With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Ilarion, the clergy of the Western Eparchy gathered on the evening of March 23 to begin their annual clergy retreat in a spirit of prayer and repentance.

The retreat opened with the Matins service and the reading of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, a deeply penitential hymn of the Lenten season that calls the faithful to reflection, humility, and renewal.

His Eminence Metropolitan Ilarion presided over the service, joined in prayer by the clergy of the Western Eparchy and faithful in attendance. Together, they entered into the solemn and prayerful atmosphere that marks this sacred time of Great Lent.

The clergy retreat continues as an opportunity for spiritual renewal, brotherhood, and strengthening of pastoral ministry within the life of the Church.