First part of the Akathist Hymn and the Small Compline in the Holy Metropolis of Corfu
On Friday, March 15, 2019 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, his Eminence mentioned that our Lady Theotokos has been for centuries the Protector of the Queen of cities. Thanks to the embassies of the Mother of the Lord, many repulsors who tried to seize Constantinople, were defeated. Reading the history of Romania, however, the question of how Polis is finally brought by the Ottomans is a matter of urgency. Was she abandoned by our Lady Theotokos? The answer to the above reasonable question is that both the Lord and His Master cheer and keep humans, when the latter have a living communion with the Triune God, their hearts are kindled by love for Him and are spiritually struggling to realize the divine will . Another reason is also important to preserve the unalterable Orthodox Faith, unqualified, without discounts for it for any reason. In every case, when humans depart from the Lord, being disturbed by his selfishness and having as the sole purpose of his life the realization of his desires, then Christ departs from the life of humans, since He respects the freedom of His creature.
Furthermore, the Bishop of Corfu, referring to our time, stressed that we too are in danger if we do not return to God to be lost as a nation. It is only by accident that this is not all that is being said last time in our homeland, with the adoption of unfair and unanimous bills, in order for Orthodox Greece to become a neutral state. Whether they want it inside and outside of the country or not, Greece has as its head Jesus Christ. With Him our Nation lived for so many centuries, with Him it would be together until the end.
Moreover, Mr. Nektarios invited people to return to Christ. There is no better period than the one when humans are invited to check their hearts and their consciences and their relationship with God than the one passing, the Holy and Great Lent.
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.
By the end of the Service, Mr. Nektarios was informed by the priests of the Metropolitan Church about the recently revealed old relic case of the holy relic of Saint Theodora the Empress.
