The Bishop of Mesogea visits the Holy Metropolis of Corfu
On the occasion of the 19th Clerical Conference of the local Church, during which he spoke to the clergy, His Eminence, the Bishop of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki, Mr. Nikolaos had the opportunity to speak at a meeting of the parents’ school of the Holy Metropolis of Corfu, in the courtyard of the church of Saint Jason and Sosipatros in Corfu, guest of His Eminence the Metropolitan of Corfu, Paxos and the Diapontian Islands Mr. Nektarios. The event was held on the evening of Monday, September 20, 2021 and was attended by, among others, the Mayor of Central Corfu and the Diapontian Islands Ms. Meropi Hydraiou, who welcomed the event, as well as the President of the Municipal Council Mr. Dimitris Metallinos.
The Bishop of the Mesogea spoke about the difficulties that the pandemic crisis caused to the family and to the people. The main problem is the shattering of trust, both towards the institutions and towards our neighbor. The generalized distrust, the suspicion that has been caused, also poisons human relationships. The certainties to which the Internet leads are accompanied by fears and insecurities, resulting in the formation of a false reality in the perception of people, which extends to its daily life. The soul hardens. She has confidence only in her judgment, in her selfishness, as a result of which the margins for love and true meeting narrow.
We are entering an era where man is changing. One technology dominates. The crisis has brought the mobile phone and the screen constantly in front of us. It closes us to ourselves. Of course, not all technology is negative. The pandemic maintained some communication via the Internet. But we need to return to more lifelong encounters.
The Church needs to give enlightenment, to make us understand that divisions and divisions are not the key, but love and unity. Inspiration, hope and strength come from our relationship with Christ and are fed back into church life. We do not need a Church as a club of religious people, but a Church with people who thirst for God and want His presence in a spirit of sacrifice. The Church shows us the crucified Christ, the Christ of defeat and humility who becomes resurrected and alive. This is evident through our peaceful disposition, our determination not to quarrel with selfishness, to trust the treasure of the Bible and our tradition, to trust the will of God. So let’s hope and let us fight.
In his speech, the Bishop of Corfu Mr. Nektarios, after thanking the speaker for the invitation and the hope he gave to the participants, stressed the need for holiness of life, based on our tradition, and for participation in church life, so that we can find counterweights in our mutated reality, which has bound our social freedom.
Both Bishops pointed out the need at the synodal level for a more extensive dialogue on all controversial issues, so that there is a single line and to restore trust in the Church, which is, however, necessary. It is not possible to follow individual opinions, because that way there is a risk of error.
An extensive dialogue was then held with the participants.
