Order of Saint Andrew – Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
New York Hilton Midtown Hotel
New York, New York
October 29, 2021
* * *
Your All Holiness,
Your Eminence Geron Metropolitan of Chalcedon Emmanuel
Your Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America
Your Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, formerly of America
Your Eminences, Your Graces, Fr. Alex
Secretary and Mrs. Pompeo,
Secretary and Mrs. Azar,
Mr. Deputy Minister of the Diaspora Greeks, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andreas Katsaniotis
Madame Ambassador Alexandra Papadopoulou
Archon Hon. Theodore Bozonelis, Master of Ceremonies,
Beloved Founders and Archons,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Tonight, in the presence of His All-Holiness, we inaugurate the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation…. A foundation that exemplifies the scriptural passage from the Gospel According to St. Luke when the Lord said to his disciples,
"Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives, and he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened.
Your All-Holiness, Your Eminence, Secretary Pompeo, Secretary and Archon-elect Azar, The Order of St. Andrew and Foundation “asked” our Archons and Faithful
And we have “received” abundantly in just 10 months over 18 million dollars!
Tonight … we celebrate the establishment of a dream many of us in this room have had for decades and which has now come to fruition: the founding of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation, in order to secure our Spiritual Father’s vision for the Mother Church of Constantinople literally, unto the ages. And by naming the Foundation in the Person of BARTHOLOMEW, we honor his own historic legacy in perpetuity. In 100 years from now, the Bartholomew Foundation will continue to pay homage to this extraordinary Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, The Great, if I may be so bold. You the FOUNDERS present this evening and the few who are absent, are truly champions of the Sacred See of the First-Called Andrew.
And now, like the Apostle, we are called to lead others into this new worldwide ministry to provide for the spiritual work of the Mother Church of Constantinople. Each of us who has made this significant $100,000 commitment has now become a modern-day missionary, to go out throughout the community and indeed the world and invite others to join us. Our invitation is simple: “Come and see.” (The Gospel according to St. John 1:45-46)
Come to the fountain of Orthodoxy, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and drink from the pure waters of our Holy Orthodox Christian Faith.
And see – in the sacred person of His All-Holiness Bartholomew, the witness of the Gospel lived out in real time, and with real consequences. He ministers to the Church Universal fearing only God, and loving God and every human being, with an equanimity and righteousness that can never be feigned.
This witness must never be extinguished, and in our way – through this Foundation – centuries from now, the work and person of His All Holiness will abide, remaining in the hearts and minds of of those who will carry this work forward.
I encourage all of you to consult tonight’s program and read the history of how this Foundation was established, and who the principle actors were. Most, if not all of them, are with you in this room. They believed when others doubted, and they acted, when others sat to the side.
The work of the Foundation will be to ensure the free and unfettered spiritual mission of our Mother Church.
And Mr. Secretary, knowing your commitment to religious liberty – as evidenced by your prophetic enactment of the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom which many us in this room personally attended, when you were serving our Nation as its 70th Secretary of State – we recognize in your presence this evening, the strong commitment of our government to the ideals and principles espoused by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation. Your official visitation to the Phanar as the first Republican Sitting Secretary of State with your beloved wife Susan by your side was a tremendous demonstration of solidarity and advocacy of Religious Freedom to the Spiritual Center of World Orthodoxy. Thank you Mr. Secretary and Madam Susan for gracing us this evening and we look forward to your words and wisdom. We know they will inspire us to even greater heights.
Now, I will ask that we all turn our attention to the monitors, and enjoy a brief video that speaks to the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Election and Enthronement of His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the Great, and his impact on the heart of the world, through his living the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Glory to God for all things,” in the words of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople