Archepiscopal & Synodical Encyclical for the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross
In the midway point of the Holy Lent, we arrive at the oasis of the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross. Now the Tree of the Cross overshadows us with its healing leaves and fruits, and the flowers with which we adorn It in the Divine Service reflect Its lively glory. The Cross, once an instrument of suffering and death, has become the Tree of Eternal Life, and we are invited to share in Its mission of redemption and salvation. It is because of this mission that the Holy Eparchial Synod has decided to that an Encyclical should be issued every year for Feast of the Veneration of the Holy Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Archepiscopal Encyclical on Greek Independence Day
Unto the Most Reverend and Right Reverend Hierarchs, Pious Priests and Deacons, Monks and Nuns, Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils, Honorable Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Members of Leadership 100, Day and Afternoon Schools, Philoptochos Societies, Youth, Greek Orthodox Organizations, and entirety of the Christ-loving Plenitude of the Sacred Archdiocese of America:
Onward, children of Greece … now is the fight for everything! (The Persians, Aeschylus)
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Archepiscopal Encyclical on the Feast of the Three Hierarchs and the Day of Greek Letters
Unto the Most Reverend and Right Reverend Hierarchs, Pious Priests and Deacons, Monks and Nuns, Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils, Honorable Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Members of Leadership 100, Day and Afternoon Schools, Philoptochos Societies, Youth, Greek Orthodox Organizations, and entirety of the Christ-loving Plenitude of the Sacred Archdiocese of America:
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Archepiscopal Encyclical on the New Year 2024
On this first day of the New Year of 2024, let us embrace the newness in Christ, which He has appointed for our renewal and salvation. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are, in fact, new creations! And that whatever has transpired is beyond us, forgiven and even forgotten. For every new year — whether this civil one, or the Ecclesiastical New Year on September 1 — is a call and opportunity to begin again. Why? Because in Christ, “everything is new.”
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Archepiscopal Encyclical on the Feast of Christmas - 2023
Beloved sisters and brothers in Christ,
Christ is Born! Let us glorify Him!
Although He comes to us in humility, in swaddling clothes and in poverty, He is the powerful Rod of the Root of Jesse. In assuming our human nature from his Most Holy Mother the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, He bears all the suffering and sin of humanity across all the ages. What strength in this Rod! What glory in His powerful love for every creature!
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Archepiscopal Encyclical for Thanksgiving
Our National Day of Thanksgiving arrives in a time when the world is in turmoil, and “wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6) cast a pall over the global community. It is often difficult to muster the intention to be thankful in such moments. But as the Apostle Paul reminds us in his first letter to the nascent Christian community in Thessaloniki, we fulfill the will of God by our gratitude. This does not mean that we are thankful for the miseries that afflict the world, but that even in such distressing and sad circumstances, we persist through them.
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Archepiscopal Encyclical for National Philoptochos Sunday
Today is National Philoptochos Sunday, always on the day that we read the parable of the “Good Samaritan” in our churches across the country. This most famous of parables is an answer to the question: “And who is my neighbor?” – a question that our Philoptochos Societies have been responding to for generations.
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Archepiscopal Encyclical for the Feast of the Archangels
Every Christian knows the magnificent icon of the Holy Trinity, depicted as the Three Angels who visited Abraham and Sarah by the oak of Mamre. It is a profound image of philoxenia, the hospitality that we offer, but which takes us into the very bosom of God. Indeed, the version of Andrei Rublev is famous throughout the world.
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Archepiscopal Encyclical for the Feast of the Holy Unmercenaries, Saints Cosmas and Damian
Our National Philoptochos honors the glorious memory and fame of the Holy Unmercenaries, Cosmas and Damian, on their Feastday of November 1, by dedicating the resources to the benevolent and philanthropic ministries of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
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Archepiscopal Encyclical for the Commemoration of OXI Day
Unto the Most Reverend and Right Reverend Hierarchs, Pious Priests and Deacons, Monks and Nuns, Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils, Honorable Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Members of Leadership 100, Day and Afternoon Schools, Philoptochos Societies, Youth, Greek Orthodox Organizations, and entirety of the Christ-loving Plenitude of the Sacred Archdiocese of America:
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