More honorable than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim…
We possess no words worthy of Her who bore the Word of God. No human tongue can properly glorify the One who brought down the Savior of the world to earth and united Him with us. Yet offering praise and gratitude to Her is essential and indispensable for all Christians, and especially for monastics. The Most Holy Theotokos is the harbor of our hope, the joy and rest of our souls, and a quiet consolation. She is the Queen of angels and the Mother of mankind. The angelic hosts in heaven surround her with hymns of praise, glorifying the Most Pure and Spotless One with great exultation. On earth, however, people, in humble likeness to the angels, honor her with gratitude, prayer, song, contrition, and tender devotion.
Thus, we too, gathered in the Bigorski Church of the Forerunner and embraced by the Mother of the Savior, stood before her miraculous icon, “It Is Truly Meet,” pouring out our heartfelt petitions in prayer. The tender all-night vigil, the blessing of the Divine Liturgy—celebrated by our Elder, Bishop Partenij of Antania, together with the brothers of Bigorski Monastery and the Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne, Fr. Boban Mitevski—and the procession with the icon around the church, filled our souls with abundant blessings.
The commemoration of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, called “It Is Truly Meet,” whose replica resides in the Holy Bigorski Monastery and mirrors the original that has been preserved in Kareya on Mount Athos to this day, always gently touches our hearts. Our Elder, who has cherished a deep devotion to this icon since childhood and has grown under the maternal protection of the Theotokos, shared his love and praise for her through the sermon he delivered during the Holy Eucharist:
