The Feast of the Touch of Thomas was celebrated in Cana of Galilee on the morning of the week of Thomas the Apostle, April 29/May 12, 2024, with a festive reception of the Scouts and the community, followed by a Divine Liturgy led by His Beatitude Our Father and Patriarch Theophilus of Jerusalem. He was served by Their Eminences Metropolitan Kyriac of Nazareth and Archbishop Aristarchus of Constantine, the hieromonks of the Holy Sepulchers, the first of whom was the Senior Camarasis Archimandrite Nectarius, the priests of the neighboring regions of Cana, Archdeacon Mark and Hierodeacon Dositheus. The service was attended by many faithful residents of Kana, with the honorable presence of the Greek Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Kyriak Loukakis, and the Russian Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Anatoly Viktorov.
His Beatitude preached the benediction before this assembly with the following address in Greek:
"Behold Jesus did the beginning by a sign at Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory: and his disciples believed in him."(Jn 2:11) says St. John the Evangelist.
Beloved brothers in Christ,
Pious Christians and pilgrims,
Life from the grave, that is, Christ our God who rose from the grave, has gathered us all together today in this biblical place of Cana of Galilee to commemorate "the beginning of the signs which Jesus wrought here" and a touch of St. Thomas the Apostle.
As the occurring miracle of the turning of water into wine in the presence of Jesus and His Mother in the marriage here, and the touch of the Apostle Thomas on the rib of the risen Christ pierced by the soldiers on His Cross, are two of the many signs, i.e. miracles, which Our Lord Jesus Christ performed in the presence of His disciples.
He did this so that, firstly, His glory would be revealed, and secondly, so that people would believe in Him, as St. John the Theologian commands in his Gospel, saying, "But these things are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that you who believe may have life in His name."(Jn 20:31).
According to St. Cyril of Alexandria, Jesus Christ is "not merely a son, but the Son of God uniquely and especially." St. Cyril says this, referring to the words of Christ: "Amen, amen I say to you, for whoever hears my words and believes Him who sent me has eternal life, and will not come into judgment, but will pass from death into life. [...] As much as the Father hath life in Himself, so also hath He given the Son to have life in Himself." (Jn. 5:24-26).
This means that the Son of God, that is, Christ, is the perfect God, as St. Cyril of Alexandria also interprets, saying, "I think it is superfluous to say that the Only Begotten is life by nature and partaker of future life, and He has the power to animate, just as the Father."
The risen Christ, my beloved brethren, is the New Adam, who redeems the New Eve on the Cross with His honorable blood, but also with the water that flowed from His pierced rib (cf. Jn. 19:34). The blood and water symbolize the sacraments of the Church, but also the love of the bridegroom for his bride. "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself up for her" (Eph. 5:25) - preaches the divine Paul.
We, being members of the Church, which is the Body of Christ, are also members of the Body of Christ. In other words, the relationship between God and man in the person of Christ is the relationship and union of Marriage. The foundation and unifying force of Marriage is perfect love, love in Christ, which "seeketh not its own sieves, and never falls away" (cf. 1 Cor. 13:4-8).
It was this infinite humanity, i.e. the love of God, that lifted His Son to the Cross and brought Him down to hell in order to free and heal the great wound of man, as the songster St. John Damascene clearly writes: "Through the door of imprisonment you came, O Christ, to the disciples, then Thomas carefully did not find himself with them. He said: I have no faith, unless I also see the Lord. I will see a rib, from which blood, water, and baptism will come out. I will see a pestilence, from which a great human scab will be healed."
It is noteworthy that by touching the rib of Christ, the unfaithful Thomas became an accomplice and partaker of "the sweet communion of His light-giving glory," that is, the light-bearing glory of the Resurrection of Christ. And we, my beloved brethren, the confirmed people of the Church, the bride of Christ, enjoy this sweet secret communion of the Resurrection in the sacrament of the secret blessing, i.e., the Divine Eucharist, as St. Cyril of Alexandria teaches, saying, "Christ descends and appears to you all both invisibly and visibly; invisibly as God, visibly and again in the body. He also allows and gives to touch His holy flesh. Come therefore, by the grace of God, to the communion of the secret blessing, receiving Christ into our hands, that we also may believe, as we ought, that He has truly erected His own temple."
By the presence of Himself and His mother, Our Lady Mary, at the wedding here at Cana, Christ sanctified marriage on the one hand, and freed the woman from the curse on the other. "Marriage [at Cana] is sanctified, so the curse is removed from the woman; children are no longer born in tribulation, since the beginning of our birth is blessed by Christ," says St. Cyril of Alexandria.
