Orthodox Observer - March/April 2004 by Orthodox Marketplace

Christ is Risen! MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004 • Vol. 69 • No. 1207

Paschal Messages

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Archons Visit Ecumenical Patriarchate

4-5

Clergy-Laity Congress

13th Annual Conference

NEW YORK CITY July 25-29 2004 8

Patriarch Bartholomew Makes First Visit to Metropolis of NJ

INAUGURATES MAJOR BYZANTINE EXHIBITION

CUMENICAL Patriarch Bartholomew made his first official visit to the Metropolis of New Jersey, inaugurated a major exhibition of Byzantine art, held meetings with various religious and political leaders, and connected with more than 1,000 youth of the Archdiocese during his fifth official trip to the U.S., March 13-19. His itinerary included a meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Anan, a private audience with World Jewish Congress President Edgar M. Bronfman and Rabbi Israel Singer, chairman; and breakfasts with hierarchs of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America and of the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches, with New York area religious and political leaders, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton; with Mayor Michael Bloomberg at his residence across from Archdiocese headquarters; and with UN diplomats hosted by Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis of Greece. Another highlight took place March 17, when the Order of St. Andrew, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate hosted a dinner in honor of the Patriarch.

Arrival in New Jersey

His first stop after arriving on March 13 at Morristown, N.J. airport where he was welcomed by Archbishop Demetrios, Metropolitan Evangelos, Archdiocesan Chancellor Bishop Savas of Troas and other metropolis clergy and government officials, was the “Sights and Sounds” Program at Holy Trinity Church in Westfield. After viewing performances of several Greek dance groups, and hearing a rendition of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech done in the style of a Greek chorus, the Patriarch told the audience of nearly 700 that he was “deeply touched.”

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D. PANAGOS

ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW and Archbishop Demetrios of America admire a two-sided icon from Halki, with the Virgin Pafsolype and feast scenes on one side and the Crucifixion on the other. (14th century)

ORTHODOXY MAKES NEW HISTORIC BEGINNING IN CUBA St. Nicholas Cathedral Consecrated HAVANA, Cuba – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew made a five-day official visit to Cuba, consecrating the new St. Nicholas Cathedral given to the Greek Orthodox Church by President Fidel Castro, who presented the key of the cathedral to the spiritual leader of the world’s 250 million Orthodox Christians.

FIDEL CASTRO presents Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with the key of St. Nicholas Cathedral. Archbishop Demetrios is at left.

D. PANAGOS

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D. PANAGOS

ARCHBISHOP Demetrios had a warm and cordial private meeting with President George W. Bush just before the public ceremony.

ARCHBISHOP DEMETRIOS:

Justice, Freedom and the Peace of God for Cyprus

WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush welcomed Archbishop Demetrios and about 150 Greek Americans, government officials and Greek and Cypriot diplomats on April 2 at the Old Executive Office Building for the signing of a proclamation in honor of Greek Independence Day. In his opening remarks, Archbishop Demetrios thanked President Bush for his generous invitation and stated, “On

Greek Independence Celebrated at White House this special Greek Independence Day, as Greek Americans and Orthodox faithful, we are joyfully aware that we have been blessed to live in this beautiful country, a country that constantly fights for liberation from and freedom for, for everyone in the United States of America and all over the world…We humbly assure you that our Greek American community is adamantly and even sacrificially committed to exactly the same ideas, and we fervently pray for the full success of your significant efforts on this matter, as well as for the health and happiness of you personally Mr. President and your truly distinguished family.” (See full text at end.)

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ARC HDI O C E S E

N EWS

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

Patriarch Bartholomew Makes First Visit to Metropolis of NJ, Afterward, the Patriarch greeted and blessed the clergy of the Archdiocesan District in St. Paul Chapel. He later attended a luncheon in his honor hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Ahmet Ertegun and Mr. and Mrs. Murat Koprulu, friends of the Patriarch from Istanbul. That evening, Mayor Michael Bloomberg hosted a dinner for the Patriarch at his residence across the street from Archdiocese headquarters.

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He said the Christian being is creative and happy when he develops the gifts given by God and ties to emulate his Creator. “Sights and Sounds rests on this exact faith and Christian experience,” the Patriarch said. “What we have seen and heard is not only a wonderful Christian experience, it was a very sweet dream like the Rev. Martin Luther King’s, a very sweet reality.” His All Holiness celebrated the Divine Liturgy March 14 at St. John the Theologian Cathedral in Tenafly with Metropolitan Evangelos, Fr. John Alexandrou, pastor, and several other clergy. Faithful from throughout the Metropolis packed the cathedral for the service. That evening, the Metropolis of New Jersey honored Patriarch Bartholomew at Westmount Country Club near Paterson, which was attended by more than 1,200. Speakers included Gov. James McGreevy, who called the Patriarch a “living example of the strength of Orthodoxy, and of the hope and spirit of redemption that Orthodoxy brings around the world.”

At Spyropoulos Day School

PATRIARCH Bartholomew enthusiastically welcomed at at Holy Trinity Church in Westfield, NJ.

Patriarch Bartholomew traveled to St. Nicholas Church in Flushing on March 17 where more than 600 children of the William Spyropoulos Day School and the parish’s afternoon school waited for his arrival. His All Holiness presided at a doxology service with the participation of Archbishop Demetrios, Fr. Paul Palesty, proistamenos, and assistant priests Frs. John Lardas and James Iliou. Addressing the students after the service, the Patriarch praised the Hellenic tradition of education and encouraged them to “cultivate and strengthen the Orthodox

PATRIARCH Bartholomew had many words of praise for the new Metropolitan of NJ. NJ Governor James McGreevy presents a gift.

Archbishop Demetrios reflected on the Patriarch’s efforts to promote environmental awareness, and his recent trip to Cuba, where the country’s leader Fidel Castro asked His All Holiness to send books about Mount Athos so they could be translated into Spanish and distributed to all the school children. He also noted that Castro said he wanted the books because “Mount Athos and Orthodoxy produce ideas in a world that is without ideas.” In his reflections, Patriarch Bartholomew noted the books had been sent to Cuba “as a witness to the Orthodox faith in this isolated country.” On March 15, the Patriarch greeted and blessed the Archdiocese staff at St. Paul Chapel and later attended a luncheon in his honor with some 200 leaders from throughout the Archdiocese at a facility in Central Park. The next day, Archbishop Demetrios hosted a breakfast for religious leaders in honor of His All Holiness. Guests included Cardinal Egan, Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, Episcopal Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches the Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar, and Rabbi Joseph Potasnik.

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Published Monthly except combined June/July by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Editorial and Business Ofce: 8 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10021. TEL.: (212) 570-3555, 774-0235. FAX (212) 774-0239.

TEENAGERS from St. Athanasios, Paramus N.J. perform a few songs during the annual “Sights & Sounds” competition while His All Holiness together with Archbishop Demetrios and Metropolitan Evangelos of N.J. and other hierarchs attend the event. (below).

Christian faith” that is “alive in the lives of millions of people for 2,000 years.” He also told them they were “blessed with amazing and spectacular gifts” and they are “the hope for the future of the Church.” He added, “We deeply love you with the love of Christ.” An afternoon luncheon for the Patriarch was hosted in Manhattan by Rabbi Arthur Schneier, president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation

Archons dinner

At the Archons dinner, prior to the remarks of Archbishop Demetrios and Patriarch Bartholomew, National Commander Dr. Anthony Limberakis praised

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Archbishop’s Encyclical..............u 5 Archdiocese News .....................u 2-3 Archpastoral Reflections............u 10 Challenge................................... u 25 Classifieds ..................................u 28 Greek Section ............................u 15-20 HC / HC Report ..........................u 22 Interfaith Marriage..................... u 31 Ionian Village ..............................u 21 Leadership 100 .......................... u 12 Letters .........................................u 10 Metropolis News........................ u 26-27 Opinions .................................... u 10 Outreach & Evangelism............. u 24 Parish Profile ............................. u 23 Patriarchal Proclamation ......... u 4 Stewardship ............................... u 13 Viewpoint ................................... u 22

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

ARC HDI O C E S E

N EWS

Inaugurates “Byzantium: Faith and Power” Exhibition

Exterior view of the Metrpolitan Museum of Art, New York, the day of the exhibit opening.

His All Holiness for several recent initiatives he has undertaken. “His All Holiness knows when change is appropriate,” Dr. Limberakis said, referring to the ongoing dialogue with the Church in America and the recent decision to expand the Holy Synod to include hierarchs outside of Turkey, including Archbishop Demetrios. “It is a brilliant initiative that strengthens world Orthodoxy and strengthens the Synod with input from the Archbishop.” Dr. Limberakis also commented on progress made over the past six years with regard to re-opening the Halki theological school, noting that “the political climate has changed.” In his comments, Patriarch Bartholomew said “we appreciate highly … these beloved Archons.” He announced that Pope John Paul II has invited him to Rome on June 29, the feast day of Sts. Peter and Paul, for the 40th anniversary observance of the historic meeting between Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI. The Patriarch invited Dr. Limberakis to join him as part of his entourage. The following day began with the United Nations diplomats breakfast, followed by his address at the Metropolitan Museum.

PHILLIPE DE MONTEBELLO, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art presents His All Holiness with the publication accompanying the exhibit, while Michael and Mary Jaharis and Ioannis Costopoulos look on. D. PANAGOS Photos

masterpieces of Byzantine art from 30 nations, including Greece, Austria, Denmark, Bulgaria, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United States, Serbia and Montenegro, FYROM and the Vatican. In his address at the Rogers Auditorium of the Metropolitan Museum, the patriarch emphasized the legacy of Byzantine icon for humanism: Patriarch Bartholomew said, in part: “Icons give the message that human beings

ARCHONS present a gift to Patriarch Bartholomew during a dinner in his honor.

NY SENATOR Hillary R. Clinton visited with the Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop Demetrios at the Archdiocese headquarters.

N. MANGINAS

HUNDREDS of children received the blessing of His All Holiness at St. Nicholas Church, Flushing.

PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW met with Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan.

Byzantine exhibition

ORTHODOX OBSERVER

During his visit, the Patriarch took part in three events at the Metropolitan Museum in connection with the Byzantine art exhibit, including a reception on March 13, a public lecture he delivered titled “Byzantine Icons: A Legacy of Humanism,” and a reception for the Library Conservative Project of St. Catherine’s Monastery. More than 700 people attended the Patriarch’s address on the Byzantine icons legacy of humanism. The exhibition, which opened to the public on March 23 and is on view through July 4, includes more than 350

have been created in the ‘image and likeness of God,’ that Byzantine icons depict an enormous variety of saints - men and women of all ages, races, and ethnicities, and from the entire spectrum of social conditions - with a single characteristic in common: the status of being holy. “Byzantine icons in many instances depict scenes and situations in human life in which love and charity is a dominant theme,” the Patriarch said. “In such instances we come face to face with a very powerful legacy for humanism. A healthy, genuine and functional humanism always has at its center love and charity. Care for our fellow human beings, especially care for those in need, difficulty and pain, has been always a recurring issue, preserved in innumerable icons. “The Byzantine depiction of Christ either in mosaics or in frescoes or in portable icons constitutes a truly unique and unsurpassed legacy for humanism. The reason is obvious. Jesus Christ as He is presented in His human nature is undoubtedly the perfect human being, the unique and absolute prototype of anthropos, man The Patriarch also discussed the iconoclastic controversy and the final restoration of icons in Orthodox worship.

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

PATRIARCHAL PROCLAMATION ON HOLY PASCHA

But, Christ, was risen to offer us life and abundance of life. Therefore, it is infor a Christian or anyone else By the Mercy of God, Archbishop of Constantinople, conceivable who loves his own life and respects God, CHRIST IS RISEN! to want or commit a murder or to cause New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch pain to others. The killing of people, and s we greet you, dear beloved, To the PLENTITUDE of the Church Grace, Peace, moreover the indiscriminate killing of inwith this Paschal exclamanocent people, non-participating in war tion, we reminisce about the and Mercy From Christ the SavioUr RIseN in Glory conflicts, is an inhuman, condemnable philanthropic action of our and non-heroic act. Likewise, every selfish Lord Jesus Christ, the Logos act that causes pain to some people in order to satisfy others is also condemnable. of God, through Whom everything was created, to offer life to mankind. As has always been the case, this year’s celebration of the Resurrection of Christ We also think of the cruel pursuit of the devil, and of the people who have been misled by the devil, having become his instruments in trying to deprive humankind of the follows the same predicament; it is clouded by a multitude of grave incidents. We hear about many group homicides and other hurtful acts committed by people against great and sacred gift of life. The sacred gift of life is intended by God to bring joy. The mouth of the Myrrh people. Christ, Who is the Way and the Resurrection and Life and Who lived an earthly bearers was filled with joy as they cried, “Christ is Risen”, says the sacred hymnist. Ever life of doing good and healing, shows to all people the way of love and giving, of justice since, thousands of people cry, “Christ is Risen” and the hearts of innumerable devout and respect of life and joy of others, as the single way, which leads humanity to true Christians fill with joy in repeating the announcement “Christ is Risen”, for all of us joy and fullness of life. Christ resisted His persecution and death through forgiveness, love, good deeds, value life as one of God’s greatest gifts to humanity. It is a valuable gift through which sacrifice and resurrection. He proved that the power of evil, despite its fierce aspiration we can enjoy all of the other divine gifts, for without the gift of life we cannot have any to kill the leader of life, failed. And He persuades us that in our days the powers of awareness of the other gifts God offered to us. The source of life and joy is Christ, beloved brothers and children, and He invites evil will be again defeated by the greater power of love, which is the only way leading to resurrection. us all to become participants of His divine gifts. Thus, brothers and children in the Lord, we should not fear in the face of evil that He does invite not only us, the Orthodox Christians, but also every single person. seems to prevail. At the end, our Risen Lord Jesus Christ will be the victorious winEvery human being is invited to partake in the fullness of a joyful life. God created human beings so that they might live joyfully; He intended for us to constitute adorn- ner along with the people who believe in His resurrection. But our win will not be against our fellow human beings, but against evil, for we Christians want all people ments of the material and spiritual universe. He gave each person the opportunity to enjoy all creation; that would become to partake in this victory so that none will be defeated by evil or lose the earthly, and possible, of course, if people showed respect for one another, and, moreover, if they most importantly, the eternal life. Thus, we greet all of you, beloved, with the Paschal greeting “Christ is Risen,” and loved God and the other beings. The observance of this commandment leads to a harmonious society of people, pray that you will travel the road of Holy Pascha in the joy of Resurrection. We pray which is surrounded by the whole creation, in service of humanity, and is based on also that through your pious life you will contribute to the propagation of the spirit of freedom, which is the foundation of love. Our feeling of this love, which is based on altruism and will inspire others to respect the life and the joy of their fellow human our free will, reveals the ineffable beauty of the face of the Lord, the most desired one, beings, so that good will prevail over evil and the leader of life, our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, will reign in your hearts. Amen. as the holy Church Fathers say, and, also, the face of the beloved human person. The human face reflects and depicts the divine and supreme beauty of God’s face, for it was created in His image and likeness. Holy Pascha, A.D. 2004 The faithful Christian, and every human being, must himself feel the opportunity to experience and cherish life, and recognize this right in all others, as well. Unfortunately, though, the devil hated human life and turned murderous, and implanted the Your fervent supplicant idea of homicide in the human race. The devil persuaded Cain in killing his brother and before the Risen Christ becoming the first fratricide. Since then, many fellow human beings hate, by imitation of the devil, the life of others. As a result, throughout the history of humankind, myriads of human beings have been deprived of the blessings of life and joy, due to murderous and invidious acts í Bartholomew of Constantinople committed by other human beings. This goes on until today. Brother concelebrants and pious, God-loving children of the Church,

í BARTHOLOMEW

“

If you are such as you are...and someone were to show you human seed and a picture of a man, and assure you that the one could grow into the other, would you believe it before you saw it happening? Undeniably no! In the same way unbelief prevails about the ressurection of the dead because you have never seen an instance of it, but as our teacher, Jesus Christ, said, ‘The things that are impossible with men are possible with God’

”

Saint Justin the Martyr Second Century A.D.

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On this holy Feast of Pascha, I exhort you to raise high your voices and candles so that the glory of the Resurrection may radiate from the Church, from each of our parishes, and from our hearts. Through our jubilant commemoration of Pascha, may we offer to others a genuine witness of Christ’s victory over death, so that they too may share in the joy of the Resurrection of our Lord and proclaim in faith, “Christ is Risen. Truly the Lord is Risen!” With my warmest Paschal wishes And love in the Risen Christ,

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n this holiest of days, the most sacred of Feasts, we gather together as the Church, united by the presence of the Risen Lord in our midst and in celebration of His triumphant victory over death. In unison we sing the glorious hymns of the Resurrection, and we raise our voices joyously proclaiming, “Christ is risen from the dead, by death trampling down death, and to those in the tombs bestowing life!” Through the death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the power of death and sin has been broken, and through the grace of God eternal life has been offered to all. The death and Resurrection of Christ abolished our enslavement to sin, our separation from the love of God and eternal communion with Him, and any hindrance from obtaining the fullness of life offered to us by our Creator. “For God has given us the victory through We celebrate the death of death, Jesus Christ our Lord” (I Corinthians 15: 57). The destruction of Hades, As Orthodox Christians we are blessed The beginning of everlasting life. with a beautiful Paschal tradition, by which And with leaps of joy we properly celebrate the triumph over we praise the Cause thereof, evil, sin, and death. We observe the Feast The only blessed of Feasts in all the splendor and glory that and most glorious God of our Fathers. it is due. Our churches are resplendent with (Troparia of Ode Seven of the Canon of Pascha) light, and hymns of exuberant joy flow from our hearts and our lips. In renewed faith and hope we pray the Paschal Liturgy; we receive the Life-giving Body and Blood of Christ; and we exchange jubilant greetings as we seek to bring honor and glory to God for what has been accomplished through Christ. In the midst of our joy, however, we must acknowledge that the celebratory ethos of Pascha stands in marked contrast with the “culture of celebration” found in our modern world. While we celebrate the true and enduring life that overcomes sin and death, we live in a world that often uses “celebrations” in order to escape the realities and struggles of life; “celebrations” that offer superficial pleasure instead of joy, and a passing, if not sinful, excitement instead of godly paschal jubilation. This is why our celebration of the great and glorious Resurrection of our Lord must radiate truth and life to the ends of the earth. As the Church, we are called to shine on this day, “for the glory of the Lord has risen upon us” (Isaiah 60:1). Yes, our observance of Pascha is a joyful commemoration of the victory of Christ, but it is also our witness to the world of the power of the Resurrection to transform lives and to save souls. All of humanity must see among us the cause of true celebration. Through our worship and prayer, peoples of all nations must hear us acknowledge Jesus Christ as both King and Lord of all that is seen and unseen. Through our jubilant testimony, they must be offered the invitation to partake of new life in Him, and they should see in our continued witness and ministry throughout the year a joy that is not sustained by the pleasures and amusements of this world but by the presence of our Risen Lord.

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MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

President Bush Holds GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION u page 1 President Bush warmly welcomed everyone in attendance and acknowledged the presence of several individuals including Andrew Natsios, the director of the USAID and though he noted that CIA Director George Tenet was not able to be present, he enthusiastically reaffirmed his confidence in him. He also, welcomed the presence of the Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece Panagiotis Skandalakis, Ambassador of Greece George Savvaides, Ambassador of Cyprus Euripides Evriviades and Alex Spanos, who had hosted an event for the President the previous evening. President Bush enthusiastically endorsed the upcoming Athens Olympics and announced that his father, President George H. W. Bush would be leading the American delegation to the Athens this summer. ADDRESS OF HIS EMINENCE ARCHBISHOP DEMETRIOS OF AMERICA ON THE OCCASION OF THE 183rd CELEBRATION OF GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY MARCH 25th, 1821 THE WHITE HOUSE – April 1st, 2004

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PRESIDENT Bush greets Greek-American entrepreneur and philanthropist Alex Spanos, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and Congressman Michael Billirakis (R-FL).

tion in matters of self-determination. There is, however, a very particular aspect that has to be underlined here. All the above-mentioned wars --the 1821 included-- were not only wars aiming at a liberation from; a liberation from any oppression, subjugation, domination by the evil, controlling by dark inhuman powers. They also were wars aiming at a liberation for, a freedom for. A freedom for creating a prosperous life for all, a freedom for producing culture and building civilization, a freedom for establishing justice and peace, a freedom for Mr. President, Once again, as representatives of eliminating any and every form of enslavethe Greek American Community, we ment, a freedom for the development of have the distinct and great honor of be- fine arts and the promotion of sciences ing your guests in celebrating the Greek and wisdom. “Liberation from” and “freedom for,” Independence Day. This is a celebration of the Greek Lib- were the distinctive markers of the Indeeration War of 1821, an amazing achieve- pendence War of 1821. And they have been, ment on the part of the Hellenes, an event as in the past, the distinctive markers of based on a dynamic faith in God and a the Greek Orthodox People in the years burning passion for freedom, an event that followed since. There was a freedom of astonishing spiritual depth, human from and a freedom for in the Balkan wars of 1912-1913, in quality and historic Greece’s participation significance. This war And is the freedom from by the side of the Allies however, was not an and the freedom for that is in the First World War isolated phenomeof 1914-1918, and in non, which appeared the inspirational force the Second World War all of a sudden like a sole comet, or a lonely for the truly noble Greek Orthodox of 1939-1945 against the evil powers of the meteor but rather it Cypriots today, fighting for Nazis and the Fascists was like a shining star this precious freedom for all which threatened not of a beautiful constelonly the freedom but inhabitants of this tormented lation of similar stars. very essence of The 1821 fight island of the East Mediterranean, the humanity. And is the for regaining indepenbe they Greek Cypriots, freedom from and the dence and establishing freedom for that is the a free country again Turkish Cypriots, Armenians, inspirational force for belongs to a lengthy Maronites and Latins. the truly noble Greek chain of similar fights Orthodox Cypriots and has a long preARCHBISHOP DEMETRIOS today, fighting for history. It is directly this precious freedom related to events that happened way back. It is in substantive for all inhabitants of this tormented island continuity with the battles of Marathon in of the East Mediterranean, be they Greek 490 B.C., of Thermopylae and of Salamis Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Armenians, in 480 B.C. It is displaying the spirit of the Maronites and Latins. Mr. President, years between 334 and 323 B.C. when On this special Greek Independence Alexander the Great reached victoriously India having successfully fought gigantic Day, as Greek Americans and Orthodox battles all over Asia. The 25th of March 1821 faithful, we are joyfully aware that we is directly linked to one thousand years of have been blessed to live in this beautiful the Byzantine Empire, years replete with country, a country that constantly fights wars of the Byzantine Greeks in multiple for liberation from and freedom for, for evfronts against formidable enemies who eryone in the United States of America and were constantly attacking and threatening all over the world. And we are thankfully the freedom of the Christian Orthodox aware that in you we see a President committed to liberation from and to freedom Empire of the East. Thus, the War for Independence in for, for individuals, families, societies and 1821 has been an integral part of a long nations living on this earth of ours. We humbly assure you that our Greektradition of uncompromising battles, fights and wars undertaken by the Greeks American Community is adamantly and for thousands of years in defense and pro- even sacrificially committed to exactly the motion of freedom, independence and same ideas of liberation from and freedom for. And we also humbly assure you that self-determination. Behind the “1821 Liberation War,” one we fervently pray for the full success of can easily see a passionate adherence to your unstopped efforts on this matter as freedom as a gift from God, an unquench- well as for the health and happiness of you able thirst for liberty as a destiny of every personally Mr. President and of your truly human being and a non-negotiable posi- distinguished family.

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

Archbishop Demetrios Becomes Member of Holy and Sacred Synod CONSTANTINOPLE. – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in a Feb. 19 letter to Archbishop Demetrios, announced a historic change in the composition of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate that for the first time in modern times includes hierarchs who do not have Turkish nationality. The new expanded composition of the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate now includes six hierarchs residing in or around the Holy See of Constantinople and six hierarchs from the other eparchies of the Ecumenical Throne, who will periodically be invited to participate. Under the new plan and for the synodal period that commenced March 1, 2004 the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate which is presided over by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, will be comprised of the following 6 members from outside Turkey: Archbishop Demetrios of America, Archbishop Timotheos of Crete, Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain, Metropolitan Apostolos of Rhodes, Metropolitan Ioannis of Nikea and Metropolitan Dionysios of Proussa. In addition it will include the following 6 members from the Ecumenical Patriarchate: Metropolitans Konstantinos of Derkon, Germanos of Theodoropoulis, Germanos of Traianoupolis, Athanasios of Ilioupolis, Kyrillos of Imvros and Tenedos, and Dimitrios of Sevasteia. In his letter to the new members of the Synod the Patriarch presents the reasons and the historical conditions that had determined the composition of the Synod in the past and invokes the invaluable contributions that can be made to the Great Church of Christ by the experience and knowledge of the new members and all the hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne around the world. The new body was called to session March 9-11 at the Ecumenical Patriarchate but it lacked a quorum and with seven members in attendance held a working meeting. Archbishop Demetrios who was in attendance, responding to questions by the Press described the new composition of the Synod as a great and histori-

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cal new leap forward that demonstrates the ecumenicity of our Patriarchate. He said that it is also a way of attesting that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is a vibrant Church that embraces the entire world. His Eminence also said he felt blessed to participate in the Synod. (see Archpastoral Reflections, p. 10) A new meeting of the Synod has been called at the Fanar April 18-20. A historical photograph in the Patriarchal Office (L to R) Metropolitan Meliton of Philadelphia (chief secretary of the Synod), Metropolitans Kyrillos of Imvros and Tenedos, Constantinos of Derkon, Archbishop Demetrios, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain and Metropolitans Germanos of Theodoroupolis and Dimitrios of Sevasteia. N. MANGINAS

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

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37TH BIENNIAL CLERGY-LAITY CONGRESS July 25-29, 2004 – New York City

Building Communities of Faith and Love: Orthodox Parishes in Worship and Ministry We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing. (2 Thessalonians 1:3).

