Piece of True Cross & drop of His Blood visited SF cathedral

(ROCOR-WAD) - Father Ioannis Maridakis, a priest from the parish of the Nativity of the Theotokos in the town of Galata on the island of Crete, will bring a metal cross with a piece of the Precious Cross of Christ and a drop of His Blood to the Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco (6210 Geary Boulevard) this upcoming weekend. Fr. Ioannis and the cross wll be at the cathedral on Saturday, December 1 from 9:00 am to the end of the Vigil (around 8:45 pm) and Sunday, December 2 at both the early and late Liturgies. The cross was given to Fr. Ioannis in September of 2003 by Maria Panou, the mother of the current representative of the Holy Sepulcher in Athens, who in turn received this cross from Patriarch Diodoros of Jerusalem. In the last several years hundreds of people were healed from various illnesses, including cancer and infertility, upon venerating and praying before this cross.