With due ecclesiastical splendour and solemnity, on Friday, 19 January 2024, according to the Julian Calendar, the feast of the Holy Epiphany was celebrated with a full congregation at the Vatopedi Metochion of Galata in Constantinople.
During the Divine Liturgy, which was held in the Holy Church of Saint Andrew the First-Called Apostle, His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of Kydonia officiated from the throne, and concelebrating was the Grand Preacher Archimandrite Panaretos, Archimandrite Victor Kopoutsou. The choir of the Holy Church, under the direction of Ms. Zanna Satalina, sang enthusiastically.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, the Great Sanctification of the Waters was performed and before the conclusion, His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras in his sermon analysed the significance of the feast and the manifestation of the Holy Trinity, at the time of the Baptism of our Lord, in the Jordan River.
His Eminence conveyed the wishes and blessings of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the crowded congregation of the Russian-speaking Community.
In his reply, the Parish Priest, Archimandrite Panaretos warmly welcomed His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of Kydonia, of whom he asked for his wishes and blessings for the great Feast Day of our Church.
After the blessing of the congregation with the sanctified waters and the handing out of the antidoron, a customary reception followed in the nearby hall of the Church.
