Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Church of Saint Georgios in Adrianople Gate on Sunday, July 12, 2020, on the feast of Saint Paisios of Mount Athos. The service was concelebrated by Metropolitan Kyrillos of Imbros and Tenedos and the Abbot of the Holy Trinity Monastery in Halki, Bishop Kassianos of Arabissos.
During the Divine Liturgy, the Ecumenical Patriarch also ordained Hierodeacon Father Irakli Jinjolava, a clergyman of Georgian descent, as a Presbyter, giving him the name Elijah, in honor of Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia.
“It is a great blessing and special privilege for you to belong today to the sacred clergy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, who are a faithful guardian of the Tradition of the Fathers, Saints and Martyrs of the Faith, the devoutness and philanthropy of Orthodoxy,” stressed the Ecumenical Patriarch, in his speech, before the ordination of the new presbyter.
“The mission of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is to minister to all Orthodox believers in this country regardless of nationality, language or cultural identity. This supranational role of the Great Church includes many possibilities of pastoral activity and good testimony to modern pluralistic societies.”
The Ecumenical Patriarch referred, among other things, to the rich education and theological training, language proficiency, modesty and ecclesiastical conviction and righteousness of the new presbyter, which, as he said, guarantee a Christlike and fruitful ministry.
In his reply, Fr. Elijah expressed his gratitude to the Ecumenical Patriarch, for the trust he put in him, and for his great love and pastoral care for the Orthodox faithful who come from Georgia and live in Constantinople.
“There is a historical kinship and bond of love between the Churches of Georgia and Constantinople from the apostolic times. In the Life of Saint Nino the Equal-to-Apostles from Cappadocia, we are informed that Constantine the Great sent, from this royal city, Constantinople, the first bishop and presbyters to Iberia. The ordination of a Georgian elder in the Great Church of Constantinople clearly demonstrates the pan-Orthodox unity and testifies to the care you show as a true shepherd and father to every man and every people.”
The Ecumenical Patriarch, the Hierarchs and the faithful congratulated the new presbyter of the Mother Church, while the Patriarch referred to the personality and leadership of Patriarch Ilia, about whom he said that he expresses the unity of the Georgian people.