By the grace of our Holy God, the great feast of the Transfiguration of Christ was celebrated this year by our Holy Church. The center of this spiritual festivity was the celebrating Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration of Christ in Gapyeong.
On the eve of the feast, the Great Vespers with Artoklasia was celebrated by Fr. Antonios Woo Jung-hyun. The following day, the main day of the feast, the Festal Orthros and Divine Liturgy were celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosios, accompanied by the priests Fr. Roman Kavchak, Fr. Antonios Woo, Fr. Jeremiah Cho, Fr. Antonios Lim, Fr. Epiphanios Gregoriatis, and Fr. Yohan Park. The congregation included the group of high school campers from our camp, along with the camp staff. After the Liturgy, by Church tradition, the blessing of the grapes took place, followed by the memorial service for the founder of the monastery, in memory of His Eminence the late Metropolitan Soterios, who also celebrated his name day on this occasion.
Afterward, a monastic meal was offered to all those present, concluding the camping period with psalms, songs, and the distribution of gifts to the campers.
We thank the All-Good God once again for deeming us worthy this year to ascend spiritually to the Mount of the Transfiguration and to celebrate together this feast of the Uncreated Light. We also pray that Sister Agathi, who labored in many ways for the preparation of the feast, may be granted the experience of “beholding God as He is.”