Το βιντεοσκοπημένο μήνυμα του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχου Βαρθολομαίου προς την 45η Κληρικολαϊκή Συνέλευση της Αρχιεπισκοπής Αμερικής, που συγκαλείται από σήμερα (9-9-2020) διαδικτυακά, λόγω της πανδημίας του κορωνοϊού, με πρωτοβουλία του Αρχιεπισκόπου Αμερικής Ελπιδοφόρου.
Παραθέτουμε και το κείμενο του Πατριαρχικού μηνύματος στα ελληνικά και αγγλικά.
Ἀριθμ. Πρωτ. 502
Ἱερώτατε Ἀρχιεπίσκοπε Ἀμερικῆς, ὑπέρτιμε καί ἔξαρχε Ὠκεανῶν, Ἀτλαντικοῦ τε καί Εἰρηνικοῦ, ἐν Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι ἀγαπητέ ἀδελφέ καί συλλειτουργέ τῆς ἡμῶν Μετριότητος κύριε Ἐλπιδοφόρε, Ἱερώτατοι καί Θεοφιλέστατοι ἀδελφοί Μητροπολῖται καί Ἐπίσκοποι, Ὁσιολογιώτατοι, Αἰδεσιμολογιώτατοι καί Ἱερολογιώτατοι κληρικοί, Ἐντιμότατοι ἐκπρόσωποι τῶν Κοινοτήτων καί Ἐνοριῶν, Ἐντιμολογιώτατοι Ἄρχοντες τῆς Μητρός Ἐκκλησίας, ἐκπρόσωποι τῶν μειζόνων Ἱδρυμάτων τῆς Ἱερᾶς Ἀρχιεπισκοπῆς καί ἁπαξάπαντες οἱ συγκροτοῦντες τήν ΜΕ΄ Κληρικολαϊκήν Συνέλευσιν αὐτῆς, χάρις εἴη πᾶσιν ὑμῖν καί εἰρήνη καί εὐλογία παρά τοῦ Κυρίου καί Θεοῦ καί Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
Εὐδοκίᾳ Θεοῦ, τοῦ Δοτῆρος παντός ἀγαθοῦ, προαγματοποιεῖται, αὐτήν τήν φοράν διαδικτυακῶς, λόγῳ τῶν δυσκόλων περιστάσεων τάς ὁποίας συνεχίζει νά δημιουργῇ ἡ πανδημία τοῦ νέου κορωνοϊοῦ Covid-19, ἡ 45η Κληρικολαϊκή Συνέλευσις τῆς μεγάλης Ἐπαρχίας, τῆς ἑνιαίας Ἱερᾶς Ἀρχιεπισκοπῆς Ἀμερικῆς τοῦ καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς Οἰκουμενικοῦ Θρόνου. Ἀπευθύνοντες τόν ἔπαινον τῆς Μητρός Ἐκκλησίας καί τήν Πατριαρχικήν ἡμῶν εὐλογίαν πρός πάντας ὑμᾶς, συγχαίρομεν ὑμῖν διά τήν συνέχισιν τῆς ὡραίας αὐτῆς παραδόσεως, ἡ ὁποία, ἤδη ἐπί πολλάς δεκαετίας, ἐνισχύει τήν καλήν μαρτυρίαν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀπαιτήσεων καί προκλήσεων τῶν καιρῶν, ἐξασφαλίζουσα τήν εὐρεῖαν συμμετοχήν τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς τά ἐκκλησιαστικά πράγματα, τήν ἀνταλλαγήν ἀπόψεων ἐν πνεύματι ἀγάπης καί ὁμονοίας καί τήν λῆψιν λυσιτελῶν διά τήν ἀποστολήν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀποφάσεων.
