Deacon Ordination in the Holy Metropolis of Corfu
On Thursday, December 27, 2018 his Eminence, the Bishop of Corfu, Paxoi and Diapontian Islands, Mr. Nektarios did the Divine Liturgy in the celebrating Church of Saint Stephanos in Varypatades village, where he ordained a deacon, Mr. Stephanos Poulimenos, married and father of three children.
In his speech, the newly-ordained deacon described the difficulties that choosing Priesthood has, while at the same time stressing the biggest gift of Christ to humans, that is making them His servants on earth, in order to do the Great Mysteries of our Holy Church, giving salvation to humans.
In his closing, father Stephanos thanked first and foremost the Triune God and then his Eminence, the Bishop, for his paternal love, his spiritual father Archimandrite father Chrystostomos Koutsouris, the priests of the local Church and finally, his wife and children.
Then, Mr. Nektarios underlined that Priesthood is not an easy, comfortable path, but a difficult one, full of pain and hardships. Priests have always been under scrutiny, since the Medieval period and so on. A recent example of this, was the hard fight against the priests in the Soviet Union, with many martyrs being priests and simple humans whose only “crime” was their believing to the Triune God and their confession of Him with boldness. Moreover, in our country too, the Church is under fight by local and foreign dark forces. Christ and Orthodoxy are the biggest obstacle to complete the plans of the New Order of Things and Globalization.
Therefore, this spiritual war is raging. However, we, as Christians, should not be disappointed or afraid. Christ, Himself, reassured us that on the one hand, He will provide us with the Truth to confess Him in front of various authorities and on the other hand, He will always be with us, until the end of time.
Lastly, the Bishop of Corfu, referring to the Martyr and Archdeacon Stephanos, noted that his whole life was a glorification to God. He confessed Christ to the authorities proving that they were indeed, cold-hearted. As a result, they killed him with stones. The Protomartyr Stephanos begged God to forgive his executioners, following the example of our Lord, who, asked God to forgive the ones crucifying Him.
In his closing, Mr. Nektarios wished to father Stephanos the Christ to strengthen him and his family, by the embassies of the Most Holy Theotokos, St. Stephanos and all Saints.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, his Eminence ordained a reader, Mr. Dimitrios and congratulated the priest of the village father Vasileios Maniatopoulos on his spiritual work.
