On Sunday, 16 July 2023, all the parishes of the Holy Metropolis of Pisidia festively celebrated the Synaxis of all the Saints who shone forth in Pisidia.
At the church of Saint Alypius of Kionitos, in Antalya, Metropolitan Job of Pisidia presided over the Vigil on the evening of the feast day, and on the main day of the feast, Metropolitan Job presided over the Divine Liturgy, joined by Bishop Ambrosios of Evdokiada and by the clergy of Antalya, with the participation of many members of the local Church.
In his homily, the local Shepherd emphasized that the Synaxis of all the Saints of Pisidia contains the seeds of the Chief Apostle Paul who preached in Pisidia and Pamphylia, accompanied by the Apostle Barnabas and his immediate coworkers, the couple, Saints Aquila and Priscilla.
He also recalled that the ecclesiastical writer Tertullian considered the martyrs to be the seeds of Christians. In this sense, Pisidia and Pamphylia should be grateful, because they raised up martyrs, such as Saint Thecla the disciple of the Apostle Paul or Saint Marina the Martyr, together with a cloud of Holy Hierarchs, successors of the Apostles, of whom about a hundred participated in various Ecumenical councils, as well as a multitude of male and female monastics, such as Saint Matrona of Perge, who founded a famous monastery in Constantinople.
In conclusion, the Metropolitan emphasized: “The variety we find in the lives of the saints who shone in Pisidia and Pamphylia is great. But for the Church, diversity is not a novelty, because the mystery of salvation reconciles those separated by culture, race, nationality, and social class. The Church is nothing but the assembly of those who have been reconciled thanks to the death and resurrection of Christ and their participation in the fundamental holy mysteries, baptism, and the holy eucharist.”
