The new salutary year 2024, which for our Metropolis is the beginning of a new twenty years period and more, began with the completion of the feasts of the Holy Twelve Days and the pastoral presences of the Metropolitan of Spain and Portugal throughout Iberia.
Specifically, beginning with the Feast of the Epiphany, the Metropolitan, after the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy in the Orthodox Cathedral of Madrid, ordained the Fr. Igor Kmetyk to the title of Protopresbyter, who assumed the difficult duties of the Secretary of the Holy Metropolis.
On Sunday, January 14, on the completion of three years since his election, he co-celebrated the Divine Liturgy along with the Most Reverend Bishop of Comana Michael, exarch of our Ecumenical Patriarchate in Kiev and head of the St. Andrew’s Stavopigion in Kiev.
Then, on 21 January he calabrated the divine Liturgy in the parish of St. Nektarios in Barcelona, on 28 January in the parish of St. Andrew in Viana do Castelo (Portugal) and on 03 March in the parish of St. Nicholas in Alicante (Spain), thus witnessing the work and zeal of our good priests and the growing faith of the multi-ethnic flock of our Metropolis, consisting as it is known, of Greeks, Spanish, Portuguese, Bulgarians, Ukrainians, Russians, etc.
The Metropolitan was present, at the beginning of the Week of Prayer for the Unity of Christians (22-28 January), at the Cathedral of Saint Eulalia in Barcelona and at the end of the week at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Almudena in Madrid.
On Saturday, February 17, the Metropolitan, in the spirit of the inter-Christian dialogue and the love that the Mother Church of Constantinople has always advocated, and at the very honorable invitation of the Bishop and Prefect of the Anglican Church of Portugal (Igreja Lusitana) (Anglican Communion), Mr. José Jorge Tavares de Pina Cabral, attended prayerfully the solemn inaugural Mass on the occasion of the celebration of the 100th Synod of that Church.
The Mass took place in the Anglican Cathedral of St. Paul’s in Lisbon and was attended by the Primate of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Justin Welby, who also preached the Divine Word.
The whole devotional event was graciously graced by President of the Portuguese Republic Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa.
Before and after the Divine Liturgy, the Metropolitan had a long and cordial conversation with the Archbishop of Canterburry as well as with the bishop, conveying the blessings and love of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, thus confirming the mutual love and relationship between the two Churches.
It is worth noting that the Divine Liturgy was broadcasted directly by the Portuguese national television network.
On Thursday 14 March, the Metropolitan, accompanied by his Chancellor Fr. Theofylactos Vitsos, had a long meeting of acquaintance and collaboration with the new Archbishop Patriarch of Lisbon D. Rui Manuel Sousa Valério at his episcopal residence and then with Archbishop Ivo Scapolo, the Apostolic Nuncio in Portugal.
During the two meetings, the Metropolitan thanked the Roman Catholic Church in Portugal for its assistance and for providing places of worship for the majority of Orthodox parishes in the country.
They exchanged views on ecclesiastical matters, as well as wishes for the upcoming Easter of our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters and also for the beginning of the Holy and Great Lent.
