A funeral service was held on Friday, February 7, at the cemetery of the Monastery of the Mother of God at the Spring, where the relics of the last Scholarch of the Theological School of Halki, Metropolitan Maximos of Stavroupolis, were buried.
The Metropolitan of Stavroupolis, who died in 1991, had originally been buried in Athens and later on at the initiative of the Ecumenical Patriarch his relics were transferred in Constantinople. “I made this decision after the repatriation and burial of former Scholarch Metropolitan Iakovos of Iconium and then of my predecessor, Ecumenical Patriarch Constantine VII, who was expelled by the Turkish authorities and died in Athens, where he was also buried. Many years later his relics were transferred here at this historic Monastery of our fathers, where other Ecumenical Patriarchs are buried as well,” said the Ecumenical Patriarch in his speech.
The Ecumenical Patriarch was especially moved when he spoke of the last Scholarch of the Theological School of Halki. He said, “He was a kind human being, who was not petty nor spiteful. On the contrary, he was known for his wit, philanthropy, kindness, and hospitality. […] He loved his students like a real father. At the time when he was preparing to move to Athens, he reposed in the Lord. He should have been buried here from the beginning and stayed with us, close to the other Hierarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. However, his sisters wanted him to be buried in Athens. When I first came here as Ecumenical Patriarch, in 1999, I performed the Trisagion service at the tombs of my predecessor, Constantine II, and of our Scholarchs. I was blessed by God and, therefore, I was able to bring them both here to the place they belong. This is the place we all belong; the land of our fathers, where blood was shed in the past. This is the only place on Earth, where we will be able to rest in peace. Everlasting be his memory!”
