The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, His All Holiness Bartholomew I, on Holy Thursday officiated at the service of the Holy Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ at the Fanar-district Patriarchate. In keeping with the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s tradition, His All Holiness read out the reference of the first of the 12 Gospels.
The Patriarchal cathedral of St. George remained in the dark during the procession with the Crucifix around the church.
The particular service, amongst the most poignant and devout in Orthodoxy, was held without the presence of worshipers for the first time, given the restrictions in place against exposure to the coronavirus pandemic.
In Athens, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos, officiated at the Holy Passion service at the Metropolitan Cathedral, held without worshipers but nationally televised in the country.
