On December 20, 2013, our holy Church celebrates St. Ignatius the God Bearer. The name of this great saint is also the name of the Metropolitan of Berat, Vlora and Kanina, His Grace Ignatius.Clergy and believers from the Metropolis of Berat, participated in the joy of this day, wishing the Shepherd of our Metropolis “many years”. On the feast day of St. Ignatius, another important event took place in the Metropolis of Berat; Mr. Joan Qako was accepted among the clergy to serve God in the rank of a deacon.
John is from the Gorica neighborhood of Berat. He joined the Church catechism program at an early age and participated in the activities organized by the Metropolis of Berat. He continued studying at the Theological Academy “Resurrection of Christ” in Durrës and then under the patronage of Archbishop Anastasios he studied theology for five years at the University of Athens.
At the end of the Matins Service at the Cathedral of St. Demetrios, Metropolitan Ignatius commenced the service of ordination of a sub-deacon by reading the testimony of the spiritual father who gave his blessing for the candidate to be admitted to the ranks of the servants of God. Then Joan stood before the icon of Christ praying to serve Him worthily.
The celebration of the Divine Liturgy followed, which was led by the Metropolitan, together with many other clergy of this Metropolis. During the Liturgy the service of ordination of the candidate to the rank of deacon took place .
Strong emotions were expressed in this service not only by the candidate, but also for all the believers that were present. Touching and full of meaning were the words of the new deacon, John, directed to the Metropolitan and to all the believers who had come to attend this service.
He said: “Your Eminence, today with fear I stand before God and before you. I confess that for years there has actually existed within me a desire that one day I would be a cleric, but that has always been accompanied by the uncertainty that age and unworthiness would become an obstacle for this holy service, for this fearful mystery. Always in my prayers I asked God not to bestow this grace on me if I would be not able to maintain such a burden, but the desire and cry within me increasingly grew.”
Then he continued saying: “Today, Your Grace, I stand before you and I promise to you that the advice of the Apostle Paul in the First Letter to Timothy will always be my principles. Today after having made the decision to serve the Lord, I want to thank all those who have accompanied me throughout my life, all those who have helped me to grow spiritually, as well as those who have inspired me to take up this ministry.”
In conclusion he added,: “Your Grace, I promise that I will obey you as St. Ignatius advises, and until the end of my life I will try imitating you as an example for me.”
After this promise made by the deacon, the Metropolitan addressed him saying: “This is a very special day in your life, because you are receiving the invitation from our Lord, Jesus Christ to be register in the catalog of the servants of our Orthodox Church, in the first rank of the priesthood. Along with the invitation of God you also have the testimony of Christian believers matching the testimony of the clergy. We have known you since your childhood and youth, when the Lord first invited you through the catechism program and the performing of the great mystery of Baptism, whereby you became a member of the body of Christ, of the Church.”
The Metropolitan at the end of his speech commissioned him, “The inner life of the shepherd is the secret of the pastoral work. Stay vigilant as God’s athlete, in the continued race to cleanse the soul from the sinful thoughts, feelings and desires. This means that the shepherd must have the ascetic spirit in the broad sense of the word. Christianity is interwoven with asceticism, as it is reflected in the lives of all the saints. With this spiritual weapon God will bless your efforts and will multiply your gifts, He requires you to give your best, in spite of your shortcomings, with all your spirit and with faith. Thereby you will become worth to hear the voice of God, who invites saying: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Mat. 25: 21)”
After the comments of the Metropolitan, the Church was filled with the calls “worthy”. God’s people approved and accepted that their son John serve as a deacon. Then, accompanied by the clergy he was taken into Holy Altar where he will conduct his ministry as a servant of God. After the Liturgy, Professor Dhimitër Qosja greeted the congregation in the name of the students of the Theological Academy and wished many years to the Metropolitan and the new deacon.
Participating in these ceremonies were also the students of the Byzantine Music School directed by Professor Theodore Peci, who with their voices created a beautiful spiritual atmosphere.
In conclusion the Metropolitan thanked all the clergy and faithful who had come to pray and participate in the joy of celebrating the name of St. Ignatius. After the ceremonies at the church, Metropolitan Ignatius held a reception on the premises of the Metropolis, where the clergy, believers and representatives of local government came to greet him. Participating in this reception were also the children of the kindergarten of the Church who wished to the Metropolitan “many years” and sang some songs and recited some poems related to Christmas.
We wish to the Metropolitan many years caring for the flock of God.
Father Spiro Bulika
