Prot. No. 258/2021

Archiepiscopal Encyclical for Thanksgiving

November 25, 2021

Unto the Most Reverend and Right Reverend Hierarchs, Pious Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, Presidents and Members of Parish Councils, Honorable Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Members of Leadership 100, the Day and Afternoon Schools, Philoptochos Societies, the Youth, Greek Orthodox Organizations, and the entirety of the Christ-named Plenitude of the Holy Archdiocese of America.

Let us give thanks unto the Lord! (Divine Liturgy)

My Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we prepare to celebrate the National Day of Thanksgiving, our American holiday that calls us to the mindset of gratitude for all of God’s blessings in our lives and in our Country, I note with great satisfaction and thankfulness the recent Apostolic Visit of His All-Holiness our Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Although there were moments of concern for the health of His All-Holiness during this scheduled visit, we can all breathe the proverbial sigh of relief, with profound gratitude to God that our Ecumenical Patriarch has received the appropriate medical attention, rebounded to his extraordinary self, and returned to the Queen of Cities.

His Thirty Years on the Patriarchal Throne should surely be cause for us all to give thanks unto the Lord, for we have had the unprecedented opportunity to have such a long tenure of such a holy man. The advances in the preaching and the teaching of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ under His All-Holiness are truly remarkable; for he has spared no effort of his office, and no labor of body, mind and spirit, to steer the Sacred Ship of the Orthodox Church through some of the most difficult to navigate waters in recent history. As Eastern Europe emerged from the ravages of Communism and Atheism (ravages that still gravely impact these lands), His All-Holiness has manifested wisdom and prudence, as he guides the Church aright.

This Thanksgiving, let us add to our tables that are laden with tokens of our gratitude to God, and say a special prayer of thanks for the Spiritual Father of us all, our Ecumenical Patriarch. He shoulders great responsibilities and burdens on our behalf, because of his genuine love for all people, and especially for the rational sheep of the Flock of Christ.

With much paternal love in the Lord,

† ELPIDOPHOROS

Archbishop of America