Part II (continued from Article in Nov/Dec issue) Communities of Faith

In Christ we have found the way to salvation. With Him as our guide, we journey through this life seeking to follow His will for our lives. However, we do not travel alone. In Christ we are joined together with others whose lives are being transformed through faith and love. by Archbishop Demetrios

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St. Paul affirmed that “in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith” (Galatians 3:26). It is faith that has brought us together, uniting us as family--as brothers and sisters in the Lord--abolishing anything that separates us from God or one another. Faith, then, is relational. It leads us to God, and it brings us together. In the parish this unity is affirmed as we gather to express our faith in worship and sacrament. With Christ in our midst and in our hearts, we cannot look upon those around us as strangers or enemies, but we must see them as brothers and sisters in Christ, sharing in one faith that will lead us all together into life and communion with God. Our faith also leads us through the challenges and difficulties of this life. Since the days of the early Church it has been faith that has helped many Christians to endure persecution, suffering, and even death. Numerous examples offered to us in Scripture and through the lives of saints show us the power of faith in the face of hardship. Faith provided strength to endure, and it engendered hope that the promises of God would be fulfilled. This is why it is so critical that the worship and ministry of our parishes directs lives to the source and perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ. Through our witness as communities of faith, we show others in our world the power of faith to save, heal, renew, and bring people together in Christ. By faith, we endure as persons, families, and parishes, knowing that no matter what may happen in this world, God’s promises are true and will be fulfilled.

Communities of Love

It is clear that faith is essential to the identity and existence of the parish. We must also understand that faith is inseparably linked to love. Where there is faith, there is love, because faith is our response to the love that God has shown to us. In his first Epistle, the great Apostle and Evangelist John writes, “So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (I John 4: 16). First and foremost, this affirms that we

know God because of His love for us. He created us in love, and He has provided for our salvation through His love. Our faith, then, is a response to the love of God. We know this love through Christ, His teachings, death, and resurrection. We believe in Him as the Son of God who came into this world to offer us eternal life. And it is the grace of God through this faith that brings us salvation. As we respond to the love of God through faith, His love is within us. As a God of love, He abides with us, and the evidence of His presence is His love. We know and experience this love through a life of personal communion with Him. But, His love is also shared through us in our relationships with others. As God loves, we love. As He lovingly created all human beings in His image and likeness, we look upon everyone with His love. With a God of love in our midst and His love filling our hearts, we come together as His children in communities of love. In parishes that are filled with the love of God, we worship and minister in love. As communities of love we face challenges and difficulties in love. We disagree in love; we find solutions in love. We move forward with the work of God and His kingdom in love. Our conversations, our actions, our work, our activities, all that we do in our parishes is characterized by a love that is “patient, kind, not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (I Corinthians 13:4-7)

Conclusion

In the coming weeks and months, I ask you to contemplate prayerfully the importance of faith and love in your life and in the life and work of your parish. As Greek Orthodox Christians in America, we have much to offer to those around us--those who are in need of a faith that is grounded in truth and of a love that renews and saves. The challenge that is always before us each and every day of our lives is to grow in faith and love, and together, to build communities of faith and love. If we are doing this, assuredly our parishes will be what God established the Church to be, and our worship and ministry will draw all people unto our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May our Lord guide our preparations for the 37th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and may we pray that our gathering together will be a blessed time of worship, fellowship, and rededication to offering faith and love to contemporary America.

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

Archons Return from Ecumenical Patriarchate and Ankara Meetings

ARCHONS DELEGATION with His All Holiness (L to R) Alexander Pritsos, Christopher Stratakis, Dr. Anthony Linberakis, John Halecky, Jr., Stephen Cherpelis and Dr. Spiro Macris.

NEW YORK – A delegation of leaders of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate/Order of St. Andrew returned in mid-February from a series of long-planned meetings with key Turkish officials in Istanbul and Ankara aimed at improving the status of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. These meetings follow similar deliberations held by the Archons 16 months ago when they were last in Turkey. Headed by National Commander Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, and representing Archbishop Demetrios, Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch in America, the Archon leaders met first with provincial Governor Muammer Guler and Mayor Ali Gurtuna of Istanbul and accompanied United States Ambassador to Turkey Eric S. Edelman on his first official visit to His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the Phanar. While at the Phanar during their four day visit to Turkey, the Archon leadership met privately with His All Holiness to seek his guidance on various initiatives of the Archons of America.

Archons honored Ambassador Edelman.

After a banquet in honor of His All Holiness attended by leading Turkish citizens including members of the press, academia and the business community, and the conveying of condolences to the Deputy Chief of Police in the Beyoglu District and the Chief Rabbi of Turkey Isak Haleva for the loss of life in the recent tragic bombings in Istanbul, the delegation was accompanied by Ambassador Edelman to meetings in Ankara with the ministers of Education, Interior and Religion. In frank discussions, that included Father Alex Karloutsos and other Archon leaders, John Halecky, Jr., Christopher Stratakis, Dr. Spiro Macris, Alexander Pritsos and Stephen Cherpelis, National Commander Limberakis raised the issues of the reopening of the Theological School at Halki, property rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, interference in the succession of the Ecumenical Patriarch and

Holy Synod and recognition by Turkey of the “ecumenicity” of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Minister of Education, Huseyin Celik, re-affirmed the Turkish government’s recently announced position that the Theological School of Halki should be opened and stated that a report presenting various options on how to open the school had been completed and is being circulated within the government for ultimate presentation to His All Holiness. Minister of Interior Abdulkadir Aksu said, “It was time” to resolve questions of property rights and the status of the foundations and associations. Minister of Religion Mehmet Aydin tied the resolution of issues relating to the Ecumenical Patriarchate to Turkey’s getting a date from the European Union for accession talks. Ambassador Edelman, present at all the talks, expressed the US administration’s support for Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the long-time advocacy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate as a matter of United States policy, emphasizing that it rests on the importance to all Americans of religious freedom. Earlier in the day in Ankara, the Archons held a luncheon in honor of Ambassador Edelman where members of the Turkish Parliament, academia, diplomatic corps including the Ambassador of Greece Michael B. Christides and Papal Nuncio to Turkey Rev. Dr. Edmond Farhat and the press were present. After the meetings, Dr. Limberakis indicated that he was hopeful that a formula could be developed so that the Halki School of Theology could reopen and that the other serious issues of concern would be addressed by the new Turkish government, headed by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in a manner that would benefit the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Turkey and the United States. According to Commander Limberakis, the meetings held with the new Turkish government were more productive than those in the past. Father Karloutsos, who is familiar with the life and history of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the last 20 years, said he had never seen a better atmosphere for the improvement of the status of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey. Archon leaders also visited two patriarchal institutions: the Balukli Hospital, and Home for the Aged, a medical complex with 650 inpatient beds serving 40-50,000 patients a year and in operation for 250 years and the Great School of the Nation, which is celebrating its 550th anniversary preserving the Hellenic heritage and Orthodox faith established in 1454, one year following the fall of Constantinople.

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E DITORIAL

Lethal Weapon Against the Evil of Our Time In spiritual battles we face on our Paschal journey, a much-needed “reinforcement” to help us fight them has come from an unexpected source – Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of the Christ.” It arrived at a time when our moral values, and those of the nation, are under assault as never before. More on this later. The movie does have its flaws, among them some historical inaccuracies such as the absence of Greek dialogue between Christ and Pilate and elsewhere, but this isn’t a theological documentary and shouldn’t be viewed as such. The Bible is not a ready-made movie script. Every serious religious film since Cecil B. DeMille’s Ten Commandments has had its shortcomings and interpretations that are not biblical, though they don’t attain the blasphemous level of the Martin Scorcese film, “The Last Temptation of Christ.” The film’s powerful main theme is on target. It’s a visual presentation of the core belief of our faith: Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, came to save us from our sins, willingly laid down his life for us and took it up again, and that we must repent and believe in Him. It should serve as a weapon in our increasingly difficult spiritual struggle that contemporary society compounds. Those who define society in political terms have termed the conflict between “traditional values” and the forces opposing them as a “culture war.” More accurately, it’s spiritual war. The state of our world in 2004 and over the past 40 years reveals a deteriorating civilization and declining moral standards. We seem to be living in some sort of long-running pornographic movie. To cite a few examples, we’re confronted with daily scenes of homosexuals demanding the right to marry, of hordes of same-sex couples flocking to San Francisco to marry despite the law; of recent court decisions in some areas, including New York City, banning Nativity scenes from public schools (but allowing other faiths’ symbols). We also must contend with the effect of Hollywood’s films, with their gratuitous violence and sex and other depravities that mock Christian moral values and teachings; the same can be said for television. Grandmothers are giving birth to their own grandchildren, and virtually everything considered a vice is considered normal. It is difficult to imagine how we can sink any further in the kind of moral cesspool that people did in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis chapters 18:16 to 19:28, relates how those cities were judged by God and destroyed because their sin was “very grave.” About 700 years before Christ, the Prophet Isaiah bemoaned his generation’s corruption and rebelliousness against God, but could just as easily have been referring to our own era, when he wrote in chapter 3:9: “… they proclaim their sin like Sodom, they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil upon themselves.” As contemporary society has fallen

into its own quagmire of immorality and rebellion against God, along comes Mel Gibson’s movie, bringing the name of Jesus Christ to the forefront of the nation’s consciousness and public debate, as if it somehow is calling for national repentance. The movie is a vivid reminder that the Cross as the ultimate weapon in our battle against evil. For more than a quarter of the film, we are faced with the image of the Cross. Unlike the two thieves who carry only the crossbar to Golgotha, Jesus bears the entire cross (though this segment following the Via Dolorosa – Way of Sorrows – is a Roman Catholic tradition). The crucifixion scene is especially hard to take, but makes us face the reality of the cross. This gut-wrenching scene reminds us what our Lord has done save us from our sins. The Passion of The Christ isn’t an entertaining, pretty-to-watch film. It is excruciatingly brutal and extremely violent. We don’t want to be reminded of that part of Jesus’ ministry. It’s one thing to hear words about Jesus’ suffering from Scripture recited from the altars of our nicely decorated churches, quite another to personally witness Jesus’ trial, torture and crucifixion. We should ask ourselves what would we have done if actually there? Would we have been able to endure the site of Jesus’ scourging, even if it may have been overdone in the movie? Would we have fled from the Garden of Gethsemane during His arrest as did His disciples? Would we feel the remorse for our sins that Peter so vividly felt following his denial of Christ? As for the charge the film is antiSemitic by those who either have not seen the movie, it definitely is not. If anything, the Romans come across as extremely cruel. The movie clearly shows that not all the leaders of the Jewish people opposed Christ and reminds us that Jesus’ first followers were Jews. Some hate the film because they hate the Christian message and want to keep it away from public consciousness. They want Christianity locked behind the doors of our churches. But Christ’s message can’t be locked behind closed doors. The movie doesn’t tell the complete story of Jesus’ earthly ministry as do other films but, just as on any given Sunday when a priest focuses on only one or two points of the day’s gospel or epistle reading instead of dealing with the entire gospel, this movie is a sermon focusing like a laser beam on the Lord’s suffering and sacrifice. We can’t make the kind of sacrifice that Jesus made for us and all mankind, but we can make a small effort (a token effort actually) to deny ourselves is some way – and not to be ashamed of witnessing to Jesus Christ, and to strive to change the direction of our lives. This is a constant battle, and not only during the Paschal season. But the cross is a powerful weapon we have to help us win that battle and eventually win the war.

Archpastoral Reflections

On the Holy and Sacred Synod...

This month of March the Holy and Sacred Synod of our Ecumenical Patriarchate began a new synodal period. This beginning is both a historic and important occurrence in the life of our Orthodox Church, in that the new Synod now comprises six Hierarchs residing in the Holy See of Constantinople as well as six Hierarchs from other Eparchies of the Ecumenical Throne outside of Turkey. This new composition enhances the Synod with an even greater quality of broad and diverse voices—perspectives that are truly global in scope. The gathering together of Orthodox Church leaders from Eparchies that comprise different countries,

by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America cultures, and nationalities for purposes of approaching issues related to church governance is by no means a new development. Rather, it is rooted in the early Apostolic foundations of the Christian Church, which was a pioneer of the convening of Ecumenical Councils and Synods that were truly global in composition, literally drawing participants from the corners of the known world. Since Her founding, the Orthodox Church has affirmed the importance of drawing together diverse and geographically representative participants in order to discuss matters of importance and concern. In so doing, it has always affirmed the concept of conciliarity in its approach to articulating the faith and to managing church affairs. In its most general sense, the principle of conciliarity is expressed in all dimensions of ecclesiastical life where human beings experience the mystery of synergy, through which the people of God are guided as a community of free persons united in the Holy Spirit. It was through this mystery and power of the Holy Spirit that the participants of the early Ecumenical Councils of the Church were enabled to traverse vast geographical distances in order to come together in a spirit of fellowship and love for the truth. It was the creative, liberating, and loving synergy of the Holy Spirit that enabled them to affirm the conclusions of their deliberations in faith and conviction, following the Apostolic declaration It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us (Acts 15:28). The conciliar and synergistic way of life of the Orthodox Church is experienced in a particular manner by Synods of bishops; however, it is by no means confined to them. Rather, conciliarity is expressed within relationships at every level—through the relationships of the leaders of autocephalous churches with one another, through the fraternal interaction among bishops, between bishops and their presbyters, between clergy and the laity whom they serve, and in the interaction of the members of the laity among themselves. Here in America, we are blessed with the especially advantageous situation of living in a Church that is strong in its adherence to the conciliar and synergistic principles of life and action. These principles hold special prominence within our metropolises and parishes throughout America, as they present us with considerable opportunities for forming true communities which are expressive of our Orthodox conciliar way of life, and which recognize that the health and vibrancy of the Church is greatly enhanced through the contribution of diverse perspectives from others. The positive developments that are occurring in our Church on a global level, and the wonderful opportunities that are present for forming true communities of love on the local parish level are splendid occasions for us to reflect upon the immense challenges and blessings inherent within our conciliar and synergistic way of ecclesiastical life, a way of life that contributes richly and uniquely to the beauty of the religious landscape of our nation. As we reflect upon these challenges and blessings, I pray that the Holy Spirit may renew our lives and enhance our relationships with one another, as our Lenten journey moves forward in love and in reconciliation toward the saving Passion and glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

u The Passion t Editor, Interesting negative commentary on the movie “The Passion of the Christ” by Mel Gibson has been printed and voiced in several media. I would like to make positive observations on three issues: Commentators have declared the depicted violence was excessive and unnecessary. I disagree. As we agree with the Prophet Isaiah, “By His stripes we are healed,” every lash of the cat-o-nine tails and the reeds was necessary to the portrayal of the event.

Commentators have objected to the flashbacks (which, of course are an artistic device and are not part of the Passion as read in the Twelve Gospels of Thursday in Holy Week). The flashbacks show valid human feeling and portray some doctrinal material. Commentators have objected to the female temptress in the Garden of Gethsemane as not in the Scripture (which is true). Nevertheless, the fact that Jesus was then fighting temptation not to go through with His mission is true. The temptress is a

uuu

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

Archiepiscopal Encyclical Feast of the Annunciation Day of Greek Independence To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Day and Afternoon Schools, the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth, the Hellenic Organizations, and the entire Greek Orthodox Family in America Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, As we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation, we commemorate an event of extraordinary significance. The hallmark of this important feast of the Church is represented by a most remarkable encounter between the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary. Their dialogue with one another, beautifully narrated in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke (verses 26-38), presents us with an astonishing depiction of faith, a faith whose power rests in its courageous human honesty and its extraordinary trust in God. In this passage, we are presented with a powerful human model in the person of the Virgin Mary, who is our exemplar of authentic openness and perfect trust. Truly, the Archangel Gabriel’s appearance and his announcement unto her was a stunning phenomenon that evoked considerable fear in her heart. Yet she overcame her initial fear by being receptive to the immeasurable love and power of God. Indeed, the Archangel’s initial announcement roused considerable doubts in her mind. Yet she laid her doubts to rest by listening to the voice of the angel saying that she would bear a son through the power of the Holy Spirit. She fully believed that “with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37). It was her openness to God’s love and her unshaken faith in Him that gave her the freedom to respond to the Archangel Gabriel’s statement with the courageous declaration, “let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). From the example of the Theotokos, we learn the importance of cultivating a heart that is open to God’s ineffable love, and a mind that is ready to consider the miracles that are possible with Him when we lay aside our disbelief and wholeheartedly embrace faith. In the face of natural, human responses of fear and doubt, we are presented with a testimony of true love, indomitable courage, and never-ending hope in the person of the Theotokos, whom we hail as “full of grace” (Luke 1:28) and whom we venerate as truly “blessed among women” (Luke 1:42). The significance of these qualities is heightened when we consider that the Feast of the Annunciation also commemorates the Independence of the Greek nation in 1821, when Hellenes and phil-Hellenes came together to overcome the forces of subjugation and hostility that had oppressed them for four centuries. Throughout their struggle, a struggle that was riddled with continuing events generating fear and doubt, the Greek people held as their invincible champion the Theotokos, a fervent intercessor and protector in times of peril. It was she, the one who had overcome all fear and doubt by completely trusting in God, to whom they turned for solace, hope, and confidence in the miraculous power of God. With her as their model, the Greeks were able to summon the courage to proceed with a fight that seemed to have no prospect for victory. Yet they were victorious because “with God nothing would be impossible” (Luke 1: 37), and because “all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). Today, the Day of Greek Independence and the Feast of the Annunciation offers to all peoples of every nation a day of celebration that extols the victory of faith and love over all forces of fear, and the triumph of the power of God over every shadow of doubt. As we draw inspiration from the Virgin Mary on this joyous day, and as we reflect more deeply upon her uncompromising willingness to serve as a vessel of the Lord’s will, I pray that, through her intercessions, we overcome our every human fear and doubt, and that we grow always in our appreciation of the infinite love of God and in His power to work great wonders in our lives. With paternal love in Christ,

†Archbishop DEMETRIOS of America

uuu subtle allegory for Hades. In the end, after Jesus says, “It is accomplished,” and gives up the ghost, the Hades allegorical figure has a cataclysmic tantrum, having failed in tempting the Christ to abort His mission. The tantrum expresses St. John Chrysostom’s Easter sermon where he says,

“Hades was vexed. It received a body but tasted the Godhead.” Either Gibson knows Chrysostom, or he intuited the same message. The Hades tantrum is the message of the whole movie. Media commentators completely missed the message. Emmanuel P. Papadakis, Ph.D. New Holland, Pa.

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

Leadership 100 Elects New Chairman, Vice Chairman, Welcomes New Executive Director

PALM BEACH, Fla. – Leadership 100 members gathered from around the country to attend the 13th annual Conference at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla., a turning point in the leadership of the organization, in order to celebrate 20 years of service to the Greek Orthodox Church in America. Some 450 participants and their guests attended the conference, which ran from February 19-22. The Leadership 100 Executive Committee elected John A. Payiavlas of Warren, Ohio as its new chairman, filling the vacancy after Arthur C. Anton stepped down a year early from the post. by George Schira

To replace Payiavlas, who was vice chairman, the committee chose George D. Behrakis of Lowell, Mass. Who, with his wife, Margo, hosted the conference. Anton was made the sixth and final lifetime founding member, joining Andrew A. Athens, George K. Chimples, George P. Kokalis, Peter M. Dion and Michael Jaharis. All are automatically additional voting members of both the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees.

The new executive director Fr. Dimitrios Antokas, with his presbytera Maria (left) and the outgoing director Fr. Alex Karloutsos with presbytera Xanthi.

The Executive Committee elected Stephen G. Yeonas of Washington, to fill his vacancy on the committee. The Executive Committee, along with the Board of Trustees and General Assembly also welcomed the newly elected executive director, Fr. Dimitrios Antokas, protopresbyter at Holy Trinity Church in Westfield, N.J. He was chosen in January after an intensive five-month search to replace Fr. Alex Karloutsos, who is moving on to an expanded role at the Archdiocese. Archbishop Demetrios, who held two popular Bible studies at the conference, joined Mr. Anton at the grand banquet in presenting the Leadership 100 Award for Excellence to the famed television and stage actress, Melina Kanakaredes and to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John D. Negroponte. Ms. Kanakaredes was honored for exemplifying devotion to the Orthodox faith and Hellenic values in her personal and professional life. The popular actress, best known for her role in the TV series Providence, attended the conference with her husband, Peter Constantinides. She was also was the featured speaker at the annual Forum on Hellenism where she received an enthusiastic response in describing her upbringing in Akron, Ohio, the importance of the Orthodox Church in her character formation, the emphasis

D. PANAGOS

ARCHBISHOP DEMETRIOS with (L to R) the new chairman John Payiavlas, Melina Kanakaredes, Ambassador John Negroponte and Mrs. Marisa Payiavlas.

L100 Award For Excellence Goes To UN Ambassador John Negroponte and Actress Melina Kanakaredes her family placed on education and Hellenism and her commitment to passing on these values. Ambassador Negroponte, who had served in ambassadorial posts in the Philippines, Mexico and Honduras, as well as high positions at the White House and State Department, before beginning his service as ambassador to the United Nations on Sept. 18, 2001, was acknowledged for his exemplary public service expressing Orthodox and Hellenic values. In his remarks, the UN ambassador traced the philosophical and cultural origins of the United Nations to ancient Greece as a marketplace of ideas and dialogue and a forum for democracy. In reports to the executive committee, board of trustees and general assembly, Anton said that $35 million had been raised and 15.1 million collected over the four-year membership drive begun in 2000. Leadership 100 grants, with commitments made for 2004, will exceed $15.6 million, he pointed out. In addition, he reported that membership now stood at 672, an increase of 15 from the last conference and that 252 members had now fulfilled their pledges, an increase of 21. Mark Stavropoulos, grant committee chairman, said grants in 2003 totaled $2,330,400 and grants committed for 2004 totaled $2,384,075. Among the major recipients were the Hellenic College-Holy

Cross Scholarship Program, the Clergy Student Loan Program, and a program on Orthodox Christianity in American Public Life at the Institute on Religion and World Affairs at Boston University. Dr. Elizabeth Prodromou, who developed and administers the program at the Institute described the ongoing program of workshops and planned publication to the General Assembly. Fr. Alex, in his report, noted the spectacular growth and changes in the four years of his current service as executive director since the end of 1999 He had previously served the organization from 1986 to 1992. He noted the dramatic increase of grants, which have enabled scholarship support to double the number of candidates for the priesthood; put in place Information technology and Internet Ministries at the Archdiocese; assisted retired clergy, clergy in need; relieved the burden of student loans for active clergy; and advanced Orthodoxy and Hellenism through innovative video, films and academic programs. Fr. Alex credited the inspiration of Archbishop Demetrios, the leadership of Arthur Anton, the work of the executive committee and trustees, and the membership recruitment efforts of Steve Yeonas for these accomplishments. Anton, who presided at the grand banquet finale to the conference, recognized,

D. PANAGOS

ARTHUR ANTON together with His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios present the L100 Award for Excellence to Greek-American actress Melina Kanakaredes.

in addition to the Leadership 1000 Award for Excellence honorees, the recipients of the Icon for new members and Obelisk for fulfilled members and the winners of the golf and tennis tournaments. He recognized founding Leadership 100 Chairman Andrew A. Athens and founding Leadership 100 Vice Chairman George K. Chimples who stood to applause. He also recognized his predecessor as chairman, founding member George P. Kokalis, who was unable to attend. He saved for the end of his remarks the public announcement of his stepping down as chairman after four years. He said he wanted to make room for new leadership and, in acknowledgement of the Olympics theme of the conference, said he was passing on the torch to Payiavlas and Behrakis who exemplified the true spirit of Leadership 100. Anton said he had come on as chairman at a propitious time in history, “an alignment of the stars,” when Archbishop Demetrios had just begun his ministry, when Fr. Alex had returned to Leadership 100 and when Steve Yeonas had begun as chairman of the most successful membership drive in the history of the organization.

Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago with Fr. Alex Karloutsos

He thanked the executive committee and trustees for their support and leadership, but his most touching words were for his wife, Madeline, his children and their spouses and his grandchildren, most of whom were in the room. In a surprise move, Mr. Payiavlas, who was to introduce the Archbishop, summoned His Eminence and Behrakis to the stage. Behrakis, a fellow Lowellian, extolled Anton’s life and achievements from being valedictorian of his Lowell High School class, to graduating from Boston University and serving in the U.S. Air Force to his building Anton’s Cleaners to a major New England business and his philanthropic service in the Boston area and nationally through his service to Leadership 100 and the Greek Orthodox Church in America. Anton was then presented with the Leadership 100 Chairman’s Service Award. The conference included a first-time ever youth program for all ages run by the Archdiocese Youth Ministry under the direction of Fr. Mark Leondis and Deacon Constantine Lazarakis and “High Tea and Fashion Olympique” featuring top designers. Archbishop Demetrios celebrated an Archieratical Divine Liturgy and Leadership 100 annual memorial service on Sunday at St. Mark Church in Boca Raton, assisted by its pastor, Fr. James S. Gavrilos, Fr. Alex Karloutsos, Fr. Dimitrios Antokas and Fr. Martin Ritsi.

