Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium and Exarch of the Netherlands and Luxembourg presided over the Divine Liturgy at the French-speaking Parish of Saints Silouan the Athonite and Martin, Bishop of Tours, in Brussels and performed the ordination of the deacon Laurent Van Damme, on Sunday, March 6, 2022.
Instead of another sermon, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s Catechetical Word was read.
The Metropolitan in his speech to the ordained said, among other things: “I am sure that you know and realize that on your part will require a lot of effort and commitment. The essence of this ministry is based on faith, prayer, and fasting. It is a ministry of offering for the well-being of the afflicted, the sick, the abandoned, the fleeing man, as well as orphans and widows and all humans, regardless of their national, social, political, and cultural orientation. You are called to see in each person “for whom Christ died” the image of God.” And he went on to ask some questions. “Isn’t it said that Orthodoxy has much to offer today’s world? When we say that, how does that become a testimony to our neighbor? How does it feel to be invited to join our parishes? Olivier Clément said it beautifully: “Orthodoxy needs small parishes where there will be room for the whole world and where everyone will know each other by name. Parishes that will testify to a world in which people no longer know or seek God, and in which people also resist the grace of God.”
Father Laurent is married and the father of four children and an architect in the profession. He is a graduate of the Apostle Paul Theological Institute of the Holy Metropolis of Belgium, while his wife comes from a priestly family. He was ordained a deacon by Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium in September 2020.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, the Metropolitan, after many years of service in the Parish of Saints Silouan the Athonite and Martin the Bishop of Tours, awarded the offikion of the Protopresbyter to the priest in charge of the Parish, Athanase de Theux. Finally, after congratulating them, he thanked the people for their participation in this joy of the Metropolis and for their support in the work of the parish, inviting them to strengthen their zeal for their Parish and liturgical life.
This parish of Saints Silouan the Athonite and Martin of Tours, one of the two French-speaking parishes in Brussels, was created in 1995 with Fr. Bartholomew D’Huyvetter as the first priest. In 2006 Athanasios de Theux was ordained a deacon by the then Metropolitan Panteleimon to serve in this parish and in 2008 a priest, taking over the continuity of the Parish’s life and allowing the French-speaking Orthodox of Brussels to live in their language the worship life of the Orthodox Church.