On Sunday, August 29, 2021, Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium and Exarch of the Netherlands presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. John the Baptist in Brussels, one of the five oldest parishes in Brussels.
During the Holy Sermon, praising the face of the “greatest of all the prophets”, Metropolitan Athenagoras stated that the Forerunner cuts off the head of the wicked by His Beheading. With his own sacrifice, he shames his perpetrators. With his own burial, he buries the devil. Descending to Hades, he proclaims the coming of the Savior and prepares the dead for the Resurrection. The blood of the Forerunner becomes for the Church inspiration and fertilizer in the eternal tree of faith, because this blood will be united with the Sacred Blood of the Savior on the Cross and with the blood of the countless millions who will be sacrificed for the truth and the ethos of the Gospel.”
Elsewhere in the sermon, the Metropolitan of Belgium stressed that “the honorable Head of the Baptist becomes the pillar of every believer. It is the treasure that heals the fall into disobedience, that inspires struggle and performance in spiritual deeds. The honorable Head of the Baptist becomes the bright star in the darkness of every age. The light becomes the lighthouse of the Church. It becomes the consolation for every suffering and wronged of this world. The honorable Head of the Forerunner is the sweet fruit of the Old Testament that came out in a bitter way but brings beautiful and healing results “.
Prior to the dismissal, Metropolitan Athenagoras introduced and installed the new Hierarchical Head of the Parish of the Holy Forerunner Molenbeek, Treasurer Efstathios Vamvakas, whom he and his family welcomed to the Holy Metropolis of Belgium, wishing them a happy and fruitful life. The new clergyman was seconded from the Holy Diocese of Neapolis and Stavroupolis. In addition, he thanked the “present” pastor of the Holy Temple, Archimandrite Philadelphos Kafalis, now Protosyncellus of the Holy Diocese, for his work and contribution to the Parish.
Finally, he thanked the collaborating priests and deacons, the cantors, those who contributed to the organization of the festival, as well as the faithful parishioners, whom he called to become “the exceptions of the world that will shine with the Light of Christ, which surrounds every imitator.” Baptist John”.
