Feast Day of Saint Makarios of Egypt at the Orthodox Academy of Crete
On the occasion of the feast of St. Abba Makarios of Egypt, a Vespers Service was held in an atmosphere of devotion, mysticism and austerity, in the presence of believers, at the “Kathisma” of the Saint, in a cave north of the Orthodox Academy of Crete. The Great Vespers were celebrated by Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne Fr Melchizedek, and Protosyncellus of the Holy Metropolis of Kisamos and Selinos, Archimandrite Fr Agathangelos, while the holy hymns were chanted by Fr Dionysios, Parish Priest of Saint Marina’s Church in Kolymbari.
After the dismissal of Vespers, Fr. Melchizedek referred to the life of Abba Makarios, focusing on the dialogue of the Saint with the skull in the desert from which it is clear that “hell is the absence of the other”, closing with the prayer of “face to face’ communication between people. Afterwards, Protosyncellus Fr. Agathangelos, after thanking Fr. Melchizedek for his presence and sermon, urged those present to imitate the Saints, who “although they say so little, they say a lot with their attitude”. Afterwards, a theatrical reading was held by the writer Marinella Vlahaki, who presented a theatrical monologue from her book “Stathoula. The seamstress from Pontus”, with the heroine conveying the dilemmas, the impasses, the pain and the despair of the uprooting of man.
Dr. Konstantinos Zorbas, Director General of the Orthodox Academy of Crete, after welcoming the attendees, prefaced the book, noting characteristically that Abba Makarios “taught us the way to see correctly with the purity of our hearts”. Also, after thanking the chosen guest Ms. Vlahaki, he underlined that “this monologue is an agony and an attempt to prevent man from falling completely into oblivion. No one’s heart can withstand the bitter game of total oblivion”, referring to the tragedy suffered by the Greeks of Pontus and Smyrna, but also those affected by the war in Ukraine!
The following day, on the main day of the feast, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the chapel of Saints Cyril and Methodius of the Orthodox Academy of Crete by Fr. Dionysios and Fr. Anthimos, hieromonk of the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegic Monastery of Panagia Odegitria Gonia, in the presence of co-workers and friends of the Foundation. After the end of the Liturgy, Mr. Zorbas analysed the message of the Epistle reading of the “To the Galatians” Letter of the Apostle Paul, pointing out that the Saints taught us that we have a sacred duty to bear the burdens of others, because even the exclusion of one person threatens to shake social cohesion, with all that entails.
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