The Church today venerates the memory of Andrew the First-Called Apostle. After the Ascension of the Savior, Andrew preached in various lands; and having suffered many torments for His Name’s sake, died in ancient Patras, where he was crucified on a cross in the shape of an “X,” the first letter of “Christ” in the Greek language. This Cross is also the symbol of St. Andrew.
On the occasion, a solemn Archieratical Divine Liturgy was held at the Patriarchal Church of St. George, at the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople’s Phanar-district see.
The Great Church of Christ, in its Thronal Feast, honored its founder, St. Andrew the Apostle.
On the occasion, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, His All Holiness Bartholomew I, ordained the monk Bartholomew, from the Metropolis of Tamassos, as a deacon.
Delegations from the Autocephalous Churches of Greece, Cyprus and Crete, along with numerous pilgrims, attended the reverent services, held with centuries-old ecclesiastical rite.
In southwestern Greece, and specifically from the port city of Patras, the feast day of the municipality’s patron saint was celebrated in a ceremonious and splendorous manner.
The day’s commemoration was highlighted by an Archieratical service and a litany of the saint’s Holy Icons and Relics through central Patras, including a Cross of Andrew the Apostle’s martyrdom.
The visiting Metropolitan of Serres, His Eminence Theologos, officiated at an Orthros service in the morning, with the Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and Aghios Vlassios, His Eminence Ierotheos, officiating at the Archieratical Divine Liturgy.
