OFFICIAL CEREMONY FOR THE INCLUSION OF THREE NEW SAINTS IN THE CALENDAR OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

 

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the ceremony of the signing of the Patriarchal and Synodal Acts, which included the canonization of three new Saints, which took place on Wednesday, August 31, 2022, at the Patriarchal Church.

Archimandrite Gregorios, Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod, read the Patriarchal and Synodal Acts of the Canonization of Saints Eumenios Saridakis, Bessarion the Agathonite, and the martyred Ananias, Bishop of Lacedaemonia.

Subsequently, the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Synodal Hierarchs Elder Metropolitan Demetrios of Princes Islands, Seraphim of Sebastia, Eirinaios of Myriophytos and Peristasis, Chrysostomos of Myra, Nikandros of Irinoupolis, Polycarpos of Italy, Cyril of Krinis, Stephanos of Kallioupolis and Madytos, Gerasimos of Petra and Heronissos, and Andrew of Saranta Ekklisies, signed these Acts.

In his speech, the Ecumenical Patriarch expressed the joy of the Mother Church through the presence of the Hierarchs, the clergy, and all the pilgrims for this service. He referred, among other things, to the importance of the presence of the Saints in the life of the Church.

“The Orthodox piety attributes to the Saints great respect and honor and promotes the Christian life and the godly labors as a model of ecclesiastical existence. The faithful love the Synaxaria and the Lives of the Saints, admire their achievements and struggle for the truth, honor their holy relics, and worship their icons with reverence. Their feasts are an experiential axis of daily life, a source of existential wealth and spiritual renewal, and an opportunity for a society of life. The Saints inspire, guide, and reveal our eternal destiny in Christ, they intercede with the Lord for us. Their blessed presence is a living answer to our agonizing questions.”

Elsewhere in his speech, the Patriarch said: “On the occasion of the feast of the Indiction and the day of protection of the natural environment, we wish to emphasize that the Saints are companions and allies of the faithful in the good struggle to protect the integrity of creation. Their life is practical respect for the creation, with thanksgiving and praise to the Creator. The Saints confirm that we ought to live in the world as stewards and priests of creation, that it is inconceivable to confess faith in the Creator and destroy the creation.”

Then he added, “The Church is a living theanthropic organism, and holiness is, so to speak, “its DNA.” There was no church, there is no church, and we cannot imagine a church without saints. This truth is proclaimed solemnly by the canonization of Saints Eumenios Saridakis, Ananias, Bishop of Lacedaemonia the Hieromartyr, and Bessarion the Agathonite, who are now officially registered in the Church’s calendar”.

orthodox times 

Photos: Nikos Papachristou / Ecumenical Patriarchate