Τό θέμα τῆς παρούσης Κληρικολαϊκῆς Συνελεύσεως, τῆς πρώτης ὑπό τήν ὑμετέραν προεδρίαν, προσφιλέστατε ἀδελφέ Ἐλπιδοφόρε, εἶναι τό ἐξαίσιον Παύλειον, «μείζων δέ τούτων ἡ ἀγάπη» (Α’ Κορ. ιγ’, 13), τό ὁποῖον ἐκφράζει τήν πεμπτουσίαν τοῦ χριστιανικοῦ ἤθους. Τό νόημα τῆς ἀγάπης ἀπεκαλύφθη ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ πρός τόν ἄνθρωπον: «ἐν τούτῳ ἐφανερώθη ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν, ὅτι τόν υἱόν αὐτοῦ τόν μονογενῆ ἀπέσταλκεν ὁ Θεός εἰς τόν κόσμον ἵνα ζήσωμεν δι᾿ αὐτοῦ» (Α’ Ἰωάν. δ’, 9). Εἰς αὐτήν τήν ἀγάπην, ὡς πηγήν καί πρότυπον τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ πιστοῦ πρός τόν πλησίον, προσβλέπει ὁ Ἀπόστολος Παῦλος, ὅταν συνθέτῃ τόν ὑπέροχον «ὕμνον τῆς ἀγάπης» (Α’ Κορ. ιγ’, 1-13).
Ἡ ἀγάπη εἶναι ὁ «νέος οἶνος», ὁ ὁποῖος διαρρηγνύει τούς «παλαιούς ἀσκούς» (πρβλ. Ματθ. θ’, 17). Ἀπό αὐτήν ἐπήγασαν μεγάλαι ἀξιολογικαί ἀνατροπαί, ἐνεπνεύσθησαν τά κοινωνικά κινήματα, ἐτράφησαν αἱ φιλάνθρωποι κατακτήσεις τῶν νεωτέρων χρόνων, παρά τάς πολλάς ἀντιπαραθέσεις μεταξύ Χριστιανισμοῦ καί νεωτερικοῦ ἀνθρωπισμοῦ, αἱ ὁποῖαι ὀφείλονται μέν καί εἰς οὐσιαστικάς διαφοράς εἰς τήν κατανόησιν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἐλευθερίας, ὑπῆρξαν ὅμως πρωτίστως ἀποτέλεσμα περιστασιακῶν παρανοήσεων καί ἀπορρίψεων. Σήμερον φαίνεται ὅτι κατενοήθη ἑκατέρωθεν, ὅτι, παρά τάς ἀντιθέσεις, αἱ δύο πλευραί συναντῶνται εἰς τήν κοινήν στράτευσιν διά τήν προστασίαν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἀξιοπρεπείας, τῆς δικαιοσύνης καί τῆς εἰρήνης. Εἰς αὐτήν τήν συνάφειαν καί τήν συνάντησιν, ἡ Ὀρθόδοξος Ἐκκλησία τονίζει τήν κοινωνικήν διάστασιν τῆς ἐλευθερίας, τήν προτεραιότητα τοῦ πολιτισμοῦ τῆς ἀλληλεγγύης. Ὀρθῶς ὁ μακαριστός καθηγητής π. Γεώργιος Φλωρόφσκυ ὑπεγράμμιζε τήν κεντρικήν θέσιν τῆς κοινωνικῆς εὐαισθησίας εἰς τήν ὀρθόδοξον παράδοσιν. «Ὑπάρχει ἀκόμη, ὅπως ὑπῆρξε ἐπί αἰῶνες ἰσχυρό κοινωνικό ἔνστικτο στήν ἀνατολική Ἐκκλησία παρ᾿ ὅλες τίς ἱστορικές περιπλοκές καί ὀπισθοδρομήσεις. Καί ἴσως αὐτό εἶναι ἡ κύρια προσφορά πού μπορεῖ νά κάνη ἡ ἀνατολική Ἐκκλησία στόν σύγχρονο διάλογο γιά κοινωνικά ζητήματα» (Γ. Φλωρόφσκυ, «Τό κοινωνικό πρόβλημα στήν Ἀνατολική Ὀρθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία», στό ἔργο τοῦ ἰδίου, Χριστιανισμός καί Πολιτισμός, ἐκδ. Πουρναρᾶ, Θεσσαλονίκη 1982, σ. 166). Καί ἡ ἐν Κρήτῃ, κατά Ἰούνιον τοῦ ἔτους 2016 συνελθοῦσα Ἁγία καί Μεγάλη Σύνοδος τῆς Ὀρθοδόξου Ἐκκλησίας προέβαλε μετ᾿ ἐμφάσεως τό κοινωνικόν μήνυμα τῆς Ὀρθοδοξίας καί τήν «ὑψίστην ἀξίαν τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου προσώπου»: «Ἡ Ὀρθόδοξος Ἐκκλησία ὁμολογεῖ ὅτι ἕκαστος ἄνθρωπος ἀνεξαρτήτως χρώματος, θρησκείας, φυλῆς, φύλου, ἐθνικότητος, γλώσσης, ἔχει δημιουργηθῆ κατ᾿ εἰκόνα καί καθ᾿ ὁμοίωσιν Θεοῦ καί ἀπολαμβάνει ἴσα δικαιώματα ἐν τῇ κοινωνίᾳ. Συνεπής πρός τήν πίστιν αὐτήν, ἡ Ὀρθόδοξος Ἐκκλησία δέν δέχεται τάς διακρίσεις δι᾿ ἕκαστον ἐκ τῶν προαναφερθέντων λόγων, ἐφ᾿ ὅσον αὗται προϋποθέτουν ἀξιολογικήν διαφοράν μεταξύ τῶν ἀνθρώπων» (Ἡ ἀποστολή τῆς Ὀρθοδόξου Ἐκκλησίας εἰς τόν σύγχρονον κόσμον, Ε’, 1).
Ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ καί διά τῆς ἀγάπης οἱ χριστιανοί εἶναι περισσότερον ἀνθρωπισταί ἀπό ὅλους τούς ἀνθρωπιστάς. Τό χριστιανικόν δέον περί ἀνθρώπου ὑπερβαίνει τό ἀνθρωπιστικόν ἰδεῶδες τῶν δικαιωμάτων τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Ἡ ἐλευθερία, «ᾗ Χριστός ἡμᾶς ἠλευθέρωσε» (Γαλ. ε’, 1), δέν εἶναι διεκδίκησις δικαιωμάτων, δέν εἶναι ἀτομική ἐλευθερία ἀπό τόν ἄλλον, ἀλλά διά τόν ἄλλον, τόν χρήζοντα βοηθείας ἀδελφόν. Ἡ χριστιανική ἀγάπη εἶναι ἔμπρακτος καί συγκεκριμένη, καί δέν ἔχει σχέσιν μέ μίαν ἀπρόσωπον συμπάθειαν καί μίαν ἀσαφῆ φιλάνθρωπον διάθεσιν. Ἀποτελεῖ δέ πάντοτε ἔκφρασιν τῆς εὐχαριστιακῆς ταυτότητος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, «λειτουργία μετά τήν Θείαν Λειτουργίαν», καί βιοῦται ὄχι ὡς ἰδικόν μας κατόρθωμα, ἀλλά ὡς ἄνωθεν δωρεά. Τοιοῦτον ἦθος ἐνσαρκώνουν καί αἱ εὐλογημέναι Φιλόπτωχοι Ἀδελφότητες τῆς Ἱερᾶς Ἀρχιεπισκοπῆς Ἀμερικῆς, ἤ τε Ἐθνική καί αἱ λοιπαί κατά τόπους. Εἶναι ἄτοπον νά χαρακτηρίζεται ἡ ἐκκλησιαστική κοινωνική μαρτυρία καί διακονία ὡς ἐκκοσμίκευσις τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἀφοῦ ἀφορᾷ εἰς τήν «ἐκκλησιαστικοποίησιν» τοῦ κόσμου.
Τιμιώτατοι ἀδελφοί καί προσφιλέστατα τέκνα,
Ὁ σύγχρονος κόσμος καί ὁ πολιτισμός του δέν εἶναι ἡ «ἁμαρτωλή Νινευί», τήν τιμωρίαν καί καταστροφήν τῆς ὁποίας ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ εὔχονται ὅσοι διακατέχονται ἀπό τό «σύνδρομον τοῦ Ἰωνᾶ», ζῶντες ὡς οἱ «ἐκλεκτοί» εἰς τόν «οἶκον τοῦ πατρός», χωρίς ἐπαφήν ὅμως μέ τήν σύγχρονον πραγματικότητα, χωρίς εὐαισθησίαν διά τάς περιπετείας τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἐλευθερίας, χωρίς συμμετοχήν εἰς τόν πόνον τῶν θυμάτων τῆς βίας, τῆς ἀδικίας καί τῶν διακρίσεων. Τό ζητούμενον εἶναι χριστιανική μαρτυρία καί δρᾶσις ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, μετοχή ὄχι ἀποχή, πρᾶξις ὄχι μόνον θεωρία, πρόσληψις ὄχι ἀπόρριψις, διάλογος ὄχι ἄγονος ἀντίλογος.
