The Second Sunday of Great Lent Commemorated in Piraeus as a New Sunday of Orthodoxy

At the Sacred Church of Saint Basil in Piraeus, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated on Sunday, March 8, 2026 — the Second Sunday of the Fast — by His Eminence Seraphim Mentzelopoulos, Metropolitan of Piraeus, honoring the feast of our Father among the Saints Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, and the God-bearing Fathers of the Holy Ninth Ecumenical Synod.

During his sermon, His Eminence, referring to the period of Great Lent, when the Church commemorates Saint Gregory Palamas and the Fathers of the Synod of 1351, who struggled to defend the Orthodox faith against heresies, emphasized that this day is a continuation of the joy of the Sunday of Orthodoxy.

“We have a new ‘Sunday of Orthodoxy’ today, honoring the Holy Ninth Ecumenical Synod and the God-bearing Ecumenical Teacher Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, who took the lead and was the mentor and guide of this sacred synod of our Holy Church,” said His Eminence.

The "Hagiorite Tome" of Saint Gregory Palamas

The "Hagiorite Tome"

 

 By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

1. Introduction

St. Gregory Palamas was a true Hagiorite. He lived a large part of his life on the Holy Mountain, was connected with the holy Fathers who lived the ascetic life with him, and therefore expressed the experience of the Hagiorite Fathers, which in reality is the experience of the Orthodox Church.

As we see from other writings of St. Gregory, there were hesychastic Fathers living on the Holy Mountain who were preserving the essence of the monastic and Christian life, which is participation in the purifying, illuminating and deifying energy of God. It is in this light that we should look at the important role of the Hagiorite Fathers in presenting the orthodox theology about the essence and energy of God and about participation in divine energy.