On Sunday, October 18, Feast of the Glorious New Martyrs Gabriel and Cirmidol, Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria and All Africa performed the Divine Liturgy of The Holy Apostle And Evangelist Mark in the place of martyrdom and burial of the two saints at the Monastery of Saint Georgios in old Cairo.
The said Divine Liturgy belongs to the ancient Alexandrian tradition and is inextricably linked to the history of the Patriarchate of Alexandria with significant Byzantine influences. The Divine Liturgy is attributed to Saint Mark the Apostle.
It was written in Greek and is known from fragments of parchments and papyri of the 4th and 5th century, but the manuscripts that contain the full text date back to the 11th century and so on.
In his homily, the Patriarch said:
“[…] Your eyes will weep as the wish refers to the sick. That reminded me of all the sick from the pandemic and I prayed for God’s peace to come to Nile’s country. I bless you, my children. Today I wore the phelonion as the first priests and archpriests did it. This is what Cyril of Alexandria always wearing. This all-gold engkolpion is early Christian. This is what the first bishops wore as an amulet. May you have God’s blessing, my children. I thank the Archpriests Nikolaos and Nikodimos who prayed so many times with their flock for you our new children, who will be the clergy of tomorrow. God bless you.”
Finally, he thanked the bishops who were prayerfully attending in the altar, Metropolitan Nikolaos of Ermoupolis and Metropolitan Nikodimos of Memphis, the brotherhood of the Holy Monastery, as well as the Consul General of Greece in Cairo, Maria Zisis.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, the procession of the holy icon and the relics of the saints took place in the catacombs of the Monastery and then the blessing of the waters of the Nile.
Source: Patriarchate of Alexandria
