First part of the Akathist Hymn and the Small Compline in the Holy Metropolis of Corfu
On Friday, February 23, 2018 the first part of the Akathist Hymn and the Small Compline were sung in the Holy Metropolitan Church of Virgin Mary the Spilaiotissa, with his Eminence, the Bishop of Corfu, Paxoi and Diapontian Islands, Mr. Nektarios.
In his preaching, the Bishop of Corfu commented on a part of the Akathist Hymn: “Rejoice, replacer of manna” and noted that as manna was sent by God from the sky to feed the Israeli people on their route to the promised land, so our Most Holy Virgin Mary became mother of the Son of God, Whose Body and Blood we receive through the Holy Communion and we are saved by the worst slavery, the one of the sins, passions and death.
Moreover, his Eminence underlined that our Lady Theotokos is our Mother too, since we all are images of God. And by images, we mean faces. The Theology of our Church perfectly states that, when mentioning the images such as Christ’s, Virgin Mary’s and our Saints. We worship the faces depicted in the images and we receive the Grace of the Holy Spirit. This truth of our Faith is fought throughout the centuries by the various heresies.
In his closing, Mr. Nektarios invited all the believers to ask in their prayers for Virgin Mary’s protection in order to get strengthened from the Mother of our Lord in their spiritual struggles, especially during the period of the Holy and Great Lent.
Lastly, his Eminence reminded the people of the worshipping events that will take place on Saturday afternoon, February 24, the Vesper and on Sunday of Orthodoxy, the Divine Liturgy and the Litany of the Holy Relic of Saint Theodora the Empress. In the worshipping events, the most pious Bishop of Salona, Mr. Antonios will begin first and do the services, since Mr. Nektarios will be in the Holy Synod in Athens.
