Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium performed the Divine Liturgy in the city of Tilburg in the Netherlands on Saturday, January 15, 2022.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Athenagoras performed the fortieth-day memorial service of the blessed Father Arkadi Vernikov, who was the priest of the Parish of Saint Porphyrios in Tilburg and after thanking the clergy of the Diocese who came to the Memorial service, as well as the choir of the Parish of Eindhoven, spoke to the faithful who came to honor the memory of their beloved priest, referring to the life and personality of the blessed Fr. Arkadi.
Father Arkadi was born in Odessa, Ukraine, where he completed his studies. His wedding took place in St. Nektarios Parish in Eindhoven.
In the same Parish he was ordained a deacon and a priest by the then Bishop of Sinope, and now Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium. He was associated with the also blessed Fr. Siluanos Oseel as well as with the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex, conveying this ecumenical spirit of the monastery to the Parishes he served.
First in the Parish of St. Nektarios in Eindhoven and then, when the Metropolitan of Belgium founded a new Parish in honor of Saint Porphyrios of Mount Athos in Tilburg, in this parish, where he served with great love for the faithful and was much loved by the people.