At St. Stephen Metropolitan Church in Paris, Metropolitan Emmanuel of France presided the Sacred Service on Pentecost Sunday, assisted by the Archpriests Father Panayiotis Xenitelis, Father Georgios Eymard and the Deacon Anton Gelyasov.
After the end of the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Emmanuel presided the Vesper of Holy Spirit, during which he read the Kneeling Prayers.
In his sermon the Metropolitan spoke of the great Feast of the Pentecost as the birthday of the Church, which for two thousand years continued its course in the Apostles’ steps.
Addressing the candidates, he referred to the virtues of the clergy and the great spiritual responsibility that priesthood demands.
At the end of this sermon, Metropolitan Emmanuel emphasized that: “The Church needs new clergy who have fear and zeal for God; priests who perceive today’s pastoral and particular needs of the expats in the scattered parishes and communities in our country, France”.
