BROOKLYN –?His Grace Bishop Ierotheos of Efkarpia, Abbot of the Sacred Patriarchal and Stavropegial Orthodox Monastery of St. Irene Chrysovalantou under the Jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, led the vespers service on July 16, for the Great and Holy Martyr St. Marina the Miracleworker at the Church of St. Nicholas and St. Marina in Brooklyn.

In his sermon, Bishop Ierotheos spoke about the life and martyrdom of St. Marina, noting that the Church has ranked her as one of the great martyrs and the protector of children, specifically for the treatment of those who are ill, prone to sickness, or have special needs.

He said “St. Marina lived in the 3rd century AD. She was from Antioch of Pisidia and was the daughter of idolatrous priest Adisias. At the age of 15, she rejected a marriage proposal by the prefect Olimvrios. He, in order to avenge her, revealed her Christian faith, leading to Marina’s arrest, she suffered terrible torture and eventually was beheaded. I wish St. Marina’s example teaches us to awaken spiritually and to revise our relationship with God, with our faith in the church, to become true Orthodox Christians. We should have only one concern in our lives, how to love Christ more and how to live the Gospel.”

Presiding priest V. Rev. Archimandrite Meletios Bougas, said that in September the new bell tower would be erected and thanked the faithful for their love and support.

“With the bright cross,” he said, “on the bell tower the bells, as in the villages of Greece, will send to all our neighborhood a confession of faith and Christianity. Today, with great joy for the church’s feast, we celebrate an excellent and blessed man, Theodore Koulouris, a member of the parish council and benefactor of the church. He serves our church faithfully and quietly, and we thank him warmly for that.”

Parish Council President Panagiotis Giannopoulos shared his best wishes to the Greek community and thanked all the faithful who attended the celebration.

Volunteers grilled the souvlakia after the church services, left to right, George Aidinios, Yannis Zacharatos, Aris Svingos, Tommy Solis, Lefteris Hatziminadakis, and Demetris Tsaropoulos. Photo by Michalis Kakias

Following the vespers service, the Greek American Folklore Society presented Greek dances, and Vaia Ginis-Alagiannis, a founding member of the group, told The National Herald that it was founded in 1983 and has around 100 members.

“My late brother, Apostolos (Paul) Ginis, with great love for dancing and traditions, founded this group. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1997. Since then, I have been carrying on his work. We participate in many events and present traditional dances from all over Greece with traditional costumes, as they were danced in the villages.”

On July 17, the feast day of St. Marina, the Orthros and the Divine Liturgy were presided over by Bishop Ierotheos of Efkarpia.

The Greek American Folklore Society performed traditional dances in costume after the services at St. Nicholas-St. Marina Church in Brooklyn. Photo by Michalis Kakias