And through the secret blessing of the sacrament, i.e., the Divine Eucharist, we participate in the secret, spiritual Marriage of the Bridegroom Christ and the Bride of the Church, that is, humanity. "Marriage is consummated on the third day, that is, at the end of these present times," says again St. Cyril, referring to St. John the Theologian, who writes in his "Revelation": "Let us rejoice and be glad, and let us give glory to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has prepared herself. And it was given to her to be clothed in fine linen pure and bright: the fine linen of the justification of the saints is." (Rev. 19:7-9).
"The marriage supper of the Lamb," my beloved ones, is none other than the kingdom of heaven, of which the Lord commands: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). Let us also say together with the chanter on this glorious day of Easter: "O great and most holy Pascha, O Christ, O wisdom, and Word of God, and power! Grant that we may hasten to commune with Thee, in the everlasting days of Thy kingdom." Amen. Christ is risen!".
Subsequently, the procession went around the holy temple three times. Scouts preceded and all the people participated.
At noon, Hegumen Archimandrite Venedict, the Council and the community of Cana held a meal in honor of His Beatitude, which was attended by the Epitropes of the Cana community who addressed Him, the Russian Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Anatoly Viktorov, and the representative of the Greek Embassy in Tel Aviv, Mr. Mavroidis.
After the meal, His Beatitude consecrated the opening of the residential complex built by the Community of Kana on an allotted plot of land belonging to the Patriarchate. At this ceremony, His Beatitude delivered the following address by the address:
"You, Lord, founded the earth, and the works of your hand are the heavens."(Hebrews 1:10).
Beloved brethren in Christ!
Dear President and members of the Church Committee!
Our Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, has graced us all with the Eucharistic celebration of the beginning of Christ's Resurrection and also the touch of the holy Apostle Thomas in your holy city of Cana of Galilee, where the Lord sanctified marriage by His presence with His Mother, the Theotokos and the Most Holy Virgin Mary.
The true witnesses of this event are not only the Apostles and Evangelists, but also the Roman Orthodox Christians who have lived here for centuries, who are the christonymous fullness of the ancient Jerusalem Patriarchate, that is, the Mother of Churches, founded on the blood of the Cross of its founder; "No one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ," preaches St. Paul.
We also rejoice in this "divine zeal and readiness of you, young trustees of our local Church, we praise" (cf. 2 Cor. 9:1). We say this because the new generation, despite the difficulties it faces in its daily life, is characterized by a zealous devotion to the traditions of the Church and especially by an unselfish love for the land of its ancestors and forebears.
We We rejoice, because today, by laying this stone, a good and socially useful deed is inaugurated, demonstrating the Mother's care for her children, the Church, i.e. Jerusalem, for the members of her body, so that, in the words of St. Paul, "let there be no strife in the body, but let them bake the same in themselves" (1 Cor. 12:23).
We wish you success in this good work and in all your good endeavors for the glory of God and the praise of His Holy Church, because according to the voice of the wise Paul: "We are God's helpers: you are God's workmanship, you are God's building" (1 Cor. 3:9). Christ is risen!"
His Beatitude preached the benediction before this assembly with the following address in Greek:
"Behold Jesus did the beginning by a sign at Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory: and his disciples believed in him."(Jn 2:11) says St. John the Evangelist.
Beloved brothers in Christ,
Pious Christians and pilgrims,
Life from the grave, that is, Christ our God who rose from the grave, has gathered us all together today in this biblical place of Cana of Galilee to commemorate "the beginning of the signs which Jesus wrought here" and a touch of St. Thomas the Apostle.
As the occurring miracle of the turning of water into wine in the presence of Jesus and His Mother in the marriage here, and the touch of the Apostle Thomas on the rib of the risen Christ pierced by the soldiers on His Cross, are two of the many signs, i.e. miracles, which Our Lord Jesus Christ performed in the presence of His disciples.
He did this so that, firstly, His glory would be revealed, and secondly, so that people would believe in Him, as St. John the Theologian commands in his Gospel, saying, "But these things are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that you who believe may have life in His name."(Jn 20:31).
According to St. Cyril of Alexandria, Jesus Christ is "not merely a son, but the Son of God uniquely and especially." St. Cyril says this, referring to the words of Christ: "Amen, amen I say to you, for whoever hears my words and believes Him who sent me has eternal life, and will not come into judgment, but will pass from death into life. [...] As much as the Father hath life in Himself, so also hath He given the Son to have life in Himself." (Jn. 5:24-26).
This means that the Son of God, that is, Christ, is the perfect God, as St. Cyril of Alexandria also interprets, saying, "I think it is superfluous to say that the Only Begotten is life by nature and partaker of future life, and He has the power to animate, just as the Father."
The risen Christ, my beloved brethren, is the New Adam, who redeems the New Eve on the Cross with His honorable blood, but also with the water that flowed from His pierced rib (cf. Jn. 19:34). The blood and water symbolize the sacraments of the Church, but also the love of the bridegroom for his bride. "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself up for her" (Eph. 5:25) - preaches the divine Paul.
