Great Vespers at St. Nicholas by Metropolitan of Chalcedon
On July 3, at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon presided over Great Vespers.
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America honored the exceptional service of George Gigicos and Andy Veniopoulos, who have “used their remarkable talents and skills to bring the Shrine to vital moments of its public reveal: last year, on the eve of September 11th, for the Lighting of the Shrine; on the Thirtieth Anniversary of His All-Holiness’ Patriarchal tenure, for the Opening of the Doors by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew; and tonight, for this Vespers and the Consecration tomorrow.”
Archbishop Elpidophoros also expressed his gratitude to His Beatitude Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia, who commissioned and gifted a full set of ornate altar coverings for Saint Nicholas.
A number of ecumenical and interfaith leaders were also present for the Vespers service, including His Excellency Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations; His Grace Bishop Irinej, Serbian Orthodox Church of North, Central, and South America; His Grace Bishop Saba, Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church in North America; His Eminence Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, Armenian Apostolic Church; and His Eminence Metropolitan Zachariah Nicholovos, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
The Consecration of St. Nicholas will begin at 9:30 AM on July 4. To watch the livestream, visit: https://stnicholaswtc.org/consecration-of-saint-nicholas…/
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