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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.

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In the evening of the same day, Mr. President and the First Lady of the country hosted an official dinner, to which the Ecumenical Patriarch was also invited.

His All-Holiness, who was welcomed at Antalya Airport in the morning by the local archpastor, Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, returned by plane to the City the same day.

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BY GOD’S MERCY

ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE – NEW ROME

AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH

TO THE ENTIRE PLENITUDE OF THE CHURCH:

GRACE, PEACE, AND MERCY FROM CHRIST, RISEN IN GLORY

* * *

Most honourable brother Hierarchs and blessed children in the Lord,

Having arrived, through fasting, prayer, and solemnity, at the radiant and all-festal day of Holy Pascha, we hymn and glorify the world-saving Resurrection of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, which marks the manifest victory of life over death, renews all creation, and opens to humanity the way of deification by grace. The Church of Christ preserves the paschal experience in her liturgical life, in the labours of the Saints and Martyrs of the faith, in the eschatological impulse of monasticism, in the proclamation of the Gospel “to the ends of the earth,” in theology and the ecclesial arts, in the good witness of the faithful in the world, in the culture of love and solidarity, and in the immovable certainty that evil does not have the final word in history.

The Resurrection of the Lord is lived as a Christ-bestowed freedom, which inspires, nourishes, and strengthens the creative powers of the human person and the good struggle for “whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable,” while reminding us all that the journey toward the Resurrection is inseparably bound to the Cross. The joy of the Cross and the Resurrection has preserved the people of God from identifying themselves with the spirit of this world, while at the same time safeguarding them from barren insularity and a spirituality devoid of dynamism and hope-bearing breath. The life of the faithful, in the crucified and risen Christ “for us men,” still today refutes every alien narrative of Christian ethos as a “morality of the weak,” supposedly embodied in humility, forgiveness, sacrificial love, asceticism, the Lord’s saying “but I say to you, do not resist the evil one,” and other principles and dispositions that belong to the very core of our identity. Nothing could be further from the truth than this reading of the ethos of Christianity — of sacrificial love that “does not seek its own,” a love interwoven with courage, boldness, and existential authenticity. Pascha is a hymn to this freedom, to faith “working through love,” which is not our own achievement but grace and a gift from above, and which is lived in the holy Sacraments of the Church and in the “mystery” of service to one’s neighbour. Indeed, “love for God does not in any way tolerate hatred toward one’s fellow human being.”

The Church of Christ — the “salt of the earth,” the “light of the world,” the city “set on a hill,” the lamp placed “on the lampstand” — bears active witness in the world, before the signs of the times, about the grace that has come and “the hope that is in us.” The message of the Cross and the Resurrection resounds today as a Gospel of peace, reconciliation, and justice. War, hatred, and injustice stand opposed to the fundamental Christian principles for whose realization and establishment the people of God pray and labour each day. In the light of the Resurrection, we beseech the Lord on behalf of the victims of wartime violence, the orphans, the mothers who mourn their children, and all those who bear in body and soul the effects of human cruelty and callousness. “Christ is risen” is a denial and condemnation of violence and fear and an invitation to a life of peace. War brings forth lamentation and death; the Resurrection conquers death and bestows incorruptibility.

Before the daily images of the cruelty of war, the Church raises her voice and proclaims the sacredness of the human person — of every concrete human being anywhere on earth — and the duty of absolute respect for that dignity; and she calls upon us to “know our own worth, honour the Prototype, recognise the power of the mystery, and understand for whose sake Christ died.” The Resurrection of the Lord is the restoration of the human being to his pre-eternal calling. As the “beginning of another eternal life,” it heals alienating relationships and establishes the peace “which surpasses all understanding” — a peace that encompasses worldly reconciliation and pacification.

Inspired by God, the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church — the tenth anniversary of whose convocation we honour this year — underlined the duty of the Church “to encourage whatever truly serves the cause of peace (Rom. 14:19) and opens the way to justice, brotherhood, true freedom, and mutual love among all the children of the one heavenly Father, as well as among all peoples who make up the one human family.”

Holy Pascha is the whole of our spiritual civilization, the very core of our piety. The Resurrection of the Lord is also our own resurrection in the present age, and at the same time a prefiguration and foretaste of the “common resurrection of all human beings” and of the renewal of the whole creation. Illumined by the all-radiant light of the face of the Risen Christ, and glorifying in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs His all-holy Name — the Prince of Peace, who is with us “always, unto the end of the age” — we wish you a blessed Resurrection, a paschal season filled with divine gifts, and every day of your lives likewise, crying out the universal proclamation of joy: “Christ is risen! Truly the Lord is risen!”

