Pittsburgh – The Archdiocesan Council of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America convened for its regular spring meeting May 12-13 in Pittsburgh, Pa., under the chairmanship of Archbishop Demetrios of America.
The two-day meetings of the Archdiocesan Council at the Marriott City Center Hotel, began with the Executive Committee meeting of the Council and the individual meetings of the committees on Thursday, May 12. The work of the ministries of the Church was reviewed and the committees prepared their reports.
Archbishop Demetrios offered an opening prayer at the beginning of the meeting this morning and asked the members of the Archdiocesan Council for a moment of silence in memory of the late vice-chairman of the Council Michael Jaharis.
His Eminence in his opening remarks welcomed all the members to the meeting, conveyed his gratitude for their work and devotion to the Church and its affairs and apprised the body of two major upcoming events.
The Archbishop spoke about the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church to be held in Crete, Greece, June 15-26, 2016. In particular he spoke about the preparations for the Holy and Great Council, the participation and the contributions of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the topics on the agenda of the Council.
Archbishop Demetrios urged the members of the Council and through them all the parishes and the faithful across the country, to make every effort to stive for maximum participation in the upcoming 43rd Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress, to be held July 3-8, 2016 at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He said that when parishes do not participate for whatever reason, they become further isolated from other parishes, from their Metropolis and the Archdiocese as a whole.
Present at the meeting were Metropolitans Nicholas of Detroit, Savas of Pittsburgh, the host hierarch, and Evangelos of New Jersey. Also in attendance were Bishop Sevastianos of Zela, the chief secretary of the Synod and Bishop Apostolos of Medeia, chancellor of the Metropolis of San Francisco. The other members of the Synod were unable to attend.
The Archdiocesan Council meeting presided by Cathy Walsh was found to have a quorum. A total of ten Council committees presented their reports amidst lively and constructive discussion. These were: Religious Education, Information Technologies, Stewardship, Administration, Communications, Youth, Young Adult Ministries and Ionian Village, Ecumenical Office, Finance, Clergy Outreach and Development and Greek Education.
Photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHskz9jsPY
