The Great Festal Vespers was celebrated with splendor on Tuesday, July 16, at the Church of Saint Marina in Ioannina.
Metropolitan Maximos of Ioannina officiated at the Vespers, framed by the priests of the church and clergy of the Holy Metropolis.
The Divine Word was proclaimed by Maximos, who referred to the life and Martyrdom of Saint Marina.
“Saint Marina obviously had experienced what eternal life and the Grace of the Holy Spirit mean, and could not separate neither the good nor the bad from the love of Christ,” said the Metropolitan.
“Saint Marina suffered tortures, refused to renounce Christ, the devil himself attacked her but could not break her morale, and thus, she disgraced the devil. Then Marina began to gain believers. Therefore, while millions of Christians were slaughtered, believers grew more because the power of God’s Grace was revealed in the weakness of the Martyrs,” Maximos added at another point.
“We have the great honour to be born Greek and Orthodox Christians. Hellenism created all the necessary cultural conditions to make the Gospel message known to the world. And the message of the Gospel was able to be spread through the Greek language,” the Metropolitan of Ioannina said.
“1700 years after the martyrdom of St. Marina we must think. Is it a great gift for us to be Greek and Christian Orthodox? If so, we need to repent and study the Gospel, so that we become light for the world, since we are already enlightened, as all Saints have become the light, enlightened by the Grace and the Light of the Holy Trinity,” Maximos said.