On the occasion of the opening of the renovated Holy Temple of Agia Paraskevi Vathyrryakos, of the First Diocese of Derkon, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew referred to the historic debt of the Romanism of the city to preserve the heritage of our ancestors.
“As an Orthodox Greek community in the city, we have a heavy historical heritage and we must all, with no exceptions, rise to the level of today’s difficult circumstances and emerge worthy of our responsibility. The difficult are for the brave. After all, the Romanism of the City has always been distinguished for its love and attention to the temples, the pilgrimages and the holy water, which it adorns and beautifies, even from its afterlife, and around which its whole life is woven. The Church is the Center not only of the Orthodox Christian Community, but also of the whole life of the Roman of the City “.
With these reasons, among others, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in his speech, after the Sanctification of the doors of the renovated I.N. Agia Paraskevi Vathyrryakos and the Divine Liturgy, in which he then officiated, on the Sunday before Christmas, December 19, 2021, described the timeless and unshakable relationship of the Roma of the city with the Church, urging everyone to continue to help in every way in the maintenance of the sacred temples and foundations of Romiosyni.
“Can you imagine our life here, dear children of the Lord, without the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and away from the church of your Community? It is impossible! Hence the sacred duty of all is to always contribute to the maintenance and the dignified and solemn appearance of our holy temples, which will show our housekeeping and piety and nobility, these characteristics of our Nation, which should never we forget. We hope that this renovating wind will continue for the good of the holy temples and the auspicious foundations of this Province and of the Greek Diaspora in general “.
Referring previously to this sacred debt “of the continuation of the work of our fathers”, the Patriarch pointed out, on the occasion of the renovation of I.N. of Agia Paraskevi, that “the number of parishioners of Vathyrryakos may be small, but we Roman Orthodox, and in fact in this Pauline, never evaluated or based our lessons on numbers, because history teaches us that” ουκ εν τω πολλώ το ευ, αλλ ‘εν τω ευ το πολύ’ ‘και ότι ο Θεός δύναται και’ ‘εκ των λίθων εγείραι τέκνα τω Αβραάμ’ ‘(Ματθ. γ´, 9) ».
He even expressed the satisfaction of the Mother Church and himself personally to all those who contributed morally and materially to the renovation of the church, led by the Metropolitan Elder Derkon Apostolos, whom he congratulated “and for today, which is the fruit of unrelenting and sacrificial love to the Church, and for all your rich and fruitful pastoral work for ten years, which is distinguished by the love and affection for the “little flock” of this historic Holy Metropolis, as well as your elegance and zeal for steady continuation of our sacred traditions “.
His Holiness praised and thanked the abbot of I.M. St. Dionysios, Mount Athos, the chairman of the Community Ephorate Committee, Elias Aivatoglou, and his associates, the Christian Foundation “Timios Prodromos” of Cyprus, as well as the families of the Archon Doritos of the Holy Metropolis of Derkos and Derinos, Konstantinos of George and Martha Sapoutzis, for their significant financial contribution and for all their assistance in order to carry out the renovation of the Holy Temple of Agia Paraskevi.
Concluding his speech, the Patriarch expressed his warmest wishes to all, for the holidays of Christmas and the Twelfth Day, and urged all those who have the opportunity, “especially during these Holy Days, to help those in distress and as good Samaritan to take care of the wounds of pain and misery “.
Earlier, His Holiness was addressed by the Metropolitan of Geron Derkon Apostolos, who stated that from the first moment he was assigned the pastorate of the historic Diocese of Derkon, he began the efforts to renovate the Church of Agia Paraskevi, which had suffered the consequences of time and “suffered” from the tragic events of September 1955. He expressed his joy that the completion of the works coincided with the completion this year of thirty years of the Patriarchate of His Holiness, and thanked all those who contributed in every way to carry out the rescue work.
The chairman of the Ephorate Committee, Elias Aivatoglou, an ophthalmologist, also referred to the work of the ecclesiastical community of Vathyrryakos, asking for His Holiness’ blessing for the continuation of the efforts and the general ministry of its members.
In the sanctification of the openings and in the Divine Liturgy of I.N. Agia Paraskevi, the metropolitans of Geron Chalkidonos Emmanouil, Myron Chrysostomos and Ikoniou Theoliptos, the bishop of Arabissos Cassianos, the Lords Ofikiali of the Mother Church, the consul of Greece in Polosimos, Dimos and many believers.
The Ecumenical Patriarch at the Christmas dinner of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglou
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, responding to the invitation of the mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality of the city, Ekrem Imamoglou, attended a dinner he gave in honor of the Christian religious leaders of the city, last night, on the eve of Christmas.
His Holiness was accompanied by the Hierarchs of the Throne in the City, while Community agents of the Roman Community were also invited to the dinner.
Mayor Ekrem Imamoglou welcomed the leaders of the Churches and the representatives of all the Christian Communities of the City and wished all his fellow Christians a Merry Christmas.
His Holiness, in his speech, thanked the mayor for his specific initiative, as well as for his general interest in the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Roman community, but also for all the Christians of the city, while he did not fail to express his personal thanks. to Ekrem Imamoglou, for the warm words he expressed for his face in the documentary “Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Thirty years of ministry. “
The festive event began with church hymns of Christmas which were performed by members of the choir of the Association of Music Lovers Peran.
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