With great splendour and deep devotion, the inauguration of the Holy Church of St. Paisios in Ioannina was performed by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in the presence of all local authorities.
Earlier, Archbishop Ieronymos arrived in Ioannina, while many Metropolitans of the Church of Greece were also present.
The ceremony was planned two years ago but then it was not possible due to the pandemic restrictions.
Two years later and on the occasion of the Saint’s feast day, the Ecumenical Patriarch is in Ioannina and on Monday afternoon he performed the inauguration.
The church of Saint Paisios was built in record time. The parts of the church were transported ready-made from Thessaloniki and assembled on a plot of land granted by the Municipality of Ioannina.
The Holy Metropolis of Ioannina chose to dedicate the temple to a new Saint who trod the soil of the region. It is noted that St. Paisios grew up in Konitsa where his memory is celebrated these days with great splendour.
The festivities are attended by the President of the Parliament, the members of parliament of the prefecture of Ioannina and all the local authorities.
The Ecumenical Patriarch visited the premises of the Holy Monastery of Vellas
The Holy Monastery of Vellas and the facilities of the model farm created by the Metropolis of Ioannina as well as the cheese-dairy were a stopover for Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
In the monastery, where after many decades the operation of the ecclesiastical academy ended, there are sections of the public Vocational Institution with directions related to the primary sector.
Metropolitan Maximos of Ioannina referred to the effort that began from the very first time he took office in order to revive the premises of the Monastery.
In this effort, he found many allies and through hard work the Holy Monastery of Vellas is coming back to life.
The important news of the day is that the cheese-dairy that was established has now obtained a production license and the products have been given a code by the Hellenic Food Authority and can now be marketed under a brand name.
The news became known by the Chairman of the Chamber of Ioannina, Dimitris Dimitriou, who handed over the relevant license to the Metropolitan.
The Ecumenical Patriarch was impressed by the work done and the multidimensional activity of the Metropolis.
He also stressed that the Metropolis of Ioannina can serve as an example for the rest of the country and noted that the Metropolitan gives a new pulse.
The Ecumenical Patriarch toured all the premises of the cheese-dairy and the School and of course tasted the local products produced by the students of the Vocational Institution.
Source: epiruspost
Watch the inauguration ceremony here.
