Feast of the City

Thirty-five years ago, one of the brethren priests in Mount Lebanon proposed to some priests in his neighborhood the idea of celebrating together the feasts of the patron saints of their parish churches. However, the idea did not materialize. Yesterday, here, in the city of Montreal, believers from the parishes of the city responded to the invitation of the leadership of their local churches to participate with the brethren in the parish of St Mary’s Church in the festal Divine Liturgy. The service, which was presided over by His Excellency Bishop Alexander Mufarrij, echoed what came in the tradition about the one service in the one city, and revealed, in a public manner, what the service of the Dormition feast relates was said by the Virgin Mary who gathered the Apostles together “from afar” to give burial to her body. The feast seemed to be the feast of a city that was prompted by “the Mother of the Word” to accept from her, in this turbulent time, all calmness, peacefulness, protection, visitation, solace, healing, joy, and even “the fullness of joy”. This is the wealth of cities to rise to the call of their saints.