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

Your Ministry

AND THE ARCHDIOCESE

We Offer to You

he Archdiocese Stewardship theme for 2004 is “Your own gifts, from Your own gifts, we offer to You, “derived from the Divine Liturgy. The Stewardship material focuses on the spirituality of giving and provides comprehensive practical methods of growing and implementing a successful parish program. by Fr. Alexander G. Leondis

Christian Stewardship is seen as a life-style, which acknowledges accountability and responsibility before God. Stewards are people who believe in God, to Whom they offer and give their love, loyalty and trust, affirming that every aspect of their lives comes as a gift from the Lord. A Christian steward is an active participant in the life of the Church who makes a personal commitment of time, talent and treasure to support the parish ministries, which in turn supports the National Ministries of our Archdiocese. Every aspect of our lives comes as a gift from the Lord. Stewards respond to God’s abundant love by participating and supporting His plan of salvation for them, for others and for the ministries of the Church, which make salvation possible. A flourishing parish Christian stewardship program can be compared to a river, which overflows into many tributaries and reaches out in innumerable directions to share with others our rich and profound

spiritual inheritance. Success on the local level emanates to greater support and outreach on all levels of ministry: local, national and international. Christian Stewardship offers each person the means to become an active proponent in disseminating the Greek Orthodox faith through fair and generous giving to support the parish, metropolis and Archdiocesan or National Ministries. The Department of Stewardship and Pastoral Resources has been tasked with preparing Christian Stewardship material to assist the parishes of our Archdiocese in achieving a successful and hopefully vibrant Stewardship program. The material includes a “Stewardship Guidelines” booklet containing details on enhancing and augmenting present parish Christian Stewardship programs as well as inaugurating a stewardship program. A large poster projecting the theme was enclosed. A CD-ROM, containing stewardship appeals, commitment cards and forms, sermons, letters for recruiting and follow-up with twenty pages of articles and illustrations for parish periodicals and support material, completes the packet. In November 2003 these “stewardship” packets were mailed to the priest, parish council president and stewardship committee of each parish. Fr. Leondis is director of Stewardship and Pastoral Resources.

Greek School Spelling Champs Competition

ORTHODOX OBSERVER

NEW YORK – The Spelling Bee Competition among students from the 10 local Greek Orthodox parochial day schools organized by the Office of Greek Education took place at Archdiocese headquarters Feb. 24. John Nikolopoulos, an eighth grade student at the Greek American Institute in the Bronx won the competition. Runner up is George Koutsothanasis, a seventh grade student at the “William Spyropoulos Day School of St. Nicholas” in Flushing Following are the names and schools of students who participated in the Archdiocesan Competition:

Emin Aliev, Three Hierarchs Parochial School, Brooklyn; Dimitri Antonopoulos, School of the Transfiguration, Corona; Scott Blais, The Cathedral School, New York; Victoria Carolina, D & G Kaloidis Parochial School, Brooklyn; Constantine Demetriou, Jamaica Day School, Jamaica; Jennifer Kotsikonas, Soterios Ellenas Parochial School, Brooklyn; George Koutsothanasis, William Spyropoulos Day School, Flushing; Christina Markesinis, St. Demetrios High School, Astoria; John Nikolopoulos, Greek American Institute, Bronx; Dino Vasilakos, A. Fantis Parochial School, Brooklyn.

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MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

Three Hierarchs Award Recipients Honored at Cathedral in Manhattan NEW YORK. – Archbishop Demetrios participated in a number of Greek Letters Week-related events in New York, including the Three Hierarchs Feast Day at Holy Trinity Archdiocesan Cathedral on Jan. 30, where he honored the top Greek school students from the day and afternoon schools of the Greater New York area. The Three Hierarchs Award of Excellence is bestowed on the students who achieved a score of 100 in the 2003 Comprehensive Examination of Modern Greek. Prior to the ceremony, Archbishop Demetrios officiated at the Divine Liturgy and spoke on the Three Hierarchs during his homily. After the service, he presented certificates and icons to the students. In his remarks at the ceremony, His Eminence said, “Perhaps no other element of the Hellenic philosophical legacy was more readily accepted by the Fathers of the Church that the rule, ‘Know thyself.’ The Three Hierarchs whom we celebrate this day – St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom – all practiced and preached self-knowledge as an essential aspect of true spirituality: the beginning of sanctification and the basis for heartfelt doxology to God.” Those receiving awards and their schools are: St. Demetrios High School, Astoria – Ioanna Barkas, Athanasios Fountas, Apostolos Stagias; St. Demetrios Afternoon Greek School, Astoria: Stephanie Litsas; W. Spyropoulos Day School, Flushing: Tasos Moulinos, Evangelos Vekios, Despina Kouvaros, Effie Tsomos; St. Nicholas Afternoon Greek School, Flushing: Niki Nemerovsky, Mary-Grace Papatheodorou, Angelique Petropouleas, Kostas Sanidas, Vanesssa Diamataris; A. Fantis, Brooklyn: Sotirios Tsevdos; D&G Kaloidis Parochial School, Brooklyn: Panagiota Tsetsakos; Greek American

D. PANAGOS

ARCHBISHOP DEMETRIOS with the Three Hierarchs Award recepients and Maria Makedon (left) at the Cathedral of Holy Trinity in Manhattan.

Institute, Bronx: Fotis Bouklis, Sevasti Papakanakis; Sts. Constantine & Helen, Jackson Heights: Dimitra Georgakopoulos, Georgios Kessanidis, Christos Kessanidis; Holy Cross, Whitestone, Anna Zarkas; Panaghia of Island Park: Maggie Christodoulou; St. Paraskevi, Greenlawn: Stamatios George Mastrogiannis, Nicholas Damalas, Melanthi Parpas; St. Paul’s Cathedral, Hempstead: Barbara Doyamis; St. Demetrios, Merrick: Dina Georgas, Vasilios Zarboutis; St. Markella, Wantagh: Arietta Manolakis; St. George, Piscataway, N.J: Eleftheria Fiotakis, Panagiotis Koutsoupias; Greek School of Plato, Brooklyn: Christina Konidaris; St. Sophia, Albany: Konstantinos Liacopoulos; St. John The Theologian, Tenafly, N.J: Christina Guliadis; Norwalk (N.J.) Public High School: Katerina Begetis, John Saratsidis; (Independents) Melina

Giakoumis, Kathy Kougentakis, Dan Kourliouros, Maria-Georgina Tsakrios, Vasiliki Vlantis. Archdiocese District Greek Education Department Director Maria Makedon said that, of 500 children enrolled in the Greek schools, a total of 42 received “arista” grades, though they were not all able to attend the ceremony because of other exams. She also noted that, in the 32 years since the Archdiocese began to administer the Greek Regents exams, “State Education Department officials have worked very closely and relied greatly upon the Archdiocese to conduct the exam at a level on a par with other Regents exams.” Several other events also took place in observance of Greek Letters and Culture in the metropolitan New York area. The previous evening, the Archbishop presided at Great Vespers at the Three

Hierarchs Church in Brooklyn, followed by a presentation by the students of the community’s schools in celebration of “Greek Letters”. On Jan. 31, His Eminence cut the traditional Vasilopita at St. Demetrios Church in Jamaica to honor the administrators and teachers of the day and afternoon schools. Immediately following, students from the 11 New York City parochial day schools and the Archdiocesan Metropolitan Youth Choir l offered a program in celebration of Greek Letters and Culture. Archbishop Demetrios delivered the inaugural lecture in a series of lectures on Orthodoxy in America at Fordham University in the Bronx on Feb. 4. His Eminence spoke on “The Dynamics of the Orthodox Faith in America.” A reception followed in the student lounge.

Happy Easter Nicholas J. Bouras Summit, New Jersey

15 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ – 15 ΑΠΡΙΛΙΟΥ 2004

ΕΤΟΣ 69 • ΑΡΙΘΜΟΣ 1207

ΑΡΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΣ: Ελευθερία και δικαιοσύνη για την Κύπρο Την 183η Επέτειο της Ελληνικής Ανεξαρτησίας τίμησε ο πρόεδρος George W. Bush στον Λευκό Οίκο ΟΥΑΣΙΝΓΚΤΟΝ. – Βαρυσήμαντη χαρακτηρίστηκε η ομιλία του Σεβασμιωτάτου Αρχιεπισκόπου Αμερικής κ. Δημητρίου κατά την καθιερωμένη τελετή εορτασμού της Ημέρας της Ελληνικής Ανεξαρτησίας που πραγματοποιήθηκε χθες το απόγευμα στο Executive Building του Λευκού Οίκου, υπό την αιγίδα του Αμερικανού προέδρου George W. Bush και επ’ ευκαιρία της 183ης επετείου της Εθνικής Παλιγγενεσίας της 25ης Μαρτίου 1821. ôïõ Óôáýñïõ Ç. Ðáðáãåñìáíïý

Ο πρόεδρος George W. Bush επεφύλαξε εγκάρδια υποδοχή στον Αρχιεπίσκοπο Δημήτριο, είχε μαζί του κατ’ ιδίαν συνάντηση 15 περίπου λεπτών και στη συνέχεια εισήλθαν μαζί στην αίθουσα τελετών του Λευκού Οίκου όπου τους περίμεναν 150 περίπου προσκεκλημένοι. Ο Σεβασμιώτατος Αρχιεπίσκοπος Αμερικής κ. Δημήτριος στην ομιλία του σημείωσε ότι ο απελευθερωτικός αγώνας του 1821 δεν είναι μεμονωμένο γεγονός αλλά ουσιαστική συνέχεια ενός επί αιώνες αδιάκοπου αγώνα για ελευθερία που ξεκινά από τον Μαραθώνα

ÄÇÌ. ÐÁÍÁÃÏÓ

ΚΟΙΝΟΣ Ο ΑΓΩΝΑΣ ΓΙΑ ΤΑ ΙΔΑΝΙΚΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΑΣ και τις Θερμοπύλες, συνεχίζεται μέχρι τα Βυζαντινά χρόνια και φτάνει μέχρι τον Πρώτο και Δεύτερο Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο αλλά και μέχρι τον σημερινό αγώνα για το Κυπριακό στα πλαίσια του οποίου η έννοια της ελευθερίας είναι η καθοδηγητική και δημιουργική δύναμη του ευγενούς Ελληνορθοδόξου Κυπριακού Ελληνισμού ο οποίος αγωνίζεται για αυτήν την πολύτιμη ελευθερία για όλους τους κατοίκους του βασανισμένου νησιού της Ανατολικής Μεσογείου. Ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Δημήτριος τόνισε

ιδιαίτερα ότι «πίσω από το 1821 διαφαίνεται η με πάθος πίστη στην ελευθερία ως δώρο Θεού, η ακατάπαυστη δίψα για ελευθερία ως προορισμό του ανθρώπου και η αδιαπραγμάτευτη θέση σε θέματα αυτοδιάθεσης» υπογράμμισε δε ότι πρόκειται για μια έννοια ελευθερίας η οποία εμπεριέχει συγχρόνως την έννοια της απελευθέρωσης από κάθε είδους δεσμά αλλά και την έννοια της ελευθερίας για κάθε δημιουργική δραστηριότητα.

Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης ΒΑΡΘΟΛΟΜΑΙΟΣ «Όσα κατά καιρούς ακούγονται περί αυτονομίας ή αυτοκεφαλίας δεν έχουν έρεισμα...» ΝΕΑ ΥΟΡΚΗ. – Με επιτυχία ολοκληρώθηκε η πέμπτη κατά σειρά επίσκεψη του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχου κ. Βαρθολομαίου στην μεγα λύτερη επαρχία του Οικουμενικού Θρόνου, στην Ιερά Αρχιεπισκοπή Αμερικής. Η επίσκεψη του Παναγιωτάτου είχε δύο βασικά σκέλη, το πρώτο ήταν η ιστορική πρώτη ποιμαντορική επίσκεψη του Πατριάρχου στη Μητρόπολη της Νέας Ιερσέης, –την οποία δεν είχε την ευκαιρία να επισκεφθεί στο παρελθόν– και το δεύτερο η καθοριστική παρουσία του στις εκδηλώσεις εγκαινίων της πολυσυζητημένης εκθέσεως «Βυζάντιο: Πίστη και Δύναμη (1261-1557)», στο Μητροπολιτικό Μουσείο Τέχνης της Νέας Υόρκης. Τον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη, που αφίχθη το Σάββατο 13 Μαρτίου με

u óåë. 17

u óåë. 16

ΑΡΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΙΚΗ ΕΓΚΥΚΛΙΟΣ ΕΠΙ ΤΩ ΑΓΙΩ ΠΑΣΧΑ ΠΑΤΡΙΑΡΧΙΚΗ ΑΠΟΔΕΙΞΙΣ ΕΠΙ ΤΩ ΑΓΙΩ ΠΑΣΧΑ Πάσχα 2004

Ἡ Ἑορτή τῶν Ἑορτῶν

Θανάτου ἑορτάζοµεν νέκρωσιν, Ἄδου τήν καθαίρεσιν, ἄλλης βιοτῆς, τῆς αἰωνίου ἀπαρχήν, καί σκιρτῶντες ὑµνοῦµεν τόν αἴτιον, τόν µόνον εὐλογητόν τῶν Πατέρων, Θεόν καί ὑπερένδοξον. (Τροπάρια τῆς Ὠδῆς τοῦ Κανόνος τοῦ Πάσχα)

Πρός τούς Σεβασµιωτάτους καί Θεοφιλεστάτους Ἀρχιερεῖς, τούς Εὐλαβεστάτους Ἱερεῖς καί Διακόνους, τούς Μοναχούς καί Μοναχές, τούς Προέδρους καί Μέλη τῶν Κοινοτικῶν Συµβουλίων, τά Ἡµερήσια καί Ἀπογευµατινά Σχολεῖα, τίς Φιλοπτώχους Ἀδελφότητες, τήν Νεολαία, τίς Ἑλληνορθόδοξες Ὀργανώσεις καί ὁλόκληρο τό Χριστεπώνυµον πλήρωµα τῆς Ἱερᾶς Ἀρχιεπισκοπῆς Ἀµερικῆς Ἀγαπητοί ἀδελφοί καί ἀδελφές ἐν Χριστῷ, Χριστός Ἀνέστη! Αὐτή τήν ἱερωτάτη ἡµέρα, την ἁγιωτάτη τῶν Ἑορτῶν, συγκεντρωνόµεθα ἑνωµένοι ὡς Ἐκκλησία, ἔχοντας ἀνάµεσά µας τόν Ἀναστάντα Κύριο, γιά νά γιορτάσουµε τήν θριαµβευτική νίκη Του ἐπί τοῦ θανάτου. Ὅλοι µαζί ψάλλουµε τούς ὑπέροχους ὕµνους τῆς Ἀναστάσεως, καί µέ δυνατές χαρούµενες φωνές διακηρύσσουµε: «Χριστός ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν, θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας, καί τοῖς ἐν τοῖς µνήµασιν ζωήν χαρισάµενος!» Ὁ θάνατος καί ἡ Ἀνάσταση τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ συνέτριψε τήν δύναµη τοῦ θανάτου καί τῆς ἁµαρτίας, καί ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου χάρισε αἰώνια ζωή σέ ὅλους. Ὁ θάνατος καί ἡ Ἀνάσταση τοῦ Χριστοῦ κατήργησαν τήν ὑποδούλωσή µας στήν ἁµαρτία καί τήν ἀποµάκρυνσή µας ἀπό τήν ἀγάπη καί τήν αἰώνια κοινωνία µέ τόν Θεό. Ἀπελευθέρωσαν τόν ἄνθρωπο ὥστε νά µπορῇ νά γευθῇ τήν ὁλοκλήρωση τῆς ζωῆς τήν ὁποία µᾶς προσέφερε ὁ Δηµιουργός µας «Τῷ δέ Θεῷ χάρις τῷ διδόντι ἡµῖν τό νῖκος διά τοῦ Κυρίου ἡµῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ» (Α´ Κορ. 15:57). Ὡς Ὀρθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί ἔχουµε τήν εὐλογία µιᾶς ὡραιότατης Πασχαλινῆς παραδόσεως, µέσῳ τῆς ὁποία ς ἑορτάζουµε κατά τόν καλύτερο τρόπο τόν θρίαµβο ἐπί τοῦ κακοῦ, u óåë. 20

ÿ ÂÁÑÈÏËÏÌÁÉÏÓ ÅËÅ~Ù ÈÅÏÕ ÁÑ×ÉÅÐÉÓÊÏÐÏÓ ÊÙÍÓÔÁÍÔÉÍÏÕÐÏËÅÙÓ, ÍÅÁÓ ÑÙÌÇÓ ÊÁÉ ÏÉÊÏÕÌÅÍÉÊÏÓ ÐÁÔÑÉÁÑ×ÇÓ ÐÁÍÔÉ Ô~Ù ÐËÇÑÙÌÁÔÉ ÔÇÓ ÅÊÊËÇÓÉÁÓ ×ÁÑÉÍ, ÅÉÑÇÍÇÍ ÊÁÉ ÅËÅÏÓ ÐÁÑÁ ÔÏÕ ÅÍÄÏÎÙÓ ÁÍÁÓÔÁÍÔÏÓ ÓÙÔÇÑÏÓ ×ÑÉÓÔÏÕ Ἀδελφοί συλλειτουργοί καί τέκνα εὐσεβῆ καί φιλόθεα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας,

Χριστός Ἀνέστη! Τοῦτον τόν ἀναστάσιµον χαιρετισµόν ἀπευθύνοντες πρός τήν ἀγάπην σας ἀναπολοῦµεν τήν φιλάνθρωπον ἐνέργειαν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡµῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τοῦ Λόγου τοῦ Θεοῦ, δι’Οὗ τά πάντα ἐγένοντο, νά χαρίσῃ εἰς τόν ἄνθρωπον τήν ζωήν, ἀλλά καί τήν σκληράν προσπάθειαν τοῦ ἀνθρωποκτόνου διαβόλου καί τῶν παραπλανωµένων ὑπ’αὐτοῦ καί γενοµένων ὀργάνων του ἀνθρώπων, νά στερήσουν ἀπό τούς ἀνθρώπους αὐτό τό µέγα καί θεῖον δῶρον τῆς ζωῆς. Τό θεῖον δῶρον τῆς ζωῆς εἶναι συνδυασµένον κατά τήν πρόθεσιν τοῦ Θεοῦ µέ τήν χαράν. Ἐπλήσθη χαρᾶς τό στόµα τῶν Μυροφόρων ἐν τῷ λέγειν “Ἀνέστη ὁ Κύριος”, ἀναφέρει ὁ ἱερός ὑµνῳδός. Ἔκτοτε, µυριόστοµος ἀκούεται ἡ φωνή “Χριστός Ἀνέστη” καί µυριάδων πιστῶν χριστιανῶν τό στόµα πληροῦται χαρᾶς ἐν τῷ ἐπαναλαµβάνειν τήν ἐξαγγελίαν “Χριστός Ἀνέστη”. Διότι ὅλοι αἰσθανόµεθα τήν ζωήν ὡς µίαν τῶν µεγαλυτέρων ἀξιῶν διά τόν ἄνθρωπον καί µάλιστα ἐκείνην µέσῳ τῆς ὁποίας δυνάµεθα νά ἀπολαύσωµεν ὅλας τάς ἄλλας θείας δωρεάς. Χωρίς τήν ζωήν δέν ἔχοµεν αἴσθησιν τῶν ἄλλων δωρεῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ πρός ἡµᾶς. Ἡ πηγή δέ τῆς ζωῆς καί τῆς χαρᾶς εἶναι ὁ Χριστός, ἀγαπητοί ἀδελφοί καί τέκνα, καί καλεῖ ὅλους ἡµᾶς νά γίνωµεν µέτοχοι αὐτῶν τῶν θείων δωρεῶν Του. Καλεῖ δέ ὄχι µόνον ἡµᾶς τούς Ὀρθοδόξους Χριστιανούς ἀλλά καί κάθε ἄνθρωπον. Κάθε ἄνθρωπος εἶναι κεκληµένος ἀπό τόν Θεόν νά ζήσῃ τήν πληρόu óåë. 20

ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ ΠΑΡΑΤΗΡΗΤΗΣ

15 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ – 15 ΑΠΡΙΛΙΟΥ 2004

«Σύνεση και πίστη στην βίωση της Ορθοδόξου πίστεως και τη δια u óåë. 15 ιδιωτικό αεροσκάφος στο αεροδρόμιο Morristown της Νέας Ιερσέης υπεδέχθη ο Σεβασμιώτατος Αρχιεπίσκοπος Αμερικής κ. Δημήτριος, ο Μητροπολίτης Νέας Ιερσέης κ. Ευάγγελος, ιεράρχες της Αρχιεπισκοπής, ο μόνιμος αντιπρόσωπος της Ελλάδος στον ΟΗΕ κ. Αδαμάντ ιος Βασ ι λάκης, οι γενικοί πρόξενοι της Ελλάδος και της Κύπρου κυρίες Αικατερίνη Μπούρα και Μάρθα Μαυρομάτη, οι πρόεδροι και μέλη του Αρχιεπισκοπικού Συμβουλίου της Φιλοπτώχου, αξιωματούχοι της Μητροπόλεως Νέας Ιερσέης και πολλοί άλλοι κ ληρικοί και πιστοί από την γύρω περιοχή. Αμέσως μετά ο Πατριάρχης μετέβη στην κοινότητα της Αγίας Τριάδος στο Westfield της Νέας Ιερσέης όπου παρακολούθησε την 33η διοργάνωση των ετήσιων καλλιτεχνικών εκδηλώσεων με την επονομασία «ΗΧΟΣ & ΦΩΣ» (Sights & Sounds). «Είχα ένα όνειρο... και σήμερα το όνειρο αυτό πραγματοποιείται με την επίσκεψή σας Παναγιώτατε!», είπε ο Μητροπολίτης Νέας Ιερσέης κ. Ευάγγελος προσφωνώντας τον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη. Ο ιερατικώς προϊστάμενος της κοινότητας π. Δημήτριος Αντόκας στον χαιρετισμό του τόνισε ότι η πρώτη αυτή στάση του Πατριάρχου «εμπνέει και ενισχύει πνευματικά τα παιδιά» και είναι δηλωτική του ενδιαφέροντος και της αγάπης του πνευματικού πατέρα και ηγέτη της Ορθοδοξίας για την νέα γενιά στ ην Αρχ ιεπισκοπή Αμερικής. Στο πρόγραμμα που παρουσίασαν οι υπεύθυνοι διοργανωτές Σταμάτης και Ανίτα Καρταλοπούλου, νεαροί μαθητές και μαθήτριες από διάφορες ενορίες της Νέας Ιερσέης συμμετείχαν σε μια παράσταση που περιελάμβανε παραδοσιακούς χορούς, μουσική, τραγούδι και θεατρικό λόγο. «Σας απονέμομεν ολόθυμον την πατρικήν ημών ευχή και ευλογία...» είπε, συγκινημένος από τον ενθουσιασμό των παιδιών και την πάνδημη υποδοχή, ο Παναγιώτατος Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχ ης και εξέφρασε την ικανοποίησή του για την καλλιτεχνική προσφορά των παιδιών στα πλαίσια της ορθοδόξου πίστεως. Την επομένη ημέρα, Κυριακή της Σταυροπροσκυνήσεως εκατοντάδες πιστοί, γονείς και μαθητές στην κυριολεξία πλημμύρισαν τον Καθεδρικό Ναό του Αγίου Ιωάννου του Θεολόγου, στο Tenafly της Νέας Ιερσέης για να παρακολουθήσουν την Θεία Λειτουργία προεξάρχοντος της Α.Θ.Π. του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη κ. Βαρθολομαίου και συλλειτουργούντων του Αρχιεπισκόπου Αμερικής κ. Δημητρίου και 13 ακόμη αρχιερέων μεταξύ των οποίων οι μητροπολίτες της Ιεράς Επαρχιακής Συνόδου Αμερικής· Σικάγου Ιάκωβος, Πίτσμπουργκ Μάξιμος, Βοστώνης Μεθόδιος, Ατλάντας Α λέξιος, Ντιτρόιτ Νικόλαος και Νέας Ιερσέης Ευάγγελος, οι μητροπολίτες που συνόδευαν τον Πατριάρχη Αυστρίας Μιχαήλ, Γαλλίας Εμμανουήλ και Ικονίου Θεόληπτος καθώς οι Μητροπολίτες Σταγών και Μετεώρων Σεραφείμ (Ελλάδα), Αμισσού Νικόλαος, ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Νικόλαος της Ρουμανικής Ορθοδόξου Εκκλησίας στην Αμερική και ο Μητροπολίτης Χριστόφορος της Σερβικής. Στις ομιλίες του ο Παναγιώτατος και στον ναό αλλά και κατά την διάρκεια δεξιώσεως που ακολούθησε, αναφέ-

Ανάμεσα στα εκατοντάδες εκθέματα βυζαντινής τέχνης ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαίος και ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Δημήτριος θαυμάζουν μια εικόνα του Αγίου Μανδυλίου (Αχειροποίητος εικόνα του Χριστού, 1447 μ.Χ., Μόσχα).

