|
Press Release (Print
the Press Release, PDF)
For Immediate Release--
January 21, 2006
A True Welcoming Gesture
Between Roman Catholic and Orthodox
Christian Churches
On Sunday, January
29, 2006, His Eminence Metropolitan
Methodios, of Boston, and Reverend
Father Dean N. Paleologos, spiritual
Dean of Saint Spyridon Cathedral,
Worcester, MA, welcome The Most Rev.
Robert J. McManus, Bishop of the Roman
Catholic Diocese of Worcester as a
guest of the service of the Feast
of the Three Great Hierarchs. Also
referred to as “An Earthly Trinity,”
the Three Hierarchs who were great
fathers of the church and Ecumenical
Teachers, and are celebrated that
day are, St. Basil the Great, Gregory
the Theologian, and John Chrysostomon.
Participating in the Divine Liturgy
will also be Reverend Father Gregory
Christakos, Saint Spyridon’s
newly assigned assistant pastor, and
Deacon Nathanial from Boston.
This auspicious
hierarchical event on Sunday represents
a true and significant ecumenical
encounter by spiritual leaders of
the Orthodox Church and the Roman
Catholic Church in Massachusetts.
Further significance of this gathering
represents the continuity and unity
of dialogue, healing, and reconciliation
of Christian churches, especially
between Orthodox and Roman Catholic
that commenced with the important
and historic encounter between Ecumenical
Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul
VI in 1964, and facilitated by his
Eminence Archbishop Iakovos, Primate
of the Greek Orthodox Church of America.
This profound and significant encounter
in 1964 resulted in the so-termed
“lifting of the anathemas”
that had painfully divided the Churches
of the East and West since 1054. Furthermore,
Bishop Bernard Flanagan, then Bishop
of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester
who was zealously committed to implementing
the decrees of the Pope for unity,
and Archbishop Iakovos also a strong
proponent, started the historic Orthodox
and Catholic dialogue in Worcester,
MA.
Reverend Dean Paleologos
states, “It is with great joy
that Metropolitan Methodios and I
are joined on Sunday by his Excellency
Bishop McManus. By welcoming Bishop
McManus we pray for continued peace
and mutual respect for the Orthodox
and Roman Catholic faith.”
In all Greek Orthodox
parishes, including Saint Spyridon,
the Feast of the Three Hierarchs is
combined with a celebration of Greek
Letters. This usually includes special
events which are dedicated to the
preservation and promulgation of the
ideals of Orthodox Christianity and
Hellenic education. The Three Hierarchs
were great men of letters who were
not only defenders of Orthodox Christianity,
but great intellectual giants and
supporters of Greek learning. The
celebration of Greek Letters, an important
component of the event that day, is
hosted by Mr. Nikoloas Tzoumbas, Saint
Spyridon Greek School Principal and
a scholar in his own right, the Greek
School Teachers and PTA. Special guests
who will be attending are, Mrs. Flora
Vekarides, President of the Greek
Teachers Association of the Metropolis
of Boston established in 1934, as
well as other board members and members.
Also attending the ceremony is Mr.
Georgios Vlikides, head of the Department
of Greek Education of the Greek Consulate
in New York City, and Mrs. Ekaterini
Economou representing the Greek Consulate
General in Boston, and others making
this a most auspicious gathering.
“The Jesus
prayer states that ‘all may
be one…that the world may believe’
highlights Christ’s will for
all who claim the title Christian,”
states Dean Stamoulis, newly elected
President of Saint Spyridon Cathedral
Parish Council. “While there
are differences in Christian belief
and practice, it is equally true that
both Orthodox and Roman Catholics
share a common faith in Jesus Christ
as Son of God and Savior of the world,”
Mr. Stamoulis goes on to say. He also
expressed an invitation to the area’s
Catholics, to come to Saint Spyridon
and along with Metropolitan Methodios,
Fathers Paleologos and Christakos,
and Bishop McManus and Father Peter
R. Beaulieu, Episcopal liaison to
Saint Vincent Hospital, to visibly
proclaim our “unity in Christ.”
More On The Feast of the Three Hierarchs
The month of January,
in the Eastern Orthodox faith, traditionally
celebrates the memory of so many glorious
bishops, confessors and ascetics,
and recapitulates the memory of all
the Saints who have witnessed to the
Orthodox faith by their writings and
by their lives. The culmination, at
the January 29th service, is the feast
that honored specifically three hierarchs
who served as comforters of the people,
fiery pillars of prayer, while also
serving the whole ministry of teaching
of the holy Church throughout their
lifetime. Also referred to as “An
Earthly Trinity” these three
luminaries of the Church have shed
the light of the Orthodox Faith all
over the world, scorning dangers and
persecutions. These honored hierarchs
are: St. John Chrysostom, meaning
Golden Mouth, considered by theologians
to be the foremost orator and preacher
for the Orthodox Church; St. Gregory,
known as the most eloquent voice,
an intellectual, theologian and religious
leader; and St. Basil the Great, who
rose to angelic rank by his virtues.
On November 27,
2004, responding to the request of
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,
spiritual leader of over 250 million
Orthodox Christians around the world,
Pope John Paul II, returned relics
of St. John Chrysostom and St. Gregory
the Theologian that had been taken
from Constantinople in 1204 by mercenary
crusaders and ended up in Rome where
they have been kept in St. Peter’s
Basilica until 2004. With a world
wide Pan Orthodox event, the relics
were returned to their original resting
place enshrined in the Ecumenical
Patriarchate Cathedral of St. George
in Constantinople. This conciliatory
gesture by Pope John Paul II, emphasized
the love and mutual respect between
the Roman Catholic and Christian Orthodox
churches.
For more information
about The Feast and Commemoration
of the Three Hierarchs service and
the Celebration of the Greek Letters,
call Saint Spyridon Cathedral at 508.791.7326,
www.goarch.org
To Arrange
Press Coverage, Interview, Photo coverage,
or more information
Contact:
Christina Andrianopoulos
Communications Director
917.734.9804
508.791.7326
CAEntInc@aol.com
|
