His Eminence Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland delivered a pastoral message at the beginning of the Apostles’ Fast, emphasising that this liturgical season is a natural continuation of Pentecost.
“If the Day of Pentecost marks the foundation of the Church, then this liturgical period calls us to live out the life of the Apostolic Church—active and confessional in its witness,” said the UK’s Romanian Archbishop in his first message for the Apostles’ Fast.
During the Holy Apostles’ Fast, Archbishop Atanasie delivered a message encouraging the faithful to become not merely pious Christians, but a people of saints. “This fast reminds us that the Church is apostolic not only through apostolic succession but especially through a living communion of faith and witness with the Holy Apostles.”
A Fast of Mission and Witness
Archbishop Atanasie emphasised that the Fast is a time of missionary calling, spiritual courage, and interior renewal.
This period, dedicated to the Apostles Peter and Paul, “reminds us that holiness is not an exception but the calling of every Christian. We are invited to become a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people (1 Peter 2:9)—just like those who, once fishermen or persecutors, became chosen vessels of grace and servants of the Gospel.”
The Archbishop, during the Apostles’ Fast, also encouraged the faithful to return to the Apostles’ writings found in the New Testament, especially the Epistles of Saint Paul, as a source of spiritual life and transformation.
A Time to Remember the Martyrs
He noted that Orthodox faithful living in the diaspora have a special opportunity to feel close to the saints and martyrs who offered their lives for Christ.
“Let us pray to the Holy Apostles and to all the local saints of the land we dwell in—be they Peter and Paul, Cuthbert and Patrick, Alban and David, Brigid and Columba—that they may intercede for our strengthening in faith, unity, and the love of Christ.”
“The Apostles’ Fast is a return to the wellsprings of the Church: to the Holy Spirit, to communion, to living holiness, to the word of the Apostles and their mission. It is a time of discernment and renewal, a season in which we are called not merely to believe, but to become—together—a people of God, a people of saints, in spirit and in truth.”
The Archbishop concluded with an exhortation to heart vigilance, spiritual joy, and longing for God: “Let us spend this Fast with a wakeful heart, with joy, and with yearning for God, preparing ourselves to celebrate those who opened the way of salvation through their living witness, martyrdom, preaching, and sacrifice.”
“Let us spend this Fast with a wakeful heart, with joy, and with yearning for God, preparing ourselves to celebrate those who opened the way of salvation through their living witness, martyrdom, preaching, and sacrifice.”
Photo: Basilica.ro / Raluca Ene
