Visiting the Church and House of St. Paul in Tarsus and Conclusion of the Visitation Trip
His Beatitude Patriarch John X and the accompanying delegation concluded their trip of pilgrimage and paternal visitation to Antioch, Alexandretta, and Mersin with a stop at the church and house of St. Paul in Tarsus, accompanied by the priests, the heads of the associations of the parishes, and the faithful.
First, His Beatitude visited the Church of St. Paul’s, which is one of the most important pilgrimage centers in Mersin. It has many frescoes and distinctive architectural style.
After the prayer in the church, His Beatitude delivered a speech where he expressed joy for being present with the children of the church on this pilgrimage. This trip included many stations, prayers and great messages of solace. He provided an exhaustive explanation of the life of St. Paul and asserted that there are two cradles of Christianity. The first is the physical cradle of Jerusalem, where the Virgin Mary placed the body of the Lord, and the second is the intellectual cradle represented in Great Antioch, where the apostles set out and preached Christianity. He asked Saints Peter and Paul to preserve the Church of Antioch and its people by the power of the Lord Jesus.”
After that, the ladies in the courtyard of the church chanted hymns of the Resurrection.
Then His Beatitude went to the house of St. Paul, in the middle of which stands the well of Holy Apostle Paul. His Beatitude took the blessed holy water and everyone chanted Christ is risen.
From this holy place, His Beatitude concluded his pilgrimage after a visit of eight consecutive days, during which he inquired after the children of the Church in Antioch, Alexandretta, and Mersin. He held the prayers of the Holy Week and presided over the Divine Liturgy for Pascha from the ruins of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Antioch. During this liturgy, he consecrated the antimansi and elevated Father Paul Ordoǧlu to the rank of Archimandrite. The Patriarch also met the families, the youth, the priests, and the heads of associations of the parishes of Antioch, listening to their suffering and concerns and promising to rebuild the people and the edifices.
The reverend priests and heads of associations in the parishes of Antioch bid the Patriarch farewell at his departure from Adana International Airport.
From there, His Beatitude thanked the children of the church for their kind and touching reception, which stems from their love for their church, noting their steadfastness, calling on them not to be afraid, promising them that their churches will return to what they were, as well as the houses damaged by the earthquake.
He also thanked the Turkish government, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior, and everyone who contributed to the success of this paternal visitation, which is considered a pilgrimage trip par excellence.