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THE GREEK (EASTERN) ORTHODOX CHURCH
What's in our name?
Our name, or rather, our names tell a great deal about us. Many
names have been used throughout the centuries to describe our Church
and its some 300 million adherents. "Greek, "Eastern',
"Orthodox', "One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic" are
all appropriate designations of the Church.
Our Church is called the "Greek Church" because Greek
was the first language of the ancient Christian Church from which
our Faith was transmitted. The New Testament was written in Greek
and the early writings of Christ's followers were in the Greek language.
The word "Greek" is not used to describe just the Orthodox
Christian peoples of Greece and other Greek speaking people. Rather,
it is used to describe the Christians who originated from the Greek
speaking early Christian Church and which used Greek thought to
find appropriate expressions of the Orthodox Faith. "Orthodox"
is also used to describe our Church. The word "Orthodox"
is derived from two short Greek words, orthos, meaning correct,
and doxa, meaning belief or glory. Thus, we used the word "Orthodox''
to indicate our conviction that we believe and worship God correctly.
We emphasize Apostolic tradition, continuity and conservatism over
a 2,000 year history.
Our Church is also spoken of as the "Eastern Church" to
distinguish it from the Churches of the West. "Eastern"
is used to indicate that in the first millennium the influence of
our Church was concentrated in the eastern part of the Christian
world and to show that a very large number of our membership is
of other than Greek national origin. Thus, Orthodox Christians throughout
the world use various ethnic or national titles: "Greek",
"Russian", "Serbian", "Romanian",
"Ukrainian", "Bulgarian", "Antiochian",
"Albanian", "Carpatho-Russian", or more inclusively,
as "Eastern Orthodox".
In the Nicene Creed of faith our Church is described as the "One,
Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church": "One" because
there can only be one true Church with one head Who is Christ. "Holy"
because the church seeks to sanctify and transfigure its members
through the Sacraments. "Catholic" because the Church
is universal and has members in all parts of the world. The word
"Catholic" comes from a Greek word katholikos (kath-oh-lee-KOHS)
which means world-wide or universal. '"Apostolic" because
its teachings are based on the foundations laid by the Apostles
from whom our Church derives its teachings and authority without
break or change.
Each of these titles is limiting in some respects, since they define
Christians belonging to particular historical or regional Churches
of the Orthodox communion. Orthodox Christianity is not limited
to the East, however, either in terms of its own self-definition
or in geographical location. There are many Orthodox Christians
who live in the West, and are rapidly becoming integrally related
to its spiritual, intellectual and cultural life.
Our origins and development: to know us is to understand our history.
Christianity originated in Palestine, spread rapidly throughout
the Mediterranean, and by the end of the fourth century was recognized
as the official religion of the late Roman or Byzantine Empire.
Seen in the context of its historical milieu, it was a unified religious
movement, although diverse in many respects. It was extremely vital
and dynamic in its historic development.
Orthodox Catholic Christianity remained essentially undivided. Its
five major administrative centers were located in Rome, Constantinople
(present-day Istanbul), Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. The articulation
of Christian doctrine and order was achieved through the great Ecumenical
Councils, the first of which was convened in AD 325. At these Councils,
all leaders and centers of Christianity were represented and shared
in the deliberations.
The first great schism or separation took place in the fifth and
sixth centuries, chiefly over the understanding of the person of
Christ. Certain ancient and venerable Eastern Churches are quite
similar to the Orthodox Church in ethos, lifestyle, and worship.
They are of two types, one called the Nestorian or Assyrian Church
of the East, and the other much larger grouping called Pre-Chalcedonian
because of its non-acceptance of the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451).
The non-Chalcedonian Churches include the Coptic Church of Egypt,
the Ethiopian Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Church
of St. Thomas in India, and the Jacobite Syrian Church of Antioch.
Altogether they claim approximately 22 million faithful.
The Christian religion was the principal influence in the Byzantine
Empire, shaping its culture, laws, art, architecture and intellectual
life. The harmony between the civic and ecclesiastical spheres,
Emperor and Church, was rarely broken so as to present a truly unified
Christian Empire, a Christian ecumene. This symphonic relationship
of faith and culture is a distinctive legacy of the Orthodox Church
which was later transmitted to the slavic peoples of Eastern Europe
and Russia.
After the seventh Ecumenical Council in AD 787, the basic unity
of faith and ecclesiastical life between East and West began to
disintegrate, due to a variety of theological, jurisdictional, cultural
and political differences. This eventually led to the Great Schism
between East and West of AD 1054. This unfortunate division was
aggravated to the point of a complete break in communication between
the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church. Centuries later the
protests against Rome in Western Europe gave rise to the Protestant
Reformation. In our day the non-Chalcedonian Oriental Churches,
the Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the many Protestant
Churches and groups comprise the wide spectrum of Christendom.
