On Monday, July 12, Bishop Elpidios of Kyanes presided over the Orthros and the Divine Liturgy for the feast of Saint Paisios of Mount Athos at the Holy Monastery of Saint John in Forrestfield, Perth.
Despite the bad weather conditions, the faithful were present at the Byzantine-style chapel dedicated to Saint Paisios.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Bishop Elpidios spoke in the congregation about Saint Paisios, repeating some words of Archbishop Makarios of Australia, where he noted that holiness is not far and inaccessible to modern people. “Becoming a Saint is not a matter of that time”, the Archbishop had emphasized, pointing out that holiness can and should be a goal of people in modern times.
“Today, on the feast day of Saint Paisios of Mount Athos”, noted the Bishop of Kyanes, repeating the words of the Archbishop of Australia, “the Church invites us to realize that we, by the grace of God, can become Saints, that we can follow the steps of the Saints”. “Today we are reminded that the basic common feature of all the Saints is that ‘the first love of their hearts was Christ’ and the Church encourages us all to set the same priority in our personal lives”, Bishop of Kyanes said.
Afterwards, Bishop Elpidios made special mention of the main benefactors who supported the construction of the church of Saint Paisios, Nikolaos Kakoulas and his late wife, Anastasia, expressing warm thanks. He also made special reference to the original benefactors, the late Stavros, Michael, and Iraklis Kakoulas, who had the plot on which the Holy Monastery of Saint John is located.
After the Dismissal of the Divine Liturgy, morning tea was served in the dining room of the monastery, where all the faithful attended.
Source: vema.com.au