ρθηκε στον νέο Μητροπολίτη της Νέας Ιερσέης Ευάγγελο τον οποίο χαρακτήρισε «φέρελπι εργάτη του Ευαγγελίου... σεμνό και αφοσιωμένο στην Μητέρα Εκκ λησ ία...» Αναφέρθηκε ακόμη στην πρόσφατη πρόσκληση και συμμετοχή του Αρχιεπισκόπου Αμερικής κ. Δημητρίου στην Αγία και Ιερά Σύνοδο του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου την οποία χαρακτήρισε «έναν επιπλέον κρίκο ο οποίος θα συνδέει αρρήκτως και αδιαταράκτως την Αρχιεπισκοπή Αμερικής με την Μητέρα Εκκ λησία...» Τόνισε ακόμη ότι όσα κατά καιρούς ακούγονται περί αυτονομίας ή αυτοκεφαλίας δεν έχουν έρεισμα, ενώ υπογράμμισε ότι συμφέρει «υμάς και ημάς να είμαστε ενωμένοι». Ο Πατριάρχης απένειμε τιμητικό σταυρό και το οφίκιο του πρωτοπρεσβύτερου του Οικουμενικού Θρόνου στον ιερατικώς προϊστάμενο της κοινότητας π. Ιωάννη Αλεξάνδρου ο οποίος συγκινημένος δήλωσε: «Είναι κάτι που συμβαίνει μια φορά στη ζωή μας... είναι μεγάλη τιμή και ευχαριστούμε εκ βάθους ψυχής τον Οικουμενικό μας Πατριάρχη, του ευχόμεθα παν αγαθόν και καλή δύναμη...» Τα ίδια αισθήματα ενθουσιασμού όλης της κοινότητας εξέφρασε και ο πρόεδρος Ανδρέας Ζυγούρης. Το ίδιο απόγευμα, 1.200 και πλέον άτομα συμμετείχαν σε επίσημη δεξίωση και δείπνο που παρέθεσε η Μητρόπολη της Νέας Ιερσέης προς τιμήν του Παναγιωτάτου. Ο κυβερνήτης της Πολιτείας της Νέας Ιερσέης, James McGreevy, που ήταν παρών, θεώρησε την ημέρα ιστορική για τον ίδιο και για την πολιτεία της Νέας Ιερσέης και στην ομιλία του αναγνώρισε το οικουμενικό έργο του Πατριάρχου Βαρθολομαίου στους τομείς της αλ ληλοκατανόησης και του διαλόγου μεταξύ των εθνών και των θρησκειών αλλά και στον τομέα του φυσικού περιβάλ λοντος και της διατη-

ρήσεώς του. Ο κ. McGreevy δήλωσε ακόμη την απερίφραστη στήριξή του για την επαναλειτουργία της Θεολογικής Σχολής της Χάλκης. Ο Μητροπολίτης Νέας Ιερσέης κ. Ευάγ γελος μί λησε για την ανάγκη διατήρησης και ανανέωσης της επικοινωνίας και των στενών πνευματικών δεσμών με το Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο. Ο Σεβασμιώτατος Αρχιεπίσκοπος Αμερικής κ. Δημήτριος αναφερόμενος στο δίπτυχο Ορθοδοξία και Ελληνισμός τόνισε πως η παρουσία του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχου μας θυμίζει ότ ι η Ορθοδοξία ήταν ανέκαθεν και συνεχίζει να είναι φορέας και δημιουργός ιδεών σε ένα κόσμο που ολοένα πάσχει από έλλειψη αληθινών ιδεών. Η Α.Θ.Π. ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης κ. Βαρθολομαίος στην ομιλία του σ υνέστησε σ ύνεση και πίστη στην βίωση της Ορθοδόξου πίστεως αλλά και διαφύλαξη, καλλιέργεια και προβολή της κληρονομιάς του Γένους, είτε αυτή λέγεται Ελληνική γλώσσα, είτε Κλασική παιδεία, είτε Πατερική γραμματεία, είτε εθνική ιστορία, είτε «ελληνικό φιλότιμο». Το πρωί της Δευτέρας 15 Μαρτίου, τρίτη ημέρα της επισκέψεώς του, ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης ευλόγησε πρόγευμα που παρέθεσε ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Δημήτριος στην Έδρα της Ι. Αρχιεπισκοπής Αμερικής με τους Ιεράρχες της Μονίμου Επιτροπής Κανονικών Ορθοδόξων Εκκλησιών στην Αμερική (SCOBA) και τους Ιεράρχες της Μονίμου Επιτροπής Αρχαίων Ανατολικών Εκκλησιών στην Αμερική. Ο Παναγιώτατος τόνισε προς τους Ιεράρχες των δύο επιτροπών ότι αποτελεί «σταθερά πίστι και παγία πράξι» του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου η τήρηση και τόνωση «της ενότητος του πνεύματος εν τω συνδέσμω της ειρήνης» μεταξύ των Ορθοδόξων Εκκλησιών.

Λίγο αργότερα ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης δέχθηκε την επίσκεψη της κ. Χίλαρι Κλίντον πρώην πρώτης κυρίας και γερουσιαστή των ΗΠΑ, συναντήθηκε με εκπροσώπους του Παγκόσμιου Ιουδαϊκού Συμβουλίου και χαιρέτισε τα μέλη της Επιτροπής Προετοιμασίας του Διαθρησκειακού Διαλόγου. Το ίδιο πρωί, στον Πατριαρχικό χαιρετισμό και ευλογία του προς το υπαλ ληλικό προσωπικό της Ι. Αρχιεπισκοπής ο Παναγιώτατος τόνισε ότι το έργο τους είναι «έργο εκκ λησιαστικό... είναι μια προσφορά προς αυτόν τον ίδιον τον Χριστό» και τους παρότρυνε να το κάνουν «ευσχήμως και μετά πάσης επιμελείας, προθυμίας και υπακοής...» Μετά από το γεύμα που παρέθεσε ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Δημήτριος με την συμμετοχή ηγετικών στελεχών των σωμάτων και ιδρυμάτων της Αρχ ιεπισκοπής ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης συνοδευόμενος από τον Αρχιεπίσκοπο μετέβη στην έδρα του Οργανισμού Ηνωμένων Εθνών όπου συναντήθηκε για 35 περίπου λεπτά με τον Γενικό Γραμματέα του ΟΗΕ κ. Kofi Annan. Το βράδυ ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης κ. Βαρθολομαίος παρέστη στα εγκαίνια της εκθέσεως «Βυζάντ ιο: Πίστη και Δύναμη (1261-1557)», στο Μητροπολιτικό Μουσείο Τέχνης της Νέας Υόρκης και ήταν το τιμώμενο πρόσωπο και ο κύριος ομιλητής στο δείπνο που ακολούθησε. «Η πνευματική δύναμις [του Βυζαντίου] είναι εκείνη, η οποία εδημιούργησε τα λαμπρά εκθέματα της παρούσης Εκθέσεως», τόνισε ο Πατριάρχης ενώ σημείωσε ότι «το Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο αποτελεί ζώσαν επιβίωση και συνέχεια του Βυζαντινού Πολιτισμού...» πρόσθεσε δε ότι «ο άνθρωπος της σημερινής εποχής, και ειδικώτερον ο άνθρωπος των προηγμένων οικονομικώς και πολιτιστικώς χωρών κινδυνεύει από την έλ λειψη

15 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ – 15 ΑΠΡΙΛΙΟΥ 2004

ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ ΠΑΡΑΤΗΡΗΤΗΣ ORTHODOX OBSERVER

φύλαξη, καλλιέργεια και προβολή της κληρονομιάς του Γένους» νοήματος εις την ζωή του... συνεπώς το μήνυμα της πίστεως, το οποίον επικαίρως προβά λ λει η ονομασία της παρούσης εκθέσεως, είναι ζωτική ανάγκη δια πάντας». Η έκθεση αυτή του Μητροπολιτικού Μουσείου, η τρίτη κατά σειρά με θέμα την τέχνη του Βυζαντίου, πραγματοποιείται χάρη στις χορηγίες της Ελληνικής Τράπεζας ALPHA και των ιδρυμάτων Ι. Κωστόπουλου, Α. Λεβέντη και Σταύρου Νιάρχου. Στην συνέχεια των επαφών του το πρωί της Τρίτης 16 Μαρτίου, o Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης κ. Βαρθολομαίος συναντήθηκε με θρησκευτικούς ηγέτες μεταξύ των οποίων ο Ρωμαιοκαθολικός Αρχιεπίσκοπος Νέας Υόρκης Καρδινάλιος Egan, ο Επισκοπελιανός επίσκοπος Frank T. Griswold, ο Γ.Γ. του Αμερικανικού Συμβουλίου Εκκλησιών Αιδ. Δρ. Robert Edgar και ο ραββίνος Joseph Potasnik. Αργότερα στο παρεκκ λήσιο της Αρχιεπισκοπής οι κληρικοί της αμέσου αρχιεπισκοπικής περιφέρειας έλαβαν την ευλογία του Παναγιωτάτου και το βράδυ της ίδιας ημέρας ο δήμαρχος της Νέας Υόρκης Michael Bloomberg παρέθεσε δείπνο προς τιμή του Πατριάρχου στην ιδιωτική κατοικία του.

Δώρο του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη προς την κοινότητα του Αγίου Ιωάννου του Θεολόγου, Tenafly, NJ παρέλαβε ο π. Ιωάννης Αλεξάνδρου.

Στις 17 Μαρτίου, ημέρα Τετάρτη ο Πατριάρχης πραγματοποίησε επίσκεψη στην κοινότητα του Αγίου Νικολάου της περιοχής Flushing της Νέας Υόρκης όπου συναντήθηκε με τους μαθητές των Ελ ληνοαμερικανικών σχολείων (βλ. άλλη στήλη). Οι άρχοντες του Τάγματος του Αγίου Ανδρέα του Οικουμενικού Πατρι-

ÄÇÌ. ÐÁÍÁÃÏÓ

Με λουλούδια και χαμόγελα υποδέχθηκαν τον Πατριάρχη στο Tenafly, NJ.

αρχείου παρέθεσαν δείπνο προς τιμή του Παναγιωτάτου στην αίθουσα του Council of Foreign Relations, στην Νέα Υόρκη. Στην ομιλία του ο Πατριάρχης αναφερόμενος στην κατάσταση του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου και στην ανάγκη στήριξής του τόνισε μεταξύ άλλων: «Η Μήτηρ Εκκλησία δεν στηρίζεται κατά κόσμον. Επί πεντακόσια πεντήκοντα έτη είναι εμπερίστατος. Χρυσόβουλα αυτοκρατορικά δεν εκδίδονται υπέρ αυτής πλέον. Το ιερόν παλάτιον και η εξ αυτού ηθική και υλική ενίσχυσις και συμπαράστασις αποτελούν αρχαίαν ανάμνησιν. Όμως το Γένος ζη...» Αναφέρθηκε ακόμη στις μεγάλες ευθύνες και τις οικουμενικές υποχρεώσεις του Πατριαρχείου και σημείωσε ορισμένα από τα βασικά προβλήματα που αντιμετωπίζει όπως το πρόβλημα της εκκλησιαστικής και κοινοτικής περιουσίας, το λεγόμενο βακουφικό, ο σεβασμός των δικαιωμάτων των μειονοτήτων στην Τουρκία, το θέμα της επαναλειτουργίας της Θεολογικής Σχολής της Χάλκης, και η αναγνώριση του Πατριαρχείου ως οικουμενικού θεσμού. Ο Παναγιώτατος έκανε ιδιαίτερη μνεία στην τρομοκρατική επίθεση στην Μαδρίτη και στην πυρκαγιά που κατέστρεψε την Πατριαρχική Μονή Χιλανδαρίου στο Άγιο Όρος παροτρύνοντας όλους να συμβάλλουν οικονομικά για την αποκατάσταση των ζημιών της αγιορείτικης μονής. Ο Μόνιμος Αντιπρόσωπος της Ελλάδος στον ΟΗΕ, πρέσβης κ. Αδαμά-

ÄÇÌ. ÐÁÍÁÃÏÓ

Με τον Γέροντα Αρχιεπίσκοπο πρώην Β. και Ν. Αμερικής κ. Ιάκωβο μοιράστηκαν ένα λιτό δείπνο ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης κ. Βαρθολομαίος και ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος κ. Δημήτριος.

ντιος Βασιλάκης παρέθεσε στη πρεσβευτική κατοικία το πρωί της Πέμπτης 18 Μαρτίου πρόγευμα προς τιμή του κ. Βαρθολομαίου, παρουσία πολλών διπλωματών των Ηνωμένων Εθνών. Αργότερα το απόγευμα στο κατάμεστο από κόσμο αμφιθέατρο του

Μητροπολιτικού Μουσείου της Νέας Υόρκης και μπροστά σε ακροατήριο που ξεπερνούσε τα 750 άτομα, ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης κ. Βαρθολομαίος έδωσε δημόσια βαρυσήμαντη διάλεξη με θέμα «Βυζαντινές Εικόνες: Μια Παρακαταθήκη Ανθρωπισμού». Η Πατριαρχ ική διά λεξη υπήρξε το αποκορύφωμα των εκδηλώσεων εγκαινιασμού της Εκθέσεως και απέσπασε ενθουσιώδη σχόλια από τους παρευρισκόμενους. Το ίδιο βράδυ, το τελευταίο του επισήμου προγράμματος του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχου, η Αμερικανική Επιτροπή Προστασίας της Βιβλιοθήκης και των Κειμηλίων της Μονής Αγίας Αικατερίνης του Σινά με την ευκαιρία της Εκθέσεως για την βυζαντινή τέχνη παρέθεσε δεξίωση και δείπνο στην μεγάλη αίθουσα τελετών του Μητροπολιτικού Μουσείου. Μεταξύ των 450 υψηλών προσκεκλημένων ήταν και το πρώην προεδρικό ζεύγος των ΗΠΑ George H.W. και Barbara Bush. Ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης κ. Βαρθολομαίος αναχώρησε για την Πόλη, το απόγευμα της επομένης 19 Μαρτίου με ιδιωτικό αεροσκάφος.

Την 183η Επέτειο της Ελληνικής Ανεξαρτησίας τίμησε ο πρόεδρος Bush στον Λευκό Οίκο Αθήνας αναφέροντας ότι ο πατέρας του και πρώην πρόεδρος George H.W. Bush Καταλήγοντας ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος θα ηγηθεί της Αμερικανικής αντιπροείπε ότι η Ελληνοαμερικανική κοινότη- σωπείας. Τόνισε ακόμη την συμβολή του τα προσβλέπει στο πρόσωπο του προ- Ελληνισμού παγκοσμίως και σημείωσε έδρου Bush για την πραγμάτωση αυτών ότι η Ελ ληνοαμερικανική κοινότητα των εννοιών της απελευθέρωσης από έχει συμβάλλει θετικά στην Αμερικακαι ελευθερίας για, για όλους τους νική κοινωνία και ιδιαίτερα στην διαμόρφωση της κυβέρανθρώπους, τις οικογένειες, κοινωνίες και «Αυτή η ελευθερία από νησ ής του αναφέροντας χαρακτηριέθνη όλης της γης. και η ελευθερία για είναι στικά τους Ελληνο«Σας διαβεβαιώνουμε αμερικανούς John ότι η Ελ ληνοαμεριη καθοδηγητική και Negroponte, George κανική Κοινότητα είδημιουργική δύναμη του Tenet και A ndrew ναι ανένδοτη και με αυταπάρνηση αφοσι- ευγενούς Ελληνορθοδόξου Νάτσιο. Εξάλλου ο Αμεριωμένη σε αυτές ακριΚυπριακού Ελληνισμού κανός πρόεδρος αναβώς τις ίδιες τις αξίες «απελευθέρωσης από» ο οποίος αγωνίζεται για φέρθηκε στην βασική υποχρέωση της Αμεκαι «ελευθερίας για». αυτήν την πολύτιμη ρικής η οποία όπως (Tο πλήρες κείμενο της είπε, ως μεγαλύτερη ομιλίας του Αρχιεπιελευθερία για όλους δύναμη στον κόσμο, σκόπου παρατίθεται ανεξαιρέτως πρέπει να ενεργεί και στη σελ. 6). να δρα για την προάΟ πρόεδρος Bush τους κατοίκους του σπιση και προώθηση ανταπαντώντας μεταξύ άλλων είπε: «Σε- βασανισμένου νησιού της των αρχών της ελευ«Δεν μπορούβασμιώτατε, αισθάΑνατολικής Μεσογείου» θερίας. με να αφήσουμε τις νομαι για μια ακόμη τύχες του κόσμου στα φορά υπερήφανος να ΑΡΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΣ χέρια όσων μισούν σας κατα λογίζω ως φίλο μου διακρίνοντας στα μάτια σας το την ελευθερία...» είπε χαρακτηριστικά. Μεταξύ των προσκεκλημένων του λαμπρό σας πνεύμα...» και κατόπιν ευχαρίστησε για την παρουσία τους τον Λευκού Οίκου εκτός των προαναφερΕλληνοαμερικανό Ομοσπονδιακό Βου- θέντων ήταν ο Ελληνοαμερικανός διευλευτή κ. Michael Μπιλιράκη και την θυντής του τμήματος USAID του Υπουρφιλέλληνα Ομοσπονδιακή Βουλευτή κ. γείου Εξωτερικών Andrew Natsios, οι Carolyn Maloney οι οποίοι όπως είπε πρέσβεις της Ελλάδος και της Κύπρου αποτελούν την αιχμή του ελ ληνικού κ.κ. Γιώργος Σαββαϊδης και Ευριπίδης δόρατος στην Βουλή των Αντιπροσώπων Ευρυβιάδης αντίστοιχα, οι Ελ ληνοκαι καλωσόρισε τον Υφυπουργό Εξωτε- αμερικανοί επιχειρηματίες και μέλη του ρικών της Ελλάδος αρμόδιο για θέματα Αρχιεπισκοπικού Συμβουλίου Μιχαήλ αποδήμου Ελληνισμού κ. Παναγιώτη Τζαχάρης, Α λέξανδρος Σπανός, και Άντριου Άθενς, η πρόεδρος της Εθνικής Σκανδαλάκη. Ο πρόεδρος Bush χαρακτήρισε Φιλοπτώχου Αδελφότητος κ. Γεωργία σημαντική και ζωτικής σημασίας την Σκιαδά καθώς και πρόεδροι και εκπρόσχέση των Η.Π.Α. με την Ελλάδα και σωποι Ελ ληνοαμερικανικών και Ελδήλωσε την βεβαιότητα του για ασφαλή ληνοκυπριακών Οργανισμών, Ομοδιεξαγωγή των Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων της σπονδιών και Οργανώσεων.

u óåë. 15

ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ ΠΑΡΑΤΗΡΗΤΗΣ

15 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ – 15 ΑΠΡΙΛΙΟΥ 2004

ΠΑΤΡΙΑΡΧΙΚΗ ΕΥΛΟΓΙΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΟΥΣ ΜΑΘΗΤΕΣ ΚΑΙ ΜΑΘΗΤΡΙΕΣ ΤΩΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΟΑΜΕΡΙΚΑΝΙΚΩΝ ΣΧΟΛΕΙΩΝ

«Είστε τα παιδιά της ελπίδος, είστε τα παιδιά ηρωικών μεταναστών....»

ΝΕΑ ΥΟΡΚΗ. – Με δέος και ανυπόκριτη χαρά η ελληνορθόδοξη νεολαία της Αμερικής καλωσόρισε χθες το πρωί τον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη κ. Βαρθολομαίο στην μεγαλύτερη Ελληνορθόδοξη κοινότητα της Ιεράς Αρχιεπισκοπής Αμερικής, στην κοινότητα του Αγίου Νικολάου στο Flushing της Νέας Υόρκης. Αψηφώντας το χιόνι και το κρύο, με ανθοδέσμες στα χέρια και χαμόγελα στα χείλη τα παιδιά του Αγίου Νικολάου υποδέχθηκαν τον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη έξω από τον ναό τον οποίο συνόδευε ο Σεβασμιώτατος Αρχιεπίσκοπος Αμερικής κ. Δημήτριος. Εκατοντάδες μαθητές και μαθήτριες από όλα τα ημερήσια ελληνοαμερικανικά σχολεία της Ιεράς Αρχιεπισκοπής τα οποία λειτουργούν στην ευρύτερη περιοχή της Νέας Υόρκης είχαν κατακ λύσει από νωρίς τον ναό του Αγίου Νικολάου για την ιστορική ευκαιρία της παρουσίας του πνευματικού τους πατέρα και ηγέτη εκατομμυρίων ορθοδόξων χριστιανών ανά την υφήλιο.

Έκδηλη η στοργή του Ποιμένα για τα πνευματικά του παιδιά.

Χίλιοι πεντακόσιοι περίπου μαθητές, μαθήτριες εκπαιδευτικοί και άλλοι πιστοί παρακολούθησαν με ευλάβεια την Πατριαρχική Δοξολογία. Ο Ιερατικώς Προϊστάμενος του ναού π. Παύλος Παλαιστίδης προσφώνησε με λόγια αγάπης και ταπείνωσης τον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη. «Μας ενώνετε με την δοξασμένη ιστορία του Γένους μας, μας φέρνετε στους αποστολικούς χρόνους και μας χαρίζετε την ταυτότητα μας, αυτή της Αποστολικής Εκκλησίας. Ο μεγαλοδύναμος οδήγησε τα βήματά σας στην κοινότητά μας στα μέσα της Μεγάλης και Αγίας Τεσσαρακοστής ώσ τε να λάβουμε δύναμη α πό τ ην Παναγιότητα Σας, να συνεχίσουμε την προσευχή και τη νηστεία που μας δίνει πνευματική ανάταση» είπε, ενώ σε άλλο σημείο αναφερόμενος στις προσπάθειες διατήρησης της Ελληνοχριστιανικής ταυτότητος πρόσθεσε: «Τα παιδιά αυτά που σήμερα σας χαιρετίζουν με αγαλλίαση και με χαρά είναι αυτά... που θα σας υποδεχθούν ξανά και θα σας πουν με υπερηφάνεια ότι συνεχίζουν το έργο των πατέρων τους». «Είστε τα παιδιά της ελπίδος, είστε τα παιδιά ηρωικών μεταναστών....» είπε ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης κ. Βαρθολομαίος στην ομιλία προς του νέους και τους μί λησε για «το δώρο μιας υπέροχης και άριστης παιδείας για το οποίο οι γονείς τους εργάστηκαν πολύ σκληρά». «Η παιδεία που λαμβάνετε στα κοινοτικά σας σχολεία είναι μια παιδεία εξαιρετική διότι είναι ριζωμένη στον

ÄÇÌ. ÐÁÍÁÃÏÓ

Πάνδημη υποδοχή του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη από τους μαθητές και μαθήτριες των Ελληνοαμερικανικών Σχολείων στον Ιερό Ναό του Αγίου Νικολάου.

ανεξάντλητο πλούτο της εξόχου Ορθοδόξου πίστεως μας και στην ανεκτιμήτου αξίας κλασική Ελ ληνική κληρονομιά», τόνισε σε άλλο σημείο και έκανε ιδιαίτερη αναφορά στην λαμπρή ομορφιά και τον πολιτισμό που αποπνέει η Ε λ λην ικ ή γλ ώσσα «η γλ ώσσα των αρχαίων φιλοσόφων και συγγραφέων, η γλώσσα του Ευαγγελίου, των Πτέρων της Εκκλησίας και των επτά Οικουμενικών Συνόδων, την οποία έχετε το προνόμιο να διδάσκεστε...» είπε. Στη συνέχεια της πατρικής νουθεσίας του ο Πατριάρχης τόνισε για μια ακόμη φορά τους άρρηκτους δεσμούς αγάπης της Εκκλησίας της Αμερικής με το Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο. «Αυτό είναι το Πατριαρχείο το οποίο σας αγαπά και φροντίζει για σας, σας εναγκαλίζεται στοργικά και προσεύχεται για σας, κατανοεί τις όντως ιδιαίτερες και εξαιρετικές συνθήκες που αντιμετωπίζετε και προσπαθεί ως πολύ αφοσιωμένη μητέρα να σας προσφέρει το άριστο και το μέγιστο. Αυτό είναι το Πατριαρχείο σας, το οποίο σας καλεί να το επισκεφθείτε να κάνετε προσκύνημα και να πατήσετε τα άγια χώματά του». Ο Παναγιώτατος κατέληξε την ομιλία του παροτρύνοντας τους μαθητές και μαθήτριες των ελληνοαμερικανικών σχολείων να έχουν κατά νου την προτροπή του Αποστόλου Παύλου στην προς Φιλιππησίους επιστολή του «Όσα

αληθή, όσα σεμνά, όσα δίκαια, όσα αγνά, όσα προσφιλή, όσα εύφημα, εί τις αρετή και εί τις έπαινος, ταύτα λογίζεσθε· και ο θεός της ειρήνης έσται μεθ’ υμών». Η διευθύντρια του Ημερησίου Σχολείου της κοινότητας του Αγίου Νικολάου «Γουίλιαμ Σπυρόπουλος» κ. Αθηνά Κρομμύδα απηύθυνε με σεβασμό και ευλάβεια λίγα λόγια αγάπης και ευγνωμοσύνης, εκ μέρους των διευθυντών των ημερησίων σχολείων της Αρχιεπισκοπής και τόνισε ότι νιώθει τυχερή γιατί της έλαχε μεγάλη μέρα, τιμής και ευλογίας. «Χαρά, συγκίνηση πνευματική και ενθουσιασμός πλημμυρίζουν τ ις ψυχές όλων μας γιατ ί ο Πανάγαθος μας ευλόγησε με την παρουσία σας. Είναι, τόνισε μέρα ιστορική για τους Έλληνες Ορθόδοξους της πόλης μας αυτή. Με ανείπωτη χαρά σας καλωσορίζουμε και ταπεινά και ειλικρινά Παναγιώτατε βεβαιώνουμε ότι είναι τιμή μας και ευλογία να υπηρετούμε τον Ελληνισμό της Αμερικής. Όλοι εμείς που ταχθήκαμε να ακολουθήσουμε το θεϊκό το πρόσταγμα να διαιωνίσουμε τα Ελληνορθόδοξα ιδεώδη και να θρέψουμε το πνεύμα των νέων μας με Ελληνοχριστιανική Παιδεία». »Σας ευγνωμονούμε γιατί τον Ελληνισμό της Αμερικής, αυτό το διαλεκτό, ξεχωριστό, πολύτιμο πετράδι που κοσμεί το ψηφιδωτό της χώρας τούτης

ÄÇÌ. ÐÁÍÁÃÏÓ

Μιά εγκάρδια στιγμή από το ταξίδι του Πατριάρχη με τους πρέσβεις της Ελλάδος και της Κύπρου, κ.κ. Γιώργο Σαββαϊδη (αριστερά) και Ευρυπίδη Ευρυβιάδη αντίστοιχα.

