2012-01-25
On Wednesday the 25th of January and in his residence in Cologne, His Eminence John Metropolitan of Europe, accompanied by Fr. Elias Esber, the parish priest, had two meetings. The first was with the community of the ladies of the parish of St. Demetrius, the second with the community of the youth of the same parish. In the meeting with the ladies, His Eminence delivered a speech about the saint of the day, St. Gregory the Theologian. He spoke about his important role in strengthening Orthodoxy in Asia Minor. His Eminence explained that sanctity is not far from our daily life; it is not just an historical and absolute matter but rather a concrete reality which everybody is invited to acquire. St Gregory was born in a holy family which remains an ideal example for every Christian family. Also we have the role of the woman, the mother, who is to make of her own family a little Church. Afterward, the ladies presented their questions and discussed with His Eminence some ecclesiastical matters.
The meeting with the youth took place on the same day. His Eminence was so happy to listen to their questions and to respond to them. They asked him how to live out our Christianity in the west and how to treat others of different confessions and religion. They asked him about the role of women in the Church, about the concrete meaning of equality of women and men in the church. His Eminence, at the end of the meeting, was so happy to see really an active youth community in Cologne.