After the Great Schism Orthodox Christianity continued to develop
apart from Western Christianity. Tenaciously conservative, relying
on its dynamic concept of Tradition, it preserves the classical
forms of Christian life and dogma to this very day. It is very much
a "popular" Church, closely identified with the national
life and aspirations of its people. In traditional Orthodox lands
it is difficult to separate religious and secular life, since they
are one in the minds of the people. Orthodoxy has absorbed, and
in some cases even shaped, the cultural traditions of many nations,
chiefly in the Near East, the Balkans and Greece, Eastern Europe
and Russia. It is, for many of these nations, the national religion.
In other lands, of course, it is a tiny minority group. In fact,
large numbers of Orthodox Christians have lived in officially atheistic
or secularized socialist republics and witnessed to their faith
under conditions of active persecution and intolerance. Many became
true martyrs for the faith.
The Orthodox Church today
The Orthodox Church today is a communion of self governing Churches,
each administratively independent of the other, but united by a
common faith and spirituality. Their underlying unity is based on
identity of doctrines, sacramental life and worship, which distinguishes
Orthodox Christianity. All recognize the spiritual preeminence of
the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople who is acknowledged as
primus inter pares, first among equals. All share full communion
with one another. The living tradition of the Church and the principles
of concord and harmony are expressed through the common mind of
the universal episcopate as the need arises. In all other matters,
the internal life of each independent Church is administered by
the bishops of that particular Church. Following the ancient principle
of the one people of God in each place and the universal priesthood
of all believers, the laity share equally in the responsibility
for the preservation and propagation of the Christian faith and
Church.
In addition to the four ancient Patriarchates of Constantinople,
Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem with their several geographic
and ecclesiastical subdivisions, there are also many independent
or autocephalous Orthodox Christian Churches. These include the
Churches of Russia, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia,
Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Finland, Albania and Sinai. Smaller
autonomous Orthodox Churches and missions can be found on every
continent throughout the world.
THE GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF
AMERICA
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America
Beginnings
Before the establishment of an Archdiocese in the Western Hemisphere
there were numerous communities of Greek Orthodox Christians. The
first Greek Orthodox community in the Americas was founded in 1864
in New Orleans,LA by a small colony of Greek merchants. History
also records that on June 26,1768 the first Greek colonists landed
at St.Augustine,FL, the oldest city in America. Today, the “Avero
House” where these colonists worshipped has been fully restored
and houses the St. Photios National Shrine, dedicated to all our
ancestors who came to these shores as immigrants. It was not until
just before the turn of the century that the first permanent community
was founded in New York City in 1892, today’s Archdiocesan
Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and See of the Archbishop of America.
The establishment of Greek Orthodoxy in America began in the beginning
of this century, coinciding with the acceleration of immigration
from Greece.The pioneering of Greek Orthodoxy in America continued
at an intensified rate throughout the first decades of the 20th
Century,and by 1920 sixty percent of the present-day communities
and their houses of worship were firmly founded.
The first Greek Orthodox parishes in North America were under the
jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople which
had over the centuries assumed responsibility for the diaspora communities
and assigned to them their priests. In 1908, however, this jurisdiction
was temporarily transferred to the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece.
This arrangement was maintained until 1918, and during this period
the communities remained without the necessary organization and
without a responsible and authorized religious leader they so greatly
needed.
Leadership
In the 80 years of the life of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese there
have been six archbishops: Archbishop Alexander (1922-1930); Archbishop
Athenagoras (1931-1948); Archbishop Michael (1948-1958); Archbishop
Iakovos (1959-1996),Archbishop Spyridon (1996-1999) and Archbishop
Demetrios who was enthroned as Archbishop on September 18,1999.
Metropolitan of Athens Meletios Metaxakis arrived in America on
October 20, 1918, an soon established the Synodical Council setting
the pattern for centralized Church administration.
In effect, this was the first step towards the establishment of
the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, which
was incorporated in 1921, and officially recognized by the State
of New York in 1922.
When Meletios was elected Ecumenical Patriarch Meletios IV in January,1922,
one of his first official decrees on March 1st of that year was
to restore the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This was formalized
on May 11, 1922 when Patriarch Meletios declared the Church of America
as an Archdiocese appointing the Rt. Rev. Alexander Titular Bishop
of Rodostolon , as his Patriarchal Exarch here.