Phanar, Holy Pascha 2026

† Bartholomew of Constantinople

fervent supplicant for you all 

to the Risen Lord

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Beloved Fathers, Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Ps. 117:24). “The day of Resurrection, let us be radiant, O peoples! Pascha, the Lord’s Pascha; for Christ God has brought us from death to life, and from earth to heaven, as we sing the triumphal song.” (Paschal canon, ode 1). Indeed, the day of Pascha fills our hearts with joy and gladness each year. But this jubilation does not simply stem from the celebration of a myth, nor of a past event, for the day of the resurrection is for us a present event that transports us toward the future, into the beatitude of the eternal Kingdom of God.

The resurrection of Christ is recounted in the four Gospels by eyewitnesses, the apostles, who, moreover, traced the historical life of our Lord Jesus Christ in their writings in light of their lived experience after the Lord’s radiant resurrection. Thus, all the historical events of our Lord’s life are interpreted and presented in the light of the encounter with the risen Christ, an encounter that marks the authenticity of the apostolic kerygma.

Saint Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles and the founder of the Church of Pisidia, was also worthy to encounter the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Ac. 9:4). As he writes, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile” (1 Cor. 15:17). The resurrection of Christ is therefore not simply a historical event of the past, but an event that concerns our future, that concerns the ultimate purpose of God’s creation. Indeed, Saint Paul affirms: “if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised” (1 Cor. 15:13). According to him, the risen Christ appears as the head of the universal resurrection and subdues all evil powers under his feet, abolishing death forever (1 Cor. 15:23-26, 52-57). For this reason, our traditional Byzantine iconography represents the Resurrection of Christ as His descent into Hades and the liberation of Adam and Eve, personifying all of humanity, from the bonds of death.

And each of us, through our baptism, has become a witness and participant in the resurrection of Christ, as Saint Paul writes: “Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:3-4). And this renewal which comes about in us through the holy mystery of baptism, through our personal participation in the Paschal Mystery, must transform our way of life, as the Apostle to the Gentiles exhorts us: “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above… for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. … Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed… get rid of all such things: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth” (Col. 3:1-9).

Indeed, the Lord’s resurrection introduces the believer into the eternal Kingdom of God, which is the ultimate goal of our lives, and allows us to share with him the banquet of his Kingdom right now through the holy mystery of the Eucharist. It is remarkable that during the forty days following his Resurrection, the risen Christ appeared and ate with his disciples, breaking bread (Lk. 24:13-35; Jn. 21:1-14). Similarly, the Acts of the Apostles emphasizes that early Church broke bread, that is, performed the holy mystery of the Eucharist, “with gladness” (Acts 2:46) precisely because the Resurrection manifested God’s victory over his enemies, thus announcing the coming of the Kingdom of God into human history.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, all of us who are baptized must have in our hearts the same feelings as the holy apostles Luke and Cleopas, who walked with the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus: “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking to us on the road, while He was opening the scriptures to us?” (Lk. 24:32). May our hearts also burn with joy at the presence of the risen Christ in our lives! “Come let us share in the new fruit of the vine, in divine joy, and in the Kingdom of Christ, on the glorious day of the Resurrection, as we sing his praise as God to all the ages” (Paschal canon, ode 8). Christ is risen!

Antalya, Pascha 2026

+ Job of Pisidia

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His communication entitled “The Akathist Hymn in the Liturgical Tradition of Other Orthodox and Christian Traditions” offered a special scientific analysis of the Akathistos Hymn in Latin and the Slavic tradition. The conference concluded with great success under the blessing of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

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+ BARTHOLOMEW

By God’s Mercy

Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome

and Ecumenical Patriarch

To the Plenitude of the Church:

grace and peace from God

✦  ✦  ✦

“To You, our Champion Leader, we, Your City, ascribe hymns of victory and thanksgiving, for having been delivered from calamities, O Theotokos!”

This year marks fourteen hundred years since, in honour of the Theotokos, the Kontakion now universally known as the “Akathist Hymn” was solemnly chanted in church, with all the faithful standing. It is an exalted and triumphant poem which, with singular richness and elegance of expression, refers both historically and theologically to the divine economy of the Incarnation and to the unique role of the All-Pure Mother of God within it.

