Irene

Published by The National Herald, August 5, 2005

Thousands Gather at St. Irene Chrysovalantou

BOSTON – Thousands of Greek Orthodox faithful from the Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut), as well as Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, took part in the five-day celebrations of the feast day of the Patriarchal Monastery of St. Irene Chrysovalantou in Astoria, New York.

The festivities kicked off on Wednesday, July 27, and were completed on Sunday, July 31. On Saturday evening, July 30, Great Vespers were celebrated at the church. Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey officiated the service. Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, Metropolitan Paisios of Tyana, Abbot of the Monastery, Bishop Vikentios of Apameia, Deputy Abbot and Director of the Archdiocesan Cultural Center of Astoria, and more than 30 priests and hundreds of faithful of all ages, including children and young adults, also participated.

On Sunday July 31, Metropolitan Methodios was the chief celebrant of the Divine Liturgy, assisted by Metropolitan Evangelos, Metropolitan Paisios, Bishop Philotheos of Meloa, Bishop Vikentios, some 15 priests and Deacon Nathaniel Simeonides.

A Holy Litany followed the Divine Liturgy through the streets of Astoria, in which thousands of faithful participated. Greek Consul George Alexopoulos of and NYS Assemblyman Michael Gianaris also joined the festivities. The American media, mostly local television stations, broadcast coverage of the celebrations.

Theodore Kalmoukos, longtime ecclesiastical and religious affairs correspondent for the National Herald, was invited to deliver the sermon at the services. Mr. Kalmoukos spoke briefly about the life of St. Irene Chrysovalantou, whose feast day is celebrated each year on July 31. Born in Cappadocia, St. Irene was known for her piety, prudence and sanctity, and was the abbess of the Chrysovalantou Monastery in Constantinople during the Ninth Century.

"The Church is the cultivating place of the saints because the Holy Spirit constantly flows in the Church. The Church is a communion of persons, both alive and departed, but ever-living due to their nearness to the ever-living and ever-loving Christ. The fact that, as a Church, we are a communion of saints is the reason why we have placed the icons of the saints on the iconostasis. There is a distance between the pews and the iconostasis, and that distance is actually the journey and the aim of our lives, a journey to sainthood. Everything else is of secondary nature," Mr. Kalmoukos told a huge congregation.

"The Saints are not some super Church above and beyond the Church, but rather, they are members of the same Church. This evening, we are honoring a member of our Church, St. Irene Chrysovalantou," he added.
The saints can not perform miracles of their own, he explained, but only through Christ, "Who is the Source of grace and the Source of miracles. Christ is the One Who performs miracles through the Saints, making His love and philanthropy manifest. We should never forget that Christ is part of the Triune Godhead."

The Church should be a place of love, unity, pastoral sensitivity, forgiveness, reconciliation and acceptance, Mr. Kalmoukos emphasized, and the Church condemns disunity and division.

"The presence of the Church (in the fabric of space and time) signifies the elimination of corruption and death. It is the other manner of existence – the true and genuine way of existence par excellence. The Church exists around the local bishop, along with the presbyterate and the laity. The presence of the bishop in the Church is a charismatic one because he presides over the Eucharistic Assembly. The bishop is not, and he should not be, just another bureaucrat. He should be the image of Christ who always loves, always forgives, and always gives his life up for his friends as Christ did," he said, pointing out that, "as members of the Church, which is the City of God, we should not antagonize each other as to who is going to prevail on this or that issue, but instead, our struggle should be against our common enemies: the devil, corruption and death. It seems that it is time to begin distinguishing what the Church really is, from what the Church is not."

Mr. Kalmoukos was also the homilist at the Divine Liturgy, where he focused on the Gospel’s miracle of the healing of the paralytic, and said that "Christ healed the paralytic’s soul first, and then told him to raise, pick up his bed and go home."



Volume 7 Number 32 - Tuesday, August 9th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY