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Weekly Updates
SUNDAY, August 18th
9thSunday of Matthew
Orthros: 8:00amDivine Liturgy: 9:30am
Epistle:I Corinthians 3:9-17
Gospel: Matthew 14:22-34
Memorials: Anna Costea-3 months; Stavroula Themistokleous-9 months
Wedding of Joseph Passarelli & Susan Cucinella 1:30pm
SUNDAY, August 25th
10thSunday of Matthew
Orthros: 8:00amDivine Liturgy: 9:30am
Epistle: I Corinthians 4:9-16
Gospel: Matthew 17:14-23
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TUESDAY, August 27th
ΆγιοςΦανούριος
St. Fanourios
Orthros: 8:00amDivine Liturgy: 9:30am
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Date: May 11, 2019
To the Reverend Clergy,
The Esteemed Parish Councils,
The Philoptochos Sisterhoods,
The Youth Organizations,
And the Faithful of the Holy Archdiocese of America:
Today, May 11, 2019, under the presidency of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate deliberated and elected Metropolitan Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis) of Bursa and Exarch of Bithynia as the new Archbishop of America. The liturgical service of the Mega Minima (Acceptance) and expressions of thanksgiving by the new Archbishop took place shortly after his election.
The official COMMUNIQUE of the Chief Secretariat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate follows:
ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE
Announcement of May 11, 2019
Today, Saturday May 11 2019, the Holy and Sacred Synod, continuing its work, proceeded to fill the vacated seat of the Archdiocese of America following the voluntary resignation of its shepherd, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios Geron of America.
Therefore, following the suggestion, permission and exhortation of His-All Holiness, the holy synodical members upon invocation of the Holy Spirit, duly casted their votes and unanimously elected as Archbishop of America His Eminence Metropolitan Elpidophoros of Bursa, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Halki and Professor of the Theological School of the Aristoteleian University of Thessaloniki.
From the Secretariat of the Holy and Sacred Synod
Effective today, the clergy of the Archdiocesan District of New York will commemorate Archbishop Elpidophoros by name, and Metropolitan Methodios of Boston is hereby declared Vicar (Epitropos) of the Archdiocese.
News of the Arrival and Enthronement of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros will follow as it becomes available.
A Biographical Note of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros follows:
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis) of America was born in 1967 in Bakirköy, Istanbul. He studied at the Department of Pastoral Theology at the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, graduating in 1991. In 1993, he completed postgraduate studies at the Philosophical School of the University of Bonn in Germany, submitting a dissertation entitled: “The Brothers Nicholas and John Mesarites.” He was ordained to the Diaconate in 1994 at the Patriarchal Cathedral and appointed Kodikographos (Scrivener) of the Holy and Sacred Synod.
In 1995, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod. From 1996-1997 he studied at the Theological School of St. John the Damascene in Balamand, Lebanon, where he advanced his knowledge of the Arabic language. In 2001, he presented a doctoral dissertation at the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki under the title: “Severus of Antioch and the Council of Chalcedon” and was proclaimed a Doctor of Theology. In 2004, he was invited to Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Boston, where he taught as Visiting Professor for a semester.
In March 2005, at the proposal of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, he was elevated by the Holy and Sacred Synod to the position of Chief Secretary and ordained to the priesthood by the Ecumenical Patriarch in the Patriarchal Cathedral. In 2009, he submitted two dissertations to the Theological School of Thessaloniki and was unanimously elected Assistant Professor of Symbolics, Inter-Orthodox Relations, and the Ecumenical Movement. The dissertations are entitled: “The Synaxes of the Hierarchy of the Ecumenical Throne (1951-2004)” and “Luther’s Ninety-five Theses: Historical and Theological Aspects. Text - Translation - Commentary.”
In March 2011, he was elected Metropolitan of Bursa and in August of the same year was appointed Abbot of the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of the Holy Trinity on the island of Halki. He has served as Orthodox Secretary of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Lutheran World Federation and member of the Patriarchal delegations to the General Assemblies of the Conference of European Churches and the World Council of Churches. He was the Secretary of the Pan-Orthodox Synods in Sofia (1998), Istanbul (2005), Geneva (2006), and Istanbul (2008). He has been a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches since 1996.
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“Prayer in church is important. The best thoughts and feelings come in church, yes, and the enemy attacks more violently in church, but with the sign of the Cross and the Jesus Prayer, you drive him away. It is good to stand in some dark corner in church and to pray to God. “Let us lift up our hearts!” the priest exclaims, but our mind often creeps along the ground, thinking about indecent things. Fight against this.”
+ St. Barsanuphius of Optina
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