Stats About Help
‹ Back
Vimaorthodoxias · Aug 14 View source View full article on hyper.nooz.ai

Μητροπολίτης Φλωρίνης: «Η ευλάβεια προς την Παναγία καλείται να γίνεται πράξη» - Βήμα Ορθοδοξίας

🌐 Quote shown in the original Greek — English translation below

… την ψυχή της Μητέρας Του. Όπως επισημαίνει, πρόκειται για μία εικόνα που δεν παραπέμπει πρωτίστως στον θάνατο, αλλά στη ζωή και στην ελπίδα που φέρνει κάθε χρόνο η μεγάλη θεομητορική εορτή.

Η Παναγία, τονίζει, δεν παύει να βρίσκεται κοντά στα παιδιά της και να αποτελεί καταφυγή τόσο στις χαρές όσο και στις δοκιμασίες τους.

Αναφερόμενος στο βαθύτερο νόημα της Κοιμήσεως, ο κ. Ειρηναίος σημειώνει ότι για την Εκκλησία ο θάνατος δεν έχει τον τελευταίο λόγο. Η μετάσταση της Θεοτόκου προς τον Υιό και Θεό της δεν σημαίνει απομάκρυνση από τον κόσμο ούτε διακοπή της μητρικής της μέριμνας.

«Εν τη κοιμήσει τον κόσμον ου κατέλιπες, Θεοτόκε», υπενθυμίζει μέσα από την υμνολογία της Εκκλησίας, συνδέοντας το γεγονός της Κοιμήσεως με την Ανάσταση του Χριστού και τη νίκη Του επί του θανάτου.

Σύμφωνα με τον Μητροπολίτη Φλωρίνης, η Μετάσταση της Θεοτόκου δεν αποτελεί …

▲ For · Church
Sentiment: positive

The speaker expresses a theological truth about the Church's victory over death.
🇬🇧 English translation

Metropolitan of Florina: 'Devotion to the Panagia must be translated into action' - Vima Orthodoxias

Metropolitan of Florina: In the message of hope emitted by the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, and in the need for honor toward the Panagia to be translated into practical love for one's fellow human, Metropolitan of Florina Mr. Irenaios focuses in his encyclical for the August 15th of 2026.

The Metropolitan begins his encyclical with the icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God, with the Apostles around her bed and Christ holding the soul of His Mother. As he points out, this is an image that does not primarily refer to death, but to the life and hope that this great Theotokos feast brings every year.

The Panagia, he emphasizes, never ceases to be near her children and to serve as a refuge in both their joys and their trials.

Referring to the deeper meaning of the Dormition, Mr. Irenaios notes that for the Church, death does not have the final word. The translation of the Theotokos to her Son and God does not mean a withdrawal from the world nor an interruption of her maternal care.

'In her sleeping, You did not leave the world, O Theotokos,' he reminds us through the hymnology of the Church, connecting the event of the Dormition with the Resurrection of Christ and His victory over death.

According to the Metropolitan of Florina, the Translation of the Theotokos is not an end, but participation in the eternal life of Christ. He invokes, indeed, the teachings of Saint John of Damascus, Saint Andrew of Crete, and Saint Gregory Palamas, who highlight the transition of the Panagia from the temporal to the eternal and from death to immortal life.

Mr. Irenaios places special emphasis on the earthly life of the Theotokos, which he presents as a quiet but uninterrupted journey of love, humility, and offering.

He reminds us that in Bethlehem she offered Christ to the world, in Nazareth she sanctified everyday life, in Cana she discerned the needs of people even before help was requested, while at Golgotha she remained under the Cross of her Son.

Through this presence, according to the Metropolitan, the Panagia teaches that true love does not abandon the person being tested.

'Often, the greatest love is to remain beside your crucified brother,' he characteristically notes.

The Metropolitan of Florina calls on the faithful not to limit their honor toward the Panagia to a candle, the Paraklesis, and the pilgrimage, but to transform their devotion into action.

As he specifically mentions, 'let the candle become light for the neighbor,' and let the Paraklesis teach the faithful to listen to the plea of their brother, and let the hand with which they make their sign of the cross be extended toward the one in need.

At the same time, he emphasizes that the feast of the Dormition should not be exhausted in external celebration. After the days of the Paraklesis, during which the faithful laid their anxieties and hopes before the Panagia, they are called to proceed to the essence of ecclesiastical life, namely union with Christ through the Divine Eucharist.

For this reason, he urges them to approach the Chalice of Life with repentance, confession, and appropriate spiritual preparation.

'Let us not leave today's feast only as pilgrims. Let us leave as communicants of Christ,' he emphasizes.

Mr. Irenaios proposes to the faithful to keep two basic spiritual legacies from the great feast: trust in the will of God and a steady presence beside one's fellow human.

The first is reflected in 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word,' which, as he explains, was not a momentary decision for the Panagia, but the stance of her entire life.

The second legacy concerns practical support for the person being tested. Just as the Theotokos remained under the Cross, so too the faithful are called to have time to listen, a heart to sympathize, and strength to stand beside those who suffer.

Concluding his encyclical, the Metropolitan of Florina wishes that this August 15th becomes for all a starting point for a deeper relationship with Christ and, through the intercessions of the Panagia, that the faithful live with more faith, humility, and love, following her example and walking the path of salvation.

