His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros
Remarks at the Conclusion of the Divine Liturgy
March 25, 2022
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral
Chicago, Illinois
Beloved brother in Christ, Metropolitan Nathanael,
Reverend Clergy,
Beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I want to thank and congratulate all of you for these wonderful days I am spending in the Chicago Metropolis, which have neither concluded, nor been exhausted in their joys.
To be here, in the heart of the Archdiocese – Chicago – at the Annunciation Cathedral on this most auspicious Feast for Orthodoxy and Hellenism, fills my heart with gladness. Our faith and our culture are very much alive! We have so very much to be proud of and to celebrate!
Our freedom in Christ, and our liberty here in “the land of the free and the home of the brave” are precious gifts from God. Let us always cherish them. The annual commemoration of the Immortal Heroes of 1821 affords us the opportunity to express our gratitude for both. Our double feast today is a perpetual memorial to our salvation by the Incarnation of God, and our responsibility to ensure that our democratic values are enshrined for the next generation.
Today is a great day, not only for Hellenes and Philhellenes, and not only for Orthodox Christians around the globe.
Today is a great day for all people of good will who want the world to be a place where God’s love can transform our lives and our societies.
It is also a day when the great People of Ukraine are struggling for their freedom, just as our ancestors did two hundred years ago. We stand with our Ukrainian Brothers and Sisters as they nobly attempt to repel the invaders and cast of a yoke of tyranny that is threatening to engulf them.
Therefore, my friends:
Let us celebrate our liberty in Christ and our freedoms in our homelands of America, Greece, and Cyprus with gratitude to God, and with the conviction in our hearts to always hold them dear and precious. And let us recommit ourselves to transmit them to our children and their children, as an everlasting memorial to the values of our faith, and the memory of the Heroes of 1821.
Thank you.