Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Chicago
"Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God." — Romans 15:7
Lenten message from Fr Nephon Tsimalis
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,
As Holy and Great Lent begins, the Church opens her doors wider and invites us into her prayer. Lent is given to us as time to return, to listen, and to let the Lord reshape the heart. When we come to the services, we receive more than instruction. We receive the grace of worship, the language of repentance, and the warmth of belonging to one another in Christ.
The Presanctified Liturgy stands at the center of our weekdays. Its quiet psalms, its humble bows, and the solemn bringing forth of the Precious Gifts teach us to hunger for God with sincerity. In a world that trains the mind to rush and the heart to harden, this service gathers us into stillness and offers us Holy Communion as strength for the days of fasting. The Salutations to the Mother of God give us another kind of help. Week by week, the Church places on our lips the praise of the Theotokos, and through that praise we learn trust, tenderness, and courage. We bring our families, our wounds, and our hopes before her, and we ask her to pray with us as a mother who knows the way to her Son.
I invite you to give this Lent your presence in our historic Cathedral. Come for the Presanctified Liturgies and the Salutations. Come also for the services of Saturday and Sunday, for Great Vespers, Orthros, and the Divine Liturgy. These synaxes of prayer form us quietly and truly. They soften the hardened heart of religiosity, and they awaken a heart that loves, forgives, and gives thanks. As we learn to pray with the Church, our love for the Church grows, because we experience her as our home in Christ and our place of healing.
May the Lord grant us a Lent of true growth, a Lent of return and transformation, and may He bless each step of repentance with His peace.
Prayerfully yours,
† Archimandrite Nephon Tsimalis
Dean, Annunciation Cathedral
Schedule of Services
Veneration of the Holy Relic of St. Raphael ofLesbos
© 2026. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral
1017 N. LaSalle Blvd., Chicago, IL 60610-2604 | (312) 664-5485 | https://www.annunciationcathedralchicago.org/
V. Rev. Archimandrite Nephon Tsimalis, Dean