On the semi-autonomous monastic community of Mount Athos, Athonite Monasteries held litanies and vigils in supplication to the Virgin Mary for an end to the pandemic and for Her consolation to a sorely tested humanity.
The Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross was commemorated today with millennia-old Athonite tradition at the Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi, on the semi-autonomous monastic community of Mt. Athos.
The Divine Liturgy was officiated by Archimandrite Elder Ephraim, the Abbot of the Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi, and co-officiated by other Vatopedi Elders.
A litany of the True Cross and Holy Relics followed around the catholicos (main cathedral) of the monastery.
In a sermon from the Holy Altar, the Elder Archimandrite Ephraim, the abbot of the Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi, referred to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, invoking the miraculous power of the Cross, while underlining that it is a blessing for man for receive the meaning of the Crucified Christ.
