by Emilios Polygenis
A Holy Vigil was held in the celebrating Church of Evangelismos tis Theotokou at Vatopedi Monastery.
The Holy Vigil was officiated by Metropolitan Ioustinos of Krini and Kalamaria, assisted by the Primates of the Vatopedi Monastery, Elder Ephraim and Elder Methodios of Chilandari (Hilandar).
According to the tradition, during the celebration of Evangelismos, Elder Methodios of Hilandar serves as the Primate of Vatopedi Monastery for one day.
At his speech, Metropolitan of Kalamaria referred to Virgin Mary as follows: “This place remains alive due to the safeguard Trinitarian God and the presence of Holy Mary. Every single monk of Mount Athos has experienced the presence of Virgin Mary”.
Metropolitan Ioustinos also added that: “We would like to thank you for evangelizing the communion with Virgin Mary. As Elder Metropolitan Augustinos Kandiotis used to say, ‘Mount Athos is the lightning of Greece’”.
The Primate of Hilandar Monastery, Elder Methodios, also addressed a greeting, expressed his gratitude for being able to attend the celebration of the Monastery this year as well and repeated the message of today’s celebration, i.e. that we must be ready to obey God’s Will.
“God’s Will aims at nothing else but salvation. No matter how pious we are, our own will does not always lead to salvation. For this reason, we must pray so that God may reveal His Will”, emphasized Αbbot Methodios.