Celebrating Saint Dimitrios in Corfu
His Eminence the Bishop of Corfu, Paxos & Diapontian Islands Mr. Nektarios officiated at the Holy Monastery of Agios Dimitrios, in northern Corfu. During the festival of the Holy Monastery, delegations from the other monasteries of Corfu also arrived.
Addressing the fraternity, under the inspired guidance of Elder Agathoktistis and the pious pilgrims of the Holy Monastery, His Eminence focused his speech on the evangelical reading, on the words of our Lord and emphasized three points. Firstly,”you are from this world, but I selected you and for this reason you are hated”. Analyze the meaning of the world or secular mind, from which modern society has surrendered to it, with the result that our modern society is traumatized by the passionate state, the various evils and the indifference of the presence of God in our lives. The monks fight for the removal of the secular mind in their lives. Likewise, the saints of our faith in their struggle in order not to be overwhelmed by worldly wisdom, sacrificed their lives fighting for the faith of our Christ and the hope and certainty of the life of eternity. And Saint Demetrius, who today honors our church, fought in order not to be seduced by the secular mind and testified for this purpose.
The second point is that, as the disciple of Saint Demetrius exclaimed, Saint Nestor during his struggle with Lyas, “God of Demetrius help me”, analyzed the presence of the true God in our lives, which this true God chose Christians and set them apart from the fall and decay and this worldly spirit. The God of Saint Demetrius is our personal God and father, he is the creator of the universe and no matter how hard we try to push him out of our lives, He will always remain our God and we His people. Our Father and we His children and His daughters.
The third point is “for this, the world hates us”. the elect of God and those who fight for love for God are at the center of the evil of the world, that is why the holy martyrs also testified in their lives, that is why the Church continues to be persecuted and fought since the incarnation of the Son and Word of God. And as long as there is worldly wisdom, the Church of our Christ will be persecuted. Today in the age of globalization, our society is living in the highest degree of secularization for this and the Church of Christ is being persecuted by all the centers of power.
In closing, His Eminence stressed and said, the Church of Christ was born in the humble cave of Bethlehem, became a man in the catacombs of persecuted Christians and was humiliated in the imperial palaces. His Holiness wished the nuns and the pilgrims of the Holy Monastery, Saint Demetrios to be the symbol of resistance in their spiritual struggle that each of us invites to conduct and to those who celebrate every good, with the embassies of Saint Demetrius the Great Martyr.
