Archbishop Nikitas Presides over the Feast of Panagia Hodegetria at the Holy Monastery of Xenophontos, Mount Athos

His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain, representing His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, is currently visiting the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegic Monastery of Xenophontos on Mount Athos, where he presided over the celebrations for the Feast of the Monastery’s revered and wonderworking icon of the Panagia Hodegetria (the Mother of God, the Guide), held on 17 and 18 October 2026.

His Eminence arrived at the Monastery on Friday, 16 October, accompanied by the Revd Fr Myroslav Pushkaruk, the Revd Archdeacon George Tsourous, and a group of lay pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain and abroad.

Upon his arrival, the Archbishop was received with the traditional Athonite welcome at the Monastery’s main church (Katholikon). The Very Revd Archimandrite Alexios, Abbot of the Holy Monastery, formally welcomed His Eminence, who responded with words of gratitude and appreciation for the hospitality of the monastic brotherhood.

This year’s celebrations held particular significance, as they also marked the 50th anniversary of Archimandrite Alexios’s service as Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Xenophontos, a remarkable milestone in…