Archiepiscopal Encyclical for the Feast of St. Photios and the Saint Photios National Shrine (02/06/2018)
As we commemorate the Feast of Saint Photios the Confessor, Patriarch of
Constantinople, we offer our prayers and support for our beloved St.
Photios National Shrine in the year that marks the 250th anniversary of the
arrival of the largest Greek colony to America. In 1768 hundreds of Greek
immigrants arrived in New Smyrna and St. Augustine, Florida after an
arduous journey by ship from their distant homelands. Their hopes for a
better life were challenged by the conditions and demands they met.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical For The Feast Of Saint Photios And Saint Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2017)
On our annual celebration of the Feast of Saint Photios the Great,
Patriarch of Constantinople, and our recognition of the witness and
ministry of the Saint Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine in St.
Augustine, Florida, we are blessed this year to observe the 35thanniversary
of the dedication of the Shrine. The dedication in February 1982 followed
years of work and offerings of many Greek Orthodox faithful led by His
Eminence Archbishop Iakovos.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical For The Feast Of Saint Photios And Saint Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2016)
On this blessed Feast of Saint Photios the Confessor, Patriarch of
Constantinople, we commemorate a Saint who offered a brilliant witness of
the truth and love of God. Having a tremendous intellectual ability and a
deep love and faith in Christ, he endured false accusations, threats, and
ordeals, yet he remained a true messenger of Gospel. Throughout his life
Saint Photios was a faithful ambassador for Christ, never wavering in his
apostolic mission to proclaim the truth that leads to God and salvation.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Feast of St. Photios and Saint Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2015)
On this blessed Feast of Saint Photios, we offer our gratitude and support
for our beloved Saint Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine in St.
Augustine, Florida. For almost four decades, our National Shrine as been a
place that honors the earliest roots of our Greek American experience,
affirms the value of this experience and the role of our Hellenic heritage
in this country, and offers a beautiful witness of the power and grace of
our Orthodox faith.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Feast of St. Photios and St. Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2014)
Events, as the above, are also witnesses of the strength of faith in our
lives as Greek Orthodox Christians and in our Greek American community. We
have and continue to see how our faith brings us together in mutual support
and commitment to the mission of the Church and the sharing of the Gospel.
Many who are members of our Hellenic organizations are also members of our
parishes and contribute their time and resources regularly to ministry at
all levels of the Church in America. In addition, they lead and serve both
in the parish and the Greek American community in promoting the cherished
relationship of our heritage and our faith.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Feast of St. Photios and St. Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2013)
This heritage is the foundation for the growth and strength of our Church
in America today, and it is a heritage that has been preserved and promoted
in a special way by our beloved Saint Photios National Shrine in St.
Augustine, Florida. For three decades, this institution of our Holy
Archdiocese has connected us to the earliest Greek immigrants to America
along with offering a witness of the strength of our faith in God and the
unique character of our Greek American presence in this country.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Feast of St. Photios and St. Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2012)
As we celebrate this feast day of Saint Photios the Confessor and Patriarch
of Constantinople, we are also at the beginning of a special time in our
worship and in our daily prayers and reflection. We have begun the Triodion
period, the three weeks before Great Lent, and a time when the services,
readings, and hymns direct our attention toward our need to prepare for
Holy Week, the week of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord. We are
also called to reflect upon the challenges and struggles of living as
Christians and to experience the power and blessings that come through the
life of faith.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Feast of Saint Photios and Saint Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2011)
On this blessed feast of Saint Photios the Confessor and Patriarch of
Constantinople, it is our annual tradition to recognize and support the
work of our Saint Photios National Shrine in St. Augustine, Florida. We do
this because the National Shrine has a significant role in the ministry of
the Greek Orthodox Church in America. This past year over ninety thousand
visitors came to the Saint Photios Shrine and experienced the way that this
beloved institution of our Archdiocese offers a remembrance of our
heritage, a witness of our Orthodox faith, and illumination through the
grace of God.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Feast of Saint Photios and Saint Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2010)
On this feast day of Saint Photios the Confessor, we have the blessed
opportunity to honor the life and work of an amazing Patriarch and
Theologian of our Holy Orthodox Church. We also commend the witness of our
beloved Saint Photios National Shrine in St. Augustine, Florida. This
relationship of the name of a great Father of the Church and the Shrine was
initiated in 1969 by Archbishop Iakovos of North and South America.
