Ecumenical Patriarch at Great Vespers for St Nicholas in Valletta
On Monday, 5 December 2022, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the Great Vespers service for the feast of Saint Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, at the namesake Church of Valletta, which was granted by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta to the Patriarchal Exarchate of Meliti.
Archbishop Charles Jude Scicluna of Malta, together with clergymen of the Archdiocese, Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain, Metropolitans Cyril of Sardis and Evangelos of Krini, Patriarchal Exarch of Meliti, the Ambassador of Greece to Valletta, Tasia Athanasiou, the Rector of the University of Athens, Meletios – Athanasios Dimopoulos, clergymen of other Christian communities of the island country, and many Orthodox believers, many of whom are Greeks and Ukrainians living in Malta, attended the Divine Liturgy.
The Ecumenical Patriarch greeted the members of the Greek community, and then, speaking in English, addressed the entire congregation. Earlier, the Patriarch was addressed by the Patriarchal Exarch of Meliti, Metropolitan Cyril.
The Ecumenical Patriarch presided over the Great Vespers for the feast of Saint Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, at the namesake Church of Valletta, which was granted by the Catholic Archdiocese of Malta to the Patriarchal Exarchate of Meliti.
On Monday morning, December 5, 2022, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Malta in the old capital of Mdina, where he was welcomed by Archbishop Scicluna and had a meeting with Bishops and officials of the Archdiocese.
Later the same day, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta, Ian Borg.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew also had a meeting with the President of the Republic of Malta, George William Vella, in Attard.
President Vella warmly welcomed the Ecumenical Patriarch, with whom he had the opportunity to discuss issues of mutual interest, such as the refugee issue, the need to protect the natural environment, and other social issues of major importance.
The meeting was attended by the members of the Patriarchal entourage, as well as associates of the President, who immediately after its completion referred the Ecumenical Patriarch to the palace.
Source: orthodoxtimes.com
More photos: Nikos Papachristou / Ecumenical Patriarchate
