The Order of St. Andrew of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
In the chapel of the miraculous Sacred Spring (Agiasma) at the Holy Monastery of Zoodochos Pege at Baloukli
On Sunday, May 3, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew offered prayers for the healing of the sick and the support of all those afflicted by the pandemic in the Chapel of the Miraculous Sacred Spring (Agiasma) at the Holy Monastery of Zoodochos Pege (Life-giving Fountain) in Baloukli. The text of the Prayer was written specifically for this purpose and was read after the Divine Liturgy, which was celebrated in the Catholicon of the Monastery by Metropolitan Meliton of Philadelphia. The Ecumenical Patriarch and Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima, who is responsible for the Monastery, were present and prayed together within the Altar. It should be noted that according to ancient tradition, every year, on the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearers, a Patriarchal Synodal Divine Liturgy is celebrated. This year , due to the current measures for preventing the spread of the coronavirus and the consequent restrictions on travel, the Liturgy did not occur as usual, after a decision by His All-Holiness,
During the Supplication, His All-Holiness prayed the following petition:
Prior to this, the Ecumenical Patriarch prayed a Trisagion at the Tomb of the ever-memorable Patriarch Demetrios, commemorating all the Patriarchs, Hierarchs, and Great Benefactors of the Genos who rest in the courtyard of the Monastery. He then went to the adjacent Second Cemetery of the Monastery, where he prayed the Trisagion for the repose of the souls “of our fathers and brethren, whose names only the Lord knows.”
During the course of today’s pilgrimage to the Holy Monastery of Zoodochos Pege (Life-giving Fountain) in Baloukli, His All-Holiness, in his brief remarks, referred to the initiative of the “Higher Committee of Human Fraternity,” the Committee set up in February 2019, after the signing of a joint statement by His Holiness the Pope of Rome and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, for the upholding of universal brotherhood throughout the earth. With this initiative, all religious leaders and believers of different religions are called upon, on May 14, to intensify their prayers to the Holy God to save humankind from the great danger of the pandemic with which it is confronted. It should also be an occasion, after the passage of this crisis, as the Patriarch said, for all people to work together “with love, with solidarity, with mutual respect, so that that after this serious global crisis, the world will be a better world than the one we are living in right now.”
In the chapel of the miraculous Sacred Spring (Agiasma) at the Holy Monastery of Zoodochos Pege at Baloukli
On Sunday, May 3, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew offered prayers for the healing of the sick and the support of all those afflicted by the pandemic in the Chapel of the Miraculous Sacred Spring (Agiasma) at the Holy Monastery of Zoodochos Pege (Life-giving Fountain) in Baloukli. The text of the Prayer was written specifically for this purpose and was read after the Divine Liturgy, which was celebrated in the Catholicon of the Monastery by Metropolitan Meliton of Philadelphia. The Ecumenical Patriarch and Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima, who is responsible for the Monastery, were present and prayed together within the Altar. It should be noted that according to ancient tradition, every year, on the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearers, a Patriarchal Synodal Divine Liturgy is celebrated. This year , due to the current measures for preventing the spread of the coronavirus and the consequent restrictions on travel, the Liturgy did not occur as usual, after a decision by His All-Holiness,
During the Supplication, His All-Holiness prayed the following petition:
“Lord Jesus Christ our God, Eternal
Word of the Father, through Your utmost love for humankind, You took
upon Yourself our human form. Your condescension is ineffable and
incomprehensible. You opened the gates of Paradise to the race of Adam
and granted us immortality through Your Cross and Resurrection. You sent
down the Holy Spirit upon Your Holy Disciples and Apostles, who
illuminated the entire world and led us all to the Truth. Hearken unto
us who fall down before You in humility. O All-Hearing, All-Blessed, and
All-Beneficent Lord, receive our petition. O Source of good, Giver of
every blessing, and Provider of every beneficence, extend Your helping
hand to us, You who always give so much more than we ask. Deliver us,
Lord, from this grim pandemic and from its terrible attendant
afflictions. Send Your all-healing grace to the sick; grant unto them
encouragement and swift and complete healing. Strengthen the doctors and
all those who are treating the sick. Shelter all of us under Your
protection. O Physician of souls and bodies, grant to us, Your servants,
health of body and soul, a sound mind and a pure heart, every blessing
from above, and renew a right spirit within us. Teach us Your precepts
and grant us, O Master, faith through active love and constant hope, so
that Your most holy and celestial name might be glorified, and that
every brother and sister, the ‘beloved of God,’ may be served. Incline
Your ear, O Lord, Who rose from the dead and raised us with You, and
establish us in the keeping of Your commandments, through the
intercession of the First among the Saints, the Theotokos, the
Life-Giving Spring, who ceaselessly provides ‘inexhaustible healing
floods,’ and through the prayers of all the Saints who have been
well-pleasing to You, ‘the Most Holy Word of all the Holy.’ Amen.”
Prior to this, the Ecumenical Patriarch prayed a Trisagion at the Tomb of the ever-memorable Patriarch Demetrios, commemorating all the Patriarchs, Hierarchs, and Great Benefactors of the Genos who rest in the courtyard of the Monastery. He then went to the adjacent Second Cemetery of the Monastery, where he prayed the Trisagion for the repose of the souls “of our fathers and brethren, whose names only the Lord knows.”
During the course of today’s pilgrimage to the Holy Monastery of Zoodochos Pege (Life-giving Fountain) in Baloukli, His All-Holiness, in his brief remarks, referred to the initiative of the “Higher Committee of Human Fraternity,” the Committee set up in February 2019, after the signing of a joint statement by His Holiness the Pope of Rome and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, for the upholding of universal brotherhood throughout the earth. With this initiative, all religious leaders and believers of different religions are called upon, on May 14, to intensify their prayers to the Holy God to save humankind from the great danger of the pandemic with which it is confronted. It should also be an occasion, after the passage of this crisis, as the Patriarch said, for all people to work together “with love, with solidarity, with mutual respect, so that that after this serious global crisis, the world will be a better world than the one we are living in right now.”
“The Ecumenical Patriarchate has also
been called upon to join with its prayers, and to cooperate in this
sacred initiative. It has certainly agreed to do so, and to call upon
its children everywhere to pray especially on this day, Thursday, May
14, for overcoming the crisis and the healing of the sick, to strengthen
the doctors, nurses, volunteers and all those involved in this sacred
endeavor, and to have from now on, more love, mutual respect and
solidarity for every human being and all people, so that the will of our
Holy God may indeed be done on earth ‘as it is in heaven.’ Amen.”
Recall
that last February the “Higher Committee of Human Fraternity” invited
His All-Holiness to the anniversary conference it organized in Abu
Dhabi. In his speech, the Patriarch highlighted the important role that
religions can play in maintaining world peace and promoting respect for
human dignity, in a spirit of solidarity and the preservation of
fundamental freedoms.