February 23, 2007
HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN ALEXIOS REFLECTIONS ON GREAT AND HOLY LENT
My beloved members of our Metropolis of Atlanta – clergy, monastics and all the faithful,

“Truly my soul silently waits for God;
      From Him comes my salvation.”
Psalm 62:1

I greet you with humility and love in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as we begin that blessed season that our Church has established as a means for all of us to be reconciled to our Creator and to each other.

I believe that this holy season we call Great Lent is a blessing from God, enabling us to practice the things that are necessary for growing closer to God and to our fellow man. Naturally it is up to us as individuals how involved we will be in using the tools of prayer, fasting, confession, worship services, study of Scripture and almsgiving in our personal lives. All of these things will bring us kneeling to the Throne of Grace, beseeching our Lord’s forgiveness and mercy.

“Come, faithful ones, as we fast bodily, let us also fast in spirit.
Let us undo every tie to injustice; let us break all stifling covenants with violence;
Let us burst every wrongful contract; let us give bread to the hungry,
And bring the poor and homeless into our houses,
That we may receive from Christ His great mercy.”

As we can see here from this hymn from the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts for the first week in Lent, the hymnographer expresses the spirit of our faith, giving us direction to follow the path of Christ in order to receive His mercy. At the same time, our Church tells us about the faithful and inspiring example of the lives of the saints.

“If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, it is due to the Saints.
For they inclined their necks to the sword for You
who made the heavens incline and descended.
They shed their blood for You who emptied Yourself and took on the form of a servant.
They were humbled even to death, imitating Your humility.
Through their prayers, in the abundance of Your compassion, O God, have mercy on us.”

Having said that, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us resolve to pray for one another, forgive and be kind to one another, for the sake of Him who gave Himself up for us. Let us pray that our Almighty God will send us His grace and wisdom and strengthen us to fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith (2 Timothy 4:7) so that we will receive the reward of eternal life with our Lord.

May your spiritual journey to the glorious Resurrection be filled with every blessing from Above. With faithful commitment to His service and wishing you a blessed and spiritually uplifting Great Lent, I remain

Paternally yours,


+ALEXIOS
Metropolitan of Atlanta


February 14, 2007
HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN ALEXIOS` REFLECTIONS ON FORGIVENESS SUNDAY
As we have already mentioned, we are in the special ecclesiastical period of the Triodion, in preparation for Great Lent. This Sunday, Forgiveness Sunday, will be the last day of the Triodion, followed by Clean Monday, the first day of Great and Holy Lent. This day has been given the name “Clean Monday” – Kathara Deuteza - because of its substance.

In the past, it was traditional to do special things in personal and family life, which we should practice even today. These traditions, although practical, are also rich in symbolism for our spiritual life.

On Sunday afternoon, in Greece, after the Vespers of Forgiveness, the tradition is that the people go out of the church, to eat and dance and be reconciled with each other, asking forgiveness. I remember when I found myself in the wonderful town of Ypati in central Greece, where I was delighted to see the priest begin the dance with the mayor of the village, and one by one, the officials and then the people asked forgiveness of each other. By sunset, they were finished, because this was not a dance of festivity, but rather a spiritual symbol of the cycle of life in God’s beautiful creation.

Another tradition was that the Yiayias would clean the house and discard all the leftover food that couldn’t be eaten during Lent. Because we were fasting and ate no oil, except on weekends, and no fish, except on the Feast Day of the Annunciation and on Palm Sunday.

Perhaps in those days, we were not thinking about protein and calories, but rather about the Bread of Life, the true spiritual food for our souls. As spring brings the colors and scents of flowers and blossoming trees, so fasting assisted us to be spiritually renewed and uplifted.

As we begin our shared spiritual journey to His empty tomb, may Great Lent spiritually uplift you, your loved ones and Parish Family in order to celebrate with joy His Passion, Crucifixion, and glorious Resurrection!

KALI TESSARAKOSTI!Blessed Lent!