Through this Kontakion, the faithful at prayer reverently greet the Panaghia with the repeated echo of the first salutation addressed by the Archangel Gabriel, herald of grace and joy, to the one full of grace: the word “Rejoice.” Through this word, the “mystery hidden from all ages” is made manifest, and “the sum of our salvation” is brought to fulfilment. The repetition in this hymn of the word “Rejoice” one hundred and forty-four times in address to the All-Blessed Virgin clearly bears a mystical meaning. It recalls the one hundred and forty-four thousand pure saints of the Revelation, who sing the “new song” with their harps before the throne of God and “follow the Lamb wherever He goes.” As the people of God are purified in both life and doctrine, wholly devoted to the incarnate Word of God and indissolubly united with Him, they hymn the saving divine economy and at the same time salute, in songs of praise and sacred melody, the All-Glorious Mother of the Lord and Mother of the Church, as well as her mighty protection over the Church’s devout flock.

The opening of the Kontakion, its Prooimion (prelude), was originally the well-known hymn, “Having mystically received the command in knowledge…,” which refers exclusively to the Annunciation of the Theotokos. This shows that the entire hymn properly belongs to that great feast, for which, even to this day, the whole service of the Salutations forms a beautiful and richly flowered crown of forefeast and afterfeast. In the course of time, a new introductory hymn became established — “To you, our Champion Leader, we ascribe hymns of victory” — in order to express the grateful thanksgiving of the people to her “through whom trophies are raised” and “through whom enemies are overthrown.”

The salvation of the City and of the whole Empire from the terrible assault of the Avars and the Persians, during the absence of Emperor Heraclius and his army, who were far away striving to recover the precious Cross of Christ, was rightly attributed to the mighty protection and help of the Most Holy Theotokos, to whom the founder, Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine the Great, had reverently dedicated New Rome. Receiving the unceasing and anguished supplication of clergy and people from the depths of their hearts, the Mother of God not only strengthened the resolve of the few defenders, but also wrought a great miracle: by the swirling of storm winds she brought about the total destruction of the besiegers’ fleet, after which they were driven into disorderly flight, and thus the City was saved. Rightly, therefore, “having been delivered from calamities,” the City of the Theotokos inscribed its hymns of victory to the Panaghia, whom it thenceforth named its “Champion Leader,” and as such it called upon her again and again throughout the turbulent history of Orthodoxy, each time tasting sweetly her love and her mighty protection.

The historic Church of Blachernae, where, according to ancient tradition, an all-night vigil was celebrated each week in honour of the Mother of God, often in the presence of the Emperor, received on the night of 7 August 626 the crowds of the God-fearing people who had been saved. Deeply moved and with tears of gratitude, they offered her veneration and chanted the Kontakion with its new prooimion, as fitting thanksgiving and a debt of glorification to God and to her who, in the words of Saint Andrew of Crete, “holds the second place after the Trinity” — the Deliverer and Protectress of the City and of the whole realm.

From that hour, the “Akathist Hymn” — this radiant masterpiece of ecclesiastical poetry, this incomparable monument of the Greek language and most intricately woven work of art of God-inspired theology — became the most beloved hymn of our liturgical life, the Christians’ sweetest delight. Long ago, it was translated into many languages. Bishops and priests chant it with compunction. Monastics recite it daily, and the faithful often throughout the year. Theologians analyze its lofty dogmatic ascents. Scholars of language and literature plunge into the beautiful depths of its expressive refinement and poetic grandeur. Poets and painters draw inspiration from its luminous lyrical images. Iconographers depict lovely scenes from its abundant content. Masters of ecclesiastical music clothe it in elaborate sacred melodies. Yet the “Akathist Hymn” always remains, above all, the God-befitting prayer of the Church — the voice of the devout heart of Christians, at once glorification, thanksgiving, supplication, and entreaty to Him who “for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man”; and at the same time, an appeal to her who possesses maternal boldness before God and who, in manifold ways and at all times, abundantly bestows her mighty help and protection upon the devout Orthodox faithful.

The Akathist Hymn calls every believer to vigilance, to remain upright and steadfast, in humility and prayer, before the great challenges of our age, in these grievous days of upheaval and war through which humanity is now passing. Let us pray fervently that the Mother of the “Peace of God,” moved by the prayerful offering of her “Akathist Hymn” by all the faithful in compunction and reverence, may once again act as “Champion Leader” of all who are wronged and endangered, and as the mighty Protection of the children of the Church throughout the world, granting to the human race the true Peace of her Son, that peace “which surpasses all understanding.”

On the 27^th day of the month of March 2026 A.D.

