On Wednesday, February 25, 2026, marking the First Wednesday of Lent, a significant ecclesiastical event took place in Corfu. His Eminence, Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu, Paxoi and Diapontia Islands, presided over the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts at the revered Holy Pilgrimage Church of Saint Spyridon. A highlight of the service was the solemn ordination of Mr. Raphael Xanthopoulos, originally from Lesvos, to the Deaconate.
The Newly Ordained Deacon: Raphael Xanthopoulos
Deacon Raphael Xanthopoulos brings a rich educational and professional background to his new role. He is a graduate of the Patmiada Ecclesiastical School, the Ecclesiastical Institute of Professional Training of the Rizarion Ecclesiastical School, and the Higher Ecclesiastical Academy of Vella of Ioannina. A married man, Mr. Xanthopoulos has resided and worked in Corfu for twelve years, serving as a highly skilled psaltis (chanter) at the Holy Church of Saints Constantine and Helen in Kanali. His spiritual father is Protopresbyter Spyridon Koskinas, who has dedicated many years to the aforementioned parish, significantly contributing to its spiritual renewal.
A Call to Serve the Church
In his address, the newly ordained Deacon, speaking with simplicity and sincerity, reflected on the moment he felt God’s calling to embark on the ‘bold step’ of priesthood, through His Eminence Nektarios. He emphasized his awareness of the Church’s need for laborers to serve the body of Christ. He noted that he had previously worked as a laborer in material construction, but now he is called to work in the spiritual construction of the Church. With a spirit of humility, he confessed that he considers nothing his personal achievement, but recognizes that everything in his life is a gift from God. He also invoked the intercessions of the Virgin Mary and the Saints, asking for their support in his ministry and for the increase of the talents entrusted to him by the Lord, so that he may not prove to be a ‘wicked and slothful servant,’ but a faithful and eager laborer of the Gospel. Finally, he expressed his gratitude to his family and wife, his spiritual fathers, and all who have contributed to his journey and training to date, requesting their prayerful support in his new ministry.
Metropolitan Nektarios’s Paternal Counsel
Responding, His Eminence Nektarios offered paternal and admonitory words to the ordained. He spoke of the great mystery of the priesthood, which the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ offers in times particularly difficult for both our homeland and for all of Orthodoxy. The Metropolitan stressed that we live in an era where atheism is no longer manifested only as an ideological denial of God, but also as an active expulsion of Him from daily life. If once ‘existing atheism’ openly fought the Church in the Eastern Soviet countries, today new forms of materialism in the West, through capitalism, greed, and the spirit of self-interest, seek to transform man into a robot, removing every spiritual essence and thus severing him from his inclination towards ‘likeness’.
The Church’s Enduring Faith
However, the Church does not fear, because according to the Lord’s word, ‘the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16:18). Faith is not dissolved by the attacks of the times. On the contrary, in periods of trial, the need for spiritual harvest emerges, but ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few’ (Matthew 9:37). Therefore, a positive response to the Church’s invitation to become laborers in the Lord’s vineyard is absolutely necessary. However, His Eminence emphasized that priesthood is not a worldly honor, but a cruciform ministry and a target for the temptation’s attack.
The cleric is called to ‘lend his hands’ to Christ Himself, to serve the Holy Altar, and to experience the transformative power of divine grace. Indeed, His Eminence Nektarios invoked Saint Symeon the New Theologian, reminding that when the grace of God visits man, his entire psychosomatic world is sanctified, and his existence is transformed.
Priesthood is a cross and participation in the mystery of Golgotha and the sacrifice ‘for the life and salvation of the world’. The shepherd is called to be consumed for the people of God, to offer himself completely and to live with a spirit of self-sacrifice and obedience. The responsibility is great, because he who works for spiritual edification will receive more intense temptations, as the ‘evil-hater’ primarily fights the work of God and His laborers. Therefore, a spirit of humility and discipleship are absolutely necessary provisions, as is proper guidance from the spiritual father. No one is self-sufficient, and all remain disciples of Christ, following the example of Saint Ignatius the God-bearer, who even on his way to martyrdom considered himself a disciple of the Lord. Entry into the Holy Clergy means integration into a new spiritual family, that of the Holy Metropolis. Although people may remain imperfect, they rely on the grace of God and the intercessions of the Saints. In closing, His Eminence urged the ordained to have faith in the Lord, steadfastness in faith, and a spirit of sacrificial love, calling upon the new deacon to serve His Church with humility and courage.
