With particular brightness and great joy, the memory of St. Dionysios of Aegina was honored this year in Ulsan on the weekend of December 13–14, 2025. This year’s celebration had special significance, as the parish completed two decades of life and service.
The services began on Saturday evening with the Great Festal Vespers and Artoklasia, presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosios, together with Fr. Yohan Park and Fr. Epiphanios Grigoriatis, who also delivered the homily. The evening concluded with a dinner in the church hall, where the faithful had the blessing of hearing His Eminence recount episodes from the life of the Saint connected with Aegina.
On the feast day itself, Sunday, December 14, Orthros and the Divine Liturgy were celebrated. In his homily, the Metropolitan focused on forgiveness as the foundation of our salvation, a virtue that characterized St. Dionysios, who is known as the “Saint of Forgiveness.”
At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, special mention was made of the 20th Anniversary of the founding of the Parish of St. Dionysios in Ulsan. In moving words, the Metropolitan referred to the tireless efforts of the late Metropolitan Soterios for the purchase of the land and the construction of the church and the parish spiritual center, made possible through the generous donation of the late Vasilis Konstantakopoulos. The consecration of the church was performed by His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on June 26, 2005, and its iconography was completed in 2006 and 2007 by the iconographer and professor Sozos Giannoudis and his collaborators. In commemoration of this historic anniversary, an icon of St. Dionysios and commemorative towels were distributed to all those present.
The feast concluded with the customary “Agape meal” and the distribution of Christmas gifts to the children of the parish. The Metropolitan, after adding some further reflections on forgiveness as a continuation of his homily in the church, went on to thank the parish priest, Fr. Yohan Park, Presvytera Angela, the parish council, and all those who worked for the preparation of the feast. He offered particular thanks to those who participated in the celebration from the parishes of Seoul, Busan, and Jeonju. May St. Dionysios continue to protect the parish in Ulsan, so that it may celebrate many more anniversaries, and through his intercessions may God grant us the strength to forgive.