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Larisis Hieronymos: Do not allow secularism to take over the spiritual fortress called the Churchtranslated

August 3, 2026 · 1 min read

On Sunday, August 2, 2026, the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Larissa and Tyrnavos, Mr. Ieronymos, went to the Holy Monastery of Agios Demetrius and Dormition of the Virgin Stomion in Komneni to preside over the Orthros and minister the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist. The Brotherhood of the Holy Monastery, headed by Panosiol, is united. Chief Mr. Polykarpos Sarmaniotis, welcomed the Septo Pastor, while afterwards the Orthros and the Divine Liturgy were celebrated with the participation of many pilgrims. In his sermon, His Holiness, taking the occasion of the first verse of today's Gospel passage in which Jesus "forced his disciples to enter the ship", Mr. Hieronymos focused on the verb "forced", which is a rare verb in the New Testament and indeed with reference to Christ. He reminded that Christ does not force, but begs and tries to persuade. How now does the Gospel say that he forced his disciples to do something? The answer is related to the Gospel of the previous Sunday, during which Christ fed "five thousand men", celebrating the miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves and the two fish. Excited by this miracle, the people…

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Marta Sánchez

Thanks for sharing the news. I was struck by how the bishop explained that verb “ηνάγκασε”, which almost does not appear with Christ; It made me think about the times you need a little push to get on the “boat” even if you don't want to. The miracle of the loaves and fishes from the previous Sunday is well connected. I wish we could read the full homily.

Mary Thomas

That verb “ηνάγκασε” stood out to me too. After feeding the five thousand the crowds were so excited they wanted to make Him king on the spot, so Christ had to push the disciples into the boat to get them away before things got out of hand. Sometimes we also need a firm shove in the right direction even when we’d rather stay on the shore.