ST ONOUPHRIOS FEAST AT THE JERUSALEM PATRIARCHATE
On Thursday, the 12th/25th of June 2015, the Patriarchate celebrated the memory of Hosios Onouphrios the Egyptian at the Monastery dedicated to him, opposite the Pool of Siloam on the foothills of Abu Tor.
St Onouphrios had lived a rigidly ascetic life for more than sixty years, during the 4th c. AD, deep into the Egyptian desert. His clothes having been worn out, his body was covered by his long beard, as shown on his icon, until St Paphnoutios had discovered him. When Onouphrios died a few days later, Paphnoutios buried him after tearing his frock in two to cover his nakedness.
The Patriarchate of Jerusalem has dedicated a Monastery to his name, in the Potter’s Field the chief priests and elders had bought “as a burial place for foreigners with the silver coins that Judas had returned with remorse” (Matthew 27, 3-8). Burials on this site continued until the 13th c., as attested by tombs carved into rocks in and around the Monastery, one of which belongs to Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem (415 AD).
Patriarch Theophilos led the Matins and Divine Liturgy. Co-officiating were Archbishops Aristarchos of Constantina and Methodios of Tabor, Hagiotaphite Hieromonks, and visiting members of the Holy Bishopric of Patras having links with the Monastery. Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth concelebrated whilst Archimandrite Aristovoulos sang for a crowd of monks, nuns, Jerusalemites and pilgrims.
The Divine Liturgy was followed by procession to the Cemetery, where a memorial service was held for the repose of the soul of the late nun Serapheima. From there, the faithful proceeded to the rock-cut tombs, where a prayer was read for the blessing of figs thriving in the area.
After the distribution of the antidoron, Nun Paisia courteously hosted guests to the hegoumeneion.
From the Secretariat-General