Indiction III

Bartholomew of Constantinople

supplicant in Christ

+ Emmanuel of Chalcedon, supplicant in Christ

+ Ambrosios of Karpathos and Kasos, supplicant in Christ

+ Apostolos of Miletus, supplicant in Christ

+ Joseph of Proikonnesos, supplicant in Christ

+ Meliton of Philadelphia, supplicant in Christ

+ Athanasios of Koloneia, supplicant in Christ

+ Theoleptos of Iconium, supplicant in Christ

+ Joseph of Buenos Aires, supplicant in Christ

+ Cleopas of Sweden and All Scandinavia, supplicant in Christ

+ Kyrillos of Imbros and Tenedos, supplicant in Christ

+ Constantine of Denver, supplicant in Christ

+ Grigorios of Ankara, supplicant in Christ

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The liturgical service in honor of Saint Leontios of Antalya was likely composed by Seraphim Kykkotis, the Attaliates, Metropolitan of Ancyra in the 18th century. A church dedicated to Saint Leontios once existed in Antalya, but it was destroyed in the great fire of 1895. A chapel was then dedicated to him on the ground floor of the Antalya Girls’ School, where the holy relics of the saint, which secreted myrrh, were kept until the population exchange. Furthermore, the ruins of a 9th-century monastery, abandoned in the 13th century, have been discovered in the mountains near Lake Doyran, 15 km from Antalya, undoubtedly the place where the saint carried out his ascetic practice. May he protect us and intercede for us!

Life of our Venerable and God Bearer Father Leontios the Myrrhbearer, who carried out ascetic practice on Mount Kontobakion in the Antalya region

Originally from Athens, in the 9th century, our Father Leontios was entrusted at a young age by his parents to his grandfather, who had built a church dedicated to the Holy Archangel Michael. It was there that the boy spent all his time, learning the holy books and the Church’s offices by heart. When he reached the age of twenty, he was adopted by the local lord, who had noticed his virtues and had him ordained a priest, despite his reluctance. Shortly afterward, Leontios abruptly renounced his parents, his possessions, and the promising future that had been prepared for him, to take up the Cross. He devoted himself entirely to a renowned ascetic, Nicholas, who lived in the region of Athens. After being clothed in the holy angelic habit and instructed for a year in the principles of monastic life, he took leave of his spiritual father to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with one of the brothers named Clement. As he gave him his blessing, Nicholas said to him: “Know, my son, that the Holy Spirit has chosen you to be the pastor of the city of Antalya.”

Once in Palestine, after venerating the Holy Places, the two young monks went to the monastery of Saint Theodosius the Cenobiarch and placed themselves under the guidance of a venerable ascetic named Barnabas, who had attained the pinnacle of virtue. When Leontios went one day to the Mount of Olives with Barnabas, he saw, like a second prophet Isaiah, the Lord seated on his throne of glory, surrounded by myriads of angels who sang: “Save, O Lord, your people and bless your inheritance…” In Bethlehem, he repeatedly beheld the bright star that shone above the cave and, as a result of these visions, obtained the power to perform miracles and cast out demons.

Forced to leave Palestine, which was oppressed by barbarians, Leontios embarked on the road to exile with his spiritual father and three other companions. After a long and arduous journey, they arrived in Antalya, whose inhabitants lived immorally, like wild beasts, without fear of God in their hearts. But from the day the holy monk began to preach repentance, supporting his words with striking miracles, the people of the region began to change their way of life, and all those who were not Christians were soon baptized by the saint.

After completing this missionary work, Saint Leontios withdrew to Mount Kontobakion, which was not far from the city. From this arid place, exposed to the harshness of winter and the scorching sun of summer, he made a center of attraction for all those seeking God. His disciples became so numerous that he had to build seven churches, many cells, and large guesthouses to accommodate the pilgrims. The saint provided his disciples with everything they needed for their sustenance and was in all things their master, their counselor, and their father. In accordance with the prophecy of Nicholas, he became for the entire region the living image of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through his prayer alone, he saved the city of Antalya from flooding, repelled invaders, rescued ships in distress, and healed many sick people. He fell asleep in peace on 22 February and, after his death, continued to spread divine mercy through the holy myrrh that flowed from his relics, thus bearing witness that he had acquired God’s favor for eternity.

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By God’s mercy Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome

and Ecumenical Patriarch

To the Plenitude of the Church

May the grace and peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;
and from us, prayer, blessing, and forgiveness.

Most honorable brother Hierarchs and blessed children in the Lord,

Filled with sacred emotion, we enter once again, by God’s goodwill, into Holy and Great Lent, the arena of ascetic struggle, the time of fasting and repentance, of humility and prayer, of spiritual vigilance and love, with the eyes of our heart directed to the life-giving Cross of the Lord, which guides us all toward Holy Pascha that opens the gates of Paradise to the human race.

