Bartholomew’s Message: He visits Athens, because he does not go to Thessaloniki and Mount Athos
The official visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Athens will normally take place from November 20 to 25, as announced by the General Secretariat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
However, the planned visits to Thessaloniki and Mount Athos were changed due to the dependence of the pandemic, as Mr. Bartholomew wants to send a message about the need for vaccination and respect for the measures to deal with the coronavirus.
“With this decision, the Ecumenical Patriarch wishes to send a message in every direction, about the need to vaccinate and respect the protective measures against the coronavirus, as the only safe way to overcome the deadly pandemic. He prays for the rest of the souls of the dead, for the rapid restoration of the health of the diseases and for the above strengthening of the doctors, the nurses and all those responsible for dealing with the present severe ordeal. ” is typically mentioned in the announcement of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
In Athens, the Primate of Orthodoxy can participate in the Festive Patriarchal and Archbishopric Service in the Cathedral, “on the great feast of the Assumption of the Virgin” and in the context of events honored by the Church and other people, with the . 30 years since the reorganization of Patriarch Bartholomew to the First Throne of Orthodoxy.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