On 9 December 2024, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited Antalya on the occasion of the panegyry of Saint Alypios’ church and the 180th anniversary of its construction and presided the Divine Liturgy from the throne, in presence of the local archpastor, His Eminence Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, the auxiliary bishop, His Grace Bishop Ambrosios of Evdokiada, the clergy of the Holy Metropolis of Pisidia, the Roman Catholic Priest and the Protestant Pastor serving in the region, the Consul of Ukraine in Antalya, Mr. Oleksandr Voronin, and numerous multinational faithful of the local Church.
Metropolitan Job of Pisidia welcomed His All-Holiness once again to the city of Attalus and the Apostle Paul, and then referred to the history of the church, founded by Eustratios, Kyriakos, Ephraim and Dimitrios Danielides on 1 August 1843 and consecrated on 7 May 1844, and referred to the tireless work of his predecessor, Metropolitan Sotirios (Trampas) of blessed memory, for the repose of whom the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew performed a memorial service after the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy. Full version.
In his his Address, the Ecumenical Patriarch pointed out that according to the enlighter of the region, the Holy Apostle Paul, “‘in Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Greek’, and consequently neither Russian, nor Ukrainian, nor Georgian, nor Serbian, nor Romanian, nor any other, ‘for you are all one in Christ Jesus’… All of you, the blessed Orthodox Christians of Antalya, regardless of national origin and linguistic expression, are one flock of Christ, under one shepherd and bishop, in one body, one soul, one ecclesiastical community and presence. Far from you is the temptation of ethnic and racial discrimination, which divides and tears the Church! You are a small flock, in the midst of a non-Christian environment. Strive together with your archpastor, your bishop and your priests, to offer daily a good testimony of Jesus Christ to all.”
A small concert was then held in honour of His All-Holiness, performed by the children of the Sunday School and the members of the Church choir.
Immediately afterwards, the headquarters of the Metropolis of Pisidia were inaugurated and blessed after their renovation by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. In his address, Metropolitan Job underlined that the renovated building will serve as the spiritual centre of the Orthodox ecclesiastical life and witness in the region of Antalya. He also thanked benefactors and donors who contributed to the execution of the work and welcomed the representative of the Antalya Muratpaşa municipality, Mr. Vural Korkmaz, and the architect of the project, Mr. Olcay Nejat Özdemir, whom he thanked for their assistance. In response, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expressed his satisfaction for the ministry and multidimensional pastoral work of the Metropolis of Pisidia. Full version.
