On the evening of March 2, 2025, in the Week of Syropustnaya, commemoration of Adam's exile (Forgiven Sunday), His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia prayed for vespers and led the rite of forgiveness at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. After the dismissal of Vespers, His Holiness delivered a sermon.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!
Dear hierarchs, fathers and brothers, we have entered the field of Great Lent, a special time that requires a person to pay more attention to their spiritual life than usual, and to be more able to analyze their thoughts, words, and, of course, deeds. In a sense, fasting is a kind of school that develops the skills of careful observation of a person's self. Absorbed by the circumstances of life, distracted by everything that surrounds us, big and small, we devote very little time to ourselves. Not in the sense that we don't care what we eat, what to drink, what to wear, where to go and where to relax — not at all, we think about it enough and devote a lot of time to it. But from the point of view of introspection, we need to ask ourselves questions that would require a sincere, heartfelt response from us.
Undoubtedly, these questions should primarily concern what is happening in our lives. For example, there was a quarrel with someone. As usual, there is the least logic in a quarrel, the most emotion. People broke up, had a fight, and everyone, of course, considers themselves offended, and the other is just a bad person. But vigilant observation of oneself, if such a thing has developed in a person, can help him understand that not everything is so simple, that there is his fault in the conflict. And if you isolate this guilt from the general context, it may turn out that "I'm kind of more to blame than the other one."
Who among us is capable of such a thing? Of course, practically no one. And if this happens, we are surprised how people retain the ability to be critical of themselves even during conflict with others. But if we are really Christians and care about our soul, about eternal salvation, then we must understand that every conflict provokes us to sinful thoughts, words, and sometimes actions. As a matter of fact, conflicts provoke us to do things that we are incapable of doing in their absence. Life goes on peacefully, calmly, as if everything is fine, the mood is good — and suddenly there is a conflict, and in it all the bad things that are in us manifest themselves.
Therefore, whenever a conflict situation arises, everything must be done to resolve it. But if it is impossible to resolve, then at least after the end of the acute phase of the conflict, ask yourself: "What role did I play? To be completely honest?" And an honest answer will help us avoid similar mistakes in the future and avoid being involved in life situations that arise as a result of violating God's laws.
The time of Great Lent is a time of introspection, introspection, as I have already said. But self-observation, introspection, and simply exerting the will to not do one thing or the other is not enough. After all, not everyone has such a strong will to rely on it alone to change a lot in their lives. I've known many cases where people wanted to overcome addiction to a particular habit. From an external point of view, they were physically and intellectually strong people. But they could not overcome addiction, whether it was dependence on alcohol, smoking, swearing or other actions that could cause harm.
We rarely forget that someone said something bad about us or did something bad to us. But the less we think and the less often we remember bad deeds against us, the more spiritual peace we gain. In a sense, non—conflict is the right behavior from the point of view not only of God's law, but also from the point of view of the natural laws of maintaining health, mental and physical.
In other words, self-observation is an indispensable condition for a way of life and a way of thinking that would strengthen our faith so that it would bring good thoughts and good deeds. Strictly speaking, Lent, like every fast and every abstinence, is offered to people in order to take time out, as they say, to get out of the not always spiritually healthy context into which we are immersed due to various circumstances, and sometimes at our own will.
So, Lent is a special time. It's a time for reflection, introspection, and prayer. And since a person consists of a soul and a body, then the impact on the physical component of our being must be correct. And the more than a thousand-year-old tradition of limiting a person in physical food, what we call fasting, is a very important condition that helps a person focus on all his spiritual problems.
Fasting should mobilize our strength, not be a burden to us. And if someone is not able to, then you should go to the priest and say: you know, I do not have the strength to fast. And if this is your confessor, who knows you well, he will tell you what to do. For example, like this: "Please, do your best, exert your strength." And if the priest knows that his health is not good or that there are some stressful situations in his life, then he can soften the fast.
Of course, no one has the right to completely release a person from fasting without canonically justified conditions. But the confessor has the right to facilitate fasting for those for whom it is necessary from the point of view of health. So that the physical ailment does not worsen due to strict restrictions on eating or doing everything that requires Great Lent, including long prayers, staying in church, and so on. But such advice should be very wise and commensurate with the real spiritual and physical condition of a person. And it is better, of course, not to make any exceptions — as the holy fathers taught us to fast, as they laid it down in the church charter, and to observe.
I rarely say anything about my personal life, but in connection with the post I will say. The circumstances so happened that I was forced to start my career very early. I worked, studied at night school, and now Lent has come. Then I was 15 years old, as they say, the body was growing. And so I came to the dining room, because I was working and eating outside the house, I looked at the menu and saw that there was not a single lean dish, but there was some kind of incomprehensible name — "potato cracker". I had no idea what it was then. I looked at it — it was inexpensive, and I turned to the waitress: "I'll have two servings of potato cracker." They brought me a mountain of dried potatoes with obvious perplexity as to why the young man needed so many potatoes. Well, whether I wanted to or not, I finished these potatoes and never ordered a double portion again. But I am saying this to emphasize once again: if there is good will, then a person can fast in any circumstances. And my good will, of course, was shaped by my pious parents and forefathers, the whole atmosphere of my family's spiritual life.
I've never had a question about fasting or not fasting. But I know that most people have a slightly different family history, and there can be any impact on children from parents and on parents from children. So, I would like to give you some advice: if you are advised not to fast, you should always be very critical of these tips. Of course, if your physical condition requires high-calorie nutrition and relaxation is justified, including by doctor's advice, this is one thing. But if they say, for example, "A boy is studying at school, it's difficult for him — why should he fast?", I would advise such a boy not to agree to the advice of his parents. Our journey to the Kingdom of heaven begins with small deeds that we do in the name of Christ, very small ones. Because if we can't deny ourselves a little, we'll never deny ourselves more. If we do not have the skills of church discipline and self—restraint in the name of the highest goal - to achieve the Kingdom of God, if we do not develop such skills, then the goal will not be achieved.
That's why Lent is a special time. First, check yourself, because everyone can check what they are capable of, where their strength ends, where their will fails, where some feelings overwhelm and lead them astray. God grant that we all go through Lent in accordance with the church regulations. If someone has certain medical indications, then, with the blessing of the confessor, it is possible, of course, to soften the fast. And if there are no medical indications, but only your own reasoning, "they say, it's better for me not to fast, otherwise my health will suddenly be bad," then this is a false signal coming not from concern for your health, but from someone who would like to disturb your peace of mind and put an obstacle to your small but real feat. which undoubtedly contributes to your spiritual development.
And may the Lord help us to relate to fasting in this way and not in any other way, and may He give us all the strength to do so, as far as possible — again, I want to say that there may be age and health restrictions - in the field of Great Lent in accordance with how the Holy Orthodox Church blesses us to do this field.. Congratulations to all of you on the beginning of Holy Lent! God bless you!
Well, since today is a special day when we not only enter the field of Great Lent, but also ask each other for forgiveness, which is why the day is called Forgiven Sunday, I would ask you to forgive me. I am not personally acquainted with many of you, but my words and my deeds may cause displeasure and feelings that overshadow the state of mind. I would ask all of you to forgive me for what I have done, knowingly or unknowingly, perhaps causing spiritual pain to someone. Bless and forgive me, all-honorable fathers, brothers and sisters! May the Lord bless and have mercy on you all! Amen.