Homily By Archbishop Elpidophoros of America On the Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare) Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral
Today, in this magnificent Cathedral, adorned with the glories of Byzantium and the beauty of our Orthodox Faith, we gather as a community, which, as all of you know, is a form of communion. The Holy Communion that we receive – the Body and Blood of the Lord – is what binds us together. It is the substance of God, the Divine DNA, that makes us a family in God. All of us are members of the Body of Christ, and our communion with each other is truly a sign of the sincerity of our communion with God.
Read MoreMarch 10, 2024
Archbishop Elpidophoros Remarks at the Groundbreaking for the Youth and Ministry Center
What a marvelous day to break ground for this vital addition to your Parish. You are creating an institutional legacy of faith, of learning, and of love.
Read MoreMarch 4, 2024
This week, I have been here in your beautiful city of Naples by the Gul, with the members of Leadership 100 – many of whom are participating this morning – in order to further advance the mission and the ministries of our Church.
Read MoreMarch 3, 2024
You present yourself today for ordination to the Holy Diaconate, at the Beginning of Triodion, on the day of the reading of the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee. For one seeking to serve in the role of deacon, it is hard to think of a more appropriate commemoration.
Read MoreFebruary 25, 2024
My Beloved Brother in Christ, Metropolitan Gerasimos,
Your Grace and Reverend Fathers,
Beloved Children in the Lord,
We read in the Old Testament, in the Second Book of Samuel, that when King David brought up the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, that he: … danced before the Lord with all his might.[1]
Read MoreFebruary 18, 2024
Seeing your shining faces this morning, as we celebrate together Greek Letters and the Feast of the Three Hierarchs, brings a song to my heart. I look upon all of you, and I see what the Lord Jesus meant when He said (and as we read in today’s Gospel): “You are the light of the world.”*
Read MoreJanuary 30, 2024
What a joy it is for me to join all of you for the Hellenic Dance Festival of the Holy Metropolis of Atlanta. These cultural celebrations that take place across the Archdiocese are especially rewarding to see, because they bring so many of you – or young people – together in fellowship.
Read MoreJanuary 15, 2024
I am so very pleased to spend this last day of 2023, and this last Sunday – New Year’s Eve – worshipping with you, the faithful members of Saint Gerasimos.
Read MoreJanuary 1, 2024
Today is Christmas Eve! And in the hymns of Great Vespers, there is this lovely idiomelon, which goes:
Read MoreDecember 25, 2023
I am delighted to be with you for the Divine Liturgy, on this Sunday before Christmas, when we read and remember the genealogies of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Read MoreDecember 24, 2023
This remarkable Hieromartyr, and his holy mother, Anthia, exemplify the faith and fortitude of the early days of our Church, before the acceptance of our Faith in Christ by the Roman Empire. As many of you know, Saint Anthia had been a disciple of the Apostle Paul, during the days when he preached in Rome, before the great persecution by Nero.
Read MoreDecember 15, 2023
What a joy to return to this magnificent church in Washington Heights to celebrate with you – the faithful of Saint Spyridon – the feast of your heavenly Patron and Protector.
Read MoreDecember 12, 2023
I am so very glad to join you for the observance of your One Hundred and Tenth Anniversary! We shall have more to say on this at the luncheon, but for now, let us all pause and give thanks to God for this wonderful milestone. Your parish is older than even the Archdiocese itself! You reflect a long and storied history of the worship of the Holy Trinity, for Whom your parish is named. In the spirit of this celebration today, it is “meet and right” that the last words of today’s Gospel reading are:
Read MoreDecember 11, 2023
Every time I come here to Ground Zero, and I pause to meditate on the sorrowful and tragic events that unfolded here on September 11, 2001, I look at this shining American Parthenon of Orthodoxy, and I give thanks for our prayerful, loving and compassionate presence.
Read MoreDecember 7, 2023
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,
Tonight, we come together as the People of God, to celebrate the Victory of the People: Νικόλαος! Whom we praise as:
Ἱεραρχῶν τὴν καλλονήν, καὶ τῶν Πατέρων κλέος, τὴν βρύσιν τῶν θαυμάτων, καὶ τῶν πιστῶν ἀντιλήπτορα μέγιστον….
The adornment of hierarchs, the glory of the Fathers, the well-spring of miracles and great defender of the faithful….*
Read MoreDecember 6, 2023
Beloved sisters and brothers in the Lord,
Today, we celebrate your Jubilee of fifty years! Yesterday, we gathered in an Agape Feast of love and appreciation – to remember those who came before us, and to contemplate what the future will bring.
But now, we must look at the essence of what a Jubilee of fifty years truly means, and we find that meaning in the Old Testament, in the Book of Leviticus. The English word “Jubilee” means the sound of a ram’s horn, which was used to announce the Fiftieth Year.
Read MoreDecember 4, 2023
To stand with you today in prayer – especially in the aftermath of our National Feast of Thanksgiving – and to celebrate this Eucharist with you is a profound joy for me. For it is in the worship of the Church that we find our essential union with God and our unity with one another.
Read MoreNovember 26, 2023
I am pleased to be with you again, here in your magnificent church dedicated to your heavenly patron, Saint George the Trophybearer. After the Divine Liturgy, we will have an opportunity to observe a twofold celebration: First, the inauguration and ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Father Germanos Stavropoulos Community Center, and second: the Twenty-fifth anniversary of the spiritual tenure of your pastor, Protopresbyter Nicholas Dassouras. The confluence of these events is surely a cause of joy and happiness for everyone. And it speaks to the Scripture Reading from the Apostle Paul that was read we earlier, where he says:
Read MoreNovember 20, 2023
Tonight we gather as a sacred fraternity, and I am deeply touched at all of your felicitations and well wishes for me, on this, the eve of my Nameday. Some of you have heard me tell the story before, how I received the name, “Elpidophoros” at my ordination to the Diaconate, from our Ecumenical Patriarch.
Read MoreNovember 2, 2023
You see the Apostle and First-Called Disciple Saint Andrew handing the Book of the Gospels to this Apostle Stachys. The image conveys both the spiritual lineage of Saint Stachys and his Apostolic appointment and ordination to the episcopacy. The Holy Apostle Paul calls him, “Στάχυν τὸν ἀγαπητόν μου,” in his Epistle to the Romans, showing the engaged ministry of this first Bishop of what would become the City of Constantine.†
Read MoreNovember 1, 2023