Τοιαύτην καλήν καί ἐπίκαιρον μαρτυρίαν συντόνου μερίμνης διά τά ἐκκλησιαστικά πράγματα ἐδώκατε, Ἱερώτατε Ἀρχιεπίσκοπε Ἀμερικῆς κ. Ἐλπιδοφόρε, κατά τό διαρρεῦσαν πρῶτον ἔτος τῆς ποιμαντορίας σας εἰς τόν Νέον Κόσμον. Ἐπαινοῦμεν τάς ἀόκνους προσπαθείας σας διά τήν ἀποπεράτωσιν τοῦ Ἱεροῦ Ναοῦ τοῦ Ἁγίου Νικολάου εἰς τό «Σημεῖον Μηδέν», ὥστε νά καταστῇ δυνατή ἡ τέλεσις τῶν θυρανοιξίων του ἐντός τοῦ προσεχοῦς ἔτους. Ἐπικροτοῦμεν, ἐπίσης, τάς πρωτοβουλίας σας διά τήν ἐξυγίανσιν τοῦ Ταμείου Συνταξιοδοτήσεως Κληρικῶν καί λαϊκῶν ὑπαλλήλων τῆς Ἀρχιεπισκοπῆς. Σημαντικόν ἔργον ἐπιτελεῖτε καί διά τήν ἀνασυγκρότησιν τῆς ἐν Βοστώνῃ Θεολογικῆς Σχολῆς τοῦ Τιμίου Σταυροῦ, διά τήν ἀποτελεσματικήν ἀντιμετώπισιν τῶν ἀνακυψάντων οἰκονομικῶν προβλημάτων καί ἀκαδημαϊκῶν προκλήσεων εἰς τήν λειτουργίαν τοῦ ἱστορικοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀκαδημαϊκοῦ καθιδρύματος.
Ἔμπρακτον ἀγάπην ἐπέδειξε, καί συνεχίζει νά ἐπιδεικνύῃ, ἡ Ἀρχιεπισκοπή Ἀμερικῆς καί καθ᾿ ὅλην τήν περίοδον τῆς πανδημίας τοῦ νέου κορωνοϊοῦ, διά τῆς ἀμερίστου συμπαραστάσεως πρός τούς πάσχοντας καί τάς οἰκογενείας των, διά τῆς ἱδρύσεως εἰδικοῦ Ταμείου Ἀνακουφίσεως τῶν πληγέντων ἐκ τῆς νόσου, διά τοῦ λόγου τῆς ὑπομονῆς καί τῆς παρακλήσεως, μέ ποιμαντικήν φαντασίαν, ἐν ἀκραδάντῳ βεβαιότητι ὅτι τά δεινά καί τό κακόν δέν ἔχουν τόν τελευταῖον λόγον εἰς τήν ἱστορίαν, κύριος τῆς ὁποίας εἶναι ὁ Χριστός. Πνεῦμα χριστιανικῆς ἀλληλεγγύης ἐκφράζει καί ἡ τήρησις τῶν ἐπιβληθέντων διά τήν ἀντιμετώπισιν τῆς διασπορᾶς τοῦ ἰοῦ μέτρων, ἐν ἐπιγνώσει ὅτι αὐτά δέν θίγουν τήν πίστιν, τήν εὐσέβειαν καί τάς παραδόσεις μας, τάς ὁποίας τηροῦμεν ὡς κόρην ὀφθαλμοῦ, ἀλλά ὅτι συμβάλλουν εἰς τήν προστασίαν τῆς ὑγείας καί τῆς ζωῆς πάντων ἡμῶν. Πάντοτε, ἰδίως δέ εἰς παρομοίας περιστάσεις, ἡ ἀδελφοσύνη, ἡ αὐτοθυσία καί ἡ ἀγάπη ἀποτελοῦν παρουσίαν καί εἰκόνα τῆς Βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. Ἡ σοβοῦσα πανδημία ἐκλόνισε πολλά αὐτονόητα, ἀπεκάλυψεν ὅμως τήν ἀξίαν καί τήν δύναμιν τῆς πίστεως εἰς Θεόν ζῶντα καί τῆς ἐλπίδος τῆς αἰωνιότητος, διά νά μή καμφθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἀπό τό βάρος τῶν ὁριακῶν καταστάσεων καί τοῦ φόβου τοῦ θανάτου.
