NEW YORK – His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, together with leading Trustees of the “Friends of Saint Nicholas,” held an informational national call-in on the project and the restart of construction at Ground Zero on Wednesday, February 26.
NEW YORK – Following the formal announcement that Leadership 100 Board of Trustees approved a grant of five million dollars for Saint Nicholas National Shrine, His Eminence Archbishop of America celebrated this historic decision. “Today, Leadership 100 has again responded to the call of need, as they have time and time again in the history of our Archdiocese. We thank the entirety of the membership of Leadership 100, not only for this grant, but for their continued confidence in Saint Nicholas National Shrine, and their dedication to its completion.”
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today we commence our journey of the Great Lent that leads us inexorably to the Holy Passion of the Lord and the Pascha of unending joy. It is a time of determination and concentration, one in which we are encouraged to abstain from certain foods and drink, to practice more active charity and philanthropy, and to look within at the values and principles by which we live our lives.
NEW YORK – His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America expressed his delight and pride that His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will give the University of Notre Dame’s 175th commencement address on May 17, 2020, at the conclusion of his Apostolic Visit to the United States.
Today, we hear, in the most glaring terms, the same message from our Lord Jesus Christ in the reading from the Gospel. Chosen for this Sunday of Meatfare,[†] when in the tradition of the Church this is the last day that animal flesh is supposed to be eaten until the Sunday of Pascha, there is not a single word about fasting in today’s reading. That should be a clue for all of us. But there is even more.
I am truly moved as we close out this 29th Annual Conference, and although I do not know whether I will see twenty-nine more … these past few days make me hope that I do.
This celebration of love, of fellowship, and of faith is deeply inspiring to me, even as I mentioned yesterday at the General Assembly. Your commitment to the Ministry of the Church, and your joyful life together as Leadership 100 have given me some much-needed refreshment.
It is my prayer that as we go forward together – even as we have for the sake of the Saint Nicholas Shrine at the World Trade Center, that we will always find common ground around the work of Christ and His Holy Church.
All of you – from those you have honored, and I congratulate Michael Kratsios, Tim Tassopoulos and the other honorees, to those whose contributions are quiet and reserved – all of you deserve my thanks.
Yesterday, and in the two days preceding, I had truly wonderful opportunities to be with the servant-leaders of Leadership 100: your Board of Trustees, your Executive Committee, and your staff. All of them are truly both your servants and your leaders; for they are committed to you – the Members, and to your interests.
This is my first Leadership 100 Annual Conference, and I have to say, that I am deeply impressed and moved by the devotion and faith that I have experienced among you.
I am delighted to be here with you this week for my first Leadership 100 Annual Conference. As always, the Abrahamic arrangements, the essence of Greek philoxenia, have been made at the highest level, worthy of the memory of Archbishop Iakovos whose vision, together with your Founders, created this Endowment that bears his name. I want to especially thank the Chairman, Argyris Vassiliou, and the Executive Director, Paulette Poulos, for all of their attentiveness and hospitality.
Forgiveness Sunday
The Holy Fathers have appointed the commemoration of Adam's exile from the Paradise of delight here, on the eve of the holy Forty-day Fast, demonstrating to us not by simple words, but by actual deeds, how beneficial fasting is for man, and how harmful and destructive are insatiety and the transgressing of the divine commandments. For the first commandment that God gave to man was that of fasting, which the first-fashioned received but did not keep; and not only did they not become gods, as they had imagined, but they lost even that blessed life which they had, and they fell into corruption and death, and transmitted these and innumerable other evils to all of mankind. The God-bearing Fathers set these things before us today, that by bringing to mind what we have fallen from, and what we have suffered because of the insatiety and disobedience of the first-fashioned, we might be diligent to return again to that ancient bliss and glory by means of fasting and obedience to all the divine commands. Taking occasion from today's Gospel (Matt. 6:14-21) to begin the Fast unencumbered by enmity, we also ask forgiveness this day, first from God, then from one another and all creation.
