Ecumenical Patriarch: The Lantern, no matter how little oil it has left, will not stop emitting light

At the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church, the work of which began on Holy Monday, five years ago, in 2016, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who officiated on Sunday at the celebrating Holy Temple of the Holy Trinity of the Megalonymous Community of Stavrodromio.

On the occasion of the central motto of the Great Synod, “he always called for unity”, His Holiness pointed out that this unity was enshrined in the Synod of 2016, despite the absence of four Orthodox Autocephalous Churches.

“We claimed this year to come to this beautiful marble Temple of the Holy Trinity, a work of piety of our fathers, to honor the requested Spirit and to hear” what is pleasing to the Lord “. And what, today, above all, the great feast of today teaches us as “pleasing to the Lord” is unity. And we have the model of ideal unity in our Triune God: three persons-one Deity. That is why today, celebrating the Holy Spirit, the homonymous and the homonymous and homodox of the Father and the Son, we celebrate this Holy Trinity. And we say that unity is the lesson of the feast, because the Most High God, “when we parted the tongues of fire, in unity always called”. Repeating these verses of the Kontakion of Pentecost, it is difficult not to travel our thoughts and hearts to the saintly island of Crete, in Kolymvari of Chania, where it met, under the presidency of the Mother of Medium, exactly five years ago. , and specifically on June 20, 2016, Monday of the Holy Spirit, as today, the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church, with the central motto the phrase “in unity always called”.

This unity was interred by the Synod in Crete, despite the absence, literally at the twelfth hour, of four Orthodox Autocephalous Churches. These churches did not honor their signature, nor did they respect the efforts of their representatives and the sacrifices of decades, to which all the Orthodox Churches underwent, led by the Holy Church of Christ the Great, who generously embraced his finances.

Nevertheless, the Holy and Great Synod, divine grace and prosperity, has taken place and is already a historical event, for which we boast and glorify the merciful God. And we urge you, from this position as well, to study the important texts-decisions of the Synod and to be inspired by them, in order to walk in your life, as the current apostolic reading says, “not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, that the days of wickedness are what the will of the Lord is ”» ».

His Holiness pointed out that from the side of the Ecumenical Patriarchate there is always the mood and the invitation to all for unity and solidarity. “On the other hand, there is all the mood and effort, and we are always called, from this sacred place and on this great day of our faith, in response to the call of unity and solidarity of the Mother Church, which, as always , so even today, is available to all her children everywhere in the universe. Because ministry and sanctification and their salvation is the reason for its existence. Towards the Great Church, our Patriarchate, the souls of millions of believers from all over the universe turn reverently and nostalgically. “And this, not merely for emotional reasons, but because the Ecumenical Throne has proved over the centuries that it is a beacon of light, capable of offering light, hope and relief in all directions, to all of them in various ways” exhausting and charged “.

At this point, the Ecumenical Patriarch, recalling the words of the blessed Patriarch of Antioch Elias, who, in his speech in 1976, had emphatically referred to the importance and role of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, stressed, among other things, that Fanari “as little oil and if he had it left, he would not cease to emit light and proclaim the truth in every direction. “

Concluding his speech, His Holiness addressed all the children of the Greek Diaspora and especially the students of Zografio, a delegation of which went to church today, together with the principal and teachers of the history school. “We especially wish to wish the dear students of the Painting, but also to all the children of our Diaspora, happy, blessed and relaxing holidays, so that they can return in September with health and learning for the new school year. Dear children, you are our boast and our hidden joy. We know that last year was particularly difficult for you, and because of the restrictions imposed on lifelong learning, to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. We congratulate you wholeheartedly, as well as your good and worthy teachers, under the inspired direction of the Most Reverend Archon M. Referendari Mr. Ioannou Demirtzoglou, for your vigor and appetite for education and letters. May the Holy Spirit cover you, enlighten you and guide you “.

The Bishop of Traleon Benjamin, Stavros Christodoulidis, Consul of Greece in the City, and a large number of believers from the City and pilgrims from abroad attended the church.

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