The services of the Holy Week were performed with religious devotion in all the temples of Alexandria. Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and All Africa presided over the Easter services, visiting the Parish Communities of the Great City.
It is reminded that the traditional observance of significant Easter services led by the Patriarch, including the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts at the Holy Patriarchal Church of Saint Savvas the Sanctified on Holy Monday, the Eucharistic Mystery at the Arab-Orthodox Parish Community of the Theotokos of Alexandria on Holy Wednesday, and the Service of the Holy Passion and the Epitaph Lament at the Holy Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Theotokos. During the latter service, the Patriarch officiated the procession of the Holy Epitaph, accompanied by Metropolitan Panteleimon of Ptolemais, the Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Patriarchate. Additionally, the event was attended by the Greek Scouts, Consul General of Greece in Alexandria Ioannis Pyrgakis, President of the Greek Community of Alexandria Andrea Vafeiadis, and the Chair of the Hellenic Yacht Club Eirini-Lilika Thliviti, presidents, and members of the Greek associations of faithful.
During the procession of the Holy Epitaph, the Patriarch offered a prayer for the repose of his late predecessors at the Patriarchal Palace, for the late presidents and members of the Greek Community of the Great City, and for the Great National Benefactors.
He fervently prayed for peace to prevail in the strife-torn regions of the Middle East, Ukraine, and wherever people endure the trials of warfare and fratricidal conflict.
He conveyed his gratitude to the Presidents of Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece for their steadfast support of the Patriarchate. With heartfelt emotion, he expressed the Church’s praise and paternal love for the Hierarchy and Holy Clergy of the Apostolic and Patriarchal Throne of Alexandria, acknowledging their selfless and sacrificial ministry and their extensive missionary efforts among the peoples of Africa.
On the morning of Holy Friday, the Service of the Royal Hours and the Vespers of the Descent from the Cross took place at the Holy Monastery of Saint Savvas. Subsequently, the Patriarch visited all the churches and the Greek Cemetery of Alexandria, where he conducted a memorial service for the repose of the souls of Christians who had peacefully rested for centuries.
Translated by Thanos Chrysanthopoulos
