Τη Δευτέρα 22 Ιανουαρίου, ο Θεοφιλέστατος Επίσκοπος Κλαυδιουπόλεως κ. Ιάκωβος προεξήρχε της Θείας Λειτουργίας στον ιερό καθεδρικό ναό της Κοιμήσεως της Θεοτόκου, Wood Green. Κατα τη διάρκεια της Αρχιερατικής Λειτουργίας ο Θεοφιλέστατος χειροτόνησε τον Διάκονο Ιερεμία De Búrca, εξ Ιρλανδίας, εις πρεσβύτερον. Ο νέος ιερέας της Αρχιεπισκοπής θα διακονήσει εις την πόλη του Cork της Ιρλανδίας. Στην ομιλία του, ο Θεοφιλέστατος μετέφερε στον νεοχειροτονηθέντα τη στήριξη και την αγάπη του Σεβασμιωτάτου Αρχιεπισκόπου και Ποιμενάρχου μας κ. Νικήτα, αλλά και όλης της τοπικής εκκλησίας για το καινούργιο στάδιο της ζωής του. Τον συμβούλευσε να παραμείνει ταπεινός, πιστός στην Εκκλησία του Χριστού, να συμβουλεύετε τους αδελφούς ιερείς του, να μεταλαμπαδεύει την πλούσια λειτουργική και πνευματική παράδοση αλλά και την οικουμενικότητα της Μήτρος Εκκλησίας της Κωνσταντινουπόλεως εις Ιρλανδία, και να αγαπά το ιερό θυσιαστήριο.
On Monday 22nd January 2024, Deacon Jeremiah De Búrca was ordained to the holy priesthood by His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Claudiopolis, at the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Wood Green, London. The new presbyter of our Holy Archdiocese, will serve the growing community under establishment, in Cork, Ireland. Fr Jeremiah, having been ordained the previous day to the diaconate by Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain, expressed his wholehearted gratitude towards both His Eminence and His Grace Bishop Iakovos for their love and support as he begins a new journey within the Lord’s vineyard.
His Grace Bishop Iakovos’s Homily on the occasion of Fr Jeremiah’s Ordination to the priesthood:
Dear Deacon Jeremiah,
His Eminence, our Archbishop Nikitas ordained you to the first rank of the holy priesthood, to the diaconate. With his blessing and under his guidance, I have the honour of ordaining you to the presbyterate. One can only contemplate on the holy priesthood with awe, with the fear of God, yet with complete trust in His will, knowing that truly His grace ‘heals that which is infirm and completes that which is lacking.’ Our Lord and Creator has chosen us, unworthy servants, to serve His vineyard on earth, to minister to His people, to edify and to renew the lives of the broken, to offer a harbour and a refuge to those fighting the rough seas and storms of injustice and sin. We are called to do Christ’s work, for it is His Church we serve and in His name that we commune, baptise, marry, catechise, preach, give alms and forgive. In other words, dear Father Jeremiah, Christ chooses us to do His work, to be vessels of His love for humankind. Of course God’s love for the entire world is experienced in fullness on the holy altar, where bread and wine are offered on behalf of all and for all and through the epiclesis of the Holy Spirit are changed into the body and blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is you, Father Jeremiah, who will be offering these gifts on the altar, as the entire cosmos rejoices and is renewed by the grace and the splendour of the Divine Liturgy, which is nothing less than heaven on earth.
I advise you to remain humble, to seek advice from your fellow clergy, to cultivate prayerfulness and eagerness to learn in order to serve the liturgical and sacramental life of the community in Ireland. My dear Father Jeremiah, all of us here in the Archdiocese of Thyateira, will support you in this new stage of your life, in order for you to faithfully serve the Orthodox Church in Ireland according to the tradition and order of the Mother Church of Constantinople, the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It is our responsibility, as the canonical jurisdiction of the sacred British isles, to reconnect the people and our parishes with the authentic Christian tradition and experience of these lands. This sacred mission, and vision of our Church, in these lands, has been cultivated by His Eminence, our Archbishop Nikitas. As our spiritual leader, He has truly and graciously implemented this vision, of sharing Orthodox Christianity and expressing the Church’s embracing and ecumenical nature, for in every country and city across the world we are called to be the local church for the local people regardless of ethnicity, of background or of status.
Our Archbishop’s vision for a hopeful and, by God’s grace, fruitful future for the Archdiocese is profoundly expressed through two integral factors: that being through 1) liturgical, catechetical ministries, but also 2) the expression of our faith through our actions, in other words through our communities’ philanthropy and Christian acts of charity.
With this in mind, I encourage You to reach out to the people of Cork with enthusiasm, with the eucharistic, missionary and apostolic ethos of the Great Church of Christ, always having the local Saints, Apostles, Martyrs and Confessors as your guide and strength on your new path and life of the holy priesthood. I advise you to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and in action, for as St John Chrysostom writes, ‘A single man inflamed with zeal was sufficient to reform a whole people.’ You will shortly receive the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, into your very own hands. Do not see this solely as a heavy burden, but as your humble and sacrificial cross to carry, ministering to the people of God. In order to truly minister to God’s people, you must however strive to be a beacon of light, of our Lord’s mercy and love. For St John Chrysostom also adds, ‘ The soul of a priest should shine as a light illuminating the whole world.’
Dear Fr Jeremiah, I pray you have Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, as your guide and protector along this challenging yet spiritually rewarding journey. May you rejoice in your priesthood, learn to love and cherish the holy altar, and hold on to the beautiful grace which will fill your entire being as we ask the Holy Spirit to work through you for the salvation of all who seek the Lord’s presence and love in their lives. Amen.