CONSTANTINOPLE – His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in his speech during the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Skete of Saint Spyridon in Halki proclaimed among other things that “no matter how few we are today, or rather, precisely because we have remained few, we must continue to preserve and care for what we have achieved because the legacy is enormous and sacred, and this is the desire and the recommendation of those who created them and passed them to us and to whom we hope their memory to live forever.”

The Patriarch also declared:

“The continuous honor to the memory of Saint Spyridon verifies both sayings of the Book of Proverbs of the Old Testament, which are read during the Vespers of the feast of the Saint. Upon the passing of the miraculous hierarch, we never stopped hoping that he would also intercede for us for the end the deadly virus and the sadness.

“Our gathering for the feast of Saint Spyridon is the strongest proof of the Truth, that even after death it continues to live and urges us to justice and holiness of life in Christ.

“With this message, we address you, pious faithful of Saint Spyridon, and we congratulate you on your devotion to the faith of our Fathers and to the place that gave birth to us and made us noticeable in manners and customs.”

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew blesses the traditional ‘kolyva’ of St. Spyridon Skete in Halki. (Photo by Ecumenical Patriarchate/Nikos Manginas)

Concluding his speech, the Ecumenical Patriarch expressed the gratitude of the Mother Church to “the Abbot of the Holy Trinity Monastery of Halki, who is in charge of the Skete, Bishop Kassianos of Aravissos, as well as to his collaborators for their work and the maintenance of the Skete of St. Spyridon, contributing to the continuation of the historical course despite the absence of means and facilities.”