Dimitriados Ignatios: "We have a responsibility to keep alive the unity of the Church"translated

The memory of our local Saint Gerasimos the New was solemnly celebrated again this year in the Holy Monastery of the same name in Makrinitsa. The Great Solemn Vespers was officiated by Rev. Metropolitan of Dimitrias, Mr. Ignatios, in the presence of a large number of believers. In his sermon, His Holiness first referred to the great blessing that our local Church has to be located in a place sanctified by figures of Saints, Martyrs and Saints, a prominent position among which is held by Saint Gerasimos the Younger. Referring to the ascetic and crucifixion course of the Holy One, he emphasized that since he was a small child he loved the Crucified Christ, believed unwaveringly in the Resurrection and lived with prayer, exercise, humility and sacrificial offering.

At another point, Venerable Ignatius developed the deeper meaning of the Orthodox ascetic life, pointing out that exercise is not an end in itself, but leads man to humility, giving and love. "There is no point in an exercise if it does not lead a person to humility, offering and love", emphasizing that the Holy Cross reveals at the same time the vertical path of man towards God and the horizontal dimension of sacrificial love towards fellow man.

Also, Reverend...