In the Metropolis of Gjirokastra the paschal atmosphere prevailed. Under the auspices of His Eminence, the Metropolitan of Gjirokastra, His Grace Demetrios, throughout Holy Week and the night of the Resurrection, almost all the Orthodox churches of this metropolis held services and the Divine Liturgy for the believers. This period is the most spiritual period of the ecclesiastical calendar and again this year, led the faithful in repentance and prayer. In particular our youth in the schools, as well as other small groups had an opportunity to be part of a systematic spirituality, with confession and participation in the Divine Eucharist, as well as in spiritual activities.
During Holy Friday and at the Holy Resurrection, essential distinct phenomenon in our metropolis was the vitality of our villages. Young people coming from far away, where they live and work, visited their families and also participated in the services in their churches. Certainly the priests had much more work in order to be close to the spiritual needs of the faithful, leading the services in many villages. In particular there was a pronounced the presence of Orthodox believers in major communities of the big cities of Gjirokastra: Përmet, Saranda, Himara etc. The Metropolitan of Gjirokastra, His Grace Demetrios presided over all the services of Holy Week and celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord. He also visited all the metropolis suburbs and spoke about the services during Holy Week, as well visiting the educational institutions of the Church. The Pascal atmosphere was also filled with wonderful events such as one of our deacons becoming a priest, and many of our young people, who had received the appropriate catechism, receiving the mystery of the baptism.
The believers carefully listened to the Pascal message of Archbishop Anastasios, which was read in most of our major churches, and according to the needs of believers in both languages, and the joy was completed watching directly the service of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ take place in the magnificent Cathedral in Tirana.
According to tradition and by the authority that our Church has given to many villages, especially to those of the Greek minority, the panagere continued with great participation of believers at our monasteries, chapels and various other locations.
“Christ is Risen!”, the light of the Pascal candles permeated the cobbled stone streets of Gjirokastra, the small squares, and filled with joy the hearts of the Christians, giving at the same time a message for the whole society!
