On the Sunday of Myrrh-Bearing Women, 26 April 2026, in a devout atmosphere, the Holy Metropolis of Pisidia celebrated the “Tzikko Panagia”, the copy of the icon of the Theotokos of the Kykkos Monastery, which is honored in Antalya, after the miracle of the healing of a paralyzed girl on this Sunday in the past century.
In the morning, at the Holy Church of Saint Alypios in Antalya, a Tri-hierarchical Divine Liturgy was celebrated, presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, in concelebration with His Eminence Metropolitan Theodoros of Seleucia, who presided from the throne at the festive Vespers and Matins on the eve, and His Grace Bishop Amvrosios of Eudokiada, with the participation of the clergy and the faithful of the Metropolis.
It is well known that the Holy Monastery of Kykkos in Cyprus had a metochion in this ancient city since the 18th century, where the residents venerated a miraculous copy of the icon of the Mother of God.
Before the Divine Liturgy, the Archpastor ordained as Reader a pious young man of Iranian origin, Mr. Jeremiah Yaghoubi, who serves the parish of Antalya.
The Divine Word was preached by His Eminence Metropolitan Theodoros of Seleucia, who emphasized that this feast is not a simple calendar commemoration but “a gate that opens in time, transporting us to the Antalya of the past, to the heart of Asia Minor, to honor the memory of the miracle of the Most Holy Mother of God of Tzikko (Kykkos)”. And he continued: “The miracle in our lives puts us on spiritual vigilance. This vigilance inevitably leads us to turn towards the Last Days… The Church is not an organization that looks back with nostalgia to the past, but a community that is drawn to the future, to the Kingdom of God”. And he emphasized that the pastoral work “in Antalya, Alanya, Side and in the entire eparchy (of Pisidia) is a testimony that Orthodoxy is not afraid of the world, but embraces it, in order to transform it, proving that our faith is a permanent Pentecost that speaks in all languages, but primarily, however, in the language of love”.
At the end, the parish of Antalya offered a festive meal to everyone in the courtyard of the Metropolis.
