It was a great pleasure for the clergy and the faithful of our three parishes to have Metropolitan Moses with us for approximately two weeks, November 16 – 29, 2011. During this time Metropolitan Moses met with the clergy and with many of the faithful. Most of Friday, November 18, was devoted with meeting with the Toronto clergy. Spiritual and administrative problems were addressed. A major concern was the education of future clergy and the instruction of the faithful of all ages.
On Saturday evening the Metropolitan served Great Vespers at the Church of St. Joseph of Arimathea. The next day his Eminence served Matins there, at which time Jeremy Burrows was made an Ecclesiarch. The Liturgy was well attended and Metropolitan Moses had an opportunity at coffee hour to meet and speak at length with the parishioners.
In the evening His Eminence went to the Church of St. Nektarios for the Vespers of the Feast of the Synaxis of the Archangels. The next day, he served the Matins and Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. Nektarios. That same evening Metropolitan Moses returned to the Church of St. Nektarios for the Vigil of the Feast. The Church was filled to capacity. At the Liti, the Epitaphios of St. Nektarios was carried around the block and everyone followed. Many faithful kept vigil all night, waiting for Matins and Divine Liturgy to start the next morning. After Divine Liturgy, the Metropolitan and all the Toronto clergy joined the faithful for coffee hour.
On Thursday night His Eminence visited with the members of the St. Joseph of Arimathea Church Council and offered words of guidance. The next evening there was a talk at St. Nektarios Church Hall during which His Eminence spoke and led a discussion on The Nature of Man. The question and answer period dealt with many subjects and it appears that more talks on this subject will soon have to follow.
Metropolitan Moses served at the Church of St. Nektarios the following Saturday and Sunday. The St. Nektarios banquet was held on Sunday night and was attended by over 240 faithful. Metropolitan Moses spoke on St. Nektarios and his struggle for the Faith. His Eminence also conveyed greetings from Metropolitan Pavlos who expressed his desire to be with us because he has a great love for St. Nektarios.
Metropolitan Moses left Toronto on Tuesday and it seemed that the two weeks that he spent with us went by too quickly. All of us, clergy and lay people were blessed by his presence and his words and we look forward to more visits from His Eminence and the other hierarchs of our Holy Synod. [nggallery id=81]
