Archbishop's Encyclical for the Feast of the Three Hierarchs and Greek Letters Day - January 30 2019
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, We give glory and thanksgiving to
God on this blessed commemoration as we honor the memory of three holy
luminaries who continue to guide and inspire us through the wisdom of their
teaching and the sanctity of their lives. Basil the Great, Gregory the
Theologian, and John Chrysostom, recognized in the tradition of our faith
as the Three Great Hierarchs and Ecumenical Teachers, offer to us through
the witness of their lives beautiful examples of commitment to God and
service to Him and others through the power of His divine love. Through
their work as pastors and faithful stewards of the people of God, they are
true images of the grace revealed to us by Christ. As skilled and prayerful
theologians, they show us that the path of faith and truth is followed by
those who are transformed by God’s love and offer it to others.
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Archbishop's Encyclical for the Feast of the Three Hierarchs and Greek Letters Day - January 30 2018
On our celebration of this holy commemoration of the Three Great Hierarchs
and Ecumenical Teachers, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John
Chrysostom, we are mindful of our preparations for our 44th Biennial
Clergy-Laity Congress which will be held in Boston, July 1-5
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Encyclical For The Feast Of The Three Hierarchs And Greek Letters Day (01/30/2017)
Our commemoration of the Feast of the Three Hierarchs represents a strong
and holy tradition in the Orthodox Church of affirming that these three
saints, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and John Chrysostom, are
exalted examples of persons who were filled with the knowledge of God and
great spiritual wisdom.
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Encyclical For The Feast Of The Three Hierarchs And Greek Letters Day (01/30/2016)
In our annual commemoration of the Feast of our three Holy Fathers, the
Great Hierarchs and Ecumenical Teachers Basil the Great, Gregory the
Theologian, and John Chrysostom, we affirm the power of their witness and
guidance down through the centuries. As during the days of their pastoral
ministry, their faith in God, their wisdom, and their holiness continue to
lead us to Christ and deepen our understanding and experience of our
relationship with Him.
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Encyclical for the Feast of Three Hierarchs and Greek Letters Day (01/30/2015)
On this blessed Feast of the Three Hierarchs, we give thanks to God for the
beautiful and faithful witness of Saints Basil the Great, Gregory the
Theologian, and John Chrysostom. Venerated on this day as great Teachers
and Theologians, we also recognize them as representative of many great
Saints of the Church who have conveyed truth, communicated divine wisdom,
and offered an inspiring witness of the Gospel of love. For the depth of
their teaching and their ardent defense of the faith, our hymns call all
people to a universal celebration on this day.
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Encyclical for the Feast of the Three Hierarchs and Greek Letters Day (01/30/2014)
The teaching and witness of the Three Hierarchs presents to us an authentic
synergy between person and community. Each of us is called individually
through the Gospel to meet the Risen Christ, to believe in Him and receive
the forgiveness and grace of God. We are offered the opportunity to be
renewed through communion with Him, to live daily according to His will, to
strive toward our created potential as human beings, and to receive the
gift of eternal life. We are also called to live, worship, and serve in
community. We gather together to worship the One who gives us life and
purpose. Through our worship, the Holy Sacraments, and through the
preaching and teaching ministries of the Church we receive strength and
guidance in the life of faith. As the family of God, brothers and sisters
in Christ, we join together in service to one another and to any in need.
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Encyclical for the Feast of the Three Hierarchs and Greek Letters Day (01/30/2013)
This feast of the Three Great Hierarchs and Ecumenical Teachers, Basil the
Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom, offers us a special
opportunity each year to examine closely the lives and teachings of these
holy men and to recognize how they spoke in unison concerning truth,
holiness and love based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Their accord in
matters of faith, theology, and the mission of the Church was
unquestionably influenced by their upbringing, education, and the
relationships they shared with each other. Of particular importance are
their teachings and their actions related to offering care and love to
those in need, something absolutely relevant to our contemporary
situations.
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Encyclical for the Feast of the Three Hierarchs and Greek Letters Day (01/30/2012)
The Feast of the Three Hierarchs, Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory the
Theologian and Saint John Chrysostom, on January 30th, is celebrated in
conjunction with the Greek Letters Day as the Church recognizes in them the
superb combination of Hellenic language and culture with Orthodox Faith and
life.
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Encyclical on the feast of the Three Hierarchs and Greek Letters Day (01/30/2011)
On this commemoration of the Three Great Hierarchs and Ecumenical Teachers,
Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom, it is fitting
as Orthodox Christians that we gather in our churches in thanksgiving to
God for the blessings we receive through the witness and guidance of these
Saints. It is also fitting that we join with this commemoration our annual
observance of Greek Letters Day.
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Encyclical for the Feast of Three Hierarchs and the Celebration of Greek Letters (01/30/2010)
In this first month of the new year we are blessed to have in the calendar
of our Holy Orthodox Church the commemoration of the Three Great Hierarchs
and Ecumenical Teachers, St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian,
and St. John Chrysostom. On this day of their feast, we honor the lives and
witness of these holy and brilliant men, who brought glory to God through
their amazing service to the people in the name of Christ. Their lives
offer to us a genuine image of the power of the Gospel, the good news of
salvation in Jesus Christ, as they each believed in Him to the depths of
their hearts, souls, and minds and as they were transformed by His presence
into godly men imbued with divine power and wisdom.