Μέ αὐτάς τάς σκέψεις, ἐπευλογοῦντες ἐκ Φαναρίου τάς ἐργασίας τῆς παρούσης Κληρικολαϊκῆς Συνελεύσεως, εὐχόμεθα πᾶσαν ἐπιτυχίαν, ἐπ᾿ ἀγαθῷ τοῦ κλήρου καί τοῦ λαοῦ τῆς Ἱερᾶς Ἀρχιεπισκοπῆς Ἀμερικῆς καί πρός δόξαν τοῦ ὑπέρ πᾶν ὄνομα ὀνόματος τοῦ «Θεοῦ τῆς ἀγάπης» (Β’ Κορ. ιγ’, 11) καί Δομήτορος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, πρός τόν Ὁποῖον ὁ Πατριάρχης σας προσεύχεται ἐκτενῶς διά τά ἐν Ἀμερικῇ καί τά ἐν ἁπάσῃ τῇ δεσποτείᾳ Κυρίου τέκνα τῆς Μητρός Ἐκκλησίας.
Κατακλείομεν τόν χαιρετισμόν τοῦτον μέ τά λόγια τοῦ Ἀποστόλου Παύλου, εἰς τά ὁποῖα κορυφοῦται ὁ «ὕμνος τῆς ἀγάπης», λόγια τά ὁποῖα ἀποκαλύπτουν τόν ὁρίζοντα, τήν τελικήν προοπτικήν, τό «ὑπερνόημα», τήν ἐλπίδα καί τήν ἄληκτον χαράν τῶν πιστῶν ἐν τῇ Βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Πατρός καί τοῦ Υἱοῦ καί τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος: «Ἡ ἀγάπη οὐδέποτε ἐκπίπτει. Εἴτε δέ προφητεῖαι, καταργηθήσονται˙ εἴτε γλῶσσαι, παύσονται˙ εἴτε γνῶσις, καταργηθήσεται. Ἐκ μέρους δέ γινώσκομεν καί ἐκ μέρους προφητεύομεν˙ ὅταν δέ ἔλθῃ τό τέλειον, τότε τό ἐκ μέρους καταργηθήσεται. Ὅτε ἤμην νήπιος, ὡς νήπιος ἐλάλουν, ὡς νήπιος ἐφρόνουν, ὡς νήπιος ἐλογιζόμην˙ ὅτε δέ γέγονα ἀνήρ, κατήργηκα τά τοῦ νηπίου. Βλέπομεν γάρ ἄρτι δι᾿ ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι, τότε δέ πρόσωπον πρός πρόσωπον˙ ἄρτι γινώσκω ἐκ μέρους, τότε δέ ἐπιγνώσομαι καθώς καί ἐπεγνώσθην. Νυνί δέ μένει πίστις, ἐλπίς, ἀγάπη, τά τρία ταῦτα˙ μείζων δέ τούτων ἡ ἀγάπη» (Α’ Κορ. ιγ’, 8-13).
,βκ’ Σεπτεμβρίου δ΄
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Prot. No. 502
Your Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, most honorable exarch of the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, beloved brother and concelebrant of our Modesty in the Holy Spirit; Most Reverend and Right Reverend brother Metropolitans and Bishops; Very Reverend clergy Hieromonks, Reverend Presbyters and Deacons; most honorable representatives of the Communities and Parishes; most esteemed Archons of the Mother Church; dearest delegates of the major Institutions of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and all participants comprising its 45th Clergy-Laity Congress: May the grace, peace, and blessing of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ be with you all.