We, being members of the Church, which is the Body of Christ, are also members of the Body of Christ. In other words, the relationship between God and man in the person of Christ is the relationship and union of Marriage. The foundation and unifying force of Marriage is perfect love, love in Christ, which "seeketh not its own sieves, and never falls away" (cf. 1 Cor. 13:4-8).
It was this infinite humanity, i.e. the love of God, that lifted His Son to the Cross and brought Him down to hell in order to free and heal the great wound of man, as the songster St. John Damascene clearly writes: "Through the door of imprisonment you came, O Christ, to the disciples, then Thomas carefully did not find himself with them. He said: I have no faith, unless I also see the Lord. I will see a rib, from which blood, water, and baptism will come out. I will see a pestilence, from which a great human scab will be healed."
It is noteworthy that by touching the rib of Christ, the unfaithful Thomas became an accomplice and partaker of "the sweet communion of His light-giving glory," that is, the light-bearing glory of the Resurrection of Christ. And we, my beloved brethren, the confirmed people of the Church, the bride of Christ, enjoy this sweet secret communion of the Resurrection in the sacrament of the secret blessing, i.e., the Divine Eucharist, as St. Cyril of Alexandria teaches, saying, "Christ descends and appears to you all both invisibly and visibly; invisibly as God, visibly and again in the body. He also allows and gives to touch His holy flesh. Come therefore, by the grace of God, to the communion of the secret blessing, receiving Christ into our hands, that we also may believe, as we ought, that He has truly erected His own temple."
By the presence of Himself and His mother, Our Lady Mary, at the wedding here at Cana, Christ sanctified marriage on the one hand, and freed the woman from the curse on the other. "Marriage [at Cana] is sanctified, so the curse is removed from the woman; children are no longer born in tribulation, since the beginning of our birth is blessed by Christ," says St. Cyril of Alexandria.
And through the secret blessing of the sacrament, i.e., the Divine Eucharist, we participate in the secret, spiritual Marriage of the Bridegroom Christ and the Bride of the Church, that is, humanity. "Marriage is consummated on the third day, that is, at the end of these present times," says again St. Cyril, referring to St. John the Theologian, who writes in his "Revelation": "Let us rejoice and be glad, and let us give glory to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has prepared herself. And it was given to her to be clothed in fine linen pure and bright: the fine linen of the justification of the saints is." (Rev. 19:7-9).
"The marriage supper of the Lamb," my beloved ones, is none other than the kingdom of heaven, of which the Lord commands: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). Let us also say together with the chanter on this glorious day of Easter: "O great and most holy Pascha, O Christ, O wisdom, and Word of God, and power! Grant that we may hasten to commune with Thee, in the everlasting days of Thy kingdom." Amen. Christ is risen!".
Subsequently, the procession went around the holy temple three times. Scouts preceded and all the people participated.
At noon, Hegumen Archimandrite Venedict, the Council and the community of Cana held a meal in honor of His Beatitude, which was attended by the Epitropes of the Cana community who addressed Him, the Russian Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Anatoly Viktorov, and the representative of the Greek Embassy in Tel Aviv, Mr. Mavroidis.
After the meal, His Beatitude consecrated the opening of the residential complex built by the Community of Kana on an allotted plot of land belonging to the Patriarchate. At this ceremony, His Beatitude delivered the following address by the address:
"You, Lord, founded the earth, and the works of your hand are the heavens."(Hebrews 1:10).
Beloved brethren in Christ!
Dear President and members of the Church Committee!
Our Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, has graced us all with the Eucharistic celebration of the beginning of Christ's Resurrection and also the touch of the holy Apostle Thomas in your holy city of Cana of Galilee, where the Lord sanctified marriage by His presence with His Mother, the Theotokos and the Most Holy Virgin Mary.
The true witnesses of this event are not only the Apostles and Evangelists, but also the Roman Orthodox Christians who have lived here for centuries, who are the christonymous fullness of the ancient Jerusalem Patriarchate, that is, the Mother of Churches, founded on the blood of the Cross of its founder; "No one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ," preaches St. Paul.
We also rejoice in this "divine zeal and readiness of you, young trustees of our local Church, we praise" (cf. 2 Cor. 9:1). We say this because the new generation, despite the difficulties it faces in its daily life, is characterized by a zealous devotion to the traditions of the Church and especially by an unselfish love for the land of its ancestors and forebears.
We We rejoice, because today, by laying this stone, a good and socially useful deed is inaugurated, demonstrating the Mother's care for her children, the Church, i.e. Jerusalem, for the members of her body, so that, in the words of St. Paul, "let there be no strife in the body, but let them bake the same in themselves" (1 Cor. 12:23).
We wish you success in this good work and in all your good endeavors for the glory of God and the praise of His Holy Church, because according to the voice of the wise Paul: "We are God's helpers: you are God's workmanship, you are God's building" (1 Cor. 3:9). Christ is risen!"
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