Group of young people from USA visit Patriarchate of Alexandria

On Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, May 28 2023, Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Patriarchal Monastery of St. George in Old Cairo.

Among the pilgrims who gathered at the so-called “Rotunda of the East” there were dozens of young people from the Association of Orthodox Students of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, who came there with the mediation of Fr. Theodore Petrides.

During his sermon, Patriarch Theodoros II addressed the young people giving them paternal advice on their spiritual life and the importance of their mission as Orthodox youth in today’s turbulent times.

He also referred to the great missionary and humanitarian work carried out by the Patriarchate of Alexandria on the continent of Africa. He asked for everyone’s prayers and proclaimed today a day of friendship and cooperation among the youth of America and Africa.

The Patriarch also referred to his official visit to America (October 2022), during which he was bestowed the Human Rights Award called “Patriarch Athenagoras”, in the presence of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, Hierarchs, Archons and members of the Greek-American community.

Following the Divine Liturgy, he offered all the young people an icon of the Holy New Martyrs Gabriel and Kyrmidolis, who became martyrs in Old Cairo in 1522.

Afterwards, the Abbot of the Holy Monastery, Archimandrite Damaskinos, gave them a tour in the Greco-Roman Catacombs, the Library, the Center for Studies and Dialogue and the adjacent Cemetery, where one can find the graves of many Hierarchs and prominent Greeks, as well as the Theomitoros Church (the Church of the Mother of God), where, according to tradition, the Holy Family lived when they fled to Egypt.

It is noted that during the celebration of the Ascension of the Lord, the same group of young people visited Alexandria and attended the Holy Patriarchal Monastery of Saint Savvas the Sanctified, in the presence of the Patriarch.

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Source: orthodoxtimes.com