On Sunday, September 6, the Metropolitan of France Emmanouil held a holy memorial service at the Metropolitan Church of St. Stephen in Paris for the repose of the soul of the Vicar General Nikolaos Xenos of the Holy Metropolis of France, who passed away by an incurable disease.
The Metropolitan in his speech referred to the vanity of this world and the joy of eternity in Christ. My brethren, the Bible says in the book of Job (7: 6): “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.” Indeed, our whole life is as short as the echo of a cry that is immediately lost. As if we are in a hurry to sleep. A moment between birth and death. The distance from the crib to the tomb is negligible. Time passes so quickly! Certainly death scares us and the loss of our own people is unbearable.
Remember every day that our grave is the basis of all our good works. The tomb is the beginning and the end that helps us prepare for eternal life. “The fathers of the Church very wisely teach us to have the memory of death.”
Referring to the deceased priest, he underlined the gifts God had given him, his humble ministry in the Church, his contribution to the Holy Metropolis of France and the ties that had bound them for many years.