το εμπιστευτήκατε, στον καταξιωμένο ιεράρχη, τον Σεβασμιώτατο Αρχιεπίσκοπο Δημήτριο, που ευλογεί τα σχολεία μας με τις νουθεσίες και την αγάπη του στα παιδιά μας». «Ο Έλ ληνας δάσκαλος της Διασποράς, Παναγιότατε, επιτελεί έργο εθνικό και χριστιανικό...» τόνισε στον χαιρετισμό εκ μέρους των δασκάλων και των καθηγητών η καθηγήτρια Ελληνικών του Ημερησίου Σχολείου του Αγίου Δημητρίου στην Αστόρια της Νέας Υόρκης κ. Ρίτα Συντήλα και πρόσθεσε: «...εδώ στη μεγάλη και φιλόξενη ετούτη χώρα, όπου οι σύγχρονες Σειρήνες απειλούν με το γλυκό, αλλά επικίνδυνο τραγούδι τους να μας παραπλανήσουν, η Εκκλησία και τα Σχολειά της είναι οι βράχοι που αντιστέκονται στα κύματα της αφομοίωσης και σαν φωτεινοί φάροι οδηγούν στο δρόμο της γνώσης και της Σοφίας του Θεού». Η Βασιλική Μουτοπούλου και ο Γεώργιος Βουρδέρης, μαθητές του Ημερησίου Σχολείου του Αγίου Νικολάου απηύθυναν ξεχωριστά χαιρετισμούς εκ μέρους του συνόλου των μαθητών. «Εδώ σε τούτα τα σχολειά ο μόνος τρόπος για να ανεβεί ο άνθρωπος ακόμα ψηλότερα είναι οι αξίες που διδαχθήκαμε και που πηγάζουν από την Ελληνοχριστιανική παιδεία», υπογράμμισε σε άψογα ελληνικά η Βασιλική Μουτοπούλου. Η νεαρή μαθήτρια ευχαρίστησε τον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη και τόνισε: «στεκόμαστε μπροστά σας με α ληθινή ευλάβεια, σήμερα υποσχόμαστε να κρατήσουμε για πάντα τον Χριστό στην καρδιά μας, σας υποσχόμαστε ότι πάντα θα εμπνεόμαστε από το αθάνατο ελληνικό πνεύμα και θα κάνουμε πράξεις ζωής τις αξίες του». Ο Γιώργος Τσετσάκος απήγγειλε το ποίημα Ημέρα της Λαμπρής και η Μαρία Βλαχοπούλου το ποίημα Εσπερινός. Παρευρέθηκαν οι Μητροπολίτες της Πατριαρχικής συνοδείας Αυστρίας κ. Μιχαήλ, Γαλλίας κ. Εμμανουήλ και Ικονίου κ. Θεόληπτος. Παρών επίσης ήταν και ο Μητροπολίτης Νέας Ιερσέης κ. Ευάγγελος καθώς και οι Επίσκοποι Ξάνθου κ. Δημήτριος, Φασιανής κ. Αντώνιος και Κρατείας κ. Γεράσιμος. Στην επίσημη υποδοχή εκ μέρους των μαθητών συμμετείχαν τα σχολεία: «Δ. & Γ. Καλοειδή» από το Ημερήσιο Σχολείο της κοινότητας του Τιμίου Σταυρού Μπρούκλιν, «Αργύριος Φάντης» από το Ημερήσιο Σχολείο της κοινότητας των Αγίων Κων/νου και Ελένης Μπρούκλιν, το Ημερήσιο Σχολείο της κοινότητας του Αγίου Δημητρίου Αστορίας, το Ημερήσιο Σχολείο τ ης κοινότ ητας του Αγ. Δημητρίου Τζαμέικα, «Γουίλιαμ Σπυρόπουλος» από το Ημερήσιο Σχολείο της κοινότητας του Αγίου Νικολάου Φλάσινγκ, το Ημερήσιο Σχολείο της κοινότητας Μεταμόρφωσης Κορόνας, «Σωτήριος Ελληνας» από το Ημερήσιο Σχολείο της κοινότητας Κοιμήσεως της Θεοτόκου Μπρούκ λιν, και το Σχολείο του Καθεδρικού Ναού της Αγίας Τριάδας Μανχάταν. Όπως επίσης και μαθητές και μαθήτριες από το Ελληνοαμερικανικό Ινστιτούτο της κοινότητας Ζωοδόχου Πηγής Μπρόνξ, το Ημερήσ ιο Σχολ είο της κοινότ ητας των Τριών Ιεραρχών Μπρούκλιν, και το Ημερήσιο Σχολείο της κοινότητας του Αγίου Σπυρίδωνα Ουάσινγκτον Χάιτς Μανχάταν.

ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ ΠΑΡΑΤΗΡΗΤΗΣ ORTHODOX OBSERVER

15 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ – 15 ΑΠΡΙΛΙΟΥ 2004

Νέες ρίζες της Ορθοδοξίας στην Κούβα ΝΕΑ ΥΟΡΚΗ – Μεγάλης ιστορικής σημασίας γεγονός αποτέλεσε η επίσκεψη του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη Βαρθολομαίου στην Κούβα (21-25 Ιανουαρίου) για τα εγκαίνια του ναού του Αγίου Νικολάου, στην Αβάνα. Ο μικρός νεόδμητος ναός βυζαντινής αρχιτεκτονικής αποτελεί προσφορά του Κουβανικού λαού προς την Ελληνική Ορθόδοξη Κοινότητα της Κούβας και ιδιαίτερα προς τον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη κ. Βαρθολομαίο. Το γεγονός ενισχύει την παρουσία της Ελληνικής Ορθοδόξου Εκκλησίας όχι μόνο στην Κούβα αλ λά και σε ολόκληρη την Λατινική Αμερική. Στα εγκαίνια που τελέστηκαν μέσα σε ατμόσφαιρα χαράς και συγκίνησης την Κυριακή 25 Ιανουαρίου, ο Πρόεδρος της Κούβας Φιντέλ Κάστρο, παρέδωσε συμβολικά στον Πατριάρχη το κλειδί του νέου ναού του Αγίου Νικολάου ο οποίος βρίσκεται στον παλαιό ιστορικό τομέα της Αβάνας που θεωρείται από την U NESCO μνημείο παγκοσμίου πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς. Ο Σεβασμιώτατος Αρχιεπίσκοπος Αμερικής κ. Δημήτριος ανταποκρινόμενος στην πρόσκληση του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη τον συνόδευσε στην ιστορική επίσκεψή του στην Κούβα ενώ την διοργάνωση επιμελήθηκε ο τοπικός ιεράρχης Μητροπολίτης Παναμά και Κεντρικής Αμερικής Αθηναγόρας. Τον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη συνόδευαν επισήμως και οι Μητροπολίτες Ζακύνθου Χρυσόστομος, Σεβαστείας Δημήτριος και Φιλαδελφείας Μελίτων.

ÍÉÊ. ÌÁÃÃÉÍÁÓ

Ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης κ. Βαρθολομαίος έγινε δεκτός στον αεροδρόμιο της Αβάνας από τον Πρόεδρο Φιντέλ Κάστρο με ιδιαίτερο σεβασμό και εγκαρδιότητα και στην συνέχεια στο Προεδρικό Μέγαρο κατά την επίσημη τελετή υποδοχής αποδόθηκαν στον κ. Βαρθολομαίο τιμές αρχηγού κράτους και ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης επιθεώρησε τιμητικά στρατιωτικό άγημα. «Στο πρόσωπο σας συναντούμε την ιστορία...», τόνισε ο Πρόεδρος της Κούβας υποδεχόμενος τον ηγέτη της Ορθοδοξίας. Δύο χιλιάδες περίπου επισκέπτες από τις Η.Π.Α, τον Καναδά, το Μεξικό, την Λατινική Αμερική, την Ελλάδα, την Τουρκία αλ λά και χώρες προσήλθαν προσ κ υνητές με τ ην ευκαιρία των εγκαινίων του Αγίου Νικολάου. Ανάμεσα τους ο πρόεδρος του Σ Α Ε Άντριου Άθενς, ο πρόεδρος του ΣΑΕ Βορείου Αμερικής Χρήστος Τομαράς, ο πρόεδρος της Κυπριακής Ομοσπονδίας Πανίκος Παπανικολάου, ο επιχειρηματίας Τζον Κατσιματίδης, ο Τζον Μπραδήμας, ο Άντι Μανάτος, ο πρόεδρος του πανεπιστημίου Drexel Κωνσταντίνος Παπα-

ÍÉÊ. ÌÁÃÃÉÍÁÓ

ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΗ ΕΠΙΣΚΕΨΗ ΤΟΥ ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙΚΟΥ ΠΑΤΡΙΑΡΧΗ δάκης και πολλοί άρχοντες του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου. Μετά την περιφορά των αγίων λειψάνων γύρω από τον ναό έγινε η τελετή των εγκαινίων παρουσία του Φιντέλ Κάστρο και ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης προέστη της Θείας Λειτουργίας. Κατά την διάρκεια της παραμονής του στην Κούβα ο Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαίος είχε την ευκαιρία να συναντηθεί αρκετές φορές με τον Πρόεδρο της Κούβας και είχε σειρά επαφών με τοπικούς κυβερνητικούς παράγοντες, επισκέφθηκε ένα νοσοκομείο παίδων καθώς και σχολείο για παιδιά με ειδικές ανάγκες στα οποία μοίρασε μικρούς σταυρούς ως πατριαρχική ευλογία. Στις συναντήσεις αυτές ο κ. Κάστρο μίλησε με εγκαρδιότητα για τον ρόλο του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη τον οποίο χαρακτήρισε «αγωνιστή της ειρήνης, της ισότητας και της δικαιοσ ύνης, μαχητή της προστασίας του περιβάλλοντος και μεγάλο διανοητή του πνεύματος». Απαντώντας ο κ. Βαρθολομαίος επεσήμανε ότι «η Κυβέρνησις και ο Εξοχώτατος Πρόεδρος της Χώρας πραγματοποιούντες εν σπουδαίον άνοιγμα φιλίας προς την Ορθόδοξον Εκκλησία, ανεγνώρισαν την Ορθοδοξία ως μίαν των επισήμων θρησκειών της Κούβας, με όσα προνόμια και δικαιώματα τούτο συνεπάγεται». Επίσης ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης εξέφρασε την βαθύτατη εκτίμησή του για την χειρονομία της Κουβανικής Κυβέρνησης. «Οι γενναίες αυτές χειρονομίες της Κουβανικής Κυβερνήσεως εκτιμώνται βαθύτατα και ευελ πιστούμε ότι θα ίδωμεν εις το μέλλον και άλλους Ιερούς Ναούς να ανεγείρωνται εις την Χώραν και να παραδίδωνται εις δημόσιαν λατρείαν». Ο κ. Βαρθολομαίος δεν παρέλειψε να αναφερθεί στο θέμα των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων λέγοντας: «Περιττόν να υπομνήσωμεν ότι η ελευθέρα έκφρασις της θρησκευτικής πίστεως αποτελεί βασ ικόν ανθρώπινον δικαίωμα, το οποίον μετά των λοιπών ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων πρέπει να είναι παρά πάντων σεβαστόν και απαραβίαστον, μάλιστα δε παρ’ όσων ως βάσιν της πολιτικής των ιδεολογίας θέτουν τον ανθρωπισμόν». Ενώ σε ά λ λο σημείο πρόσθεσε: «Δεν ήλθεν η Ορθοδοξία ενταύθα, αγαπητοί, μετά οφρύος και δυνάμεως. Ήλθεν απλή και σεμνή, όπως αι απλαί

θυγατέρες της Κουβανικής υπαίθρου. Αγνή και άνευ πονηρίας, όπως τα απειρόκακα παιδία του Κουβανικού Λαού. Ήλθε να συμμερισθή τον σταυρόν της Χώρας και του Λαού της. Να τείνη χείρα στοργής προς πάντα «κοπιώντα και πεφορτισμένον». Να εκτιμήση τας αξίας του Κουβανικού πολιτισμού, ως ούτος διεμορφώθη από παλαιά μέχρι σήμερον. Να υπενθυμίση εις όλους την αρχαίαν ευγένειαν, με την οποίαν ο Δημιουργός Θεός επροίκησε τα πλάσματά Του. Να διακηρύξη μετά παρρησίας ότι το να αποκλείωνται λαοί και κράτη από την γενικωτέραν κοινωνίαν των λαών της γης είναι ιστορικόν λάθος, και ότι τα

προβλήματα μεταξύ λαών και κρατών, όπως, άλλωστε και εκείνα μεταξύ φυσικών προσώπων, λύονται διά του διαλόγου και της επικοινωνίας, ως και διά καλοπίστων διαπραγματεύσεων.» Τα πάντα τακτοποιούνται «πρόσωπον προς πρόσωπον». Τίποτε δεν τακτοποιείται «πλάτην με πλάτην», «κλειστήν θύραν έναντι κλειστής θύρας». Ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης πρόσφερε στον Κουβανό πρόεδρο Φιντέλ Κάστρο ένα απλό σταυρό εκφράζοντας στο πρόσωπό του την ευγνωμοσύνη του προς τον λαό της Κούβας για την ανοικοδόμηση και προσφορά του καθεδρικού ναού του Αγίου Νικολάου. Ανταποδίδοντας ο Φιντέλ Κάστρο πρόσφερε στον Παναγιώτατο ως δώρο έναν σταυρό από τοπική ορυκτή πέτρα εις ανάμνηση της ιστορικής πατριαρχ ικής επισκέψεως του στην Κούβα. Αξίζει να σημειωθεί ότι ο Κάστρο γνωστοποίησε στον κ. Βαρθολομαίο την απόφασή του για την ίδρυση Θεολογικής Ορθόδοξης Σχολής στην Κούβα και ότι τα έξοδα της λειτουργίας της θα καλύπτονται από το κουβανικό κράτος και ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης υποσχέθηκε ότι θα αποστείλει στην Κούβα βιβλία θρησκευτικού και θεολογικού περιεχομένου ενώ παρά λ ληλα προσκάλεσε τον Κάστρο να επισκεφθεί το Άγιο Όρος. Με την ευκαιρία της Πατριαρχικής επισκέψεως ο επικεφαλής εκπρόσωπος των αμερικανικών συμφερόντων στην Κούβα κ. Τζέιμς Κέισον παρέθεσε δεξίωση προς τιμήν του Σεβασμιωτάτου Αρχ ιεπισκόπου Αμερικής κ. Δημητρίου.

Ιστορική απόφαση για νέα σύνθεση της Αγίας και Ιεράς Συνόδου ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥΠΟΛΗ – Ο Παναγιώτατος Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης κ. Βαρθολομαίος με επιστολή του προς τον Σεβασμιώτατο Αρχιεπίσκοπο Αμερικής κ. Δημήτριο με ημερομηνία 19 Φεβρουαρίου 2004 καθιστά γνωστή την ιστορική απόφαση διευρύνσεως και νέας συνθέσεως της Αγίας και Ιεράς Συνόδου του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου. Σύμφωνα με αυτή την απόφαση η Σύνοδος της Μεγά λης του Χριστού Εκκ λησίας θα συγκροτείται εφεξής κατά το ήμισυ από έξι Αρχιερείς του Πατριαρχείου που ενδημούν στην Κωνσταντινούπολη και κατά το άλλο ήμισυ από έξι Αρχιερείς οι οποίοι θα προσκαλούνται περιοδικά από επαρχίες του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου εκτός Τουρκίας και δεν έχουν υποχρεωτικά την Τουρκική υπηκοότητα. Διά του ιδίου Πατριαρχικού Γράμματος ο Παναγιώτατος καθιστά τον Αρχιεπίσκοπο Αμερικής κ. Δημήτριο μέλος της νέας αυτής Αγίας και Ιεράς Συνόδου του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου κατά την συνοδική περίοδο η οποία άρχισε την 1η Μαρτίου 2004. Οι υπόλοιποι ιεράρχες που απαρτίζουν την Αγία και Ιερά Σύνοδο υπό την προεδρεία του Παναγιωτάτου είναι: ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Κρήτης Τιμόθεος, ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Θυατείρων και Μεγάλης Βρετανίας Γρηγόριος, οι Μητροπολίτες Ρόδου Απόστολος, Νικαίας Ιωάννης και Προύσσης Διονύσιος και οι ενδημούντες στην Κωνσταντινούπολη Μητροπολίτες Δέρκων Κωνσταντίνος, Θεοδωρουπόλεως Γερμανός, Μετρών και Αθύρων

Θεόκλητος, Ίμβρου και Τενέδου Κύριλλος, Πριγκηποννήσων Ιάκωβος και Σεβαστείας Δημήτριος. Ο Σεβασμιώτατος Αρχιεπίσκοπος Αμερικής κ. Δημήτριος συμμετείχε στην πρώτη σύσκεψη της διευρυμένης Αγίας και Ιεράς Συνόδου η οποία συγκλήθηκε στο Φανάρι 9-11Μαρτίου 2004 και σε δηλώσεις του στο Αθηναϊκό Πρακτορείο Ειδήσεων σημείωσε: «Τα κυριαρχούντα αισθήματα είναι αισθήματα ευχαριστίας προς τον Θεόν και ευγνωμοσύνης προς το Πατριαρχείο γι’ αυτή την ευκαιρία, την όντως μοναδική, συμμετοχής στην πρώτη συνεδρία μιας όχι απλώς διηυρημένης αλλά μιας συνόδου, η οποία είναι με τελείως νέα σύνθεση και με τελείως νέα δομή. Πρόκειται για ένα τεράστιο βήμα το οποίο ήδη έχει χαιρετισθεί με πολλή ικανοποίηση, με ενθουσιασμό σε πολλά περιβάλλοντα, με ιδιαίτερη χαρά, διότι είναι ένα βήμα το οποίο δείχνει και πάλι πολύ έντονα τον χαρακτήρα του Οικουμενικού μας Πατριαρχείου ως όντως Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου, το οποίον αγκαλιάζει όλες τις επαρχίες του και θέλει εκπροσώπηση στην Ιερά Σύνοδο όλων των Ιεραρχών των επαρχιών του. Απ’ αυτή την άποψη αυτό το μεγάλο ιστορικό βήμα, το οποίο εγκαινιάζεται σήμερα στην πράξη. Το βήμα αυτό είναι μία εγγύηση ότι αυτό το Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο είναι μία ζωντανή Εκκλησία, η οποία έχει πάντοτε ανοιχτά και άγρυπνα τα μάτια της ψυχής της, βλέπει πάντοτε στο μέλλον, ενώ πατάει

u óåë. 20

ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ ΠΑΡΑΤΗΡΗΤΗΣ

15 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ – 15 ΑΠΡΙΛΙΟΥ 2004

ΑΡΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΙΚΗ ΕΓΚΥΚΛΙΟΣ ΕΠΙ ΤΩ ΑΓΙΩ ΠΑΣΧΑ ΠΑΤΡΙΑΡΧΙΚΗ ΑΠΟΔΕΙΞΙΣ ΕΠΙ ΤΩ ΑΓΙΩ ΠΑΣΧΑ

u óåë. 15

τῆς ἁµαρτίας καί τοῦ θανάτου. Τιµοῦµε τήν Ἑορτή τῶν Ἑορτῶν µέ ὅλη τή λαµπρότητα καί δόξα πού τῆς ἀξίζουν. Οἱ ἐκκλησίες µας εἶναι λουσµένες στό φῶς καί ὕµνοι ἄφατης χαρᾶς ἀναβλύζουν ἀπό τίς καρδιές καί τά χείλη µας. Στήν Πασχαλινή Λειτουργία προσευχόµεθα γεµᾶτοι µέ ἀναγεννηµένη πίστη καί ἐλπίδα. Δεχόµεθα τό Ζωοποιό Σῶµα καί Αἷµα τοῦ Χριστοῦ καί ἀνταλλάσσουµε χαρµόσυνους χαιρετισµούς γιά νά τιµήσουµε καί νά δοξάσουµε τόν Θεό γιά ὅλα ὅσα ἔχουν ἐπιτευχθεῖ µέ τήν παρουσία τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀνάµεσά µας. Μέσα στή χαρά µας, ὅµως, πρέπει νά ἀναγνωρίσουµε ὅτι τό ἑορταστικό ἦθος τῆς Ἑορτῆς τοῦ Πάσχα εὑρίσκεται σέ διαµετρική ἀντίθεση µέ τήν «κουλτούρα τῆς διασκεδάσεως», ἡ ὁποία συναντᾶται στόν σύγχρονο κόσµο. Ἐνῶ πανηγυρίζουµε γιά τήν ἀληθινή καί ἀπέραντη ζωή, ἡ ὁποία κατανικᾶ τήν ἁµαρτία καί τόν θάνατο, ζοῦµε σ’ ἕναν κόσµο πού συχνά καταφεύγει σέ «διασκεδάσεις» γιά ν’ ἀποφύγῃ τήν πραγµατικότητα καί τίς δυσκολίες τῆς ζωῆς. Αὐτές οἱ «διασκεδάσεις» προσφέρουν ἐπιφανειακή µόνο εὐχαρίστηση ἀντί χαρᾶς, καί µιά προσωρινή, ἄν ὄχι ἁµαρτωλή, διέγερση, ἀντί τῆς θεοφικοῦς πασχαλινῆς ἀγαλλιάσεως. Γι’ αὐτό τόν λόγο ὁ ἑορτασµός τῆς µεγίστης καί λαµπροτάτης Ἀναστάσεως τοῦ Κυρίου µας πρέπει ν’ ἀκτινοβολῇ τήν ἀλήθεια καί τή ζωή µέχρι τά πέρατα τῆς γῆς. Ὡς Ἐκκλησία, καλούµεθα νά λάµπουµε αὐτή τήν ἡµέρα, διότι ἡ δόξα τοῦ Κυρίου ἐφ‘ ἡµᾶς ἀνέτειλε (Ἠσαΐας 60:1). Ὁ ἑορτασµός τοῦ Πάσχα ἀποτελεῖ χαρµόσυνη ἀνάµνηση τοῦ θριάµβου τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ταυτόχρονα, ὅµως, ἀποτελεῖ καί τή µαρτυρία µας στόν κόσµο περί τῆς δυνάµεως τῆς Ἀναστάσεως, ἡ ὁποία µεταµορφώνει ζωές καί σώζει ψυχές. Πρέπει ν’ ἀντανακλοῦµε σ’ὁλόκληρο τόν κόσµο τήν αἰτία αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἑορτασµοῦ. Μέ τήν προσευχή καί τή λατρεία µας, οἱ λαοί ὅλου τοῦ κόσµου πρέπει νά µᾶς ἀκούσουν νά διακηρύσσουµε ὅτι ὁ Ἰησοῦς Χριστός εἶναι ὁ Βασιλέας καί Κύριος τῶν πάντων, ὁρατῶν καί ἀοράτων. Πρέπει ἡ χαρµόσυνη µαρτυρία µας ν’ ἀποτελῇ πρόσκληση σέ ὅλους νά συµµετάσχουν σέ νέα ζωή µ’ Ἐκεῖνον. Πρέπει πάντοτε νά διακονοῦµε ἀκτινοβολώντας χαρά, χαρά ἡ ὁποία δέν θά συντηρεῖται ἀπό τίς εὐχαριστήσεις καί ἀπολαύσεις αὐτοῦ τοῦ κόσµου ἀλλά µᾶλλον ἀπό τήν παρουσία τοῦ Ἀναστάντος Κυρίου. Ἀγαπητοί ἀδελφοί καί ἀδελφές ἐν Χριστῷ, Τήν ἡµέρα αὐτή τῆς Ἑορτῆς τοῦ Πάσχα, σᾶς προσκαλῶ νά ὑψώσετε τίς φωνές καί τίς λαµπάδες σας ἔτσι ὥστε ἡ δόξα τῆς Ἀναστάσεως ν’ ἀκτινοβολήσῃ ἀπό τήν Ἐκκλησία, ἀπό κάθε κοινότητά µας καί ἀπό τίς καρδιές µας. Εἴθε, µέσῳ τοῦ ἑορτασµοῦ τοῦ Πάσχα, νά προσφέρουµε στούς συνανθρώπους µας τήν ἀληθινή µαρτυρία τοῦ θριάµβου τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐπί τοῦ θανάτου, γιά νά τούς δώσουµε τή δυνατότητα νά συµµετάσχουν στή χαρά τῆς Ἀναστάσεως τοῦ Κυρίου µας καί νά ἀνακράξουν µέ πίστη, «Χριστός Ἀνέστη, Ἀληθῶς Ἀνέστη!». Μέ τίς θερµότερες Πασχαλινές εὐχές µου καί Ἀγάπη ἐν τῷ Ἀναστάντι Χριστῷ

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ÊÁÔ’ ÅÕÈÅÉÁÍ ÐÔÇÓÅÉÓ ×ÙÑÉÓ ÓÔÁÈÌÏ ÌÅ ÊÁÍÏÍÉÊÁ ÄÑÏÌÏËÏÃÉÁ ÌÅ ÅÐÉÓÔÑÏÖÇ ÁÍÏÉÎÇ

