This Great and Holy Wednesday, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America joined Fr. Anargyros Stavropoulos and the community of Saints Catherine and George Greek Orthodox Church in Astoria, New York for the Service of Holy Unction. The children of the Saints Catherine and George community warmly welcomed His Eminence into a church filled with parishioners for this special service.

In his Homily, His Eminence explained the significance and meaning of the Holy Oil; “The word, “Gethsemane” means “Olive Press, and the Garden of Gethsemane, the Lord faced the greatest fears of every human being. The garden was at the base of the Mount of Olives, where the oil was pressed out at harvest time. And it was in this Garden, that the Lord made Himself subject to a pressure that is beyond our wildest imagination. For there, He took the anxiety, the worry, and ultimately fear and revulsion of death that every human being had ever known – knew at that moment – or would ever know, and incorporated them into His very Body…Our Lord Jesus Christ was pressed to such a degree in the Garden – that it was neither sweat nor oil that came forth from His divine brow…It was His own blood, a foreshadowing of the bloody Cross.”

“Let no one believe that the Lord was afraid for Himself. Let us stand in awe of the cup from which He drank, all the way to the Cross and death. This is the source of the healing that we experience tonight in the Holy Unction, which – mercifully in the form of olive oil – is the source of our healing" Archbishop Elpidophoros remarked.

Photos: GOARCH/Brittainy Newman