This blessed period now opening before us constitutes an opportunity to comprehend once more the truth of asceticism according to Christ and its inseparable association with the Eucharistic realization of the Church, whose every expression and dimension is illumined by the light and joy of the Resurrection. The spirit of asceticism is hardly a foreign element introduced into Christianity, nor is it the result of influence by dualistic ideologies outside the Church. Asceticism is another word for the Christian existence, connecting it with absolute trust in Divine Providence, with the inexhaustible spiritual gladness of a life dedicated to Christ, with self-transcendence and self-offering, with charitable love and respect for all creation.

Asceticism is not a matter of self-willed choices and subjective particularities, but of submission to the rule and the “catholic experience” of the Church. It has been described as an “ecclesiastical” rather than an “individual” event. Life in the Church is indivisible. Repentance, prayer, humility, forgiveness, fasting, and philanthropic deeds are interconnected and interwoven. In the Orthodox tradition, there is no asceticism as an end in itself, for that only leads to an overestimation of individual effort and feeds tendencies of self-justification.

Great Lent is the appropriate time to experience the Church as the place and the manner in which the gifts of divine Grace are revealed, always as a foretaste of the joy of the Lord’s Resurrection, the cornerstone of our faith and the all-radiant horizon of “the hope within us.” It is by divine inspiration that the Church honours on Cheesefare Saturday the sacred memory of saintly men and women who have shone brightly in asceticism, for they are the supporters and companions of the faithful in the long course of asceticism. In the arena of spiritual struggle, we have the benevolence of the Triune God with us, the protection of the All-Holy Mother of God and Mother of us all, and the intercessions of the saints and martyrs of the faith.

Healthy Christian asceticism is the participation of the whole human being—as a unity of spirit, soul, and body—in the life in Christ, without undervaluing matter and the body, and without a Manichaean reduction of spirituality. As it has been written, Christian asceticism is ultimately a struggle “not against, but for the body”; as the Gerontikon affirms: “We have been taught not to destroy the body, but to destroy the passions.”

Unfortunately, and inaccurately, Christian asceticism has been labelled by contemporary thinkers as a denial of the joy of life and as a restriction of human creativity. Nothing could be further from the truth! As release from “having” and from attachment to the possession of things, and especially as liberation from the ego, from “seeking one’s own,” and from the “having of our being,” asceticism is the source and expression of genuine freedom.

What can be more truthful than the exodus from the captivity of “individual right” and the openness and love for our fellow human beings, the inner “good change” and steadfastness in fulfilling God’s commandments? What could be more creative than fasting, when it is a holistic attitude of life and expresses the ascetic and Eucharistic spirit of the Church, when it is a “common struggle” and not an “individual feat”? What could be more existentially striking than repentance and internal conversion, as a vital direction toward the truth and a renewed discovery of the power of divine Grace, of the depth of life in Christ and the hope of eternal life?

It is truly impressive that, when the early Christian character of Holy and Great Lent as a period of preparation for Holy Baptism in the Divine Liturgy of the Resurrection was replaced by the “ethos of repentance,” there nevertheless remained its experience as a “second baptism.” For this reason, the period of fasting and repentance is not sorrowful. Our hymnology speaks of the “spring of fasting,” while theology calls Great Lent a “spiritual spring” and a “period of joy and light.” All of this assumes special timeliness and significance in the face of the anthropological confusion of our time, as well as the new alienations rooted in contemporary civilization.

With these sentiments and thoughts, reminding all the children of the Holy Great Church of Christ throughout the Lord’s dominion, that on the day of the Akathist Hymn, the festivities will culminate, marking the 1400th anniversary of the year 626—when, in expression of gratitude to the Theotokos for the deliverance of the City of Constre from a perilous siege, the Akathist Hymn was chanted standing in the sacred Church of Blachernae—we wish you all a smooth course of the Fast, with asceticism and patience, with thanksgiving and doxology.

May we all, speaking the truth in love and being sanctified in the Lord, travel this way toward the fullness of joy in His radiant Resurrection.

Holy and Great Lent 2026

✠ BARTHOLOMEW of Constantinople

Your fervent supplicant for all before God

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The next day His Eminence went to the Holy Great Monastery of Vatopedi, where he was warmly welcomed and received by the Abbot Archimandrite Ephraim and the Brotherhood of the Monastery. Elder Ephraim, in the refectory of the monastery, before the brotherhood and a hundred of pilgrims from various parts of the world referred to the Metropolitan of Pisidia of blessed memory Sotirios Trampas and his zeal and dedication to the missionary work that continues in the Holy Metropolis of Pisidia.

On the third day, Metropolitan Job of Pisidia went to the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra where he was received by the Brotherhood of the Holy Monastery and his Holy Abbot, Archimandrite Elisaios. There, His Eminence presided over the Divine Liturgy of the Leave-taking of the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord. His three-day pilgrimage visit concluded there.

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