SUNDAY MESSAGE (audio message)
BY HIS EMINENCE THE METROPOLITAN
KYTHIRA & ANTIKYTHIRA SERAPHIM
TURKEY SUNDAY
(02-03-2025)
PASTORAL ENCYCLICAL OF MAJ. TESSARACOSTES
(No 245/2025)
To
The Holy Clergy and
Christonymos Laon
of our Holy Metropolis
Kythira and Antikythira
«In the time of fasting we shall be manifestly set forth, submitting ourselves to spiritual warfare; we shall purify the soul, we shall cleanse the flesh; we shall fast as in filth from all passion, in which we all, being desirous of the virtues of the Spirit, shall be worthy to behold the all-pure Passion of Christ of God, and the holy Passover, spiritually contemplating.» (Sunday evening pre-supper)
My dear brothers and fellow ministers,
My Christian brothers, my beloved children in the Lord!
Blessed, peaceful, solemn and spiritually joyful may the Holy and Great Lent be!
The Holy Hymnographer of our Most Holy Church, as an inspired trumpeter, trumpets the God-given messages of this holy period. «Let us begin the time of fasting with a joyful and joyful face,» he tells us in the prefatory hymn of today's Sunday of Turin, which we proposed. And we shall make this blessed beginning of the season of Lent by submitting ourselves to spiritual struggles. Let us purify our souls; let us cleanse the flesh from the defilement of sin. Let us fast, as from unclean foods, from every passion, while we are indulging in the virtues of the Holy Ghost. By these virtues, living with the desire of the soul, may we all be worthy to behold and worship the everlasting Passion of Christ our God and to receive Holy Easter with spiritual joy and gladness.".
In spiritual warfare and to spiritual life in Christ crucified and risen the Holy Hymn exhorts and exhorts us. These are the characteristics of this holy Lenten period, which he promotes and advises pious Christians to embrace and love spiritual struggles and the virtuous life in Christ.
John, Archbishop of Constantinople, the goldsmith of gold and gold of the heart, notes the following for the spiritual struggle of the believer. «The kind of spiritual struggle does not tolerate an unarmed fighter. Then the preparation of the struggle ceases when the curtain of the present life is closed. And the curtain closes when the soul leaves the body. Therefore, while we are here, it is necessary for us to fight, both when we are in our house and when we are out in the marketplace.» (E.P.C. 5, 240).
«Many have sacrificed both money and riches, and a life and glory. But they were broken before death. The Apostle Paul says, »I would have the striver fight to the blood; the striving to the point of sacrifice, to the point of slaughter. And if we have to endure death, whether dishonorable or infamous, or if our reputation is to be defamed, we must endure it all with courage. And instead of sorrowing, let us rather rejoice in our sufferings." (E.P.C. 11, 214).
«You, saith the Lord (to His disciples), speak for honor and crowns. But I speak to you by struggles and sweat. Now this present life is not for prizes, nor shall that glory appear now. The present is a matter of sacrifice, of danger, of war.’ (S.E.C. 11, 556).
And for the spiritual life in Christ. the Holy Chrysostom says the following periphrastically: «This life is a stage of struggles. We will reach the resurrection, eternal life, if we go through all the struggles and endure all the labors ... Still, says uncle Paul, I am in struggle and agony. I am still far from the end. I am still far from the prizes. I still run and strive.» (S.E.C. 21, 666).
«Every human is impermanent. It passes like a shadow and a dream. Nothing real, nothing certain. Don't you understand how they change, how they are uncertain? Why do you not take all these things too far and transfer your desire to the others, to those which remain in the eternal and are immovable and certain and are not subject to any change?» (E.P.C. 3, 492).
«For this reason we have come into the world, not to eat and drink and dress luxuriously, but to avoid evil, to choose virtue and to walk in the divine way of philosophy according to God.» (E.P.E. 8α, 484).
«Therefore God has brought us into the present life and put a soul in us, not only to make good use of the present world, but also to do all things for the life to come.’ (E.P.C. 13, 254).
My dear brothers,
Our spiritual struggle and spiritual life in Christ are always needed, and especially in this blessed time of the Luminous Days.
Struggle against sin and evil. Struggle against evil spirits and against our passions and weaknesses, which underlie our daily life. Struggles against double fasting, both physical and spiritual. Struggle for «the unity of the Faith and the communion of the Holy Spirit». How necessary it is for us, especially in our difficult and troubled times, the Holy Spiritual unity and communion among us and with the local Holy Orthodox Churches! In this way, through the unity of the Faith and the communion of the Holy Spirit, the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, the Church from all over the world, united in the Divine Love of our Divine Redeemer and Saviour Jesus Christ, can confront heretics and heretics, the unsaved and the schismatics, and overcome her enemies, both visible and invisible, to the glory and honour of the Triune Triune God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, «of the Blessed God, the Poet of all things».
We are preparing, together with the Lord, to celebrate the great and historic anniversary of the 1700th anniversary of the convening of the Holy First Ecumenical Council of Nicea (325-2025).
A significant spiritual milestone for our Orthodox Catholic Church. It is time to reflect on the spiritual battles and victories of our Orthodoxy against the arch devil and the evil spirits and instruments of darkness. Against the various heretics and heresies, evil and evil-doers, from the beginning and to the end. Time to remember the glorious period of our ecclesiastical history since the 4th century.no century, the golden age of Christianity, until the conquest of the kingdom of the cities of Constantinople, of that glorious history of Romanism. With the holy column of the glorious pious Kings, Orthodox Patriarchs, holy High Priests, Priests, Priests, Monks, Monks, Monastics, Martyrs, Ascetics, Hermits, Saints, Saints and All Saints. By the Holy and Holy Synods, Ecumenical and Local. With the peripheral Holy Churches, the Holy Monasteries, the Holy Shrines, the Holy Sketes and the Byzantine-period hermitages. With the Holy Bible and the sacred writings of the Holy and Divine Fathers of our Holy Church, the Holy Hymnography and the Orthodox Byzantine Iconography.
