Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the Great Vespers on the eve of the Annunciation at the Annunciation Church of Tataoula.
In his speech, the Ecumenical Patriarch, at the end of the Divine Liturgy, pointed out that peace today is deeply injured in the martyred Ukrainian land.
“That’s why we came here tonight, once again this year, to worship Nazareth’s chaste daughter, and to address her with a special prayer:
to end the heinous war in Ukraine and all the misfortunes it has caused, to take the devout Ukrainian people under her protection and to support them, after this unbearable ordeal they have been under for a whole month now. Tonight we join our prayers to deliver the message of the Annunciation, this voice of optimism and hope, this proclamation of joy and consolation, to the bleeding Ukraine that needs it so much.
And we are sure that the Virgin Mary can do it, because she is heard by her Son, because she gave him flesh and brought him to the center of the drama of our history, to redeem us. ”
Metropolitan Stefanos of Kallioupolis and Madytos welcomed the Ecumenical Patriarch with warm words.
During his speech, the Archbishop noted, among other things, that “this year’s celebration is overshadowed by both the consequences of the pandemic, as well as by the war cries and the cries of the innocent, who continue to be heard in the homeland of the pious children of the Mother Church of St. Vladimir, the Great Prince of Kyiv, and Saint, Equal of the Apostles, Olga.
Photo: Nikos Papachristou/Ecumenical Patriarchate