Visit of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America to Mount Athos and Thessaloniki. – At the invitation of the Central Jewish Council, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America will be the Keynote Speaker at the National Day of Remembrance of the Greek Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust taking place in Thessaloniki
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America will be visiting Mount Athos on the occasion of the Feast of Epiphany accompanied by forty pilgrims from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
The pilgrimage will begin on January 18, 2024 at the Holy Monastery of Xenophontos, where His Eminence will officiate at the vigil and the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy for the Feast Day of the Epiphany as well as the blessing of the waters on January 19.
On Saturday, January 20, the Archbishop and his accompanying pilgrims will visit the Holy Monastery of Philotheou. This is the historic parent monastery where Geronda Ephraim served prior to coming to the United States and establishing new monasteries all around the country.
On January 21, the Archbishop will attend the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Holy Monastery of Philotheou. On the same day, the Archbishop and the pilgrims will visit the Holy Monastery of Pantokrator, where they will stay overnight.
On January 22, the pilgrims return to Thessaloniki, and on January 23 they will visit the new Metropolitan of Thessaloniki His Eminence Philotheos at the headquarters of the Holy Metropolis. Archbishop Elpidophoros will also have meetings with the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Mr. Stathis Konstantinidis at the Ministry offices of Macedonia and Thrace, the Regional Governor of Central Macedonia, Mr. Apostolos Tzitzikostas in the Region of Central Macedonia, the new Mayor of Thessaloniki, Mr. Stelios Angeloudis at City Hall, U.S. Consul General in Thessaloniki, Mr. Jerry Ismail at the U.S. Consulate and Consul General of Turkey in Thessaloniki, Mr. Orhan Yalman Okan at the Consulate of Turkey.
Pilgrims will also visit the Holy Monastery of St. John the Theologian in Souroti, Thessaloniki, where the tomb of St. Paisios lays in the New and the Holy Monastery of Timios Prodromos in Akritochori, Serres.
On Saturday, January 27, the Archbishop will officiate the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Holy Church of Sts. Constantine and Helen of Ilioupolis, where the ordination to the priesthood of Deacon Petros Gomez, of the Holy Archdiocese of America, will take place.
On the same day, Archbishop Elpidophoros will visit His Eminence Metropolitan Varnava of Neapolis and Stavropoleos at the headquarters of the Holy Metropolis, while visits will be made to the Municipality of Ampelokipi, where there will be a meeting with the Mayor of Ampelokipi, Mr. Lazaros Kyrizoglou, and to the “Pharos tou Kosmou” in Dendropotamos.
In the afternoon of the same day, the Archbishop will attend the cutting of the AHEPA vasilopita at the Hyatt Hotel.
At the invitation of the Central Jewish Council, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America will be the keynote speaker at the events for the National Day of Remembrance of the Greek Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust that will take place in Thessaloniki on Sunday, January 28.
On Sunday morning, Archbishop Elpidophoros will concelebrate Divine Liturgy with His Eminence Metropolitan Philotheos of Thessaloniki at the Holy Metropolis, the Church of St. Gregory Palamas, and will then lay a wreath at the Holocaust Memorial in Eleftherias Square.
The keynote address at the Central Jewish Council will take place in the afternoon of the same day at the Aristoteleian University of Thessaloniki.
SOURCE; GOARCH.ORG