Let all the above be a cause for unceasing praise and heartfelt thanksgiving to the Divine Commander of the Church. «For the visible and invisible benefits that have been bestowed upon us.». Let them be the good triggers for the achievement of the great unity of all pious and Orthodox Christians, from all parts of the world to all parts of the world. «The backwardly dying», overlooking and learning from any historical mistakes of the past, and «the forward expanding», inspired and strengthened by the pure models and models, both of the Divine Master and of the Holy Apostles and the God-bearing Fathers of our Church, let us always strive for the theodidactic unity of our Christian Faith and our communion in the Holy Spirit and our union in Christ, who is the Divine Head of the Holy Body of the Orthodox Church, our Great Mother and spiritual Trophy.
«Feast of feasts and festival of feasts» will be the celebration, under the above conditions, of the completion of 1700 years since the gathering of the 318 Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea. The source of divine blessings and spiritual inspiration will be the source of this joyful anniversary celebration. A precious and unique opportunity for spiritual rebaptism in the threads of the Orthodox Christian Tradition and Heritage, not only of the First, but also of the other Ecumenical and local Holy Synods.
With such spiritual experiences we will celebrate solemnly and joyfully this great and outstanding anniversary of our Orthodoxy. But, to be precise and true, we must confess that this requires and presupposes a common Orthodox Faith, Confession and Tradition. Intercourse, intercourse and celebrations with non-believers, heterodox, heretics, and in many cases even with those of other faiths, are strictly forbidden by the Holy Canons. and not only do they not produce a good result, but also incur heavy penalties under the Holy Canons.
«Good is not good unless it is done well», According to St. John Damascene, according to St. John Damascene. The vision and the union of Christians is good, but it is not inevitable. It presupposes, as we have said, freedom from error, heresy and innovations in matters of the Orthodox Faith and Tradition.
However, bearing in mind what has been said and done in view of this great and historic celebration of 1700 years, we wonder and ask: Will the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church together celebrate this anniversary of this great feast in a holy and godly manner? «with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs», praising and praising our All-Holy Triune God for the passing and completion of 17 centuries of Orthodox Christian life and Church Tradition, heterodoxy and dissenting doctrines and «agnosticisms» will be promoted, which attempt to disorientate and disorient the Christ-following People from «the way of the Lord», the Crucified and Risen One, from the Apostolic and Apostolic Doctrine and Tradition, the Doctrinal Teaching and the Canonical Provisions and Epistles of the Holy Ecumenical Councils of our Most Holy Church of Christ, and to prevent from the practice, according to the divine Apostle Paul, of the "Holy Spirit", of the "Holy Spirit", the "Holy Spirit", the "Holy Spirit", the "Holy Spirit", the "Holy Spirit" and the "Holy Spirit". «sound doctrine» (cf. 1 Tim. 1:10, 2 Tim. 4:3, Tit. 1:9.2,1);
My brothers,
Returning to the main theme of our present Epistle, namely, the spiritual struggles of Holy and Great Lent and the spiritual life of believing Christians in general, and wishing from the bottom of our hearts that our Lord and God may grant to all of us «the progress of life and of the Faith and of the continuance of spiritual life», a fighting spirit and endurance in spiritual struggles, and indeed the divinely inspired holy spiritual life and everything good from God, spiritual and material, we shall possess,
After Patrick's prayers and love
The Metropolitan
†Ὁ Kythira & Antikythera Seraphim
S/C The present Circular to be read clearly during the Divine Liturgy of the Sunday of Tyrine, instead of the Divine Sermon.
Spiritual - Confession Program for the ceremony
of the Holy Sacrament of Penance and Confession,
during the time of fasting
of the Holy and Great Lent.
- Rev. Metropolitan Seraphim: wherever possible (by telephone) and in Antikythera.
- Archimandrite Peter Kasimatis : to I. Monastery of St. Theodore of Aroniadika, Mylopotamon, Araios and Drimonas.
- Archimandrite Frumentios Demetriou: in Chora, Stratopodi, Capsali, Fratsia.
- Archimandrite Peter Slavos : to I. Monastery of Panagia Myrtidoditissi, Kypriotianika, Kalokairines, Katouni, Travasarianika.
- Archimandrite Pavlos Dimitrakopoulos : in Pitsinianika, Kalesperianika, Karvounades, Keramoton.
- π. Panagiotis Megalokonomos : to I. Monastery of Agia Eleni, Alexandradades, Goudianika, Agion Ilias, Kontolianika, Fatsadika, Ano Livadi, Kato Livadi and Kalamon.
- π. Peter Mariatos : in Potamon, Trifyllianika, Logothetianika, Avlemonas, Mitta and Viaradika.
- π. Panagiotis Diakopoulos : in St. Pelagia, Caravan, Frigianica, Castrsianica, Logothetianica.
It is requested that the Pontiffs and Reverend Pastors, in consultation with the holy Spiritual Directors named in the attached list, announce to their flock the exact date and time of the beginning of the Confession and discreetly invite their parishioners to come to this holy sacrament.
† THE K.S.
