Scores join 40-km Hyderabad Central Padayatra to mark St Gregorios feast

Scores of devotees from Orthodox churches in Hyderabad and Secunderabad participated in the Hyderabad Central Padayatra, covering more than 40 km to commemorate the feast of St Gregorios of Parumala. The pilgrimage concluded at St Gregorios Orthodox Cathedral, Gandhinagar.

Hyderabad: Scores of participants from Orthodox churches in Hyderabad and Secunderabad joined the Hyderabad Central Padayatra walking more than 40-km to mark the feast of St. Gregorios of Parumala.

The procession began early on Saturday at St. Mary’s Orthodox Church, Ramachandrapuram, and halted for prayers at St. George Church, Jeedimetla. It later stopped at St. Andrews Orthodox Valiapally, Secunderabad, before reaching St. Gregorios Orthodox Cathedral, Gandhinagar, in the evening, where priests received the participants.

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The feast will be celebrated at the cathedral on November 8. The saint’s holy relics are kept there. Rev. Fr. Varghese Philip Idichandy is the cathedral’s current vicar.

St. Gregorios of Parumala, also known as Parumala Thirumeni, was the first declared saint of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. He died on November 2, 1902, and his mortal remains are interred at St. Peter and St. Paul’s Orthodox Church in Parumala, on the banks of the Pamba River in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district.

The main annual feast is celebrated at Parumala Church on November 1 and 2. Padayatras from hundreds of parishes across Kerala reach the church on November 1 to pay homage to the saint.