Following Saturday’s Great Vespers of Consecration, on August 18, 2024, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America presided over the Divine Liturgy of Consecration for St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan, celebrating alongside Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit and St. Nicholas parish priest Nicolaos Kotsis.
The morning included the Orthros service and the Consecration service followed by the Divine Liturgy. During the Consecration service, the hierarchs, clergy, and faithful participated in the traditional three processions around the church, representing the setting aside of a separate, sacred area for the purpose of worship. The Consecration service also included the deposition of Holy Relics and the reading of the prayer of Consecration, which refers to the power of God that causes nature to renew itself and helps man through the working of the Holy Spirit to renew himself.
Likewise, in his homily, Archbishop Elpidophoros compared consecration to the sacrament of Chrismation, remarking: “Just as we chrismate the newly-baptized to receive the in-breathing of the Holy Spirit, we chrismate the walls, the icons, the sacred liturgical objects of the Temple. We wash the Holy Altar and deposit the Sacred Relics inside, sealing them unto eternity. We pray that God will dwell here.”
After the completion of St. Nicholas’s consecration services, the community celebrated with a banquet, where Parish Council President Andrew Dallas, Consecration Chairman Craig Theros, parish priest Fr. Nicolaos Kotsis, Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit, and Archbishop Elpidophoros of America addressed the parish’s faithful.
Source: Goarch
