In an atmosphere filled with emotion, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew officiated on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 5, 2025, the service of the Lesser Blessing of the Waters (Agiasmos) on the occasion of the reopening of the renovated Chapel of the Skete of the Transfiguration of the Savior Christ, in Halki of the Princes’ Islands. He then presided over the celebration of Great Vespers.
In his address that followed, the Ecumenical Patriarch spoke about the significance of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Savior, noting that on Mount Tabor, the disciples beheld the Lord “in another form.” He continued: “When one has entered into this realm of theoria, contemplation of Jesus in another form, they are liberated from the bondage of necessity and suffering. But what about the others? The many? They are still anxiously waiting on the slopes of Tabor for the Transfiguration to be delivered from pain, sickness, and need, just like our brothers and sisters in long-suffering Gaza.
We watch with horror the scenes of innocent civilians, of children dying from hunger, and of captives digging their graves. This is truly a shame for the human race, for all of humanity, as I said yesterday as well! To be more precise, these images reflect nothing human. They are, quite literally, inhuman!
We know very well that it is not easy to alter the course of reality, the course of history. Yet the Church never abandons hope, nor does it cease in its efforts to transfigure the world. For the world is not transformed through violence or war. Look at history and you will see: whatever great and noble has been accomplished was always achieved by the few, those who have truly shaped history. The world is always transfigured by the few, who are nonetheless countless; by the little leaven that ‘leavens the whole lump’ (Galatians 5:9); by the saints.
The saints have shown us, and continue to show us, the Church in another form, in its God-like form, as established by its Divine Founder.”
Elsewhere in his speech, the Ecumenical Patriarch referred to the renovation of the much-suffering chapel, which with time was tested, just like the Romiosyni (Greek Orthodox community) of the City: “For the world to be properly transfigured in Christ, it seeks to behold even today a Church that is itself transfigured. And our supreme responsibility as Christians, even if we are but the small leaven, is to be transfigured through our love and offering to our fellow human beings, so that we may become an example of common witness and common service to the modern world.
We, the Orthodox Romioi, have never valued or based our existence on numbers, for our history teaches us that “the good is not in the many, but in the good the much is found’ and that God is able ‘from these stones to raise children to Abraham” (Matthew 3:9).
Truly, in the history of humanity, nothing great or lofty has ever been achieved without love and sacrifice. And however few we may be today, all the more love and all the greater sacrifices are needed, so that we may preserve with dignity all that our forefathers and the ages have entrusted to us.”
A bearer of this generous and selfless love for the Mother Church and the local Greek Orthodox community of the City is the Most Honorable and dearly beloved Archon Aktouarios Dr. Stefanos Gialourakis and his gracious wife, Mrs. Anna, who undertook the entire cost of the complete renovation of the chapel of this celebrated Skete of the Transfiguration of Christ in Halki. This humble yet historic Skete, also known as the “Skete of Makarios” due to a monk who practiced asceticism here in the 19th century, tasted the bitter cup of the tribulations experienced by the Romiosyni of the City, especially during the past century. The trials of the Skete continued until very recently, serving as an unmistakable witness to the inexpressible groans of our Nation.
And yet, thanks to the tireless efforts of His Eminence Metropolitan Apostolos of Derkoi, whom we warmly congratulate on behalf of the Great Church of Christ and personally, and thanks to the moving generosity of the Gialourakis family, the much-afflicted chapel of the Transfiguration now stands before us in another form, completely renovated, truly transfigured.”
Before the address of the Ecumenical Patriarch, greetings were offered by Metropolitan Apostolos of Derkoi and Bishop Kassianos of Arabissos, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Halki.
Present at the event were Archbishop Nektarios of Anthidon, members of the clergy, the Mayor of the Princes’ Islands (Adalar), Mr. Ali Ercan Akpolat, and a large number of faithful.
Photos: Nikos Papachristou
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
