NEW YORK – Upon hearing the horrible news of the monstrous mass shooting in the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut,  which caused the tragic death of 26 people, most of which are reportedly children,  His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America immediately contacted Fr. Peter Karloutsos, the priest of the nearby Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption in Danbury, Connecticut. He expressed to him his deep pain and great concern about this terrible incident and its devastating effects on the local community,  and offered any support on behalf of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

The Archbishop said that this is a crime whose magnitude and nature is impossible to believe, an abominable act of the kind that our society should work hard to prevent.  He called upon the orthodox faithful across the country to pray fervently for support and healing from God to the many families and individuals affected by this violent act and for the repose of the souls of the innocent victims of this enormous tragedy.

A scheduled visit of the Archbishop to the Greek Orthodox Church of the Archangels in Stamford, Conn. this coming Sunday Dec. 16, has been postponed; instead the Archbishop will visit the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption in Danbury, in order to offer pastoral support and guidance to the people of the area and pray with them in a Divine Liturgy which will begin at 10:00 a.m.