Feast of Saint Achilleios in Prespes
Press Release of the Holy Metropolis of Florina, Prespa, and Eordaia
In Agios Achilleios of Prespes, Florina Prefecture, stands the Church of Saint Achilleios, known as the “Basilica of Saint Achilleios.” The basilica is an ornate and imposing structure of the 10th–11th century A.D., built upon the ruins of an earlier church from the 6th century. According to scholars, the current basilica was constructed to house the relic of Saint Achilleios, which had been transferred to Prespes from the conquered city of Larissa and placed in a tomb in the diaconicon of the Holy Altar. The basilica is both a significant monument of cultural heritage, due to its historical and architectural value, and a spiritual treasure, as a place of worship and burial site of Saint Achilleios.
Today, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, the memory of Saint Achilleios, Bishop of Larissa, was celebrated, and the longstanding cultural and spiritual heritage of our region was honored with a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the Saint’s basilica, presided over by our Metropolitan, His Eminence Irinaios.
Present at the Divine Liturgy were Mr. Emmanouil Dimitropoulos, Deputy Mayor for Planning, Projects, and Development of the Municipality of Prespes, and Ms. Margarita Babakou, Deputy Mayor for Education, Culture, and Tourism. Also in attendance were a large number of faithful, including pilgrims from the parishes of Ptolemaida and Florina, as well as visitors from across Western Macedonia.
The chanting was led by the Protopsaltis (chief cantor) of the Holy Metropolitan Church of Saint Panteleimon in Florina, Mr. Konstantinos Alexiou, together with members of the "Hagiosophites" choir from Ptolemaida, under the direction of Mr. Christos Psomiadis.
In his sermon, our Shepherd noted that, according to the Ancient Greek religion, deities were believed to dwell inside temples, so the faithful would gather outside at the altar to offer sacrifices and practice worship. In contrast, the Christian church is a place where man enters, as it is not the inaccessible dwelling of God, but the meeting place between God and the deified human; the point of encounter between heaven and earth, where the faithful, united as a community, worship God and participate in the supreme mystery of the Divine Eucharist.
Finally, he drew a parallel between the names “Achilles” and “Achilleios,” highlighting their resurrectional message: that man no longer has an "Achilles’ heel"—he is no longer vulnerable and a victim of decay and death—but is now invulnerable, immortal, and eternal, as he wears the resurrected body of our Lord Jesus Christ and journeys toward the end times and the Kingdom of Heaven.