With the assent of God, the Giver of all good things, the 45th Clergy-Laity Congress of this great Eparchy of our Ecumenical Throne, the united Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, takes place for the first time virtually, as a result of the difficult circumstances that the pandemic of the novel coronavirus Covid-19 continue to create. As we convey the commendation of the Mother Church and our Patriarchal blessing to all of you, we congratulate you for continuing this beautiful tradition, which, for many decades now, has strengthened the good witness of the Church in light of the demands and challenges of the times, thereby securing the broad participation of the people of God in the Church affairs, the exchange of opinions in a spirit of love and concord, as well as the reaching of decisions beneficial for the mission of the Church.
The theme of this Clergy-Laity Congress – the first under your presidency, dearest brother Elpidophoros – is the wonderful verse from St. Paul: “but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13.13), which expresses the quintessence of the Christian ethos. The meaning of love was revealed in God’s love for humankind: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1 Jn 4.9). It is to this love, as the source and model of love from the faithful to their neighbor, that St. Paul looks when he composes his eminent “hymn of love” (1 Cor 13.1–13).
Love is the “new wine” that bursts the “old wineskins” (cf. Mt 9.17). It is from this love that new values were sprung, social movements were inspired, and the charitable conquests of modernity were nurtured, despite the many conflicts between Christianity and modern humanism; for while these were inevitably the consequence of essential differences in the perception of human freedom, nonetheless they were primarily the result of circumstantial misconceptions and repudiations. Today it seems both sides have understood that, despite the differences, they meet in the joint mobilization for the sake of the protection of human dignity, justice, and peace. In this context and encounter, the Orthodox Church highlights the social dimension of freedom, the priority of the culture of solidarity. The late professor Fr. Georges Florovsky was right to underline the central place of social sensitivity in the Orthodox tradition: “There is still, as it has been for centuries, a strong social instinct in the Eastern church in spite of all historical involvements and drawbacks. And possibly this is the main contribution which the Eastern church can make to the contemporary conversation on social issues.” (“The Social Problem in the Eastern Orthodox Church,” in Christianity and Culture: Volume Two, The Collected Works of Georges Florovsky, Belmont, MA: Nordland Publishing Co., 1974, 131–142, at 132) And the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church that convened in Crete (June, 2016) emphatically promoted the social message of Orthodoxy and “the supreme value of the human person:” “The Orthodox Church confesses that every human being, regardless of skin color, religion, race, sex, ethnicity, and language, is created in the image and likeness of God, and enjoys equal rights in society. Consistent with this belief, the Orthodox Church rejects discrimination for any of the aforementioned reasons, since these presuppose a difference in dignity between people.” (The Mission of the Orthodox Church in the Contemporary World, V.1)
In love and through love, Christians are more humanists than all humanists. The Christian mandate concerning the human person transcends the humanistic ideal pertaining to human rights. The freedom “to which Christ has set us free” (Gal 5.1) is not the vindication of rights, is not individual freedom from the other, but rather it is the freedom for the other, our brother or sister who needs help. Christian love is always concrete; it is not associated with an impersonal sympathy or a vague philanthropic disposition. It always constitutes an expression of the eucharistic identity of the Church, “a liturgy after the Liturgy,” and is experienced not as our own achievement but as a gift from above. Such a Christian ethos is embodied by the blessed Philoptochos Societies of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, both in their National and regional expressions. It is completely inappropriate to describe the Church’s social witness and diakonia as a secularization of the Church, inasmuch as it is its salvific imprint in the world.
Most honorable brothers and beloved children,
The contemporary world and its culture is not some “sinful Nineveh,” whose punishment and destruction by God are desired by those overcome by the “Jonah syndrome,” who believe they are the “chosen ones” in the “household of the father,” but have no connection to the contemporary reality, no sensitivity for the adventures of human freedom, and no sharing in the pain of the victims of violence, injustice, and discrimination. Our objective should be a Christian witness and action in the world, which implies engagement and not disengagement, praxis and not just theoria, acceptance and not just rejection, dialogue and not just barren disputation.
