Even this year, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ was magnificently celebrated in all the parishes of the Holy Metropolis of Gjirokastra. Besides the usual excitement that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ brings, the atmosphere this year involved also the joy of the Orthodox faithful which was due to the fact that the Holy Metropolis of Gjirokastra already had its own spiritual leader; and this was a decision which was made by the Holy Synod of our Church.
The Holy Liturgy of Christmas took place at the Cathedral “The Metamorphosis of the Saviour”, which is located in one of the most traditional quarters of the town and is lead by His Eminence Metropolitan Dimitrios. In this liturgy, there were a lot of faithful who had undergone spiritual preparation for such a wonderful day through repentance, confession, joy and love and who received in turn the sacred communion by the new Metropolitan. It is very significant the fact that most of the faithful who participated in this celebrating liturgy were young people, the majority of them being students who have been studying far away from their families. Also, the choir of the children from the parishes had the chance to chant and to demonstrate its gradual progress throughout the years.
Then, the Metropolitan received the people in the Hall of the Holy Metropolis in order to express their casual wishes but also to exchange gifts. This was a big joy, especially for the children because they received as a reward for their nice songs and poems, the blessing and some sweets from the hand of their own spiritual father. Also, there were many officials of public life, education etc, who had come from the town and its surroundings to express their own wishes.
In addition, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated also at other towns of the Metropolis, especially in Përmet and Saranda in which a lot of faithful took part. The Metropolitan conducted liturgies and other services in the villages as well, which would be celebrated a week before or after Christmas day, if not on that particular day. The reason for doing this was to give an opportunity for all the faithful to participate in the worship service and to receive Holy Communion.
The following days, His Eminence, the Metropolitan of Gjirokastra continued his pastoral visits at important peripheral areas of the Metropolis that were also under his administration. On the 26th of December, which is the feast day of “The Synaxis of the Theotokos”, the Metropolitan and other clergy of that region conducted the Holy Liturgy in the church of “The Annunciation of the Virgin Mary” in Delvina. Many faithful coming from the little town and the surrounding villages gathered together to participate in the holy mystery and to exchange their wishes. On the day of remembrance of the Archdeacon and Proto-martyr Stephen, His Eminence the Metropolitan of Gjirokastra liturgized in the church of the “Archangels” in Poliçan which is a district of Pogoni. Later on, a spiritual conversation followed between several representatives who had come from different regional villages. They also had a discussion about their major problems and the contribution of the Church in providing a solution to these problems.
The message of Christmas, as transmitted by His Beatitude Anastasios, the Archbishop of Tirana and all Albania, was read throughout the Liturgies of Christmas day.
From the very first days of the celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth, there were several spiritual conversations and meetings which successfully took place at various centers of our Metropolis and which aimed towards a much deeper experiencing of the event of the Incarnation of the Word by the faithful.
Translated by Juljana Pici
