The passing of a beloved shepherd...
Metropolitan Elect Gerasimos Fokas of Kefalonia
Sometimes an unexpected jewel unrelated to the purpose of a trip falls into our path. We had finished paying our respects to St. Gerasimos at his Cathedral in Kefalonia durng a Matins service and were sitting in the beautiful courtyard of the convent. Barb, our inveterate explorer, had found a small cemetery behind the church and we followed her to see it. Cemeteries at monasteries and churches are common. What we found was a story, not just a graveyard.
A mournful parishioner was standing near a freshly prepared grave weeping and lamenting the passing of her friend and Bishop, Metropolitan Gerasimos Fokas. She was eager to share the story of his life and to tell us about his untimely death on the eve of his Enthronement as Metropolitan of Kefalonia. He had been elevated to Metropolitan on May 31 but never took office because he suffered a heart attack just after he had served at the enthronment of the new Bishop Justin in Kalamaria.
Bishop Gerasimos had served as Chancellor of Kefalonia since 1998 and was a beloved spirtual father to many on the island. Not surprisingly, he had taken the name "Gerasimos", in honor of the saint of the island who is popularly revered by many in Greece and abroad and whose See the new Bishop was ready to lead. We listened to his parishioner for almost an hour as she related story after story about the kindness of Bishop Gerasimos and the extraordinary gifts he had given to people as an unpretentious and humble priest, ofen giving his own clothes and shoes to those who needed them.
His grave was unpretentious too.
A mournful parishioner was standing near a freshly prepared grave weeping and lamenting the passing of her friend and Bishop, Metropolitan Gerasimos Fokas. She was eager to share the story of his life and to tell us about his untimely death on the eve of his Enthronement as Metropolitan of Kefalonia. He had been elevated to Metropolitan on May 31 but never took office because he suffered a heart attack just after he had served at the enthronment of the new Bishop Justin in Kalamaria.
Bishop Gerasimos had served as Chancellor of Kefalonia since 1998 and was a beloved spirtual father to many on the island. Not surprisingly, he had taken the name "Gerasimos", in honor of the saint of the island who is popularly revered by many in Greece and abroad and whose See the new Bishop was ready to lead. We listened to his parishioner for almost an hour as she related story after story about the kindness of Bishop Gerasimos and the extraordinary gifts he had given to people as an unpretentious and humble priest, ofen giving his own clothes and shoes to those who needed them.
His grave was unpretentious too.
New grave of the deceased Bishop Gerasimos whose elevation to Metropolitan of Kefalonia was cut short by his death the day before his enthronement.
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Parishioners tend to the candles and flowers at the grave of Metropolitan Gerasimos.
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Every convent we visited maintained beautifully landscaped gardens. At the Cathedral of St. Gerasimos the courtyards were fragrant with flowers and fruit trees. Metropolitan Gerasimos will sleep amidst this tenderness.
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Other stories about Metropolitan Gerasimos
For those fluent in Modern Greek below are two weblinks to an article about Metropolitan Gerasimos and an interview with an abbess from the monastery where the Metropolitan stayed the night of his death. Thank you to Prof. John Fotopoulos for these sources.
----Shock in Kefalonia: http://www.protothema.gr//greece/article/486631/sok-stin-kefalonia-pethane-apo-anakopi-o-neos-mitropolitis/
----Interview with an Abbess: http://www.kefaloniatoday.com/epikerotita/ekimithi-o-neos-mitropolitis-kefallinias-gerasimos-107803.html
For those fluent in Modern Greek below are two weblinks to an article about Metropolitan Gerasimos and an interview with an abbess from the monastery where the Metropolitan stayed the night of his death. Thank you to Prof. John Fotopoulos for these sources.
----Shock in Kefalonia: http://www.protothema.gr//greece/article/486631/sok-stin-kefalonia-pethane-apo-anakopi-o-neos-mitropolitis/
----Interview with an Abbess: http://www.kefaloniatoday.com/epikerotita/ekimithi-o-neos-mitropolitis-kefallinias-gerasimos-107803.html