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u óåë. 15

τητα τῆς ζωῆς ἐν χαρᾷ. Διότι ὁ Θεός ἐδηµιούργησε τόν ἄνθρωπον καί πάντα τά λοιπά πνευµατικά καί λογικά ὄντα διά νά ζοῦν ἐν χαρᾷ καί νά ἀποτελοῦν κόσµηµα τοῦ ὑλικοῦ καί πνευµατικοῦ σύµπαντος. Ἔδωσε εἰς κάθε ἄνθρωπον τήν δυνατότητα νά ἀπολαµβάνῃ τήν ὅλην δηµιουργίαν ἐν χαρᾷ, ἐντός τῶν ὁρίων, βεβαίως, τοῦ ἀλληλοσεβασµοῦ τῶν ὄντων καί ἀκόµη περισσότερον τῆς πρός Αὐτόν καί πρός τά ἄλλα ὄντα ἀγάπης. Ἡ τήρησις αὐτῆς τῆς ἐντολῆς ὁδηγεῖ εἰς µίαν ἁρµονικήν κοινωνίαν προσώπων, πλαισιουµένην ἀπό τήν ὑπηρετοῦσαν τόν ἄνθρωπον λοιπήν ἄψυχον κτίσιν καί στηριζοµένην ἐπί τῆς ἐλευθερίας, ἡ ὁποία εἶναι τό βάθρον τῆς ἀγάπης. Ἡ ἐν ἐλευθερίᾳ αἴσθησις τῆς ἀγάπης ἀποκαλύπτει καί τό ἄρρητον κάλλος τοῦ προσώπου τοῦ Κυρίου, τοῦ ἄκρου τῶν ἐπιθυµητῶν κατά τούς ἁγίους Πατέρας, καί τοῦ ἀγαπωµένου ἀνθρωπίνου προσώπου. Τό ἀνθρώπινον πρόσωπον ἀνακλᾷ καί εἰκονίζει τό θεῖον καί ὑπέρτατον κάλλος τοῦ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ, διότι ἐκτίσθη κατ’ εἰκόνα καί ὁµοίωσιν Αὐτοῦ. Ὁ πιστός χριστιανός, ἀλλά καί κάθε ἄνθρωπος, πρέπει νά αἰσθάνεται ὁ ἴδιος καί νά ἀναγνωρίζῃ εἰς ὅλους τούς ἄλλους τήν δυνατότητα νά ἀπολαµβάνουν τήν ζωήν καί τήν χαράν τῆς ζωῆς. Ἀτυχῶς ὅµως, κατά πρῶτον ὁ διάβολος ἐµίσησε τήν ζωήν τῶν ἀνθρώπων καί ἔγινεν ἀνθρωποκτόνος καί κατά δεύτερον ἐνέβαλεν εἰς τό ἀνθρώπινον γένος τήν ἰδέαν τῆς ἀνθρωποκτονίας. Ἔπεισε τόν Κάϊν νά γίνῃ ὁ πρῶτος ἀδελφοκτόνος. Ἔκτοτε πολλοί συνάνθρωποί µας µισοῦν κατά µίµησιν ἐκείνου τήν ζωήν τῶν ἄλλων συνανθρώπων αὐτῶν. Τό ἀποτέλεσµα εἶναι ὅτι, ἔκτοτε καί καθ’ὅλην τήν διάρκειαν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἱστορίας, µυριάδες ἀναρίθµητοι συνανθρώπων µας ἐστερήθησαν τῶν ἀγαθῶν τῆς ζωῆς καί τῆς χαρᾶς τῆς ζωῆς, συνεπείᾳ φονικῶν καί φθονερῶν πράξεων ἄλλων συνανθρώπων αὐτῶν. Τοῦτο δυστυχῶς συνεχίζεται ἀκόµη καί σήµερον. Καί ὅµως ὁ Χριστός ἀνέστη ἵνα ζωήν ἔχωµεν καί περίσσειαν ζωῆς. Καί δέν εἶναι νοητόν οὔτε εἰς χριστιανόν οὔτε εἰς ἄλλον ἄνθρωπον ἀγαπῶντα τήν ἑαυτοῦ ζωήν καί σεβόµενον τόν Θεόν νά θέλῃ ἤ νά ἐνεργῇ τόν φόνον ἤ τόν πόνον τῶν συνανθρώπων αὐτοῦ. Ὁ φόνος τῶν συνανθρώπων, καί µάλιστα ἀδιακρίτως τῶν ἀθώων καί µή συµµετεχόντων εἰς πολεµικάς ἀντιπαραθέσεις, εἶναι πρᾶξις ἀπάνθρωπος, καταδικαστέα καί µή ἡρωϊκή. Ὡσαύτως καταδικαστέα εἶναι καί πᾶσα ἐγωϊστική πρᾶξις προκαλοῦσα πόνον εἰς τούς άλλους καί ἀποβλέπουσα εἰς τήν ἱκανοποίησιν µερικῶν. Ὅπως ἀνέκαθεν οὕτω καί τόν ἐφετεινόν ἑορτασµόν τῆς Ἀναστάσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ σκιάζουν πολλαί καί σοβαραί εἰδήσεις περί πολλαπλῶν ὁµαδικῶν ἀνθρωποκτονιῶν καί ἀλλων ὀδυνηρῶν πράξεων εἰς βάρος τῶν ἀνθρώπων πραττοµένων ὑπό ἀνθρώπων. Ὁ Χριστός, ὁ Ὁποῖος εἶναι ἡ Ὁδός καί ἡ Ἀνάστασις καί ἡ Ζωή καί ὁ Ὁποῖος διῆλθε τήν ἐπί γῆς ζωήν Αὐτοῦ εὐεργετῶν καί ἰώµενος, δεικνύει εἰς ὅλους τούς ἀνθρώπους τόν δρόµον τῆς ἀγάπης καί τῆς προσφορᾶς, τῆς δικαιοσύνης καί τοῦ σεβασµοῦ τῆς ζωῆς καί τῆς χαρᾶς τοῦ ἄλλου, ὡς τόν µόνον δρόµον ὁ ὁποῖος ὁδηγεῖ τήν ἀνθρωπότητα εἰς τήν ἀληθῆ χαράν καί τήν πληρότητα τῆς ζωῆς. Ὁ Χριστός ἀντέστη εἰς τόν κατ’Αὐτοῦ διωγµόν καί θάνατον διά τῆς συγχωρήσεως, τῆς ἀγάπης, τῆς εὐεργεσίας, τῆς θυσίας καί τῆς ἀναστάσεως. Ἀπέδειξεν ὅτι ἡ δύναµις τοῦ κακοῦ, παρά τήν λυσσώδη ἐπιδίωξίν του νά θανατώσῃ τόν ἀρχηγόν τῆς ζωῆς, οὐδέν ἐπέτυχε. Καί πείθει ἡµᾶς ὅτι καί σήµερον αἱ δυνάµεις τοῦ κακοῦ θα ἡττηθοῦν ἀπό τήν ἰσχυροτέραν δύναµιν τῆς ἀγάπης, ἡ ὁποία εἶναι ἡ µόνη ἡ ὁποία ὁδηγεῖ εἰς τήν ἀνάστασιν. Ὅθεν, ἀδελφοί καί τέκνα ἐν Κυρίῳ, δέν πρέπει νά δειλιῶµεν βλέποντες τό κακόν νά φαίνεται ὅτι ἐπικρατεῖ. Έν τέλει νικητής θά εἶναι ὁ Ἀναστάς Κύριος ἡµῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός καί οἱ πιστεύοντες εἰς τήν ἀνάστασιν Αὐτοῦ. Ἀλλά ἡ νίκη µας δέν θά εἶναι νίκη κατά τῶν συνανθρώπων µας, ἀλλά νίκη κατά τοῦ κακοῦ, διότι οἱ χριστιανοί θέλοµεν ὅλοι οἱ ἄνθρωποι νά συµµετάσχουν εἰς αὐτήν τήν νίκην καί οὐδείς συνάνθρωπός µας νά νικηθῇ ὑπό τοῦ κακοῦ καί νά ἀπολέσῃ τήν ἐπίγειον καί πολύ περισσότερον τήν αἰωνίαν ζωήν αὐτοῦ. Ὅθεν, χαιρετίζοντες ὑµᾶς πάντας, ἀγαπητοί, διά τοῦ ἀναστασίµου χαιρετισµοῦ “Χριστός Ἀνέστη”, σᾶς εὐχόµεθα νά διέλθητε τήν περίοδον τοῦ Ἁγίου Πάσχα ἐν ἀναστασίµῳ χαρᾷ καί διά τῆς ἁγίας ζωῆς σας νά συµβάλλετε εἰς τήν διάδοσιν τοῦ πνεύµατος τῆς φιλαλληλίας καί τοῦ σεβασµοῦ τῆς ζωῆς καί τῆς χαρᾶς τῶν συνανθρώπων µας, διά νά νικᾶται τό κακόν ὑπό τοῦ καλοῦ καί νά βασιλεύῃ εἰς τάς καρδίας ὅλων ὁ νικητής τοῦ θανάτου, ὁ ἀρχηγός τῆς ζωῆς, ὁ Ἀναστάς Κύριος ἡµῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός. Γένοιτο.

Ἅγιον Πάσχα 2004

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διάπυρος πρός Χριστόν Ἀναστάντα εὐχέτης πάντων ὑµῶν

Ο ΑΡΧ. ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΣ ΜΕΛΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΝΕΑΣ ΣΥΝΟΔΟΥ u óåë. 19 πάρα πολύ σταθερά στο παρόν και προσφέρει στον κόσμο αυτή την προσωπική της προσφοράς του ευαγγελικού μηνύματος με τρόπο αληθινά ανθρώπινο με τρόπο Συνοδικό, που σημαίνει με συμμετοχή όλων, και με τρόπο ο οποίος τελικά αποβαίνει στην ουσία του έκφραση της οικουμενικότητας, της συναισθήσεως ότι ανήκουμε σε μία ενιαία Εκκλησία που αγκαλιάζει όλο τον κόσμο. Θεωρώ τον εαυτόν μου όντως

ιδιαίτερα ευνοημένο από τον Θεό, διότι εν τω απείρω ελέει του με συμπεριέλαβε και εμένα σ’ αυτό το πολύ μεγάλο και ιστορικό βήμα και εκφράζω για μια ακόμη φορά τις ευχαριστίες μου και προσωπικά στον Παναγιώτατο Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη, για την όντως μοναδική αυτή πρωτοβουλία, αλλά και στην Αγία και Ιερά Σύνοδο η οποία αποφάσ ισε τ ην διεύρυνση και αναδόμησή της». Η νέα Σύνοδος έχει προγραμματιστεί να συνέλθει στις 18-20 Απριλίου.

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

Ionian Village Summer Camp 2004

Travel Dates Announced GARRISON, N.Y. – Ionian Village registration for Summer 2004 is now open. For over 30 years, the summer travel abroad camp program of the Archdiocese has offered teenagers and young adult participants an opportunity to gain a broader experience of their Orthodox faith and Hellenic culture. During the 16-day session, participants reside at the Ionian Village campsite on the coast of the Ionian Sea. They are immersed in their Orthodox faith and Greek culture while meeting new friends from across the United States. In addition to its great spiritual and cultural value, Ionian Village is a fun and social environment in which youth participate in athletic events, Greek dance, craft projects, and have opportunities to relax on the beach, shop, and swim in the Ionian Sea. All excursions are chaperoned by trained staff members, and all swimming is supervised by certified lifeguards. Ionian Village is offering the following programs for the summer of 2004: SUMMER TRAVEL CAMP: July 1 – July 16 – (7th -9th grade) BYZANTINE VENTURE: July 24—August 8 - (10th-12th grade) For more information or to request a registration/application packet, please visit the Ionian Village website at www.ionianvillage.org, or contact the Office of Ionian Village at 646.519.6190 or via email at ionianvillage@goarch.org.

A Camper’s Reflection

ulling up to the airport, I began to feel a little nervous, not knowing what was to come. But as soon as I walked into the airport, I saw priests and counselors holding blue Ionian Village signs, ready to greet everyone with open arms. by Christina Gregoriades

That helped me (and my parents) calm down a little and feel comfortable. I introduced myself to them and then went to go check in my luggage. After I was all checked in, I went to go sit down with the kids who had arrived before me. We started talking and before the trip even began I had made friends and began to feel a lot less nervous.

A Return to My Youth From the day I left twenty years ago, I have dreamed of returning to the Ionian Village. Now as a priest, my dream was becoming reality. I stood in Kennedy Airport and looked at the faces of the Byzantine Venture participants who had gathered from across the country this past summer. by Fr. Tom Chininis

These young people, who were for the most part strangers, were experiencing the same emotions I had years MEMORIES and friendships at the Acropolis. earlier. I saw in their eyes excitement and apprehension, joy and true light, Jesus Christ. fear. Some were shy and quiet; others Through our activities excursions, concealed their nervousness with endless and an infinite number of opportunities chatter. Some had friends traveling with our lives had grown together. For some, them. Others were by themselves. They these travels and activities were life-changdidn’t know it, but a seed had already been ing opportunities, but all had learned planted in their lives. more about each other, and ourselves. This seed would be nourished by No matter how far we are from the their blossoming friendships, the love Ionian Village we will have this time and of the hardworking, dedicated staff, the the people, the IV staff, counselors, and time they would spend learning, discuss- participants, to thank. ing, sharing, and expressing their faith, Although we would soon be hunand experiencing the culture and beauty dreds of miles apart, there could be no of Greece. mistaking it, we had grown and blossomed For the first twelve hours I found it into a family. hard to believe all that was happening Today, as I sit in my own home and around me, but I knew we had arrived share time with my family, I think back and all was real, when I first saw the bril- on the summer and think of my IV famliant Mediterranean sun bouncing off the ily. I see the faces of the participants and white washed walls of the chapel. I knew staff and the beauty of Greece. A quiet joy I was home. envelopes me bringing a smile to my face. This beautiful chapel, at the center of I find myself dreaming, like so many oththe complex that has served as the touch- ers, of my return to the Ionian Village... stone for thousands of others would as- maybe one day. sume the same role for us. Each time we gathered; each time we Fr. Tom served as a camp priest at Iowalked to our cabins, the beach, or basket- nian Village in the summer of 2003. He is the ball courts; or returned from a tour, the pastor at St. Philip Greek Orthodox Church chapel would draw our attention to the in Nashua, New Hampshire.

The chapel of St. Iakovos at the center of Ionian Village

When it was time to board the plane, I said good-bye to my parents and told them I’d write and call. The plane ride was really long, but I had fun! I talked to everyone I had met earlier at the airport, and already I felt like I knew these people my entire life. When we arrived in Athens, we got off the plane, got our luggage, and went to go meet the other priests, counselors, and campers that had already been in Greece. Then we were put on buses according to the first letter of our last name to take us to the camp. When we arrived at Ionian Village there were more counselors and priests there to meet us. We got off the buses to them singing a song to welcome

us. That might sound corny, however it made me realize how much fun I was going to have there. The days were packed with activities. We went on a lot of trips, but I’d have to say out of all of them, my favorite was going to Zakinthos and seeing the relics of St. Dionysios. We went to many other monasteries and churches, and learned so much about our religion and culture. We also went to beaches, on a cruise ship, to Olympia, to Sounion to watch the most beautiful sun set and to so many more awesome places. On days when we stayed at camp, we would, go to chapel, swim in the pool or at the beach, have dance class, Orthodox Life sessions, play sports, do art projects, have siesta, and best of all EAT!!! The food at Ionian Village is amazing. We did so much and always had a great time. I am so glad I had the Ionian Village experience, and the friends I made there will truly last a lifetime! Ionian Village has had a huge impact on my life spiritually, mentally and physically. It has made me learn so much about being a Greek Orthodox and has let me experience so much. I had such a great time at I.V. and I can’t wait to go back this summer! Christina is 17 years old and from New York. She participated in the 2003, Byzantine Venture Ionian Village Session.

Niarchos Foundation Funds Renovations In 2002 The Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation awarded $140,000 for Capital Improvements to Ionian Village. This grant, on the heels of a $200,000 grant awarded in 2001 by the foundation, has made great strides toward the modernization of the site. The Rev. Deacon Constantine Lazarakis, Ionian Village director, said, “Ionian Village is a vital ministry to the youth of the Archdiocese, connecting them to Hellenism and instructing them in faith,” He went on to say, “the Niarchos Foundation is making that type of ministry a reality!” The first grant enabled the Archdiocese to begin modernization. Air conditioning units were installed in each cabin, bungalow and in the office. New tiles, doors and windows were also installed in several of the buildings. The infirmary was furnished with state of the art equipment to improve the safety of the camp program. Over the past seven months new

improvements have been made as well! The roof over the open-air dining area has been replaced. A new water drainage system has been installed. The roofs of several buildings have been properly sealed. Additional improvements include an upgrade of the electrical system, replacement of the gas lines and tanks for the kitchen, and a new fence to mark the perimeter of the property. While several projects have been completed, the Archdiocese has embarked upon a sustained capital improvement campaign working toward the complete renovation of the facility. This new push toward capital improvement has beautified the site, and will allow the camp to function more comfortably, more efficiently, more cost effectively, and will also allow the camp to maintain a level of safety and structural integrity that our youth deserve. With the generous support of the Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation, the Archdiocese has been able to begin the capital improvement effort, making the most urgent upgrades to the facility.

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

Patriarch of Jerusalem honors Andrew Athens

viewpoint

Mel Gibson’s Lethal ‘Passion’ Perhaps the first point to make about Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ (Rated R for extreme violence, 2 hours 7 minutes, English subtitles) is that it is not for children. Yet neither was footage from 9-11, but parents and teachers watched with kids, comforted them, consoled them, and even taught them about good and evil. The decision to allow children under 12 to see this movie must be made after viewing it first, and after considering one’s ability to teach, comfort and edify children in light of the film. by Fr. Angelo Artemas

PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM and All of Palestine Ireneos honors World SAE President Andrew A. Athens with the Grand Cross at the Holy Sepulcher following Mr. Athens’ international campaign to help achieve official recognition of the Patriarch by the Israeli government. Mr. Athens was named Grand Crusader of the Holy Sepulcher for gaining support from Jewish organizations in Greece and the U.S., enlisting the help of the U.S. government and initiating meetings with Israeli officials. A meeting has been scheduled in Jerusalem in late March to review the possibility of establishing a medical center in the Patriarchate for Hellenes and Orthodox Palestinians as part of SAE’s medical assistance program to destitute Hellenic communities.

Panchiaki ‘Korais’ Celebrates Olympic Spirit NEW YORK.– The world community is preparing for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. International communities are celebrating the Olympic Spirit in writing contests, song and dance. A magnificent program entitle “A Celebration of Olympic Spirit, Beauty and Knowledge” was performed by the youth of the Panchiaki: Korais” Society Inc. on Feb. 7 at the Sand Castle in Franklin Square, N.Y. Children of all ages dressed in white ancient Greek dress perform their interpretation of the Olympic Torch Ceremony

that will be staged in Athens. More than 60 children were involved in the ceremony and dances. Dance group instructors were Evangelia Klidas, Kathy Markidis and choreographer Katina Nitis. Nikki Gonias, a St. John’s University student and a member of the Modern Greek Language and Literature Program, was selected as Miss Chios 2004. A donation of $3,000 was presented by Kalliopi Sitaras, Miss Chios 2003 to representatives of Holy Cross School in Brooklyn. Hellenic melodies were played by the Athenians Orchestra.

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Secondly, the criticism that the movie is one-sided (focuses mainly on the beating and crucifixion) is true, yet hundreds of movies that have mocked and blasphemed Jesus Christ and Christianity in a one-sided fashion have not received nearly as much criticism as this one movie. This movie does not pretend to present Jesus Christ the teacher, miracle worker, preacher, healer or friend, and does not present a sanitized version of Jesus as have so many other movies and plays. This movie presents Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, sacrificed for the remission of our sins and for the life of the world. Jesus Christ’s sacrifice is the most important element of His life on earth. Protestant worship services primarily center on the teachings of Jesus Christ, and perhaps that is why so many find the crucifixion scene excessively violent and shocking. But Orthodox liturgy is centered on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the altar table is specifically for His body and blood. For those who regularly attend the Divine Liturgy and receive Holy Communion, this movie will not be as shocking. For Orthodox Christians who have consistently attended Holy Week services,

especially the Holy Thursday evening service referred to as The Passion and the 12 Gospels, subtitles are not even necessary. This movie focuses like a laser beam on Christianity’s central message that Jesus the Christ died voluntarily for all human beings in order to free us from Hell and to restore us to paradise. No one is responsible for His death while everyone is responsible for His death. The first definition for lethal in Webster’s New International Dictionary is archaic for spiritual death. Perhaps the most compelling thing about this movie is that the viewer profoundly experiences the death of the Son of God. No other movie has come close to capturing the impact of this death. The sincere viewers spirit will be crushed by this film, as it should be. In Orthodox Christianity we are baptized into Christ’s death, so that we may live in Him. One cannot fully comprehend living a new life in Christ without understanding His death. This movie goes further than any other work of art in allowing viewers to experience His death. Teaching people how to live a new life in Christ is not the movie’s job, it is the viewer’s responsibility; perhaps newly motivated by the powerful experience of the movie. One cannot leave the film without thinking that Jesus Christ died for anyone who is weak, sinful, broken, hurt, fallen or flawed. Christ died voluntarily for all. If there is going to be a “blame game” it starts with one’s self. Human beings can continue to kill Jesus Christ by hurting themselves and others, or they can embrace Jesus Christ and reach out to others. The violence in the movie does not compare to the violence in the world. Jesus Christ died 1975 years ago. What has humanity and Christianity done since then? Fr. Artemas is pastor of Sts Peter and Paul Church, Glenview, Ill.

HC/HC REPORT Program for High School Juniors Launched BROOKLINE, Mass. – Before you decide what to do with the rest of your life, decide what to do with your summer. You are invited to join other Orthodox teens who are taking the challenge this summer 2004. Are you currently a junior in high school? Are you making decisions about college and occupation? Are you unsure about what your future holds? Maybe you have your future carefully mapped out but are still concerned with how faith relates to life? Do you want to strengthen and further understand your commitment to Christ and His path? The way of Christ is the way of the Cross, and that’s why CrossRoad is here. The Office of Vocation and Ministry at Hellenic College/Holy Cross has launched “CrossRoad,” an engaging and exciting summer vocational exploration program for students between their junior and senior year from all Orthodox Christian jurisdictions. The program will take place June 27 to July 7 on the Hellenic College/ Holy Cross campus. This specially-tailored program has been funded through a grant from the Lilly Foundation, and because of this it is free of charge for you all you have to do is get yourself to Boston this summer.

The goal of the CrossRoad team is to help you, as high school juniors, discern your life callings, matching your personal gifts with the needs of the world. The team consists of both current students and recent graduates who know the pressures and confusions of being a young person trying to understand his or her calling in today’s society. However, the core belief of CrossRoad is that in just about any direction you choose for your life, it can be of service of God and of neighbor, which is Christ’s call to us all. Once you take the challenge and come to CrossRoad this summer, you will be staying with a group of your peers in the dormitory of the school. You will be able to experience the fullness of liturgical life by participating in services every day. You will have the opportunity to attend mini-classes taught by professors at HC/HC, and then participate in smallgroup discussions. As a group of Orthodox teens, participants will work in service projects in the Boston area. Besides all this, of course, you will be taken out into the city of Boston to have fun with your new friends. For more information on this unique program, visit http://crossroad.hchc.edu.

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

PEOPLE From Humble Beginnings, a Thriving Community

uPriest honored

Rev. Anastasios Diakovasilis, retired assistant pastor of St. Nicholas Church in Flushing, N.Y., recently was honored by the Greek Afternoon School for his years of service to the community and the school. More than 300 persons attended a lavish dinner at Terrace on the Park, a popular banquet facility in Forest Hills, Queens, N.Y.

uOlympic hopeful John Hodges, a Greek American born in Athens, Greece, in 1977 who arrived in the United States in 1986, is training intensely in hopes of qualifying for Greece’s Olympic archery team. When he’s not firing arrows at a target, Mr. Hodges works as a research epidemiologist at Yale University School of Public Health, where he earned a master’s in public health. He even has his own website http://www.my bigfatgreekdream.com. He will relocate to Thessaloniki in April where he will train at the University of Thessaloniki.

uEagle Scout Michael Fonti, 17, of Redwood City, Calif., a member of Boy Scout Troop 149, attained the rank of Eagle Scout on Jan. 31. He earned 21 merit badges to achieve Scouting’s highest honor. Fr. Anthony Kosturos, pastor of Holy Trinity Church in San Francisco, was one of the presenters at the ceremony where he read congratulatory letters from Archbishop Demetrios and Metropolitan Anthony of San Francisco.

uAMA Award Despina Siolas of Bayside and Mattituck, L.I., has been selected to receive the 2004 AMA Foundation Leadership Award presented in association with the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative. Ms. Siolas is a third year medical student in the MD/ PhD. Program of SUNY Stony Brook Medical School in Stony Brook, N.Y. Ms. Siolas is conducting research for her Ph.D. at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and is a graduate of St. John’s University in New York.

uCollege lecture Several community leaders presented a lecture to a standing room audience of students at St. John’s University in Jamaica, N.Y., Feb. 26, on topics ranging from the Patriarch’s visit to Cuba to physical therapy opportunities. Students of all backgrounds heard presentations on: “Opportunities in Physical Therapy,” from Kostas Koutsoubis; “My experiences at the Jan. 21 Patriarchal Visit to Cuba,” by Achilles Archie Mavromatis; “The launching of HYPE,” by Lena Varis; “Community Service in International Health Care,” by state Assemblyman Mathew Mirones of Staten Island and Karen Kalkanis. The event was organized by the Greek Club and Modern Greek Language and Literature Program. Student organizers were Vicky Konidas, vice president of the Greek Club; Mary Golding, Nikki Gonias (Miss Chios 2004); Anna Giannikouris, Erlinda Matias; Elizabeth Koliopoulos, Stella Nicoloudakis, president; and Tom Moore public relations chairman of the Greek Club, Spyridon Mouzakitis, William Ciobanu, Alexander Arsenis, Kalergys Dellaportas, Nick Kiriakakis, Chris Paravolis and Sigma Chi Beta fraternity; Melina Tomeo and Gamma Phi Beta Sorority.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Fr. John Paul, the longest-serving priest of St. Nicholas Church and also one of the longest serving priests of any church of the Archdiocese, describes his community as a “good old Orthodox Christian parish.” The parish has many programs for its faithful and has expanded in recent years to a new facility. St. Nicholas also has an outreach to groups outside of the parish. One such ministry is a community care program that involves Philoptochos members and other parishioners supporting projects that help different non-orthodox philanthropic organizations in Ann Arbor, including various local charities, a hospice, cardiac funds and the Salvation Army.

