On 17 March 2019,His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium attended the Divine Liturgy of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the first Sunday of Great Lent,at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel in Brussels.The Liturgy also marked the beginning of the celebration of the Orthodox Metropolis of Belgium's 50th anniversary.His Eminence Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium,Exarch to the Netherlands and Luxembourg (Ecumenical Patriarchate) presided.*
The Metropolis has around 40 parishes using various languages and served by over 50 priests.*
Concelebrating with Metropolitan Athenagoras were His Eminence Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Kyrineia (Church of Cyprus) and His Excellency Bishop Dositheos (Church of Georgia),as well as other clergy from Orthodox jurisdictions in Belgium.
Metropolitan Athenagoras is the sole official representative of the Orthodox Church to the Belgian government.The Orthodox Church was officially recognised by Belgium in 1985.There are a total of about 150,000 Orthodox Christians in Belgium.*
King Philippe's visit was the first by a Belgian monarch to an Orthodox church since King Baudoin's visit to the Church of St.Andrew the Apostle in Ghent in 1980. Also attending the Divine Liturgy with King Philippe were His Eminence Jozef Cardinal de Kesel, Archbishop of Mechelen and Brussels;Mr.Koen Geens, Minister of Justice and Religion; Greek Ambassador to Belgium Eleftheria Galathianaki; and diplomats from various other Orthodox countries,along with a large number of faithful.*
In his address, Metropolitan Athenagoras noted that the Orthodox Church:
has received a place in our society and works in harmony with other Christian Churches and monotheistic religions.
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