The Metropolis of Smyrna and the Orthodox Community celebrated the memory of Saint Polycarpos, the patron saint of the capital of Ionia.
Metropolitan Symeon of Nea Smyrni presided over the Archieratical Divine Liturgy, accompanied by Metropolitan Bartholomew of Smyrna and Bishop Amvrosios of Evdokia, at the historic Church of Saints Voukolos and Polycarpos.
The Greek Consul General, Argiro Papoulia, the Mayor of Nea Smyrni, Stavros Tzoulakis, the President of the Asia Minor Association of Aigaleo, Stavros Koutoulias, professors and students who participated in the international conference on Saint Polykarpos attended the Divine Liturgy. The Nicene Creed was read in Turkish, Slavonic and Romanian.
Metropolitan Symeon Nea Smyrni proclaimed the Divine Word, who described that day as blessed.
“The local Church and the city of Nea Smyrni represented by its humble bishop and mayor meet and mingle with the Church of the unforgettable and lamented Smyrna represented by its new bishop and its blessed flock,” he stressed.
Metropolitan Bartholomew warmly thanked Metropolitan Symeon, who traveled from Athens to honor the patron saint of Smyrna. He also pointed out that the concelebration of the Divine Liturgy, in which Metropolitan Symeon of Nea Smyrni presided over, united the past, the present and the future of the Church of Smyrna.
Source: aviketos.com