P A R I S H

from Detroit, about 35 miles to the east, would come to Ann Arbor and hold services in private homes or in rented halls. Around 1927, one of the families in the community, the Pappases brought their father, a priest, from Asia Minor to Ann Arbor. Fr. Nicholas Agathangelos only spoke Turkish, but could read Greek well enough to celebrate the liturgy and do other religious services, the parish history noted. He became the first permanent priest in the community, though it had not yet been formally organized One of his sons owned a garage in the downtown area and it was converted into a church. During the 1920s, the political situation in Greece between the royalists and

as a hall and offices were also added on the property. In 1970, Fr. Athenagoras Aneste (now Metropolitan Athenagoras of Panama) was assigned to St. Nicholas. The following year the parish launched the Ann Arbor Ya’ssoo Greek Festival, which became a major annual cultural attraction until 1984. Currently, there is no Greek festival, though Fr. Paul said one might be held in the near future.

Switch to stewardship

Fr. Paul arrived in the community in September 1973. The following year, the parish abandoned the dues system and instituted the fair share stewardship program. It is the parishes main income source, supplemented by other donations.

p ro f i l e

Name: St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Location: Ann Arbor, Mich. Metropolis: Detroit Size: about 550 members Founded: 1931 Clergy: Rev. John H. Paul (Holy Cross ’56) Web site: www.stnickaa.org e-mail: frjohn@stnickaa.org Noteworthy: One of the first parishes to adopt the stewardship program International Orthodox Christian Charities and St. Basil Academy are also among the top recipients of St. Nicholas’ outreach efforts. Another program receiving strong parish support is the Orthodox Campus Fellowship. The University of Michigan, located in the heart of Ann Arbor, has many Orthodox students and Fr. Paul frequently ministers to them. As part of this outreach, the community sponsors twice-a-year dinners – in fall and spring – for these students. Within the church, youth programs are a strong point, with Sunday school having more than 150 students enrolled, and Greek school, from grades one to seven, with an enrollment of 60. There also is a program of visiting speakers offering lectures on biblical or other religious topics.

Demographics and early arrivals The community consists mostly of second and third generation Greek Americans plus many converts who came to the faith through marriage. Many work in business or the professions, including higher education as several are on the U. of M. faculty. Ann Arbor (pop. about 110,000) also is home to Concordia College and several high tech manufacturing firms. What first attracted Greeks to migrate to the Ann Arbor area were jobs with the railroads and factories, according to a parish history. They began arriving in large numbers in the 1890s, but most were bachelors wanting to earn money to send home to their families and eventually return to Greece. After World War I, many Greek families, mainly from the Arcadia region of the Peloponnesus, settled here permanently. In the early years visiting priests

ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH the Venizelists also caused a split among the families in the community. Two organizations, the AHEPA and GAPA (Greek American Progressive Association), expressed that division. Members of the two groups did not interact. It took a visit by Archbishop Athenagoras on Dec. 6, 1930 to get the two factions talking to each other. The opposing groups came together in 1931 through the efforts of three local leaders, Chris Bilakos, Charles Preketes and Angelo Poulos. The community incorporated in late August 1931. Archbishop Athenagoras visited the community again in November 1933 and a parish council was appointed. Fund-raising efforts to establish a church began immeANN ARBOR diately. A lot was purchased near downtown and groundbreaking for a Greek Orthodox church building began in spring 1935. The new building, built at a cost of nearly $18,000, was completed by Dec. 15 of that year. The first Divine Liturgy took place with the Very Rev. Michael Konteleon officiating. Fr. Konteleon was the first officially assigned priest of the community. Archbishop Athenagoras again visited the parish in October 1939 to consecrate the new church. After World War II, many physical improvements to the church were made and its property was expanded. By the 1960s, the community began to look at future expansion. Under Fr. John Kamelakis in 1963, a parish-owned house next to the church was remodeled into an education building. Other neighboring houses were purchased to make room for more parking. New facilities such

By 1976, the community again looked to expand, this time purchasing land for future development, but which was later sold. In May of that year, Archbishop Iakovos visited the parish in connection with the Bicentennial Celebration, with a special observance at the statue of Demetrios Ypsilanti, leader of an uprising that led to the start of the Greek revolution. Membership continued to grow in the 1980s and early ‘90s and the need for a larger facility became apparent. In early 1995, another family in the community, the Lagos family, donated a large parcel of land in the southwest side of the city and planning for a new church got under way. Construction of the existing $5.6 million facility began in early September 2001. The church hall and classroom building were the first to be completed. The old downtown church building was sold in late 2002 and, for a few months, services took place at a local “Little Theater.” The fellowship hall was completed by late February 2003 and the first Divine Liturgy took place there on March 2. The church building was completed later in the year and Metropolitan Nicholas held the Thyranoixia service on Feb. 22 of this year. The new Byzantine-style building features a 65-foothigh dome and seating for about 400 people. There also is a balcony for the choir and additional seating. Fr. Paul, a native of Binghamton, N.Y., has entered the 31st year of his ministry, which he humbly describes as “just trying to serve the people as a parish priest and to meet their needs, and to extend the faith, of course. They’re really good people.” – Compiled by Jim Golding

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

OUTREACH & EVANGELISM Renewing Our Faith and Our Parish: Making It Real

In the period from the Resurrection to Pentecost, the Sunday Epistle readings tell us of a community of believers who were so totally devoted to God that their life together was charged by the power of the Holy Spirit. by Fr. James Kordaris

They prayed and served together in true Christian fellowship, loving each

Daily Readings Listserver NEW YORK — The Archdiocese has launched a new email service called DailyReadings, which will automatically disseminate the prescribed daily Bible readings and lives of the saints commemorated each day. The DailyReadings listserver is a new feature of the Archdiocesan web site’s Online Chapel. Online Chapel provides resources for personal prayer and reflection. Updated every three hours, Online Chapel displays the daily scripture readings, a searchable database of saints and feasts, a weekly audio meditation, live and pre-recorded liturgical services, and a searchable ecclesiastical calendar. Users may subscribe to the DailyReadings email listserver by visiting the Online Chapel at: http://www.onl inechapel.goarch.org

other and sharing their lives with one another. Those with more shared with those who had less, and people related in ways that blurred the lines of gender, race and culture. Unbelievers coming into contact with this community of believers saw a vision of life that was so dynamic that they couldn’t resist it. We read in Acts 2:47 that “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” This is the Church that we as Orthodox claim to be. In his recent book, Archbishop Anastasios of Albania writes of a sermon delivered by Gregory the Theologian on the Sunday of Thomas in the year 383 in which the call for a “radical renewal” of all things through the Resurrection of Christ is linked to the obligation of every Christian to strive for personal renewal. As Orthodox Christians we are called to creative renewal and continued spiritual growth. St. Paul writes to the Ephesians, “...be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Through the Orthodox practice of infant baptism, three sacraments are administered - Baptism, Chrismation and Communion - and the child becomes a full member of the Church. But people often ask why we baptize babies before they could possibly know what is happening. Our answer is that we don’t baptize babies because they believe. We baptize babies so that they will believe. God takes the first step as a sign of His love. But there is nothing automatic about being a Christian. There is nothing magic in

the sacraments. Salvation is a lifelong journey that begins at our baptism. It is not just belonging to the Orthodox Church that saves us; it is our personal acceptance of the Spirit of Christ. We have to make the decision for ourselves to place Christ at the center of our lives. In the Book of Revelation, Chapter 3, Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me.” God is all-powerful, and yet He places a limit on that power in that He will not enter our lives unless we let him. He will wait outside the door and knock until the day we die. An Orthodox priest making his weekly visit to the local hospital was visiting all those patients who had identified themselves as Orthodox Christians. The priest quietly entered a hospital room with his prayer book and hospital kit in hand and found the patient in his bed surrounded by family members. One young family member looked up, and seeing the priest he said, “Oh Father, we don’t need you yet.” How many of us say to God, “Oh Father, we don’t need you yet.” C.S. Lewis wrote that people think of God the way an airman thinks of his parachute - he knows it’s there, but he hopes he’ll never need to use it. Yet think of the power we need to face the problems and temptations of modern life. Think of the inner strength we need to cope with the pressures of everyday living. When we don’t have sufficient power, we blow fuses -- and we break down. But we do have an unlimited source of power;

it was given to us in the sacrament of Chrismation. Just as the Holy Spirit descended on the Disciples at Pentecost, so did the Holy Spirit descend on each of us at our Chrismation -- our own personal Pentecost. The power of the Holy Spirit dwells within us, but we have to connect ourselves to that power. This year the Archdiocesan Department of Outreach & Evangelism has introduced a new monthly program in every parish throughout the Archdiocese with the objective of revitalizing the faith of active Orthodox and offering ideas and methods for developing and maintaining a spiritually vibrant local parish. Each month a packet of ministry tools arrives in the parishes, relating the feasts and fasts of our calendar to the theme for 2004 of Renewing our Faith and our Parish: Making it Real. In April, the month of our Lord’s Resurrection, the focus will be All Things New in the Resurrection. As Orthodox Christians we were not created to stay as we are. We were created to become. Our challenge as Orthodox faithful is to hear the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ anew, allowing Him to transform our lives -- to be renewed in His Resurrection. As St. John Chrysostom exhorts us in his Paschal homily, “Let all partake of the feast of faith. Let all receive the riches of goodness.” Fr. James W. Kordaris is director of the Department of Outreach & Evangelism. For more information visit the Outreach & Evangelism website at www.Outreach.goarch.org.

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Building Communities of Faith and Love: Orthodox Parishes in Worship and Ministry Dear Faithful, As we begin another year of service to God and to His Church, we look forward to the 37th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which will be held this July in New York City. This Congress will not only be a special time of worship, fellowship, decision, and planning, but it will also be focused on the needs and ministries of the parishes of the Archdiocese. The theme for the Congress, Building Communities of Faith and Love: Orthodox Parishes in Worship and Ministry, will guide our preparations and direct our work as an Archdiocese toward strengthening and equipping every parish so that our Orthodox communities will continue to grow in faith and love and in their witness of our Faith to contemporary America. To make this a successful Congress and to show your support for the growth and future of our parishes and the Church in America, we are asking you to offer your greetings in the 2004 Congress Album. The Album will be distributed at the Congress to the registered delegates and participants. The adjacent form lists the various types of contributions, and we ask that you consider a full-page greeting. In order to facilitate the printing of the album in a timely manner, please reserve your space by returning the form as soon as possible. Please submit your advertisement and/or message by April 30 by mail or by e-mail at clergylaity@goarch.org. Please accept our gratitude for your faithful service to the Church, and may we pray together that our Lord will guide us in acts of ministry and charity that bring honor and glory to His name.

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MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

Challenge m l Movie Re view What’s Up Po culture? YOUTH MINISTRY

e-mail: youthofce@goarch.org

WITH

ona isa smile

A controversial smile

an you quote me a song lyric from Byonce’s latest single? Can you sing the chorus of a Blink 182 song? Maybe Blink 182 isn’t your favorite, but if it isn’t Blink 182, I would bet you can easily bust out with a rhyme from an Eminem song, or hum the tune of Brittany Spear’s “Me Against the Music.” by Dn. Constantine Lazarakis

With all the dancing and hip gyration in that video, how could you forget it? How ‘bout the movies? What’s your favorite Movie scene of all time? Mine is from the Fellowship of the Rings, when Gandalf shout’s to the Fire Demon chasing Frodo and his band of friends through the Morian caves, “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!!” From Finding Nemo to The Return of the King, American young people line up every weekend to spend somewhere between seven and ten bucks a pop for movie admission. That’s not to mention the money we spend on popcorn, soda and candy bars at the concessions stand. I bought a small Dr. Pepper for $4.50 when I went to see Tom Cruise swinging his sword around in The Last Samurai over Christmas break. In 2002, 160 million Americans went to the movies; 31 percent of those Americans were teens. At $7 a ticket, American teens spent about $358 million on movies in 2002. That’s a lot of money, and we tend to put our money toward the things we’re devoted to. We love the movies, we love music, we love T.V., and we love our magazines. In short, Americans, and especially American teens, love pop culture. How could we not love it? We’re surrounded by it every single day. We listen to the radio in the car on the way to school, or we have our earphones in as we ride the bus. We finish up a hard day of school and homework with our favorite television shows. Every grocery and convenience store we walk into has a magazine rack full of ads for music, movies, TV shows, and fashion clothes. And every time we log on to AOL to send out an IM to our buddies, we get a steady stream of news about our favorite pop stars. Pop culture is all around us. It is in the way we talk, dress and pass the time. It is in our entertainment, in our news. It’s in our sports, and in our schools. It seems like it is in the air we breathe. Yes, pop culture is all around us. It is fun, and exciting. It gives us something to laugh about, something to think about, and something to talk about. It gives us comfort and a break from our daily lives. Sometimes our music, movies, and television programs we watch say something about our lives that makes sense. They can give a voice to something inside of us. They can inspire us and excite us. But what we don’t realize a lot of the time, is that pop culture, also instructs us. Pop stars and record companies, actors and movie studios, scriptwriters and television networks, have beliefs and value systems. They all want to say something about God and spirituality. They try to give messages about family and sex, relationships and love, politics and news. They attempt to influence their audience, they are trying to influence us! Here’s the question: are you going to let

pop culture tell you what to think, how to act, and what you believe with out seriously considering the messages it is sending you? If your answer is no, then you need to find a filter, a standard against which pop culture can be measured. You need some way to sort out what is fun, informative, meaningful and moving, from what is pulling you toward a value system different from the one you’ve chosen. If you have chosen the value system of Orthodox Christianity, then you have a lot of sorting out to do, because the values of pop culture don’t always go so well with the Gospel of Christ. So how can you discern pop culture and separate the good stuff from the garbage? Get your Bible down off of the bookshelf, wipe the dust off of the covers, and start reading. Try to spend a little time each day learning about the life of Christ. It’s only fair considering how much time we spend reading about, listening to and watching our favorite Pop stars. As you become more familiar with the Gospel, you can begin to compare the values of the Gospel to the values of Pop Culture. Maybe you will find that some of the stories, songs, and movies you love are in agreement with the Gospel, but you will also be well equipped to figure out what kind of stuff you don’t need to read, hear and see. Here’s the challenge: try to filter out the aspects of entertainment that push you away from the path of the Gospel. You have a great task before you… you can help transform the culture in which you live… you can make a difference for others and yourself. Strive to create a culture focused on Christ, because His goodness is forever while the balloon of pop culture will… well… just pop.

Did You Know… Pop culture is a slang term for “popular culture” or the culture “of the people.” This term was coined to describe the popular activities and behavior of mainstream society. This includes television, film, radio, news media, computer/internet, books, and music. Usually pop stars include famous athletes, movie stars, and musicians. However, lately there’s been an unusual trend in pop culture. This trend is Jesus. He’s everywhere in pop culture. The movie called “The Passion of the Christ” details Christ’s last hours before being crucified on the Cross. The movie is directed and produced by Mel Gibson, a Christian. “Joan of Arcadia” is a new network television show about a 15-yearold girl who suddenly begins having very real conversations with God. Jesus has also entered the toy market: there’s a Jesus bobble-head doll and a Jesus action figure. Two thousand years ago, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” Few people recognized Him as the Son of God; people said maybe He was John the Baptist, or Elijah, or a prophet. Do people recognize Jesus today?

After the highly anticipated release of Mona Lisa Smile, we finally took the opportunity to see what the hype was all about. This film directed by Mike Newell, takes place in a small town of New England durinfg the early 1950’s at Wellesley College for women. This institution of higher education is geared towards further educating young women in a “modern” society; yet their education is not meant to exceed beyond their place in society as a homemaker. by Effey Kaldis and Elena Kekatos

This society being afraid to see any change beyond its traditions—where the work place is for the husband, while the wife’s place is at home—denies any ideas that contradicts or questions their conventional and conservative views of the woman’s role. This society, however, has to eventually accept the crude reality that tradition will inevitably change, and adapt to the new generation and the ones to come. Just as society adapts with the modern era and its values still intact, our Orthodox faith has felt these transitions as well. As can simply be seen through the Bible and the lives of our saints, the world and its ways of life have immensely changed. We have transitioned from a society whose first priority was God and his teachings, to a world where sin and deception have blinded and mislead us from the path of God. However, a change from the norm is not always considered to be wrong, as is conveyed through Julia Roberts’ portrayal of her character as Katherine Watson. Her free-spirited personality allows her to view Who is Jesus in pop culture? Is He just another pop star with whom people will be obsessed for two weeks and then forget about? But a more important question is: Who is Jesus for us? Jesus asked His disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” He might as well be asking us too. Who do we say that He is? We should be able to answer as Peter did when he said, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:27-29). Trends in pop culture change in very short periods of time. Pretty soon, images of Jesus might not be all over the movies and T.V. Jesus will be “out” and some new pop star will grab our attention, if only for a short while. But as Christians, Jesus should always be our “pop star,” and I’m not talking about an action-figure! Jesus is “popular” because He came for all people. He died for all of us, and rose from the dead to save all people. His message is for everyone on this earth. And as Christians, this is the message that we spread to the rest of the world. The excitement about the latest Jesus movie will eventually fade away, and popular culture may temporarily forget about Him. However, people will never stop wondering about Him and asking, “Who is Jesus?” As Christians we are able to reply, “He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matt 16:16).

things at face value and beyond what is expected. As a teacher, she takes upon herself the role in enlightening her students and to show that they can accomplish anything their hearts desire, no matter what obstacles may stand in the way. Julia Roberts’ out standing performance—on and off screen vividly inspires young women to make their mark in society. Her inspiration and effect is brilliantly portrayed through the character development of her students: Julia Stiles (Joan Brandwyn), Kirsten Dunst (Betty Warren), and Maggie Gyllenhaal (Giselle Levy). They each fulfill their characters’ personalities and individuality. As their teacher challenges the minds of her students to new horizons and outlooks on life, each student grows to appreciate and value their abilities beyond what society expects of them, but instead, what they expect of themselves. Not always is it vital that one follows the common path, for this path may not always be headed in the right direction. Even though the path less taken may provide more uncertainties and barriers, in the end, if one stays loyal to their morals and values, mirroring Katherine Watson’s examples, they will eventually accomplish the goal that they were striving to achieve. God too has a path that he wants his followers to pursue, with God’s guidance and our spiritual dedication we can hopefully achieve the ultimate reward, in joining him in paradise.

Eleni and Effie attend St. Demetrios Church in Elmhurst, Ill. They are both seniors in high school.

PARENTS and YOUTH Workers

eeping up with what is cool is not always easy. Here are two websites that can help you help your young people discern pop culture:www.hollywoodjesus.com gives a Christian take on pop culture www.screenit.com - gives a detailed description of the content of movies, videos, and music.

f you’re not already, sign up for our Youth Worker list server! We send weekly resources, ideas and activities for parents and youth workers. To sign up, send an e-mail to listserv@listserv.goarch.org. Leave the subject blank and in the body of the e-mail type in “subscribe youth” (without the quotation mark). You’ll get confirmation of your subscription shortly after. Challenge is the Youth & Young Adult Ministries supplement to the Orthodox Observer. Articles reect the opinion of the writers. Write to: Youth & Young Adult Ministries, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, 83 St. Basil Rd., Garrison, New York 10524 or email: youthofce@goarch.org

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

Texas Church Holds Door-Opening Ceremonies AUSTIN, Texas – Transfiguration Church celebrated the Thyranoixia of its new building on Jan. 31 with Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver officiating. He was assisted by Deacon Paul Zaharas in the door-opening service. A festival of Orthodoxy followed the dedication, offering a book fair and guest speakers throughout the day. After Great Vespers, a grand banquet was held in celebration of the event. On Sunday, Feb. 1, Metropolitan Isaiah officiated at the hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the new church. Transfiguration parish celebrated its 18th anniversary in November. The parish purchased property located at 414 St. Stephens School Road in 1990 and built a facility that functioned as both the church and parish hall. The new Byzantine style church stands adjacent to the parish hall and atop the highest elevation point in southwestern Travis County, making it an Orthodox beacon in the Texas Hill Country.

Participating in the weekend celebration were: Fr. Luke Uhl, chancellor of the Metropolis of Denver; Egoumenos Dositheos and Fr. Ephraim, Holy Archangels Monastery, Kendalia, Texas; Fr. George Kalpaxis, Annunciation Cathedral, Baltimore, Md. (ret.); Fr. Nicholas Katinas, Holy Trinity, Dallas; Fr. Theodore Tsitsilianos, St. Nicholas, Waco, Texas; Fr. Dan Suciu, St. Sophia, San Antonio; Fr. John Salem, St. George Antiochian parish, Houston; Fr. George Dokos, Holy Trinity, Dallas; and Fr. Nectarios Morrow, Archdiocese of America. Also in attendance was Fr. Nicholas Triantafilou, president of Hellenic College-Holy Cross School of Theology, who was instrumental in the starting of the Transfiguration parish while serving at Annunciation Cathedral in Houston. Transfiguration is a parish of 180 families and has been served by Fr. Jordan Brown since 1997. Fr. Brown and Fr. Triantafilou together cut the ceremonial ribbon to open the new church.

Pan-Orthodox Lenten Retreat in Seattle

SEATTLE – Noted Orthodox author and found and president of Light and Life Publishing Co., Fr. Anthony Coniaris of Minneapolis was the featured speaker at the annual Lenten Retreat of the Washington Orthodox Clergy Association held at St. Demetrios Church. His topic was “Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize.” Some of the 150 Orthodox faithful from many parishes from the Puget Sound region attended the two-day retreat. Pictured above are retreat participants (first row, l. to r.) Fr. John Angelis, host pastor, St. Demetrios Church; Fr. Coniaris. (Second row) Fr. James Bernstein, Fr. Dean Kouldukis, Fr. David Hovik, Fr. Dimitrios Pappas. (third row) Deacon Perry Angelos, Fr. Mel Gimmaka, Fr. Ilija Balach, and Fr. John Pierce. (Cliff Argue photo)

Boston-area Parish Honors Dr. Lewis Patsavos WATERTOWN, Mass. - The Taxiarchae parish of Watertown recently honored Dr. Lewis J. Patsavos, professor of Canon Law and director of field education at Hellenic College-Holy Cross School of Theology upon his 30th anniversary of service to that institution. The occasion for the event was the annual observance of Godparent Sunday that coincides each year with the feasts of the Three Hierarchs and the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple. A frequent preacher at Taxiarchae Church, Dr. Patsavos delivered the homily of the day. He used the occasion to underscore the importance of the role of godparents/sponsors in the religious upbringing of those entrusted to their spiritual oversight. Dr. Patsavos began his fulltime teaching career at Holy Cross School of Theology in 1974 after returning from numerous years of study in Greece, Germany and Italy.

Since then, he has taught Orthodox Canon Law, an area little known and much misunderstood, and directed the practical training of students through the Field Education Program at Holy Cross. This dual responsibility, Patsavos acknowledged, has allowed him the opportunity to experience the pastoral nature of the holy canons contextually through theological field education. It is this dimension of the canons, he said, that he has always strived to convey in his teaching. Following church services, a reception and luncheon were held in the community center. In addition, Greek Letters Week was celebrated by students of the Greek School who recited poetry and danced traditional folk dances. The event closed with remarks by the host clergy, Frs. Theodore Barbas and Emmanuel Metaxas, and the honoree.

A drawing of the new St. Catherine Church and parish center in Quincy, Mass.

A Beacon of Orthodoxy Rises in Massachusetts BRAINTREE, Mass. – Forty-four years after the parish of St. Catherine Church in Quincy, Mass. was founded; construction has been initiated on its $2.1 million church first phase of total church community vision designed by Christ J. Kamages, AIA President/Principal of CJK Design Group, and San Francisco. The foundation for all the structures and site work are progressing during this initial phase of construction, which includes the administration building, all of the site work and the complete foundations for the future Church. The Glacon Contracting Inc. of Hingham, Mass. began construction on Feb. 1. The beautiful and easily accessible from all directions parcel is located in Braintree south of Boston and visible from the Southeast Expressway (93) and Route (3) South at the Washington Street off ramp and within walking distance to the South Shore Mall. The land was once called the Pappas Ice Skating Rink (Pappas Farm), where locals would flood the land for the children in the area to enjoy. Fr. Markopoulos said “Progress has been steady and we all look forward in relocating our services some time in the fall.” St. Catherine Church was established in 1960 after the purchase of the 19th century (1888) shingle and granite church from the United First parish church in the Wollaston West/Montclair area of Quincy. The forerunner to St. Catherine community was the South Shore Hellenic Association founded in 1958 by young men and women who attended St. John and Annunciation Cathedral, both of Boston. Their desire was to establish a church and facilities for fellowship, social, educational and religious functions. Those same desires and aspirations are what have motivated St. Catherine’s 220 families to initiate the building program. “The foundations and site work are progressing at a very fast pace, the entire community is excited that very soon the dream of a new St. Catherine’s Church and facilities will be a reality. We all are looking forward to its successful completion,” said Arthur Sakellaris, parish council president and building program chairman. “We hope that Orthodox Christians throughout the South Shore and the greater Boston area will support the efforts of our community. The Metro Braintree area is ready for our Orthodox faith to reach out to all Christians. We

hope that with our presence that those searching for the ancient true faith will find it at St. Catherine’s.” Throughout the recent years St. Catherine with strong leadership, generosity both within the congregation and Orthodox Christians in the Boston area and hard work has propelled the parish into a new era of growth. “One day soon the beautiful Byzantine structure will raise above its location for all to admire and seek its warm refuge within its sanctuary,” said parishioner Nick Verenis. The first phase will be the 12,000square foot administration building, which will include classrooms for the Sunday School and Greek School, offices for the priest, parish council and other church organizations, a secretarial area, small hall with a kitchen for social gatherings and an interim sanctuary. The building committee projects that construction for the new 8,460-square-foot church will begin sometime in 2005. The 8th century-style Byzantine church brick and stone sanctuary designed by Christ J. Kamages, AIA will seat 432 people and be a beacon of Orthodoxy witness to all that pass on Interstate 93 and Route 3 South. The central well-located site will also provide easy access for both parishioners and friends. “We are eternally grateful to the many generous contributors for their donations and continue to encourage others to step forward in this endeavor and help us, help this community, to achieve and reach its goal and make the forever lasting dream become reality” said Mr. Sakellaris. “We are asking for your prayers and generosity. Please visit our web site www.StCatherineschurch.com”

In the Calendar APRIL 11 ................................ Holy Pascha 18 ......................... Sunday of Thomas 25 ............Sunday of the Myrrhbearers MAY 9 ...... Sunday of the Samaritan Woman 16 .................Sunday of the Blind Man 20 ......................................Ascencion 21 ................ Sts. Constantine & Helen 29 ..................... Saturday of the Souls 30 ...................................... Pentecost 31 ................... Feast of the Holy Spirit

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

St. Augustine Church Holds Groundbreaking

D. PANAGOS

ARCHBISHOP Demetrios presented the honorary awards to Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta (left) and Dimitrios and Georgia Kaloidis (right). Also pictured are Bishop Vikentios of Apameia, Nick Andriotis (center) and Ambassador of Greece to the US George Savaides. (far left)

Greek Letters Celebration Honors Metropolitan Alexios, Dimitrios and Georgia Kaloidis NEW YORK. – Hellenic Cultural Center in Astoria sponsored the recent Celebration of Greek Letters and Arts in New York with a luncheon honoring Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta and Dimitrios and Georgia Kaloidis, great benefactors and philanthropists of the Church. The event, which took place Feb. 1 at Terrace on the Park in Forest Hills, Queens, also commemorated the 18th anniversary of the cultural center. Bishop Vikentios of Apameia, director of the center, served as luncheon chairman and Nikos A. Andriotis served

as master of ceremonies. Following the singing of the national anthems, greetings were offered by Ambassador of Greece to the U.S. George Savvaides, Consul General of Cyprus Martha Mavromatis and Maria Makedon, director of the Archdiocese District Department of Education. A musical program ensued. In his remarks, the Archbishop noted that people have to change the way they think because “the Greek American Orthodox in the United States offer today a great vision that has put its mark on American civilization in the 21st century.”

