Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars -says the wise Old Testament preacher (Prov. 9,1). And, truly, the Wisdom of God, the Word of the Father, built his palace of love and holiness among the Slavic people, giving them, as His stable pillars, the seven God-chosen vessels of the Spirit, our equal-to-the-apostles fathers: Cyril and Methodius, Clement and Naum, Sava, Gorazd and Angelar. This holy union of seven people will become the source of enlightenment and salvation for thousands and thousands of souls, of whole nations, on whose lands their blessed feet walked, and their God-inspired mouths preached. Because, which national treasure that we possess hasn’t been given to us by the hands and mouths of these precious servants of the One God in Trinity? Was it the Alphabet, which as a fruit of Divine revelation and cooperation was invented by the Philosopher? Was it the language, which they made eternal through their immortal deeds? Maybe it was the Scriptures and other sacred books, which they have translated in our mother tongue and left as legacy for all the next generations? Or the schools, which were open due to their engagement? And what can we say about the national education and literature, to which they laid the foundation in the beginning? And what about the fact that they, our Teachers and Fathers, have brought Christ to our hearts, in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2,3).
So, remembering with gratitude all of their priceless blessings upon us, this year again our Holy Synodia, with the Elder Archimandrite Parthenius, celebrated triumphantly their blessed memory, celebrating at the same time the holiday of the spiritual doctor and miraculous healer, St. Panteleimon, who was the favorite Saint of our spiritual forefather, St. Clement. And we cannot be thankful enough for the grace our Lord bestowed upon us, honouring us with the particle of the holy and healing relics of both St. Panteleimon and St. Clement! The joy and honor of this day are increased by yet another occasion for celebration – on this holiday, 24 years ago, our Elder and spiritual Father in Christ was ordained a priest in the church of the Most Holy Theotokos – Perivlepta in Ohrid, through the hands of our respectable Bishop Metropolitan Timothy. May today’s saints sustain him in his priesthood and help him carry the heavy burden of the cross as an Abbot!
