Hierarchical Great Vespers for Feast of St. Andrew
Hierarchical Great Vespers for the Feast of St. Andrew
On the evening of Tuesday November 29th Hierarchical Great Vespers was celebrated, at the Cathedral chapel in Brookline, MA, for the Feast of St. Andrew the First-called, patron saint of the Metropolis of Boston. His Eminence had the distinct pleasure of welcoming Cardinal Sean O'Malley and his guests from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Both clergy and faithful from different parts of the Metropolis were present to celebrate this feast.
Photo Credit: Mark Labbe/Pilot Newspape
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Cardinal joins Boston Greek Orthodox for patronal feast
Written by: Mark Labbe Boston Pilot
BROOKLINE -- Following long-standing ecumenical tradition, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston invited representatives of the Archdiocese of Boston, Nov. 29, to celebrate the Feast of St. Andrew at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral Center Chapel in Brookline.
Locally mirroring the practice of the pope and the ecumenical patriarch, since 1996 the Greek Orthodox and Catholic communities of Boston have exchanged delegations on their patronal feast days -- the Feast of St. Andrew for the Orthodox and the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul for Catholics.
Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley led the representatives from the archdiocese, and exchanged gifts with Metropolitan Methodios before attending a vespers service celebrated by the metropolitan.
The service began with chanting as incense filled the packed chapel. An icon of St. Andrew was carried in procession around the chapel and placed on a podium behind a small table on which sat five loaves of bread to be blessed and distributed at the service.
The bread served as a reminder of the five loaves that were used at the miraculous feeding of the 5,000, as it was St. Andrew who told Jesus of the boy with "five small barley loaves and two small fish."
In remarks at the end of the service, the Metropolitan thanked Cardinal O'Malley and the other representatives from the archdiocese for their presence.
The metropolitan recalled how in June he led the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to the Liturgy of the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul celebrated at St. Peter's Basilica.
"It was an experience which will forever be etched upon my soul, because I had the opportunity of being in the presence of Pope Francis, truly a dedicated man of God," Metropolitan Methodios said.
"During our time together, His Holiness stressed the need for us all, Roman Catholics and Orthodox, to bear witness to the love of God in the world in which we live in. He stressed that the search for unity among Christians is an urgent task, indeed it is imperative, because our world thirsts for truth, for love and hope, for peace and unity, and yearns to hear Orthodox and Roman Catholics proclaim with one voice the Ama Deum, the good news of the Gospel," he said.
In his own remarks, Cardinal O'Malley thanked the metropolitan for his hospitality and his friendship, and also recalled Pope Francis, saying that the pope has stressed that the quest for Christian unity is "central to our mission as Jesus' disciples."
That is something, he said, that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of Orthodox worldwide, has stressed as well.
In a world in which people are persecuted for their faith and where people turn away from the values given in the Gospel, "it's very important that we come together as believers, to join our voice in praise for God, and to join our voice lifting up the truths of the Gospel so that the world we see Christ's light and rejoice," said the cardinal.
Speaking with The Pilot at a reception following the service, Jesse Kroger, an Orthodox seminarian at the Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, said he had attended a few feast day services before, and noted the steps towards unity the archdiocese and the Orthodox Metropolis have made.
The fact that the cardinal attends the Feast of St. Andrew and that the metropolitan attends the Feasts of Sts. Peter and Paul "shows that they do support each other," Kroger said.
"They have been very supportive of the dialogue that's been going on for the last 50 years," he said.
He added that while he has not attended the Mass for the Feasts of Sts. Peter and Paul, "it would be really interesting to see."
Charlie Bates, a Catholic who is studying theology at Boston College, said it was his first time attending an Orthodox vespers service.
The spiritual leaders' remarks at the end of the service "resonated" with him, said Bates, particularly the messages of proclaiming the Gospel with one voice.
"I think the theological differences are there, and that's going to take a long time to work out, but the really urgent thing is proclaiming the Gospel, and there's a lot we can do right now in uniting our voices," he said.
METROPOLITAN REFLECTS ON FEAST OF STS. PETER AND PAUL IN ROME
HIS EMINENCE METROPOLITAN METHODIOS
Written by: Mark Labbe
It was my great honor this year to lead the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to the Liturgy of the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul celebrated at St. Peter's Basilica.
For several years I had served on the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Six months after I left the Synod I got a phone call... to go to the Vatican.
I can't say enough about Pope Francis, his humility, dignity, and the way he welcomed me and the rest of the delegation. In a separate audience with him in his office, I came to know a man that was very interested in the unity of our Churches.
He welcomed us and the whole delegation and expressed his brotherly love and admiration for Patriarch Bartholomew. I read the patriarchal letter, followed by the traditional exchange of gifts. Among the issues we discussed was the dialogue here in the United States, and Archbishop (now Cardinal) Tobin and his fine leadership as co-chair of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation.
Pope Francis was aware of the work of the commission and the statements we have made over the past 50 years.
During our time at the Vatican we were welcome to stay at the Domus Santa Marta. In a rare event, he had lunch with our delegation on two occasions. Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity was present at both lunches, and after one of the lunches we met with him and undersecretary Father Andrea Palmieri.
At the Liturgy, during which the pallia were conferred upon new archbishops, I was given a seat of honor. The pope went out of his way to come to where I was standing where we exchanged greetings and the sign of peace. And then, during the mass, I accompanied the Pope down into the Confessio where the relics of St. Peter are treasured. We had a chance to offer a silent prayer together.
I considered it a great blessing from God to be able to venerate the relics and to be with Pope Francis who made a great impression. I said that Christianity cannot afford division, Christianity has to be united and to express its voice in a united way. And he agreed.
Every time I'm at a Catholic Mass, I pray that God lead us to the day we share that common cup, share the witness to the world in which we live. It's a scandal that we remain divided and I am grieved I can't participate. I feel the same when Cardinal O'Malley comes to our cathedral in Boston. Patriarch Athenagoras' theology was that we have to get to the point where we can share the common cup... He felt the pain of the laity who ask, "Why?" Patriarch Bartholomew continues that deep commitment to restoring unity.
