Once again this year, with God’s blessing, Fr. Roman Kavchak celebrated the Feast of Epiphany with the old calendar at the Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior in Gapyeong with the participation of 35 Slavophone believers. Immediately after the Divine Liturgy, a memorial service was held at the grave of the late Metropolitan Soterios, and then all together in procession reached the river near the monastery. There the blessing of Holy Water and the immersion of the Holy Cross were held.
Due to the very low temperature the river was frozen, with a light layer of snow on top. It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies and lots of sunshine. Fr. Roman sanctified the faithful and the natural surroundings with the Holy Water.
Back at the monastery, some women prepared the food for the communal love meal, while others cleaned the church and the monastery’s archontarike. The men worked to clean the snow that had accumulated on the road so that cars could access the monastery.
After lunch, the participants had a constructive discussion with their priest about their daily spiritual struggle. In closing, Fr. Roman thanked the nun Agathe on behalf of all the participants for the opportunity to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in the monastery and for its warm hospitality. He also thanked everyone for coming to the monastery. The faithful departed to return to their homes with great gratitude to God for the spiritual strengthening they received on the one hand, but also for the natural beauty in which the monastery is located on the other.