The feast of Saint Thekla the Protomartyr at the Patriarchate of Jerusalem
On Monday the 24th of September/7th of October 2013, the feast of St Thekla, Great-Martyr and Equal to the Apostles, was celebrated by the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood at the chapel dedicated to her memory within the Central Monastery which lies to the west of the Church of Sts Constantine and Helena.
Vespers was held in the evening by the week’s vicar, while his fellow vicars participated during the Great Entrance and the Breaking of Bread. Hagiotaphite Prelates, Hieromonks and monks joined them in prayer.
At the end of the Vespers, the members of the Holy Sepulcher sat at the forecourt of the Church of Sts Constantine and Helena and received the kollyva(consecrated wheat), wine and bread.
On the day of the feast, His Beatitude Theophilos, our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem, who only just arrived from Serbia, led the Matins and the Divine Liturgy. Co-officiating was Archimandrite f. Kallistos while Hagiotaphite Fathers, monks, nuns and laymen participated in piety.
After the Divine Liturgy, the Hagiotaphite Fathers gathered at the Epitropikon[office of the Church Board] where they received the kollyva, bread and refreshments. They also accepted His Beatitude’s wishes for health and peace and that they be protected by Saint Thekla, the Equal to the Apostles.
Source: Patriarchate of Jerusalem
