Second Sunday of Great Lent (Garbo - Lepers’ Sunday 26th February 2023), is called Garbo Sunday (Garbo Means Leper in Syriac) This Sundays Gospel describes yet another wonderous sign by our Lord Jesus Christ – Cleansing of the Leper.
Of all the (61) defilement mentioned in the Old Testament, leprosy was only second to death in gravity. In Jewish tradition it is considered Leprosy as a direct punishment of one's sins, thus isolating lepers from the community.
The Malankara Orthodox Church prescribes reading on the Gospel thrice (Vespers, Martins & Holy Qurbana) on all Sundays and Feast Days. For this Sunday all the three Gospel readings are about this incident which is mentioned in all the synoptic gospels (for Mathew, Mark & Luke) with profuse similarity. This is because the Gospel describes this event as a ‘cleansing’ (instead of a ‘healing’). This gives an explicit indication that cleanliness (of one’s heart) leads to healing.
The Gospel also tells how the leper ‘bowed’, ‘knelt’ and ‘fell’ before Christ. Thus, the church urges us to kneel (prostrate) before the Lord, asking him to cleanse our sins and to heal through the season of Great Lent.
We joyously hosted and celebrated the inaugural Sunday School Convocation, commemorating the outstanding achievements of our graduates.
The first period of our liturgical year begins at the end of October or at the beginning of November, on the Sunday between October 30th and November 5th. It is the beginning of the Orthodox Church calendar. This Sunday is called Koodhosh-Eetho Sunday. It means to “sanctify or purify the church.
We invite you to join our church in prayerfully and devotedly honouring Holy Week as we get closer to the holiest season of the year.