In the midst of the holy and venerable days of Great and Holy Week, which constitute the sacred and mystical passage from the life-giving Cross unto the light-bearing Resurrection, I address you with profound compunction and paternal love. Our Holy Church, the compassionate and all-merciful Mother, the protection of the afflicted, calleth us to live experientially the saving Passion of our Lord, to stand with tears of repentance before the Crucified One, and to prepare ourselves worthily, that we may all be deemed worthy to receive the incorruptible and never-setting Light of the Resurrection, as saith John the Baptist: “Behold the Lamb of God, Which taketh away the sin of the world.”¹
The God-bearing Father, Isaac the Syrian, teacheth us, beloved, concerning the power of the Cross: “By the Cross are our passions crucified, and the heart is made pure,”² and the golden-voiced John Chrysostom exhorteth us unto spiritual vigilance: “Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober with the Lord.”³ The Passion of Christ is for us all the way of salvation, the assurance of His divine love, and the hope of new and eternal life.
With particular affection I address all of you, the noble laborers and industrious entrepreneurs of Mykonos, as well as the modest and honorable employees, who with diligence and philotimo serve upon our much-famed island. May the Lord grant unto you health unfading, strength invincible, labors blessed, peace of heart, and joy unceasing, that He may vouchsafe us all to venerate His most pure Passion with fear of God, faith, and love, and to partake of His most radiant and all-venerable Resurrection.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all, guiding and illumining your steps unto every good work.
References:
1. John 1:29
2. Isaac the Syrian, Ascetical Homilies, 78
3. John Chrysostom, Homilies Against the Jews, 6
PhD Candidate, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Father Georgios Stalimeros, in Mykonos, 2026