Holding laurels in our hands and celebrating the Holy Eucharist, the Lord granted us the blessing to welcome Him once again as He enters “voluntarily into His Passion.” Amid the joy of this Sunday, we welcomed the Lord into the Holy Jerusalem—His Church—and began the journey of Holy Week, the journey toward the Passion and the Resurrection, by participating in its first services.
On Sunday morning, Orthros was celebrated in all the parishes of our Metropolis, at the end of which the palms were distributed by our priests. Afterwards, we participated in the panegyrical Divine Liturgy and sang, “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes.”
At the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Seoul, His Eminence concelebrated with Fr. Roman Kavchak, Fr. Antonios Lim, and Fr. Epiphanios Gregoriatis.
After the service, we all shared in a common Agape Meal, and afterwards, a general cleaning of the Church took place. Many parishioners, especially the youth, stayed behind to polish the church vessels, and to clean the church and its grounds.
Once the church had been prepared to receive Christ the Bridegroom, the Service of the Bridegroom (Orthros of Holy Monday) was held at 2 p.m. In a spirit of reverence, the icon of the Bridegroom was brought out to the center of the church, and the choir beautifully sang the solemn troparia.
We pray that the Lord, who humbled Himself even unto the Cross and death to redeem us through His Resurrection, will also grant us next year to complete the great journey of Holy and Great Lent in a spirit of devotion and spiritual uplift.