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Encyclical for the Feast of Three Hierarchs and Greek Letters Day (01/30/2009)
The Feast of the Three Holy Fathers, Great Hierarchs and Ecumenical
Teachers Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom is an
annual commemoration of our Holy Orthodox Church on which we honor the
unwavering faith and spiritual brilliance of three Saints who offered the
entirety of their lives and abilities in the service of God and humankind.
As selfless archbishops and pastors they led the faithful in worship and
ministry. As loving teachers they offered guidance in the path of holiness.
As divinely-inspired theologians they used their intellectual skills to
confront error and defend truth. As holy men they lived in a manner that
exemplified to all the grace and blessings of communion with God.
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Encyclical for the Feast of the Three Hierarchs (01/30/2008)
In our commemoration of the Feast of the Three Hierarchs we are called by
our Holy Orthodox Church to contemplate the lives of three great Saints and
Teachers who served God faithfully and offered the totality of their lives
in His service. Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory the Theologian, and
Saint John Chrysostom were blessed with tremendous intellectual and
spiritual gifts. They carried the mantle of episcopal service with
holiness, love, and sacrifice; and they were shining examples of people who
took very seriously the concepts in the above referenced passage of the
second Epistle of Saint Peter, in that throughout their lives they sought
to add virtue to their faith, and to complement this virtue with the
knowledge of God.
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Encyclical of America for the Feast of the Three Hierarchs (01/30/2007)
Upon our joyful celebration of the Feast of the Three Hierarchs and the
commemoration of these great luminaries and champions of our Orthodox
Christian faith, we are called to consider what made these men outstanding
examples of communion with God, firmness of faith, and holiness of life.
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Encyclical on the Feast of the Three Hierarchs (01/30/2006)
It is in following the beautiful and blessed tradition of our Holy Orthodox
Church that we gather once again to commemorate the Three Hierarchs and
ecumenical teachers, Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory the Theologian,
and Saint John Chrysostom. Through their legacy of faith, piety, and divine
wisdom, these holy Fathers have guided Christians down through the
centuries toward the true source of love and salvation, Jesus Christ.
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Encyclical for the Feast of the Three Hierarchs (01/30/2005)
On this day we celebrate once again the feast of the illustrious Three
Hierarchs and ecumenical teachers of the Church, Saint Basil the Great,
Saint Gregory the Theologian, and Saint John Chrysostom. In our hymns and
prayers we honor them for having illumined all the world with the divine
and true teachings of our faith. Through their great wisdom and Godly
knowledge they have enlightened our hearts and minds and guided us toward
salvation in Jesus Christ.
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Encyclical on the Feast of the Three Hierarchs (01/30/2004)
It is said of the ancient philosopher Thales of Miletus that an inquirer
once asked him, “What in life is difficult? Thales responded immediately:
“To know oneself.” (From Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Philosophers).
This dictum, Gnothi Seauton, “Know thyself” was so common in Greek
philosophy that the ancients themselves were in disagreement as to who had
first spoken it. This saying is surely best known, however, as the
inscription over the portal of the temple of Delphi, admonishing those who
sought the oracle’s gift that the most useful knowledge was not of the
future, but of oneself. For according to the Hellenic understanding, within
the bounds of the self could be found insight into all things: the world
around us, natures visible and invisible, and even truths divine.
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Encyclical on the Feast of the Three Hierarchs (01/30/2003)
Characteristic of the Hellenic mind are these words of Aristotle
(Metaphysics 1.1): “All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this
is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness,
they are loved for themselves; and above all others the sense of sight.”
For from sight and the other senses, says Aristotle, memories are formed;
and from memory derives experience, and from experience the ability to form
judgments of universal truths, leading to true knowledge.
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Encyclical for the Feast of the Three Hierarchs and the Day of Greek Letters (01/30/2002)
Today we commemorate the sacred memory of the Three Holy Hierarchs and
Ecumenical Teachers: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John
Chrysostom. We celebrate not only their holy words and deeds, but also the
great intellectual legacy that these three profound thinkers forged for the
Church, the legacy of a humanism that is both genuinely Christian and
deeply Hellenistic in its substance and expression.
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Message Commemorating The Feast of the Three Hierarchs and the Day of Greek Letters (01/30/2001)
The ancient Greek historian Diodoros, reflecting on the blessing of life,
concludes somewhere that the good life is the gift of education that comes
from literacy. So great was this scholars love of letters that he
commends for us the inscription over the door of the library in Thebes,
which read, Medicine for the soul.
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Encyclical on the Occasion of the Feast of the Three Hierarchs and the Day of Greek Letters (01/30/2000)
On the occasion of the Feast of the Three Hierarchs and the Day of Greek
Letters, we have an opportunity to reflect on the unparalleled legacy of
learning that is ours as Greek Orthodox Christians. Borrowing an expression
from Homer's Odyssey, Saint Basil the Great once wrote that it is important
as a proof of education to have seen the cities of many men and to have
learned their minds (Epistle 74).
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