Monday, November 24, 2014
Bishop Ambrose visits Protection Parish in Melbourne
On Monday 11/24 November Bishop Ambrose of Methoni (and Australia) visited the parish of the Three Martyrs of Vilnus. Concelebrating with him on the feast of the Iveron icon of the Mother of God, were Protopriest Stylianos, Hegumen John (Smelic), Hegumen Andrei (Erastov), and Hegumen Christofor (Nedjic).
Despite inclement weather and it being a weekday, many people showed their love for the Theotokos and the church by driving 2 hours in heavy traffic to arrive for the start of Matins at 830am. As well as Byelorussians and Russians, there were Greeks and Serbs attending.
Bishop Ambrose gave an interesting sermon including an account of his personal contact with the well known myhrr-bearing copy of the Iveron icon of the Theotokos in the 1980’s, and its guardian brother Joseph of Montreal. His Eminence also talked about Holy FatherTheodore the Confessor 98-9th century) Abbot of the Studite monastery. Saint Theodore lived an exemplary monastic life and was abbot of the famous Studite monastery in Constantinople. He produced a vast amount of writings, including liturgical hymns, homilies, panegyrics, and instructions for monastic life. He suffered much from the iconoclasts, and was finally banished and exiled by the emperor.
