With ecclesiastical grandeur and spiritual devotion, the feast day of the Polish-speaking Parish of the Nativity of the Theotokos was celebrated on Sunday, September 6, 2026, in the Anderlecht area, on the outskirts of Brussels.
Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium, Exarch of the Netherlands and Luxembourg, presided over the festive Divine Liturgy, along with the priests of the Parish and other clergy, who took part in the festive gathering of the people of God.
Special splendor was lent to the celebration by the Parish’s polyphonic choir, creating an atmosphere both devout and festive. The participation of the faithful was particularly moving, as many people came to honor the feast, in the second such celebration since the church’s consecration.
Before the start of the Divine Liturgy, and on the occasion of the Parish feast, the Service of the Blessing of the Loaves (Artoklasia) was celebrated, followed by the consecration of the new iconostasis (templon) of the Holy Church.
In his sermon, the Metropolitan spoke, among other things, about the message of the Gospel passage on the parable of the wedding feast, noting its particular relevance for contemporary people and for the life of the Church.
“Today’s Gospel presents us with a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son and invited many people. Everything was ready, yet the guests did not respond, being absorbed in their own affairs.
This parable remains extremely relevant in our own time as well. In contemporary Europe, God is perhaps not so much fought against as forgotten.
Our daily life is filled with work, obligations, and various concerns, with the result that we risk no longer hearing the voice of God, who continues to invite us, saying: “Come, for everything is now ready.”
God is presented in the parable as a King who invites us into joy and into communion with Him. The wedding feast is an image of the Kingdom of God, but at the same time it also points us to the Mystery of the Divine Eucharist. At every Divine Liturgy, Christ calls us anew to His table and offers us His very Self.
God’s invitation is addressed to everyone, without exception. The Church is not a community of perfect people, but the place where God gathers people together in order to heal them and transform them through the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The wedding garment reminds us of our Holy Baptism: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” It is not enough, however, to be Christians only in name, or simply to attend church. Christ wishes to transform our entire life. This spiritual garment becomes visible through repentance, prayer, humility, forgiveness, love, and compassion toward our fellow human beings.
God calls everyone, but at the same time fully respects human freedom. Let us not, therefore, answer Him: “Lord, later.” Let us respond to His invitation today, saying: ‘Lord, here I am. Since You call me, I come. Cleanse my heart and renew within me Your Holy Spirit.'”
After the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the Metropolitan warmly thanked all those present, clergy and laity alike, for their devout participation and their support of the Polish-speaking parish community, expressing his fatherly joy at the progress and spiritual fruitfulness of the Parish.
This festive day concluded with a celebratory meal offered in the adjoining courtyard of the Holy Church, allowing the faithful to meet, converse, and share the joy of the feast in a spirit of unity and fellowship.
