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Father, I have asked questions in the past and you have always replied with answers that have been helpful and I appreciate it so much. I am hoping you can shed some information on another question. I am Eastern Orthodox. At the start of lent, we have a service called  "Forgiveness Sunday" where each person asks forgiveness from each other person which ends with kissing each other on the cheeks three times. I really do not like the idea of men and women hugging and kissing who are not married. What is the correct way of looking at this? Also, do the Coptic Orthodox have this same tradition and is there any historical basis for it? Am I looking at this wrongly?

The Coptic Orthodox Church does not have this particular tradition pertaining to one specific day. Every Sunday and every Divine Liturgy should be "Forgiveness Sunday". The Lord Jesus Christ taught us, "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (Matthew 5:23-24). During the "Liturgy of the Faithful," the priest chooses one of several "Prayers of Reconciliation". Then, the deacon says, "Greet one another with a holy kiss". At this time, the people greet each other by placing both hands within each other's. It is important to note that men and women do not sit together in the Coptic Orthodox Church. The church faces the east (Ezekiel 8-10,43; cf. Matthew 21:1-11,24:27), and men sit on the north side of the pews (left), and the women sit on the southern (right) side, "Kings' daughters are among Your honorable women; At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir" (Psalm 45:9). All Apostolic Churches practice this significant liturgical tradition of greeting one another with a holy gesture, but may respectively differ in how it is practiced, whether by a handshake, an embrace, or a kiss on the cheek. Nonetheless, this exchange is intended to be with pure intentions. However, if you are uncomfortable with these exchanges, you need not attend that Liturgy, if your confession father approves. Make peace and offer forgiveness to all whom you have offended and those you have offended you, and take these transgressions to your confession father to absolve you. Forgiveness is a powerful virtue that we all must strive to achieve, as we say in the Lord's Prayer: "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12).