Read the full encyclical below:

The great feast of our Panagia has dawned. Before us stands the icon of the Dormition, adorned with the flowers of summer. Around the bed of the Theotokos stand the Apostles, and in the center, Christ holds in His hands the soul of His Mother. An image that does not speak of death, but primarily of life. The August 15th always brings this hope with it. And our Mother never ceases to be near her children. In the joys and the trials of life, we always flee to her maternal protection.

'And the Panagia rejoices, the Panagia smiles,' writes the poet¹. The verse meets the deeper meaning of this day. For why, perhaps, is there joy in the face of a Dormition? Because, for the Church, death does not have the final word. She passes toward her Son and God. Her transition to eternal life, however, does not mean a withdrawal from the world nor a cessation of her maternal care. That is why the Church sings: 'In her sleeping, You did not leave the world, O Theotokos'². This mystery is illuminated by the Resurrection of Christ, who conquered death and affirms: 'I am the resurrection and the life'³. Therefore, the Translation of the Theotokos is not an end, but participation in the life of Christ.

This hope is also testified by the Fathers of the Church. Saint John of Damascus sees in the Translation of the Theotokos her participation, through death, in the eternal life of Christ⁴.

The Full of Grace Virgin was, throughout her entire earthly journey, a quiet but uninterrupted presence of love and offering. She never sought publicity as the Mother of God. She remained humble and completely surrendered to His will. She kept within her heart all that happened and meditated upon it⁵. In Bethlehem, she offered Christ to the world. In Nazareth, she sanctified everyday life. In Cana, she discerned the needs of people before they were even requested and intervened pleadingly toward her Son, saying: 'They have no wine'⁶. At Golgotha, she remained under the Cross⁷. There, where the pain reached its peak, she did not abandon her Son. There, she taught us that true love does not abandon the person being tested. Even when she cannot remove his cross, she stays near him, sympathizes, and supports him. Often, the greatest love is to remain beside your crucified brother.

Could she, then, who throughout her life never abandoned the path of love, cease to be near humanity upon her entry into the glory of God? No. Her earthly journey is completed, but her maternal care continues. Saint Andrew of Crete sees in the Translation of the Theotokos her transition from the temporal to the eternal⁸. Her relationship with the world continues through her maternal intercession. The feast simultaneously reveals the victory of life over death. Saint Gregory Palamas emphasizes that she who gave birth to the Prince of Life passed through death into immortal life⁹. Therefore, the Church does not mourn, but celebrates. And she who brought Christ into the world continues to show us His will: 'Whatever He says to you, do it'¹⁰.

My brothers,

What, then, do all these things mean for our own lives? Today's feast calls us not only to admire the Ever-Virgin Mary, but also to imitate her example. Her humility, her obedience to the will of God, her love, and her steady presence beside the person being tested constitute a path of life for every Christian.

Therefore, honor toward Her cannot be limited to a candle, the Paraklesis, and the pilgrimage. Devotion is called to be translated into action. Let the candle become light for the neighbor. Let the Paraklesis teach us to listen to the plea of our brother. And let the hand with which we make our sign of the cross be extended toward the one who needs our help.

In the preceding days, we participated in the holy Services of the Paraklesis, laying before the icon's sanctuary our anxieties, sorrows, and hopes. Today's feast calls us not to remain only in the formality of the feast, but to proceed to the essence, which is our union with Jesus Christ through the Mystery of the Divine Eucharist.

For this reason, our Church invites us to approach with repentance, confession, and appropriate spiritual preparation to the Chalice of Life, to commune with the Body and Blood of the Lord. She, whom the Church hymns as 'unceasing in intercession'¹¹, does not cease to plead with her Son and God for the salvation of the world. Let us not, therefore, leave today's feast only as pilgrims. Let us leave as communicants of Christ.

Through the joy of today's feast, let us keep two precious spiritual legacies.

First, to trust the will of God. 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word'¹⁰ was not a momentary decision for the Panagia, but the way of her entire life. Let it become a way of life for us too, especially when we do not understand God's plan.

Second, to stand beside our fellow human. Just as She remained under the Cross, so we should not abandon our brother in his trial. Let us have time to listen, a heart to sympathize, and strength to support. The closer we approach Christ, the more room our fellow human takes in our heart.

My beloved,

I wish that this August 15th becomes for all of us a starting point for a deeper relationship with Christ. With the intercessions of our Panagia, may we be worthy to live with more faith, humility, and love, following her example and walking the path of salvation.

Many blessed and Panagia-protected years.

With paternal wishes and love in Christ,

Your Bishop,

† The Metropolitan of Florina, Prespes, and Eordaea, IRENaios

REFERENCES

¹ Odysseus Elytis, First Sun, Athens, 1943, 'Little Boat of the Garden'.

² Apolytikion of the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

³ John 11:25.

⁴ Saint John of Damascus, Orations on the Dormition of the Theotokos, PG 96.

⁵ Luke 2:19.

⁶ John 2:3.

⁷ John 19:25.

⁸ Saint Andrew of Crete, Oration on the Dormition of the Theotokos, PG 97.

⁹ Saint Gregory Palamas, Homily 27. On the All-Holy Dormition of the Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, PG 151.

¹⁰ Luke 1:38.

¹¹ Kontakion of the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

‹ Back