This is the good and timely witness of coordinated concern for the ecclesiastical affairs that you have demonstrated, Your Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, over the past year, your first in pastoral leadership in the New World. We commend you for your tireless efforts to complete the construction of St. Nicholas Church at “Ground Zero,” rendering possible the celebration of its opening next year. We also applaud your initiatives to remedy the Pension Fund of the clergy and lay employees of the Archdiocese. Noteworthy is also your contribution to the restructuring of the Holy Cross School of Theology in Boston for the sake of a more efficient response to its financial problems and academic challenges that have emerged in the function of this historic institution.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has also demonstrated, and continues to demonstrate, tangible love throughout the period of the novel coronavirus pandemic, through its undivided support of those suffering and their families, by establishing a special Relief Fund for those affected by this virus, through its word of patience and comfort, with pastoral imagination – all of these, in the unfailing conviction that suffering and evil do not have the final word in history, whose master is Christ Himself. It is the same spirit of Christian solidarity that is also expressed by the observance of the mandated measures in response to the spread of the coronavirus, with the full knowledge that these do not affect our faith, piety, and traditions, which we maintain as the apple of our eye, but that they contribute to the protection of the health and life of us all. At all time, but especially in such circumstances, fraternity, self-sacrifice, and love constitute the presence and image of the Kingdom of God in the world. The current pandemic has shattered many things that we take for granted, but it has also revealed the value and power of faith in the living God and of our hope in eternal life, so that we do not break beneath the weight of these “limit situations” and of the fear of death.
With these thoughts, we bless, from the Phanar, the deliberations of this Clergy-Laity Congress and wish you every success for the benefit of the clergy and laity of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, for the glory of the “God of love” (2 Cor 13.11), whose name is above all names, the Founder of the Church, to whom your Patriarch earnestly prays for the children of the Mother Church of Constantinople in America and throughout God’s world.
We close our greeting with the words of the Apostle Paul, in which the “hymn of love” is culminated, inspiring words, which reveal the horizon, the final perspective and ultimate meaning, the hope and endless joy of the faithful in the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: “Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now, we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So, faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Co. 13. 8–13). May the God of love bless you all!
September 4, 2020
Your Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, most honorable exarch of the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, beloved brother and concelebrant of our Modesty in the Holy Spirit; Most Reverend and Right Reverend brother Metropolitans and Bishops; Very Reverend clergy Hieromonks, Reverend Presbyters and Deacons; most honorable representatives of the Communities and Parishes; most esteemed Archons of the Mother Church; dearest delegates of the major Institutions of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and all participants comprising its 45th Clergy-Laity Congress: May the grace, peace, and blessing of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ be with you all.
With the assent of God, the Giver of all good things, the 45th Clergy-Laity Congress of this great Eparchy of our Ecumenical Throne, the united Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, takes place for the first time virtually, as a result of the difficult circumstances that the pandemic of the novel coronavirus Covid-19 continue to create. As we convey the commendation of the Mother Church and our Patriarchal blessing to all of you, we congratulate you for continuing this beautiful tradition, which, for many decades now, has strengthened the good witness of the Church in light of the demands and challenges of the times, thereby securing the broad participation of the people of God in the Church affairs, the exchange of opinions in a spirit of love and concord, as well as the reaching of decisions beneficial for the mission of the Church.
The theme of this Clergy-Laity Congress – the first under your presidency, dearest brother Elpidophoros – is the wonderful verse from St. Paul: “but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13.13), which expresses the quintessence of the Christian ethos. The meaning of love was revealed in God’s love for humankind: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1 Jn 4.9). It is to this love, as the source and model of love from the faithful to their neighbor, that St. Paul looks when he composes his eminent “hymn of love” (1 Cor 13.1–13).