Together with leaders and donors of our Greek Orthodox Church in America,
he recognized the historical significance of the Shrine, which was a place
of worship for a small group of Greek immigrants in the late eighteenth
century.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Feast of St. Photios and St. Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2009)
I write to you on the inspiring Feast of Saint Photios the Great, which our
Holy Orthodox Church today commemorates. The life and legacy of Saint
Photios, who served as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople during the
9th century, left an indelible footprint upon the Christian world.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Feast of St. Photios (02/06/2008)
On the annual Feast of Saint Photios the Great, we come together in prayer
and worship to commemorate one of the great luminaries of our Holy Orthodox
Church. A passionate scholar and person of deep faith, Saint Photios served
as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople during the 9th century. Among his
many contributions to the Church, he is remembered for authoring, among
many other works, the Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit, a thorough treatise on
the procession of the Holy Spirit, which continues to serve as a basic text
in contemporary theological education. He is also remembered for his
extraordinary foresight in advancing the missionary work of the Church,
supporting the work of the beloved Saints Cyril and Methodios in their
preaching of the Gospel in the Slavic lands.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Feast of Saint Photios and Saint Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2007)
Each year on February 6, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Photios the Great,
a saint of our Orthodox Church who served as Patriarch of Constantinople in
the ninth century.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Feast of Saint Photios and Saint Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2006)
I address you on the glorious Feast of Saint Photios the Great. On this
day, we honor the enduring legacy of a brilliant luminary of our Holy
Orthodox Church who served as Ecumenical Patriarch during the 9th century.
St. Photios is remembered for his resolute defense of the Orthodox faith
from heresy, for his profound writings on the person of the Holy Spirit,
and for his warm embrace of other cultures, as demonstrated by his
foresight to dispatch the revered Sts. Cyril and Methodios to the Slavic
lands as missionaries of Christ's Gospel.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Feast of Saint Photios and Saint Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2005)
On February 6 we commemorate Saint Photios the Great, the ninth century
Patriarch of Constantinople. Saint Photios’ contributions to the Church and
society at large were indeed extraordinary. A figure of towering
intellectual prowess, Saint Photios is remembered for his resolute defense
of the Orthodox Christian faith from heresy. He is also celebrated for his
remarkable foresight and embrace of other cultures, dispatching the revered
Sts. Cyril and Methodios to the Slavic Lands to preach the Gospel and to
share the treasures of Orthodoxy and Hellenic culture.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Feast of Saint Photios and Saint Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2004)
On the Feast of Saint Photios the Great, February 6, we honor the ministry
of our Saint Photios National Shrine in Saint Augustine, Florida. This
Shrine, appropriately named after the illustrious ninth century Patriarch
of Constantinople, is a vital institution of our Holy Archdiocese that aims
to advance the spiritual and cultural legacy that was brought to America by
the first Greek immigrants in the eighteenth century.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical on the Feast of Saint Photios and Saint Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2003)
On the 6th of February we commemorate the holy memory of a most illustrious
Saint of our Holy Orthodox Church, Saint Photios the Great. Raised in
Constantinople within the surroundings of a noble Byzantine family, Saint
Photios was accorded all the benefits of an advanced education, served in
the most important offices of the Imperial court, and was eventually
elected as Patriarch of Constantinople in the year 857. Most importantly,
he was a pinnacle of patience and vision—exceptional and God-inspired
virtues which serve as a beacon to all persons across all levels of
society.
Read More »
Read More »
Message by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios on the Feast of Saint Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2001)
Each year, on the feast day of Saint Photios the Great (February 6), we
honor the work and ministry of our Saint Photios National Shrine in Saint
Augustine, Florida. We do this because our Shrine is not only the location
of some of the earliest Greek settlements in America, but also because this
vital institution of our Holy Archdiocese seeks to perpetuate a spiritual
and cultural heritage that was brought to this land by Greek immigrants.
Read More »
Read More »
Feast of Saint Photios and Saint Photios National Shrine Day (02/06/2000)
February 6, we commemorate one of the great luminaries of our Church, Saint
Photios the Great, a holy Father whose life and work as the Patriarch of
Constantinople had a lasting impact on the Church throughout the world.
Read More »
Read More »