Friday, August 27, 2021
On behalf of our Metropolitan, we express our sincere mourning and prayers for the horrific loss of innocent life today in Afghanistan at the hands of terrorists who attacked our US Military and numerous civilians, which resulted in the death of 13 US Service Members and wounded many more in the Kabul Airport attacks. May the Lord rest their souls eternally and bring healing and peace to this unsettled corner of the world tonight! God protect and bless our troops!
To the Reverend Clergy and Members of the Parish Council of the Metropolis of Boston
Dear brothers and sisters,
On behalf of our Metropolitan, we express our sincere mourning and prayers for the horrific loss of innocent life today in Afghanistan at the hands of terrorists who attacked our US Military and numerous civilians, which resulted in the death of 13 US Service Members and wounded many more in the Kabul Airport attacks. May the Lord rest their souls eternally and bring healing and peace to this unsettled corner of the world tonight! God protect and bless our troops!
His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios asks all clergy of our Metropolis to offer a Trisagion Prayer this coming Sunday at the end of the Liturgy for the members of our US Military and the civilians who lost their lives today in Afghanistan. May their memory be eternal!
May He bring peace, comfort and strength to their families and to all those in Afghanistan who are suffering and in harm's way.
COVID-19 DELTA VARIANT:
As we prepare for the beginning of the ecclesiastical new year and the opening of our parish ministries, and in the face of the unfortunate new wave of the Coronavirus Delta Variant, His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios strongly urges all of our clergy and the faithful throughout the Metropolis to exercise personal responsibility to be fully vaccinated to both protect themselves and others with whom they are in contact daily. Our Church leaders on all levels have stood firmly together in a personal witness to both personally be vaccinated and to encourage all faithful to do the same. Our theological understanding of our the human body is that our "bodies are the living temple of the Lord":
- "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you"...(1 Corinthian 6.19)
- "The entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'." (Galatians 5.14).
The Metropolitan is ever mindful of the changing situation concerning COVID-19 and its Delta Variant, and urges all parishes within the Metropolis to adhere to the local, state and national guidelines and protocols concerning the wearing of masks during our liturgical and social gatherings in the local parish.
Praying that our Lord, the Physician of our souls and bodies, extend His Hand of Healing upon all those who are sick and suffering from this deadly virus and to stop the spread of this dangerous pandemic, we remain,
With love in the Lord,
Father Ted