Elbasan, Albania, June 8, 2020
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The Monastery of St. John Vladimir in Elbasan, Albania festively celebrated its patronal feast day on June 3 and 4.
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The celebration began with the veneration of the relics of St. John by the clergy, followed by a festal Vespers led by His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony of Elbasan, with the blessing of the artoklasia, reports Romfea.
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St. John’s relics were located in the monastery from 1381 to 1995, and are now kept in the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Tirana, from where they were brought to the monastery for the feast.
Following the service, Met. Anthony spoke about the life of saint and about how God honors His people, regardless of where they come from, noting that St. John is a great light for Orthodox Albanians although he himself was not Albanian.
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On the day of the feast, His Eminence, concelebrated by local priests, served the Divine Liturgy, followed by a procession around the monastery church with the wonderworking relics and an icon of St. John Vladimir.
While the feast usually attracts a great many pilgrims from throughout Albania and from Serbia and Montenegro, fewer made the trip this year due to the coronavirus. The faithful were also not able to venerate the relics of their beloved saint this year.
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The memory of St. John (Jovan) Vladimir was also celebrated in Bar, Montenegro, where the first post-quarantine cross procession was held in his honor.
