LAST UPDATED 15:13
Following his morning meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson yesterday, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church in Falls Church, Virginia for a welcome Doxology and blessing of the faithful.
Though clouds and a consistent drizzle marked the day, spirits were high as the parish’s children gathered outside the church wearing traditional Greek clothing, bearing flowers, and waving Ecumenical Patriarchate flags to welcome the Ecumenical Patriarch. Dozens of hierarchs and clergy were also in attendance to mark this Apostolic Visit’s first parish visit.
Afterwards, a Doxology was performed, led by the Ecumenical Patriarch.
In his speech, His All-Holiness expressed his joy and emotion from his visit to this beautiful Church, while on the occasion of the fact that it is dedicated to Saint Catherine, he referred to the Holy Monastery of Mount Sinai and its recent ordeal.
As the Patriarch said, the new abbot of the Monastery will visit the Phanar in the very near future, and he recalled that the Ecumenical Patriarchate supported the Monastery from the very beginning in its ordeal. At another point in his speech, he referred to the feast of this day, on which Saint Sophia and her daughters Faith, Hope and Love are honored, and particularly emphasized the importance of love for our fellow man.
At the conclusion of the service Archbishop Elpidophoros of America offered a welcome to the Ecumenical Patriarch and the faithful on behalf of the Archdiocese, expressing his hope that as the “devoted and dedicated children of the Mother Church of Constantinople,” U.S. faithful will demonstrate for His All-Holiness that they are fulfilling their “Orthodox Christian vocation to live according to Christ.”
Also participating in the service was Metropolitan Apostolos of New Jersey, as well as clergy from the Metropolis and parish.
Photos by Orthodox Observer/Brittainy Newman/Nikos Papachristou
