On Sunday 12th December, 2021, H.E. Mons. Manuel Nin, Apostolic Exarch for the Byzantine Catholics in Greece, conferred the minor Orders of Lectorate and Subdiaconate to Mr Jesmond Schembri. The ceremony took place immediately after the Doxology introducing the Sunday divine Liturgy, which was officiated by Mons. Nin, with the participation of the concelebrants Mons. Archimandrite George Mifsud, parish priest emeritus and Rev. Papàs Martin Zammit, parish priest. The ceremony was attended by family members, parishioners of the Greek-Catholic Parish of Malta, as well as a number of friends.
Jesmond is married to Maria, has two children, and is the grandfather of a grandson. Presently, he is in the second and final year of his Licentiate in Pastoral Theology at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Malta.
In the Byzantine tradition, the ordained lector (reader) and subdeacon has the following duties:
- Reading the apostolic pericope which preceeds the reading of the Holy Gospel,
- serving in the altar, and co-ordinating the serving team,
- training new altar servers,
- looking after the altar area, namely cleaning this area if necessary, looking after the vestments of the clergy and the cloths of the Holy Table, including changing them according to feasts, fasts and seasons,
- assisting the bishop when he is presiding, by vesting him, holding his service book carrying his staff, presenting him with the dikirion and the trikirion, and placing eagle rugs on the floor,
- operating the curtain of the Royal Doors,
- other duties that the bishop may assign.
Jesmond is the second lector and subdeacon at our Greek-Catholic Parish. In 2016, Mr Dennis Mifsud was ordained lector and subdeacon by the same bishop.
May the Almighty God, and Our Lady of Damascus, shower Jesmond with every spiritual blessing.
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