The NEPSIS UK youth gathering concluded on Sunday at the Parish of the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen in Bristol with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy by Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Archbishop spoke to the young participants about the Gospel account of the healing of the man born blind, emphasising that Christ’s miracle was not only the restoration of physical sight but also the illumination of the human soul and the birth of living faith.
Archbishop Atanasie underlined that man’s true blindness is not the lack of bodily sight, but the closing of the heart to God and to divine light. In the Gospel, the blind man gradually receives not only physical vision, but also spiritual understanding, culminating in his full confession of Christ.
As the service took place close to the feast of the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen, the patronal feast of the parish, the Archbishop highlighted their providential role in the history of the Church, noting that through faith, courage and responsibility they transformed the Cross of Christ from a sign of suffering into a symbol of victory and hope for the entire Christian world.
Thanks and recognition
At the end of the service, Dean Ioan Claudiu Moldovan thanked Archbishop Atanasie for his presence and blessing, and monk Pimen Vlad for the spiritual talks and conferences held during the NEPSIS congress.
Among those attending the service were Robert Marin, Romania’s Consul General in London, and Peaches Golding, Lord-Lieutenant of the County and City of Bristol, the official representative of the British Crown in the region.
Archbishop Atanasie praised the involvement of the NEPSIS youth and the efforts of the organisers, stressing that the future of Romanian Orthodoxy in the diaspora is built through communion, the formation of a spiritually vibrant generation, and the cultivation of a faith active in love and responsibility towards one’s neighbour.
The Archbishop of Great Britain and Northern Ireland also awarded monk Pimen Vlad the Cross of Great Britain for monastics, in recognition of his rich spiritual and missionary ministry among the faithful.
NEPSIS Congress
The NEPSIS Great Britain Congress took place from 15 May to 17 May and included conferences, spiritual gatherings, prayer services, and community activities.
The event brought together participants from different regions of the country around prayer, spiritual dialogue and fraternal fellowship.
This year’s special guest was monk Pimen Vlad from the Cell of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple at the Romanian Lakkoskete on Mount Athos.
One of the main activities of the congress was a charity marathon organised by the NEPSIS Bristol youth, at the initiative of Fr. Ioan Claudiu Moldovan, parish priest of the community, in support of the long-distance sponsorship programme “One Child, One Light”, dedicated to children from disadvantaged families.
Photo: roarch.org.uk