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Holy Trinity Church recently held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of its proposed Phase 1 of its new building with more than 300 in attendance. Metropolitan Alexios celebrated the blessing of the land, assisted by Fr. Nikitas Theodosion, pastor, and joined by Fr. Martin Ritsi and Fr. Dimitri Leussis, together with local clergy and dignitaries from St. Augustine. Also attending was Mayor George Gardner, St. Johns County Commissioners Karen R. Stern and Nicholas M. Meiszer, who joined the hundreds of faithful and friends of the parish to celebrate the new first phase of Holy Trinity’s multiphase 10-year program. For decades Holy Trinity Church was a mission church of St. John’s the Divine in Jacksonville until the early 1990’s when the parishioners formed their own board and were assigned their first priest, Fr. George P. Gallos, who served only a few years until his death. In 1997 Fr. Nikitas Theodosion became the parish priest and under his spiritual guidance and dynamic leadership the community is thriving and growing. Its present facility is too small for the congregation. When the parish board voted to create a Vision and Master Plan for the new church property they secured the services of Christ J. Kamages, AIA, and president/principal architect of the CJK Design Group of San Francisco. The new $1 million facility will be located on a 17-acre site off Interstate

Holy Trinity’s design bridges the style of the 16th century St. Augustine Spanish colonial style and the Byzantine Mediterranean style.

95 in St. Augustine, The first phase will include a 200-person capacity service hall, meeting classroom areas and multi-use expandable Byzantine Orthodox chapel. Metropolitan Alexios proclaimed, “In our lives we constantly experience miracles if we chose to see them…with the grace of the Holy Spirit this beautiful group of people and their priest have achieved one milestone after another and they continue to achieve and move forward, for this I feel blessed to be your bishop”. Following the groundbreaking the parish hosted a luncheon at the Royal St. Augustine Country Club. Holy Trinity’s design bridges the style of the 16th century St. Augustine Spanish colonial style and the Byzantine Mediterranean style of the Greek islands reflective of the roots of the Orthodox Christianity.

Annual Sights and Sounds Program Welcomes Patriarch WESTFIELD, N.J. – On his visit to Holy Trinity Church shortly after his arrival to the U.S., Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew took in the Sights and Sounds Program, a state-wide youth activity founded 33 years ago by the parish for Greek Orthodox youth ages 12-18. His All Holiness received a warm welcome from Fr. Dimitrios Antokas, pastor, and from Goyans of the community who presented him with a personalized album of photos and messages to commemorate his visit. Sights and Sounds is a celebration of the arts and individual talents that offers the opportunity for competition in theater, music, dance, literature, crafts and visual artistic creativity as traditional as painting in oils, acrylics, and temperas, pen and ink, pencil, and sculpture. Participants compete in over 50 categories of visual arts and seventeen categories of performing arts. Approximately 1,000 pieces of artwork were delivered to Holy Trinity Church on March 1 from Greek Orthodox youth groups across the state. All these “sights” were displayed throughout the parish center on Sunday, March 7, and judged by over 40 judges on Wednesday, March 10. More than 480 youthful participants arrived on March 13 with over 100 coaches and advisors to participate in the daylong “sounds” competition that included nearly 200 performances.

D. PANAGOS

ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH Bartholomew, Archbishop Demetrios of America and Metropolitan Evangelos with the performers of Sights and Sounds.

Events included theater productions (in both Greek and English), instrumental solos, singing solos, Greek and American monologues, choral speaking, dance, bands, and Greek, religious and secular singing groups. These 17 areas of competition culminate in an awards ceremony at the conclu-

sion of the day which awards trophies to the first, second and third place winners in all categories of the competition as well as to the three churches that accumulate the most points in the course of the entire competition. Host committee co-chairs were Dr. Stamatios V. Kartalopoulos and Anita B.

Kartalopoulos of Annandale, N.J. who have chaired the event for the past 14 years. Additionally, about 100 volunteers from Holy Trinity parish worked to make the event a success, from set-up, to serving 1,800 breakfasts, lunches and dinners, to holding the awards program where more than 250 trophies were presented.

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

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MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

THE YOUTH Committee meeting drew a large number of assembly delegates.

ORTHODOX OBSERVER

A MAJOR issue discussed at the Greek Education Committee meeting was the status of the Brooklyn day schools.

Archdiocesan District Clergy-Laity Assembly Holds Two-Day Sessions HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – In a first for the Archdiocese District, the annual ClergyLaity Assembly took place over a two-day period during the week. Previously is was held on a Saturday. The two-day event took place Feb. 910 at St. Paul’s Cathedral, with a Vespers taking place previous evening presided over by Archbishop Demetrios. The assembly featured workshops on religious education, capital campaigns and stewardship, parish pay and parish bulletins. Reports were made by the chancellor, Bishop Savas of Troas, the departments of Greek Education and Youth and Young Adult Ministries, the district Philoptochos and an update on the upcoming Clergy-Laity Congress to be held in New York. Committee meetings included Family and Youth, Greek Education, Outreach and Evangelism, Religious Education and Total Commitment. Archbishop Demetrios addressed the first plenary session, urging the parish representatives to build their communities as “models of faith, love and hope” and to “think beyond the district” and in terms of the entire Church with all its metropolises. “I implore you to make this district a model diocesan district comprised of model communities of faith and love,” he continued. “We do that by building constantly, lovingly. We build unity by building unity among us.” Bishop Savas told the nearly 100 persons assembled the district has grown to 68 parishes with the recent addition of Annunciation Church in Nassau, the Bahamas, which had petitioned the Ecumenical Patriarchate to join the Archdiocese. The chancellor also reported the district has gained six priests and three deacons over the past year. Bishop Savas noted that 21 percent of the baptisms in the Archdiocese have taken place in the Archdiocese District, and that 15 percent of the people come to faith through chrismation. Other statistics he noted: the Astoria community has the most weddings in the

country with St. Paul’s in Hempstead no. 2. Seventy percent of the Astoria weddings are between Orthodox and Orthodoxy; at St. Paul’s the figure is 34 percent. Nationally the percentage of mixed marriages in the Church is 58 percent; Regarding total commitment, the chancellor said the Archdiocese District is “second to last compared with other metropolises.”

Other reports

In his report on the Clergy-Laity Congress, set for the last week in July at the Marriott at Times Square, Tim Maniatis said between 6,000 and 7,000 people are expected to attend many of the events planned, including 1,700 delegates. Grants of $1,000 are available to smaller communities to help them participate. The congress will include 150 meetings, 40 computer labs and 38 to 40 workshops. The Young Adult League will also hold its convention at the hotel the weekend before the start of the congress.

Greek education

Archdiocese District Education Department Director Maria Makedon, reported an enrollment of 2,485 students in the New York parochial schools and the 53 afternoon schools A discussion during the plenary session centered on the day schools in Brooklyn experiencing financial difficulties and possibly consolidating. The possibility of seeking charter school status was also discussed.

Youth and Young Adults

George Hazlaris, Archdiocese District youth director, reported that some 900 young people are taking part in the GOYA athletic league and about 200 Goyans went on a ski trip in January to York, Pa. During Lent, he gives a lecture to young people at a different parish every Friday after the Salutations. There also is a YAL Lenten lecture series at Annunciation Church in Manhattan.

Religious education

Fr. Nikiforos Fakinos, district religious

education director, gave a brief report on developing the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival and noted the appointment of a district chairwoman, Eva Vaniotis, to better coordinate the festival. He also said there is a need for “a complete educational ministry all the way to adult education” and that development of the program should include holding a religious education weekend to teach the Church school teachers and continuous education for clergy.

Representatives elected

The following lay representatives were nominated for membership to the Archdiocesan Council: William Kallinikos, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Hempstead, and Dr. Antoine Harovas, Archangel Michael, Roslyn Heights. Both were elected unanimously. The following clergy representative was nominated for membership to the Archdiocesan Council: Fr. Peter Orfanakos, St. Barbara, Orange, Conn. He was elected unanimously. The following people who served last year on the Direct Archdiocesan District council were reelected: Dr. George Zim-

mer, Dr. Constantine Flokas, Harry Raptakis, Dr. George Saines, Peter Stavrinos and Steven Cherpelis.

Resolution

At the end of the aseembly, the the Clergy-Laity Assembly adopted the following resolution: “Whereas certain individuals have filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Archbishop Demetrios, Now therefore it is hereby resolved: “That the lawsuit in question does not express the views or desires of the Parish representatives to this Assembly, and that the issues involved in the lawsuit have been misunderstood or misinterpreted; and that the Assembly strongly disapproves of such lawsuit and of the pursuit in the civil courts of the resolution of ecclesiastical concerns; and that the Direct Archdiocesan District Assembly fully supports the ministry and leadership of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and that the plaintiffs should reconsider their actions and withdraw the lawsuit at the earliest.”

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

Patriarch Bartholomew Consecrates New Cathedral in Havana u page 1 Among the estimated 2,000 guests at the event was Archbishop Demetrios of America, who was invited by His All Holiness to accompany him on his historic first-ever visit to a Latin American nation, Jan. 21-25. Also taking part were about 150 Archons and other guests from the United States. Among them were Red Apple Co. CEO John Catsimatidis, Archons National Commander Dr. Anthony Limberakis, SAE World President Andrew Athens, Andy Manatos of Washington, D.C., former congressman and former New York University President John Brademas, Christos Tomaras SAE vice president; and Drexel University President Constantine Papadakis. Coinciding with the Ecumenical Patriarch’s visit to Cuba was a trip by the National Council of Churches U.S.A. to participate in a region-wide consultation hosted by the Cuban Council of Churches. The aim of the consultation is to develop plans for collaboration in mission and to seek ways to improve relations among their countries. Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos, ecumenical officer of SCOBA along with OCMC Executive Director Fr. Martin Ritsi, were members of this delegation. “The giving of the church by President Fidel Castro was a historic event marking the potential for a new era in Cuban history and accentuating the increasing role of Orthodox missions around the world,” said Fr. Martin Ritsi commenting on this momentous occasion.

D. PANAGOS

WITH HONORS accorded to heads of state Fidel Castro welcomed the Ecumenical Patriarch.

Grace,” and he added that the sorely-triedby their history people hear Christ’s voice say: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. And this voice is more clearly heard through the worship, the dogma and the tradition of the Orthodox Church, a fact that creates greater obligations for us, which we must confront with a spirit of love and missionary zeal.” During the dinner, Archbishop Demetrios was also honored, while special mention was made of the work of Metropolitan Athenagoras of Panama and Central America. Mr. Castro asked the Ecumenical Patriarch for books on the monastic community of Mount Athos and Christianity to be sent to Cuba during a dinner given in Havana by Greek-American businessman John Catsimatides. Speaking to the Greek reporters covering the visit, Mr. Castro said he would like to visit Greece especially during the Athens Olympic Games. The main issue of discussion during the dinner was education at a time characterized internationally by a crisis in values. The island has an estimated 2,000 Orthodox Christians, of which nearly 50 are of Greek background, with most of the rest consisting of Russians and Ukrainians. Church members also include diplomats and foreign businesspeople from countries such as Greece and Turkey, and people who immigrated here during the Soviet era. The church was the result of the collaboration between Metropolitan Athenagoras and Havana City historian Eusebio Leal.

N. MANGINAS

MANY HIERARCHS from Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate including Metropolitan Athenagoras of Panama and Central America and Archbishop Demetrios of America were part of the procession lead by His All Holiness around the new church.

The St. Nicholas Cathedral in Havana.

During the consecration ceremony, the Patriarch circled the new cathedral three times during the ceremony, accompanied by the Cuban president and other dignitaries and church members. After the consecration, an exchange of gifts took place. For the erection of the church, the Cuban government granted a plot of land in the old Havana harbor (which UNESCO has recognized as a site of global cultural heritage), while the Greek Foreign Ministry responded from the very first moment and supported the effort, and has already contributed funds for the purchase and transfer of the church’s interior decorations. St. Nicholas Cathedral was constructed with Cuban government funds on one side of the Byzantine-style Basilica of San Francisco, a former Roman Catholic sanctuary now used mostly for concerts. The Ecumenical Patriarch expressed his gratitude for the gift of the church and spoke of his hopes for a better future, “Problems between people and nations,” he said “are resolved through dialogue and communication.” Also at the ceremony were hundreds of Greek-Americans, as well as Orthodox Church members from Greece and other nations. Speaking at a luncheon, Patriarch Bartholomew called for all nations especially in Latin and Central America and the Caribbean to respect human rights. The Cuban people and its leadership,

HIS ALL HOLINESS visits a children’s hospital.

N. MANGINAS

PATRIARCH Bartholomew leads the way inside the new church accompanied by Fidel Castro.

headed by Fidel Castro himself, welcomed Patriarch Bartholomew on Jan. 21 at Jose Marti Airport with sincere emotions of love, friendship and gratitude. In statements to NET Greek state television, the Patriarch stressed that the seclusion of a people from the international community and the violation of human rights and religious liberties are equally condemnable acts. The Ecumenical Patriarch expressed satisfaction for the measures adopted by the government and the people of Cuba for the protection of the environment and stressed that the consequences, stemming from the incorrect way the serious environment protection problem is being dealt with, are felt by the humanity as a whole and not just by those responsible for the pollution. Patriarch Bartholomew stated the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s interest in the

protection of the environment is rooted in the belief that the environment is a work of God. His All Holiness also reminded that, for a number of years, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has undertaken actions for the protection of the environment, and referred to the speeches he delivered, and the ecological and environmental seminars, as well as those held in cooperation with the EU in the Aegean, the Black Sea, the Danube, the Adriatic and the Baltic Sea. The Patriarch had three long meetings with Fidel Castro, visited hospitals and spoke at a central hall in Havana on the environment. Speaking at the dinner held in his honor by the Greek ambassador to Cuba, Georgios Costoulas, Patriarch Bartholomew stressed that “the Cuban people thirst for Christ, and life with Christ, life in

Metropolitan Athenagoras credited former King of Greece Constantine, who was present at the events, with persuading Fidel Castro a couple of years ago to build a new Orthodox church. While in Havana, in addition to numerous meetings with local government officials, the Patriarch also visited a children’s hospital and a school for children with special needs, giving small crosses to the children as a blessing related to his visit. As a blessing to the people of Cuba, who built the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, the Patriarch also gave President Castro a simple cross. Likewise, Fidel Castro presented Patriarch Bartholomew with a jeweled cross in recognition of his historic visit to the island nation. On the occasion of the Patriarchal visit, the U.S. Interests Section Chief in Havana, Cuba, James Cason, organized a reception during which Archbishop Demetrios had the opportunity to meet with Cuban dissidents and to discuss important humanitarian concerns with them. During their meeting with the Archbishop, the dissidents presented a number of papers on human rights issues, which in turn were conveyed to His All Holiness.

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

Ministering to Intermarried Couples A Resource for Clergy and Lay Workers The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese’s Intermarriage Ministry has produced a second resource which is entitled, Ministering to Intermarried Couples: A Resource for Clergy and Lay Workers. As the title suggests, this resource was written for clergy, lay professionals and paraprofessionals who work with intermarried couples and their families. Those purchasing this book can expect to profit in the following ways: by Fr. Charles Joanides, Ph.D., LMFT

This resource is based on information that emerged from the Interfaith Research Project. This two-year study included nearly 400 intermarried participants, Archdiocesan wide. The book is also grounded on the author’s work with hundreds of intermarried couples. The resource describes the complex nature of the intermarriage challenge fac-

CLERGY

ing the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese at the Archdiocesan, Metropolis and local church level. Those reviewing this work should obtain a more sophisticated understanding of this challenge. An overview of some of the key information which emerged from the Interfaith Research Project is provided. This information should help those working with this population understand the unique challenges intermarried individuals, couples and families encounter. Issues and challenges related to conversion are also chronicled. This information should help those working with this population acquire a better understanding of the reasons why some intermarried spouses choose to convert and others choose not to convert. A grounded theory is also outlined in user-friendly terms. It is maintained that an understanding of this theory will enhance the pastoral work being done with this growing population of faithful. The unique challenges that intermarried couples face across the marital life

UPDATE

Ordination to the Diaconate Luke Palumbis, by Metropolitan Anthony of San Francisco, at Holy Trinity Church, Portland, Oregon, 12/21/03 Elias Warren, by Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver, at Assumption Church, Bayard, Neb., 1/07/04 Ordination to the Priesthood Dn. Sarantis P. Loulakis, by Bishop Savas of Troas, at St. George Cathedral, Hartford, Conn., 12/14/03 Dn. Elias Warren, by Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver, at Assumption Cathedral, Denver, 01/25/04 Assignments Fr. Peter Chrisafideis, St. Nicholas Church, Enfield, Conn., 12/01/03 Fr. Elias Warren, Assumption Church, Bayard, Neb., 2/01/04 Fr. Sarantis Loulakis, St. Markella Church, Wantagh, N.Y., 2/07/04 Fr. Stelios Menis, St. Demetrios Church, Warren, Ohio, 2/15/04 Fr. Michael Kallour, Holy Cross Church, Pittsburgh, (assistant), 2/15/04 Fr. Demetrios N. Kehagias, Sts. Constantine & Helen Cathedral, Brooklyn, N.Y., 2/23/04 Retirements Fr. Dennis Michelis, St. Demetrios Church, Warren, Ohio, 12/31/03 V. Rev. Kallinikos Petsas, Assumption Church, Pocatello, Idaho, 1/01/04

Deaths Rev. Dn. John Lambrinos, 2/19/04 (Born in Samos, Greece, he came to the U.S. in 1955; ordained to the diaconate in 1999 at age 84 while serving as the protopsalti in the Clearwater, Fla. parish) Receptions Fr. Michael Kallaur, from OCA, 01/27/04 Offikia Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey bestowed the offices listed upon the following clergy: Economos upon: Fr. Patrick Viscuso, 9/28/03 Economos upon Fr. Anastasios Bourantas, 10/05/03 Protopresbyter upon Fr. Christopher Constantinides, 11/16/03 Economos upon Fr. George Nikas, 12/04/03 Protopresbyter upon Fr. Manuel Burdusi, 12/07/03 Confessor upon Fr. Joseph Samaan, 12/07/03 Protopresbyter upon Fr. Constantine G. Christofis, 12/14/03 Economos upon Fr. Peter Delvizis, 1/04/04 Returned to layman status Fr. Nicholas Moskovites, 2/09/04

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cycle are also described, together with a tried and proven pastoral approach that clergy and lay workers might consider using to enhance their current work with intermarried couples and their families. A chapter is devoted to listing programs and approaches that clergy and lay workers might consider employing in their work with intermarried couples. Another chapter offers information that clergy and lay workers might use when ministering to intermarried couples during the premarital preparation. While this resource has been written specifically for clergy and lay workers who work in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, it has wider application. Clergy and lay workers from other Orthodox jurisdictions and non-Orthodox faith groups should find it useful. Youth workers, marital therapists, psychotherapists and others who work with intermarried couples and their families will find this book helpful. Written to be used with Fr. Joanides’, first book entitled, When You Intermarry: A Resource for Inter-Christian, Intercultural Couples, Parents and Families, this book should make a qualitative difference in the work clergy and lay workers do with this growing population. The cost is $15.95 plus s&h. Those desiring to purchase a copy can place their order through Holy Cross Bookstore, 800-245-0599.

GRECIAN WALL CLOCK

Featuring the Greek flag (in color) with the 12-hour points in Greek lettering as pictured above. This all-new 12 inch Wall Clock is framed in durable smooth lined navy blue case. This elegant Grecian Clock is offered to you at the all inclusive price of $29.95. A unisex watch (1-1/8” inch diameter) with a navy blue strap is also available at this same low price which includes shipping and handling. An ideal gift for that “special someone.”

ORDER AS MANY AS YOU LIKE... GREAT AMERICAN IMAGES 31 Edwards Ct. Burlingame, CA 94010-2413 TEL.: 800-717-1339 FAX: 650-697-1730

The Ronald McDonald House of New York City an International non-profit organization, is a home-away-from-home for children undergoing cancer treatment and their families, at New York area medical centers.

THE GREEK DIVISION OF THE RONALD McDONALD HOUSE

is organizing its annual Walk-a-thon THE EVENT WILL TAKE PLACE ON SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2004 The Walk will begin promptly at 11:30 a.m. at the Ronald McDonald House at 405 East 73rd Street. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 1st 2004 or you may pre-register by returning the form below or for information and reservations please call (212) 717-6608. Suggested entry for each participant is $15.00, T-shirts will be available (while supplies last). Also buses for transportation will be available. Come and join us to celebrate this special event and help us be here for many more years. In Case of Rain We Will Meet and Celebrate at the Ronald McDonald House.

NAME:____________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS________________________________________________________________ TELEPHONE:________________________________________________________________ ENTRY FEE:_______________________________________________________________ Or Any Other Donations:____________________________________________________ Please Send to Ronald McDonald House, Greek Division, 405 East 73rd St. , New York, NY 10021

A Musical Treasury for Children

Introduce your children or grandchildren to Greek language and culture in a way they love... through music!

Fun Songs for Learning Greek

�� CD Insid e sh Engli etics Phon

From the seashore, to the village, to the market, young children will feel the beat as they roll koulourakia, sing, clap and count their way through Greece! All songs translated into English with English phonetics. Set includes music CD and hardcover color illustrated songbook. A great gift for infant to elementary aged children! Each set $23.95 plus $6.50 s/h. Add 90¢ s/h for each additional set. Checks payble to: GrAm Publishing, PO Box 3883, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-3883. Orders must include payment. Quantity pricing available. For more information call 203-838-1436.

www.singalongwiththeaannie.com

MARCH 15 - APRIL 15, 2004

NY Greek Independence Day Celebration Draws Thousands NEW YORK – An estimated 80,000 people turned out on a spectacular sunny March 28 to view the annual Greek Independence Day Parade on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The day’s events began earlier at the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Trinity Archdiocesan Cathedral officiated by Archbishop Demetrios, who gave a special blessing to the Evzones. Greece’s presidential honor guard had earlier marched into the cathedral and had formed a semi-circle around the Archbishop. In his remarks after the service, the Archbishop said of Greek Independence Day, “God held it upright, the fight for freedom, so today we honor those men who sacrificed for our freedom.” Also speaking was a visiting government official from Greece, Deputy Foreign Minister Panagiotis Skandalakis, who said, “We Greeks have freedom, democracy, success and peace” because of the sacrifices of those who fought for Greek independence. After the Liturgy, a reception took place at the Plaza hotel, which included a performance of the Greek and American national anthems played by the Greek Army Band and an eloquent speech by Tasos Manessis, chairman of the N.Y. Federation of Hellenic Societies. Other speakers at the Plaza included U.S. Reps. Anthony Weiner, Carolyn Maloney and Charles Rangel, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Cyprus’ Ambassador to the U.S. Eurepides Evriviadis. The three-hour-long parade, which had as its theme the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, drew about 100 different groups – individual parishes, floats, marching bands and Greek federations. Grand marshals were Dimitrios and Georgia Kaloidis, and John and Margo Catsimatides. Other dignitaries participating in Greek Independence celebration events included state Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., who represents Astoria; City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, city Comptroller William Thompson Jr. In addition to the New York parade, similar parades took place in Boston, San Francisco, Boca Raton, Fla.,Detroit and Chicago.

Leading the Parade are Archbishop Demetrios and NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg holding young Eleni Kloni from Brooklyn. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Panayiotis Skandalakis D. PANAGOS photos (left) represented the Greek Goverment.

The Evzones Presidential Guard.

Grand Marshalls of this year’s parade were (L to R) John and Margo Catsimatides and Georgia and Dimitrios Kaloidis.Grand Marshalls of this year’s parade were (L to R) John and Margo Catsimatides and Georgia and Dimitrios Kaloidis.

Young girls from St. Nicholas in Babylon, NY holding the flag of Cyprus. One of the many floats from Karpathos. (below)

(above) Young children in ethnic costumes proud of their heritage. (right) Portraying Theodoros Kolokotronis on his white horse was Takis Nikolopoulos from Logastra in Peloponesse. (below) Students of the Greek School of Holy Trinity in Bridgeport, Conn., in tradional costume.