Regrettably, from 1922 to 1930 turbulent political events in Greece
divided the Greeks in America, and the division also manifested
itself here ecclesiastically. Fortunately, the necessity for religious
unison and concord was quickly realized by the Greeks in this country,
and this need was also understood by Ecumenical Patriarch Photios
ll. Following a study of the situation of the Archdiocese, the Ecumenical
Patriarch appointed Metropolitan Athenagoras of Corfu as Archbishop
of North and South America on August 30, 1930. Archbishop Athenagoras
arrived in New York on February 24, 1931 and began a long tenure
which did not end until he was elected Ecumenical Patriarch on November
1,1948.
Archbishop Athenagoras used all of his powers of peacemaking and
persuasion to bring harmony to the disunited communities. He centralized
the Archdiocese, expanded the work of Clergy-Laity Congresses, established
many new communities, founded St. Basil Academy and Teacher Training
School in Garrison,NY, founded Holy Cross School of Theology in
Pomfret, Connecticut, and in November 1931 during the Fourth Archdiocesan
Clergy-Laity Congress established the Ladies Philoptochos Society,
the official philanthropic organization of the Greek Orthodox Church
in America.
Archbishop Michael continued the programs of his predecessor and
brought the Church through its tender years. He founded St. Michael’s
Home for the Aged in Yonkers,NY. A brilliant scholar and linguist,
he founded the Greek Orthodox Youth of America (GOYA); he promoted
vigorously the campaign for national recognition of Eastern Orthodoxy
as a major faith in America; he created the Office of Information
and Public Relations; he brought about the acceptance of the Regulations
and Uniform By-Laws of the Archdiocese; he gained membership of
the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in the National Council of the Churches
of Christ in the U.S.A. His efforts for widespread recognition of
the Church were appropriately acknowledged when he was invited to
deliver the invocation at the Presidential inauguration of Dwight
D. Eisenhower in January,1957, the first Orthodox Christian cleric
to be so honored.
Archbishop Iakovos who was enthroned on April 1, 1959 ushered in
the dawn of a new era for Greek Orthodox in America as the Archbishop
was the first to be selected from the ranks of the American clergy.
Dean of all religious leaders in the United States when he retired
on July 30, 1996, Archbishop Iakovos’ 37 years of service were
distinguished by his leadership in furthering religious unity, revitalizing
Christian worship and championing human and civil rights. The Archbishop
was co-president of the World Council of Churches; established dialogues
with Roman Catholics, Anglicans,Lutherans, Southern Baptist and
Black Church leaders; and in a successful effort to promote closer
ties among several Orthodox jurisdictions and improve relations
between them and other denominations, the Archbishop founded in
1960 the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the
Americas. He was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
from President Jimmy Carter and was captured on the cover of LIFE
magazine on March 26,1965, walking hand in hand with Dr. Martin
Luther King in Selma, Alabama. During his tenure organizations were
expanded and new departments were added including Church and Society,
Youth Ministry, Communications and Leadership 100, a major gift
program of the National Endowment of the Archdiocese. He guided
the reorganization of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
in Brookline,MA and brought to fruition Hellenic College in 1968.
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Transition
On July 30, 1996, following the retirement of Archbishop Iakovos,
the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate established three
new metropolitanates, Toronto, Buenos Aires and Mexico,each having
specific areas of jurisdiction. The Holy Synod, by unanimous decision,
also elected Metropolitan Spyridon of Italy as Archbishop of America.
Archbishop Spyridon was enthroned on September 21, 1996 as the first
American-born elected as Archbishop of America. He served for three
years before submitting his resignation to the Ecumenical Patriarch
who announced on August 19th, 1999 that Archbishop Spyridon was
appointed to the Metropolis of Chaldea.
Today
Archbishop Demetrios, the former Metropolitan Demetrios of Vresthena
(Greece) was unanimously elected the new Archbishop of America on
August 19, 1999 and was enthroned on September 18. In the time following
his enthronement, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios has labored
together with the Hierarchs, Clergy and Laity of the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese in an intense effort to strengthen conditions of unity
and peace and to advance administrative and ecclesiastical stability
of the work of the Church in America. In the aftermath of the events
of September 11th and with a desire to address the needs and challenges
of our modern world, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios has spoken
repeatedly and emphatically about the vital mission of the Greek
Orthodox community to offer the Orthodox faith in its full, genuine
and loving form to contemporary America.
Father Robert G. Stephanopoulos is Dean of the Archdiocesan
Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and Adjunct Professor of Eastern
Christian Thought at St. John's University. He authored the Guidelines
for Orthodox Christians in Ecumenical Relations, has served as
Ecumenical Officer of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. A graduate
of Holy Cross School of Theology, he studied at the University
of Athens School of Theology and received his Ph.D. in Ecumenics.
Missions and Religions from Boston University.
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