Archepiscopal Encyclical on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Invasion of Cyprus
The Fiftieth Anniversary of the unjust and unnecessary invasion of the Island Nation of Cyprus by Türkiye is a sad and heartbreaking milestone in what has been too long a journey of injustice and diplomatic neglect by the World Powers. The mistakes and grim miscalculations of the past are long overdue for forgiveness, so that credible solutions can emerge with an air of possibility.
Read MoreJuly 17, 2024
Archepiscopal Encyclical on the Fourth of July
The Fourth of July is our National Birthday, celebrating the Declaration of Independence, a truly remarkable document that every American should read every year on this date. For with mere language, it renewed a positive vision for the human polis, one that has stood the test of time, but which has always been a process. Through the centuries, our Nation has suffered incalculable harms: slavery, the Civil War to end it, genocidal programs against Indigenous Peoples, and battles for equality, suffrage, and economic opportunity by women and all manner of minorities, racial, ethnic, and otherwise. The Constitution of our Nation, ratified fourteen years after the Declaration of Independence, presciently predicted that our United States of America would always be in process to “form a more perfect Union.”
Read MoreJuly 3, 2024
Archepiscopal Encyclical for Father’s Day 2024
This year’s observance of Father’s Day happily coincides with the Feast that bridges Ascension and Pentecost — the celebration of the 318 Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea. We have appropriated this secular occasion in order to highlight the “fathers” of our parishes, the clergy of our Archdiocese.
Read MoreJune 14, 2024
Archepiscopal Encyclical on the National Sisterhood of Presvyteres Sunday
The fact that this year’s National Sisterhood of Presvyteres Sunday falls on the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman is most auspicious, indeed. For in the narrative of Saint Photini, who was ultimately martyred for her faith with her companions, we behold a wisdom-holder of the highest order, even though her beginnings were less than ideal — certainly far less than those wondrous women of our Church who are the spouses of our clergy.
Read MoreMay 31, 2024
Archepiscopal Encyclical on AHEPA Sunday
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:
Read MoreMay 17, 2024
Archepiscopal Encyclical on Great and Holy Pascha, 2024
My beloved sisters and brothers in the Risen Lord,
Χριστὸς Ἀνέστη! Christ is Risen!
On Pascha night, the gilded voice of the legendary Archbishop of Constantinople cries out in every church throughout the Orthodox Christian world. In this only sermon ever preached on this “first of Sabbaths” (μία τῶν Σαββάτων) and “feast of feasts” (ἑορτῶν ἑορτή), the Holy Chrysostom invites one and all to partake of “the banquet of faith” (τὸ συμπόσιον τῆς πίστεως).
Read MoreApril 30, 2024
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.
Read MoreApril 4, 2024
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)
Read MoreMarch 25, 2024
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:
Read MoreJanuary 30, 2024
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.”
Read MoreDecember 29, 2023