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Christmas and visit of Metropolitan Athenagoras
On 6 and 7 January (24 and 25 December according to the Church calendar), Metropolitan Athenagoras visited our parish for the celebration of Christmas. He was accompanied by Archimandrite Aimilianos (Chadzivasilieou). Another guest was a priest from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Father Alexei, who happened to be passing through.
Despite the extreme weather, a great many parishioners managed to get to church. There was also a full choir on both 6 and 7 January. Preceding the vigil, a panichida was held in memory of Father Sergei Ovsiannikov, who passed away on 6 January 2018. The Metropolitan was present in the altar during the Christmas vigil; he addressed the parishioners after the service. Also present was a journalist from the NOS, who gave a brief report on the morning of 7 January on the Christmas celebration in Amsterdam.
On 7 January the Metropolitan conducted a solemn Christmas liturgy in concelebration with five priests and one deacon. During the Little Entrance, our Deacon Johannes Veldmeijer was elevated to the rank of protodeacon. Father Meletios was not able to concelebrate on account of illness. But he did come to church at the end of the service, when the Metropolitan informed him of the decision by the Ecumenical Patriarch to grant him the honorary title of “Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne” on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination. The Metropolitan also presented him with a pectoral cross, his own personal gift.
Thanks to the involvement of numerous volunteers, a warm and festive reception was held after both the vigil and the liturgy. Metropolitan Athenagoras spent quite a long time with the parishioners, many of whom made use of the opportunity to get to know him better.
In Memoriam Archbishop Anastasios (Yanoulattos)
On 25 January 2025 Archbishop Anastasios (Yanoulattos), the primate of the Orthodox Church of Albania, passed away. Archbishop Anastasios was the most senior among the heads of the local Orthodox churches and he enjoyed enormous authority in worldwide Orthodoxy. He also had strong ties with several members of our parish.
In Memoriam Albert Roessingh
On 16 October 2025, one of our oldest parishioners, Albert (Adelbert) Roessingh, passed away in Zaandam. He was 96 years old.
The link to the Obituary you’ll find here: Obituary Adelbert Roessingh_En.
