On the Sunday of Pentecost, 23 June 2024, in the presence of thousands of faithful believers, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was received at the Holy Monastery of Panagia Faneromeni in Lefkada, Greece, where he will celebrate the Feast Day of the Holy Spirit on Monday, 24 June 2024.
The reception of the Ecumenical Patriarch took place at the historic Holy Monastery of Panagia Faneromeni Lefkada, where His Eminence Metropolitan Theofilos of Lefkada and the Abbot Geronta Nikiforos welcomed His All-Holiness to the island.
Afterwards, the Ecumenical Patriarch was welcomed by the Mayor of Lefkada, Mr. Xenophon Verginis, who in his address emphasised, among other things: “With great joy and emotion, people and clergy, we welcome you to our beautiful and hospitable island.”
Also, the Mayor of Lefkada added: “It is a special blessing for us to welcome the head of Orthodoxy, to the island and to the Monastery that celebrates on the feast day of the Holy Spirit”.
“Your All-Holiness, God has blessed you to be the longest serving Ecumenical Patriarch and in a few months it will be 33 years of patriarchal ministry, an invaluable contribution to Orthodoxy” – added the Mayor of Lefkada.
In his response, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said, among other things: “It is with great emotion that we are in beautiful Lefkada and we are making the first official visit of an Ecumenical Patriarch to the Holy Metropolis of Lefkada, the island of Poets and people of education”.
“We thank Panagia Faneromeni who welcomes us to her remarkable monastery, and like every Lefkadian who comes to the island immediately goes up to venerate the Virgin Mary, so we, coming from the City of Constantinople which is protected by the Virgin Mary, as our first duty, we came to her most beautiful Monastery and to venerate her miraculous icon” – added characteristically Patriarch Bartholomew.
Afterwards, in the Katholikon Church of the Monastery, a Doxology was performed for the official visit, followed by an address by His Eminence Metropolitan Theofilos of Lefkada, the Abbot Elder Nikiforos Asprogerakas and a response by the Ecumenical Patriarch.
It is worth noting that Abbot Nikiforos offered to the Ecumenical Patriarch, a valuable copy of the local Icon of Panagia Faneromeni and a set of hierarchal engolpia.
Finally, it should be noted that His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and all Greece, was represented by His Eminence Metropolitan Efstathios of Sparta, while the Government was represented by the Deputy Minister of Education and Religion, Ms. Zetta Makri.
