensure a smooth transition to the period of intense fasting during Great Lent.
On the one hand, today we commemorate Adam’s and Eve’s expulsion from Paradise because they disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The reason for remembering this tragic event is obvious since the faithful express their love to God through their obedience to the commandment of fasting. The consequences of Adam’s and Eve’s lack of self-restraint and disobedience are precisely what the faithful seek to avoid, with humility and love. Through the spiritual race, fasting and other spiritual struggles, the faithful aim at a blessed life of love and peace with God on their side.
On the other hand, on the evening of the Sunday of Forgiveness, the Church conducts the “Vespers of Forgiveness”. Believers seek forgiveness from their brothers and sisters in order to be able to follow the path of virtue as we get closer to Easter.
Source: Church of Cyprus