A Greek hagiographer in Munich painted the icon of “Saint Koronida” which was placed with all formality in the homonymous catholic chapel on the outskirts of the Bavarian capital, as an eternal companion in the prayers of the faithful for the salvation of humanity from the coronavirus.
The chapel of Agia Korona / Stefanida was built in a small forest in the town of Arget, a few kilometers outside Munich, in 1648, at a time when cholera was sweeping Europe and many people lost their lives in the then pandemic. In fact, even today at the entrance of the city stands a memorial column that refers to the event with the inscription: “Cholera column in Arget. Monument from the middle of the 17th century. In memory of the victims of the cholera era around 1635 “.
The connection of the plague of cholera in the 17th century with the miraculous intervention of Agia Korona (1599) and the construction of its chapel (1648) prompted the faithful to flock to the church to pray to Agia Korona / Stefanida to rid them of the crown storm that sweeps humanity.
Thus, when the coronavirus pandemic invaded Bavaria and Munich in 2020, the Greek Orthodox priests of the Parish of All Saints in Munich, the first elders Apostolos Malamousis and Georgios Vletsis, visited the chapel of Agia Korona and prayed for the healing of of coronavirus patients and the reinforcement of doctors and nursing staff.
Following this, the Greek priests expressed the desire for the Greek Orthodox Church to donate an orthodox icon of Agia Korona / Stefanida.
The elder Malamousis instructed the cantor of the Holy Temple of All Saints in Munich and hagiographer Paschalis Dougalis to paint a picture based on the Orthodox Byzantine tradition of an icon of Agia Korona / Stefanida with the aim of permanently placing it as its attendant.
At the same time, the president of the Ecumenical Council of the Christian Churches of Germany, first elder Konstantinos Myron, hierarchical head of the Parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in Cologne, composed an apology of St. Korona.
On October 10 last year, the image was officially handed over to the chapel where a eulogy was performed.
The German Metropolitan Augustine blessed the initiative, emphasizing, among other things, in his relevant greeting: “I am particularly pleased that this is taking place together, with ecclesiastical harmony and harmony. In our time there is a lot of talk about a “return to normalcy”. For us Orthodox Christians, the presence of God and His Saints in our daily lives is a lived and mature regularity of experience “.
For his part, the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, referred to the fact that the pandemic turned the attention of the faithful to St. Corona and its chapel in Arget, expressed his joy for the ecclesiastical honor in St., and thanked Parish of All Saints for the donation of the icon and wished the faithful who visit the chapel of the Saint to have the blessing of God in all their problems.
In his greeting, the inspirer of the initiative Mr. Malamousis stated that the donation of the icon to the chapel of Agia Korona took place with the triple reasoning: a) the chapel is located in the forest, where man meets God through prayer through natural environment, with the rustling of trees, with aromatic plants and flowers, with the chirping of birds and with the animals of the field (ecology and prayer), b) the chapel celebrates its 200th jubilee, with the rebuilding in 1820 , and has a parallel history with the 200th jubilee of the Greek Revolution (1821-2021) and c) testimony is given to the common of the two brothers Churches, Orthodox and Roman Catholic, honor of the Saints of the Church of the first millennium AD.
The handover ceremony was attended, among others, by the Greek Consul General in Munich Vassilios Goulousis and the mayor of Sauerlach Barbara Bogne.
On November 11, 2021, on the day of the feast of Agia Korona / Stefanida, according to the Orthodox Synaxarion, the first elder Apostolos Malamousis went to the chapel of Agia in the village of Arget and performed the sacred prayer and supplication for the healing of the sick. doctors and nursing staff.
.
