ENCYCLICAL FROM HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN GERASIMOS FOR THE DORMITION OF THE VIRGIN MARY 2014 “O protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame, mediation unto the Creator most constant: O despise not the supplicant voices of those who have sinned; but be thou quick, O good One, to come to our aid, who in faith cry unto you: Hasten to intercession, and speed thou to make supplication, thou who does ever protect, O Theotokos, them that honor you.” Beloved in the Lord, We enter the period of the Dormition or Koimesis fast, preparing for the Feast of the Falling Asleep of the Virgin Theotokos, at a most troubling time for our world. As part of our preparation for the Feast of the Dormition, our parishes will be open, offering regular Paraklesis or Supplication Services to the Virgin Mary. The opening hymn of the small Paraklesis begins, “I ask you O Virgin, from the dangers deliver me; for now I run to you for refuge, with both my soul and my reasoning.” These words resonate more powerfully in our hearts as we consider the state of our world at this time. Every day in the news, we see the terrible conflict between the peoples of the Middle East. We are sickened at the photos of endangered and suffering Christians being threatened with exile from their homelands or worse, merely because they are Christians. We feel powerless at the threat of their extinction from lands where Christianity had thrived for millennia. The stories from Ukraine of corpses lying in fields are deeply disturbing, while loved ones wait to merely receive their bodies for proper burial and mourn their losses, prevented by the warfare in that land. And these are only the tragedies that are reported to us. Who knows what else, what other tragedies occur in our own cities and neighborhoods that do not make the headlines? This year, as faithful and devout Orthodox Christians, let us use this blessed season to turn to the Mother of God and implore her to intercede to her Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to bring peace and reconciliation to our world. As I am sure you know, there are dozens of titles given to the Virgin Mary in our tradition. These epithets point to the many roles she plays in the lives of Christians and in the Church. This year, as you pray to the Theotokos during a Paraklesis Service, use these titles to focus your prayer. Consider the following. We call her “Directress”, the Hodegetria. In your prayer ask her to direct the powers of the world to work for peace and justice for all humanity. We call her “Sweet kissing”, the Glykofilousa. In your prayer, ask her to kiss the wounded and relieve them from their pain. We call her the “Merciful”, Eleousa. In your prayer, ask her to comfort those who have lost so much in our worlds many conflicts. We call her “She Who quickly hears” Gorgoepikoos. In your prayer, ask her to hear the pain in our voices and distress in our hearts. And finally, we call her the “Protection of Christians” Prostasia. In your prayer, ask her to embrace and protect our brothers and sisters in the Middle East and any other part of our burdened world from dangers that surround them daily. And, as the hymn which opens this pastoral letter cries out, pray that she comes to our aid. As I greet all those that will celebrate their Feast Day on the 15th of August, I pray that our Lord, through the Intercessions of His most Pure Mother, grant to all Gods Grace and Mercy. With Love in Christ, X G E R A S I M O S Metropolitan of San Francisco
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 18:53:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015