WESTFIELD, NJ – Greek News USA
For the first time ever the clergy and faithful of the Metropolis of New Jersey celebrated on November 21-22 the feast of their newly proclaimed Patron Saint, St. Iakovos of Evia.
On November 22, Metropolitan Apostolos of New Jersey welcomed the clergy and the faithful to the Metropolis Headquarters in Westfield, NJ for the celebration of the Orthros and Divine Liturgy at the Chapel dedicated to St. Iakovos of Evia. Assisting His Eminence were Fr. Philotheos Tomczewski, and Archdeacon Konstantinos Loukas. Fr. Christoforos Oikonomidis, the dean of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Wilmington, DE, offered the homily and preached on the life of this modern-day saint who was canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2017.
“The new saint of our Church, Iakovos Tsalikis, was a man of faith, love, patience and perseverance in the face of the sorrows and troubles of life,” Metropolitan Apostolos said in his remarks. “He is the only saint whose surname we know, Tsalikis, and, in fact, he has relatives who live here in the United States, his sister’s children and grandchildren”, he added.
His Eminence especially expressed his appreciation to the faithful from St. Nicholas in Baltimore, MD, for organizing a bus trip to celebrate the feast.
On behalf of the NJ Metropolis Philoptochos, Diane Spanos presented His Eminence with a newly commissioned icon of St. Iakovos of Evia.
On the evening of November 21, Metropolitan Apostolos presided over the Great Vespers at Holy Trinity in Westfield, NJ. He was assisted by the proistamenos Fr. Peter Delvizis, the Chancellor of the Metropolis Fr Nektarios Cottros, and clergy from throughout the Northern New Jersey and Delaware Valley Regions.
In his Archpastoral remarks, His Eminence described St. Iakovos as a man of true faith, of patience, of belief, and of paternal love. He was a man of the altar, a man who was very close to the young people, giving them direction for their lives in the future. Following His Eminence’s remarks, the proistamenos of the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. John the Theologian, Fr. Gregory Gilbert, spoke on the life of St. Iakovos of Evia.
At the end of the Vespers service, His Eminence read a prayer over the Acolytes in attendance and offered each of them a beautiful cross, in honor of St. Iakovos of Evia. A short video about the life of St. Iakovos of Evia was screened during the beautiful dinner reception that followed in the parish community center.
