His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros 

Remarks at the Clergy Family Brunch 

45th Annual Folk Dance and Choral Festival 

February 20, 2022 – 11:30 am 

Sheraton Phoenix Downtown 

Phoenix, Arizona 

Beloved Brother, Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco, 

Your Graces and Reverend Fathers, 

Dear Presvyteres and Beloved Children, 

It is a delight to be with you once again here at the Clergy Family Brunch of the FDF. Once again, the generosity of the Sisterhoods of the Metropolis Philoptochos is manifest to all, and I want to thank our Metropolis Philoptochos President, Jeannie Ranglas, and all the members of the Philoptochos for supporting this Clergy Family Brunch. 

By its very name, this Annual Brunch highlights the role of the family in the life of our clergy. And I am not only speaking of the married clergy, for the celibate clergy often have living parents, and siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. Our clergy families are larger than those that share the dwelling. But certainly, understanding the life of the married clergy – of the families with children of varying ages and needs, is vital for successful ministries in our Archdiocese today. 

It has been asserted by some that the Hierarchy, who are by definition celibate, are not capable of understanding the needs of the married clergy. I would dispute this, as I believe your Metropolitan would as well.  

We Hierarchs do not emerge from a vacuum. We are born into families, with parents and brothers and sisters. Very often, the decision to remain celibate is resisted by our families, who know that the priesthood is open to married men. 

But the truth is that the exigencies of the married clergy can be more complicated than the unmarried clergy – especially with concerns about schooling for children and the role of the Presvytera in the life of the community. 

But for both the married and the celibate, family can be our greatest source of strength and refreshment from the taxing duties required of our Parish Priests. But there is a deep need for family harmony and balance. 

Saint Paul knew this importance, for he counseled the clergy of his day: 

Εἰ δέ τις τοῦ ἰδίου οἴκου προστῆναι οὐκ οἶδε, πῶς ἐκκλησίας Θεοῦ ἐπιμελήσεται;  

 If you do not know how to govern and be the champion of your own house, how will you care for the Church of God?1 

The Greek verb, προίστημι, in the first part of the verse, is, of course, the source of the word “Proïstamenos.” And it has many meanings. 

To be the Proïstamenos of your family is like being the Proïstamenos of your parish. It means that you are there as someone who directs, guides, and even protects. It can even mean to be a “champion,” in the sense of one who stands up for others. 

Thus, the family according to the flesh of the Clergy is an image of the family according to the spirit – that is, the Parish. But the model Saint Paul describes is one where the natural family of wife and children contains the pattern for the Parish. If you cannot provide for, protect, and even champion the causes of your family, how are you going to be able to provide for, protect, and champion your parish and parishioners? 

There is much wisdom in this pastoral Epistle of Saint Paul, even read in the context of a First Century culture and environment. The principle is solid and enduring. How we deal with our family members telegraphs how we will deal with the Parish and the Church at-large. If the needs of the family are forsaken out of some egotistic desire to please the Parish, we know that the Parish will ultimately suffer as well. Therefore, every family relationship must be made whole and be fortified, so that the ministry with the wider family can be accomplished. 

With these thoughts I commend all of you for creating the balance and the harmony between family life and parish life that is necessary for both to thrive. 

May God always bless you and your precious families, that they may be the source of blessing to you and for all the People of God. Amen.