The memory of Saint Theodore of Byzantium was solemnly celebrated in his picturesque birthplace, Nichori of Bosphorus.
As reported by fanarion.blogspot.com, on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 16, the Great Vespers Service was celebrated in the Holy Church of the Assumption of the Virgin in Neochori. Metropolitan Athenagoras of Kydonia, Hierarchical Head of the Bosporus Region, officiated and blessed the artoklassia and preached the divine word. Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, numerous parishioners and pilgrims concelebrated.
On the morning of Wednesday, February 17, the Orthros and the Divine Liturgy were celebrated in the church.
Despite the bad weather conditions, many Christians commemorated the Saint and accepted his blessing, both from Nichori and from other suburbs of the Bosphorus regions and Constantinople.
During this two-day celebration, the faithful venerated the icon of the Saint and Neo martyr, as well as part of the Saint’s vestment offered by the Holy Metropolis of Mytilene.