Love is the “new wine” that bursts the “old wineskins” (cf. Mt 9.17). It is from this love that new values were sprung, social movements were inspired, and the charitable conquests of modernity were nurtured, despite the many conflicts between Christianity and modern humanism; for while these were inevitably the consequence of essential differences in the perception of human freedom, nonetheless they were primarily the result of circumstantial misconceptions and repudiations. Today it seems both sides have understood that, despite the differences, they meet in the joint mobilization for the sake of the protection of human dignity, justice, and peace. In this context and encounter, the Orthodox Church highlights the social dimension of freedom, the priority of the culture of solidarity. The late professor Fr. Georges Florovsky was right to underline the central place of social sensitivity in the Orthodox tradition: “There is still, as it has been for centuries, a strong social instinct in the Eastern church in spite of all historical involvements and drawbacks. And possibly this is the main contribution which the Eastern church can make to the contemporary conversation on social issues.” (“The Social Problem in the Eastern Orthodox Church,” in Christianity and Culture: Volume Two, The Collected Works of Georges Florovsky, Belmont, MA: Nordland Publishing Co., 1974, 131–142, at 132) And the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church that convened in Crete (June, 2016) emphatically promoted the social message of Orthodoxy and “the supreme value of the human person:” “The Orthodox Church confesses that every human being, regardless of skin color, religion, race, sex, ethnicity, and language, is created in the image and likeness of God, and enjoys equal rights in society. Consistent with this belief, the Orthodox Church rejects discrimination for any of the aforementioned reasons, since these presuppose a difference in dignity between people.” (The Mission of the Orthodox Church in the Contemporary World, V.1)
In love and through love, Christians are more humanists than all humanists. The Christian mandate concerning the human person transcends the humanistic ideal pertaining to human rights. The freedom “to which Christ has set us free” (Gal 5.1) is not the vindication of rights, is not individual freedom from the other, but rather it is the freedom for the other, our brother or sister who needs help. Christian love is always concrete; it is not associated with an impersonal sympathy or a vague philanthropic disposition. It always constitutes an expression of the eucharistic identity of the Church, “a liturgy after the Liturgy,” and is experienced not as our own achievement but as a gift from above. Such a Christian ethos is embodied by the blessed Philoptochos Societies of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, both in their National and regional expressions. It is completely inappropriate to describe the Church’s social witness and diakonia as a secularization of the Church, inasmuch as it is its salvific imprint in the world.
Most honorable brothers and beloved children,
The contemporary world and its culture is not some “sinful Nineveh,” whose punishment and destruction by God are desired by those overcome by the “Jonah syndrome,” who believe they are the “chosen ones” in the “household of the father,” but have no connection to the contemporary reality, no sensitivity for the adventures of human freedom, and no sharing in the pain of the victims of violence, injustice, and discrimination. Our objective should be a Christian witness and action in the world, which implies engagement and not disengagement, praxis and not just theoria, acceptance and not just rejection, dialogue and not just barren disputation.
This is the good and timely witness of coordinated concern for the ecclesiastical affairs that you have demonstrated, Your Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, over the past year, your first in pastoral leadership in the New World. We commend you for your tireless efforts to complete the construction of St. Nicholas Church at “Ground Zero,” rendering possible the celebration of its opening next year. We also applaud your initiatives to remedy the Pension Fund of the clergy and lay employees of the Archdiocese. Noteworthy is also your contribution to the restructuring of the Holy Cross School of Theology in Boston for the sake of a more efficient response to its financial problems and academic challenges that have emerged in the function of this historic institution.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has also demonstrated, and continues to demonstrate, tangible love throughout the period of the novel coronavirus pandemic, through its undivided support of those suffering and their families, by establishing a special Relief Fund for those affected by this virus, through its word of patience and comfort, with pastoral imagination – all of these, in the unfailing conviction that suffering and evil do not have the final word in history, whose master is Christ Himself. It is the same spirit of Christian solidarity that is also expressed by the observance of the mandated measures in response to the spread of the coronavirus, with the full knowledge that these do not affect our faith, piety, and traditions, which we maintain as the apple of our eye, but that they contribute to the protection of the health and life of us all. At all time, but especially in such circumstances, fraternity, self-sacrifice, and love constitute the presence and image of the Kingdom of God in the world. The current pandemic has shattered many things that we take for granted, but it has also revealed the value and power of faith in the living God and of our hope in eternal life, so that we do not break beneath the weight of these “limit situations” and of the fear of death.
With these thoughts, we bless, from the Phanar, the deliberations of this Clergy-Laity Congress and wish you every success for the benefit of the clergy and laity of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, for the glory of the “God of love” (2 Cor 13.11), whose name is above all names, the Founder of the Church, to whom your Patriarch earnestly prays for the children of the Mother Church of Constantinople in America and throughout God’s world.
We close our greeting with the words of the Apostle Paul, in which the “hymn of love” is culminated, inspiring words, which reveal the horizon, the final perspective and ultimate meaning, the hope and endless joy of the faithful in the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: “Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now, we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So, faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Co. 13. 8–13). May the God of love bless you all!
September 4, 2020
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