The Lord’s Feast of the Presentation was celebrated with great solemnity in all the Holy Monasteries and Parishes of the Holy Metropolis of Belgium. The focal point of the festivities was the festal parish of the Presentation of the Lord in Verviers.
On Saturday, January 31, 2026, Vespers were celebrated and presided over by Archimandrite Fr. Symeon Iliodromitis, a cleric of the Holy Metropolis of Chalkis. Parish priests participated in the service. During the service, the parish’s festal icon of the Presentation was received and enthroned. The icon was painted by Fr. Silouanos Medema, the parish priest at the Holy Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Asten.
On Sunday, February 1, 2026, the eve of the feast, Bishop Joachim of Apollonias presided at Matins and celebrated the Divine Liturgy, during which he delivered the sermon. After the Divine Liturgy, the procession of the parish’s festal icon of the “Virgin of the Passion” took place in an orderly and splendid manner through the streets of the parish. The procession included the clergy, the faithful, and the religious and civil authorities of the city. For the second consecutive year, the procession was enhanced by the presence of the Aubel Philharmonic Orchestra. A festive reception followed at the parish hall.
In the evening, the Great Festal Vespers of the Presentation and the all-night vigil were celebrated. The Protosyncellus of the Holy Metropolis of Belgium, Archimandrite Fr. Philadelphos Kafalis, presided over the services, which other clergy also participated in.
During the vigil, which concluded in the early morning hours of Monday, the catechumen Thierry Deboit was received into the Orthodox Church through Chrismation. The new parish member was given the name “Nektarios.” After the vigil, a generous meal was served in the parish hall.
On Monday evening, February 2, 2026, a Vesperal Divine Liturgy was celebrated and presided over by Protopresbyter Fr. Emmanuel Kazilas, Archieratical Vicar of Limburg and Liège, and representative of His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium. After the Divine Liturgy, a memorial service was held for departed priests, chanters, wardens, and parishioners.
Throughout the three-day celebration, choirs of chanters directed by the parish chanters, Mr. Markos Giuliani and Mrs. Despoina Gaspari, beautifully rendered the sacred hymnody.
The Parish Priest, Fr. Konstantinos Dedes, organized the feast with the help of the parish council and volunteers. They contributed decisively to the excellent preparation of the celebration, sparing neither effort nor time.
For the third consecutive year, the Orthodox faithful in Verviers, a city in eastern Wallonia, celebrated the Feast of the Presentation and their patroness, the “Virgin of the Passion,” whose holy icon came into the parish’s possession miraculously. This feast offers a universal Orthodox witness to the spiritual work and parish life of the diaspora.
The parish priest, Father Konstantinos Dedes, expressed his heartfelt thanks to the clergy who honored the feast with their presence, the chanters who served in the liturgy, and the parishioners who helped prepare for the feast. He demonstrated that the parish is a great family, and we are blessed to be members of it.
