Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew performed the Blessed Gifts Mass at the Church of St. George in the Istanbul Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Balat Fener on Monday, April 18.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, the Ecumenical Patriarch blessed the Holy Myrrh cauldrons as they were being prepared. He then recited special prayers for the beginning of the Holy Myrrh preparation process and poured some oil, wine, perfume, flowers into the cauldrons and then lit the fire to start the procedure.
Afterwards, Bible passages continued, and in the afternoon, Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the Bridegroom Mass, which references Matthew 25:1-13 in the Orthodox Church, which begins on Palm Sunday and lasts until the evening of Holy Tuesday. (Orthodoxtimes/Photos: Nikos Papachristou)
