Archbishop Elpidophoros Homily at Great Vespers and Stavrophoria (HCHC 2023)

Tonight we adorn our celebrations for the Commencement of our precious Σχολή, with the awarding of Alumni Crosses to those observing their tenth, twenty-fifth, and fiftieth anniversaries of graduation. It truly is a moment when we see the march of the “long black line” of clergy and lay leaders who have emerged from the School with distinction and with their own distinctiveness.

Archbishop Elpidophoros of America - Homily on the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman

I am delighted to be with this beloved community of Saints Constantine and Helen, especially here in this magnificent temple that you have raised up in their name to the glory of God.

Archbishop Elpidophoros of America - Feast of Saint George and Saint Thomas

Χριστὸς Ἀνέστη!

Today is a great confluence of feasts – those of your Holy Patron, the Holy Great-Martyr and Trophy-Bearer George, and Apostle who was a twin, Thomas, called “Doubting”.

Archbishop Elpidophoros of America -Great Vespers of the Feast of Saint George and Saint Thomas

I am delighted to be here at this wonderful and beautiful parish of Saint George the Great-Martyr for the Great Vespers of the Feast. Your love for this most beloved Saint of our Church is manifest in every face I see.

Archbishop Elpidophoros - Homily for the Great Vespers of the Life-Giving Fountain

This evening, we gather to celebrate the Feast of your Heavenly Protector, the Virgin of the Life-giving Fountain. I am always happy to be here with you, and I shall never forget how this parish in particular, acted with such generosity when the fire ravaged the Baliki Hospital. I am grateful to you all, and for you all.

Archbishop Elpidophoros Homily for the Divine Liturgy of the First Resurrection, Holy Saturday 2023

Today we gather in the deep silence of this Sabbath of Sabbaths, in which the Lord rests in His Divine Flesh within the Tomb. Now is the time when we keep watch, in eager expectation of the triumph to come. As the special Χερουβικόν we chant today says:

Archbishop Elpidophoros Homily for the Service of the Lamentations at the Tomb, Holy Saturday 2023

Tonight, our holy Epitaphios Service is an invitation to join in the procession of the countless Christians who have come before us – across all the generations, in the Burial of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the retinue of the Kouvouklion, we all participate in the funeral cortege of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Archbishop Elpidophoros Homily for the Great Vespers of the Descent from the Cross, Holy Friday 2023

We have arrived at this moment – a very painful moment in Holy Week, when we behold with our eyes, and we hear with our ears, the dire effects of hatred, envy, greed, and every kind of sin. We behold the Lord, in the Service we call Ἀποκαθήλωσις, the Descent from the Cross, without the breath of life. His brutalized form hangs in death between heaven and earth. A shocking sight to the Angels and heartbreaking one for his Mother and His Disciples.

Homily for the Twelve Gospels - Matins of Great and Holy Friday 2023

Tonight, the Service of the Passion – the Matins of Holy Friday –overwhelms our hearts and astonishes our minds. We behold with our eyes the vision of God crucified in the flesh.