The two great feasts, the Circumcision of the Lord and St. Basil’s the Great feast day were celebrated with the first Divine Liturgy of the New Year 2024 in the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea.
The New Year 2024, given to us by the charity of God, is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea and the Exarchate of Japan (2004-2024).
In his New Year’s message, the Metropolitan mentioned – among other things – the following points about the 20th anniversary of the Metropolis:
“This historic event is an occasion for infinite thanksgiving to God for everything His Providence has bestowed upon us during the past twenty years. Secondly, our thanks are extended to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and especially to His All Holiness our Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, because, thanks to His tireless pastoral care for the Far East, he elevated the Exarchate of Korea, which previously was under the jurisdiction of New Zealand, to the Metropolis of Korea and Exarchate of Japan.
However, this 20th anniversary must become an occasion for more systematic work to spread the Orthodox witness to people of goodwill in Korea and Japan… Let us hope that during the New Year 2024, we may become God’s proper instruments, so that more people may get to know the true God and become members of His uncreated Church on earth.”