Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus presided over the archieratic Divine Liturgy at the Church of Saint Charalambos and was concelebrated by the Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Apostolos Varnavas, Archimandrite Ioannis, newly-ordained monk Georgios Christodoulos and the parishioners.
Archbishop Chrysostomos preached the Divine Word and spoke of repentance, which was the first command that Jesus gave: “Christ himself defines repentance as the start of our spiritual race. People should repent by humbly asking for forgiveness. In order to be able to find our way back to God, we need humility. People who incite hatred cannot be a part of the Kingdom of God but of the devil’s army. If we have hatred and vengeance within us if we do not forgive those who wronged us, and if we seek their punishment, then we are running away from God. On the contrary, when we forgive our fellow human beings, when we open our hearts and we are kind even to our enemy, then we are heroes and winners. This is what really brings happiness and joy to our lives,” he said.
Finally, he concluded, “Let us open our hearts. The kingdom of God is within us; we feel happy, fulfilled, serene, and despite being poor, we are actually rich, just like He is.”