Tomorrow, brothers and sisters, we embark on the journey of Great Lent. The Church has been preparing us for this special period over the past few weeks. Today’s Sunday is the last before the start of the Holy Forty Days and is dedicated to a very sorrowful event—the expulsion of our forebears from paradise. When we say that the history of humanity begins with the Fall, we mean, first and foremost, that all the descendants of Adam and Eve were born after their expulsion from paradise. Therefore, the entire human race, originating from our first ancestors, consists of people who have never known paradise or experienced life within it, for Adam’s sin closed the way for humanity.

Holy Scripture recounts the creation of the first humans and their life in paradise. The entire world created by God was perfect, and paradise was a special place where people lacked nothing.

People were also perfect, but not in the sense that they had no need for further perfection. Rather, they had no defects, flaws, or deficiencies that could hinder their path to deification. Today, for example, if we wish to do a good deed, pray, or contemplate God, we immediately face various difficulties: overwhelming fatigue, distracting emotions, pressing concerns, and worries. However, the original Adam and Eve had none of these obstacles. Nothing hindered them from ascending the ladder of divine union ever higher. This was the perfection of Adam and Eve.

Despite their perfection and their ideal surroundings, our ancestors were given commandments by God. The first of these was to cultivate the Garden. As Blessed Augustine says, «In the tranquility of a blessed life, where there is no death, all labor is the preservation of what one possesses.» Thus, work in paradise was not burdensome toil «by the sweat of one’s brow» (Gen. 3:19) but rather a light duty and a contemplation of the Creator’s works. The second commandment was the prohibition against eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was this commandment that our forebears transgressed, resulting in their expulsion from paradise.

God, foreseeing the Fall, had already predestined the salvation of humanity through the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity before the foundation of the world. In the Book of Revelation, Christ is referred to as «the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world» (Rev. 13:8).

But why has the Church established the remembrance of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from paradise on the eve of Great Lent? Why, for example, is today not dedicated to Christ’s forty-day fast before His public ministry or some other Gospel event? Great Lent is, in a way, a summary of all Sacred History; that is why it begins with the remembrance of the Fall and ends with Pascha—the day of salvation. Great Lent is a reminder of humanity’s journey from the Fall to Redemption.

Let us recall the biblical text: paradise contained many different trees, among them the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:9). The fact that these two trees grew side by side indicates their connection. The Tree of Life granted life, while the Tree of Knowledge granted wisdom. We cannot correctly understand what kind of knowledge is meant without considering the specific nature of biblical language. To «know good and evil» means to possess wisdom and the ability to discern. Thus, when King Solomon prayed, he said: «Give Your servant a discerning heart to govern Your people and to distinguish between right and wrong» (1 Kings 3:9).

Knowing good and evil means distinguishing between what is beneficial and what is not, and rejecting what is evil: «Turn from evil and do good» (Ps. 34:14). St. Maximus the Confessor says that the Tree of Knowledge granted the ability «to hold onto some things and avoid others.» And our forebears, of course, were meant to develop this ability in paradise.

Then why was the fruit, which was supposed to grant such important and necessary wisdom, forbidden? And why did Adam and Eve receive something entirely different than they had expected after eating it?

Let us recall the well-known words of the Apostle Paul regarding the mystery of Communion: «Let a person examine himself, then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body eat and drink judgment on themselves» (1 Cor. 11:28–29). The Apostle explains that a divine gift can be received unworthily, without proper preparation, and without self-examination, leading to the opposite of the intended blessing: one «eats and drinks judgment.» The same principle applies to the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. The issue was not the fruit itself, but the inner state of those who approached it.

Today is not only the day of remembrance of our forebears’ expulsion from paradise—it is also Forgiveness Sunday. On this day, before the beginning of Great Lent, we ask forgiveness from others and forgive in turn. Our Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly speaks about the necessity of forgiveness. But then why did the Creator not forgive Adam and Eve? Why did He not allow them to remain in paradise but instead banished them from Eden? God is love (1 John 4:16), and forgiveness is an expression of love. Why, then, did He not forgive them?

To answer this difficult question, we must return to Scripture. After the Fall, the Almighty asks Adam: «Where are you?» (Gen. 3:9). The All-Seeing and Omnipresent God, of course, knew where His fallen creation was. His words are not just a question but an invitation to repentance.

Explaining these words, St. Basil the Great writes: «The All-Seeing did not require information, but He wanted Adam to reflect on what he had been and what he had become.» It is not a question about Adam’s physical location but about his spiritual state.

Instead of repentance, instead of acknowledging his guilt and seeking to return, Adam does the opposite—he shifts the blame: «The woman You put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it» (Gen. 3:12). Eve follows the same path: «The serpent deceived me, and I ate» (Gen. 3:13). Is this shifting of blame true repentance? Does it even resemble remorse? Or even regret for what was done? No!

Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise because paradise was no longer paradise for them; it had become the place of their fall. They themselves wished to hide from the Lord.

Today, brothers and sisters, we do not have memories of paradise. No one, except the first people, has experienced life there. But we do have another important experience—the experience of lacking paradise, a longing, a spiritual dissatisfaction. From this sense of deprivation is born a great desire—a thirst for God, a search for the Lord: «My soul thirsts for God, for the living God» (Ps. 42:2). True repentance is born from this feeling, from this thirst, from this state.

The Church reminds us of this and leads us back to paradise—through fasting, through repentance, through the recognition of our sinfulness. All this is done so that when the Lord asks us, «Where are you?» we will not hide but will answer: «Here I am» (Gen. 22:1). «Lord, save my soul; save me by Your mercy» (Ps. 6:4). Amen!