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The Hellenic Chronicle - July 25, 1996

Editorial

Under his leadership, we came of age

Some men write history as they journey through life, turning pages of events in their personal lives into lessons and examples for generations to follow. Such has been the life of Archbishop Iakovos, our spiritual father in America for the last thirty-seven years.

His unwavering commitments to social justice and ecumenical unity are legend, having made strides in both areas that have changed the face of our community in this nation. Who can forget the pride we felt at watching him holding on one side the hand of a small black girl and on the other, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Selma, Alabama? The task of all people of faith, he has constantly reminded us, is to strive for full civil rights, full human rights and full liberty throughout the world.

It has been his incredible ability to put God's message to work everywhere, not just where Greek Orthodox or Orthodox Christians are affected, that has set him apart from others and has found him at the end of his official reign, as the revered dean of all ecumenical leaders in this country.

We have come of age under his leadership. No longer an immigrant community, his guidance of the Orthodox faith in America changed with the times. Recognizing that no other Orthodox Christian church in the world is facing the challenges of mixed marriages that confront us, he set out on a path to strengthen our Orthodox faith, while preserving our cultural heritage.

The untiring ministry of Archbishop Iakovos over the last half-century since his ordination to the priesthood has placed the Orthodox Church in America in the forefront as a vital religious body with a clear view of its identity and confident in its hopes for the future.

Championed as "the embodiment of Christian unity," our Archbishop took the courageous first step of leading twenty-nine Orthodox bishops toward administrative unity in America. Despite attempts by the bombthrowers, those who want to put the fear of change into the faithfuls' minds, he cautiously charted a path for the introduction of English into the Archdiocese and later for joining cooperatively with our fellow Orthodox in America.

It is his legacy of a church that embraces people, not one that imposes itself, that will be his most enduring gift to Orthodoxy in America. And it is that gift that will ensure our future as a vibrant and growing faith in this country.

An entire generation of Greek Americans has been raised knowing only Archbishop Iakovos as hierarch of our Church. But here in the Boston area, he is more than that to us. He is our own Father Demetrios Coucouzis, dean of the Annunciation Cathedral, who baptized many of us, led Cathedral basketball teams to glory, inspired many a young altar boy to join the priesthood and gave encouragement to a young twenty-four year old Hellene to go forth with his idea of a new kind of newspaper that would serve first and second generation Americans of Greek descent.

New York City may have played host to him for the last three decades, but we know that Archbishop Iakovos is truly a Bostonian. We hope he knows how dearly he is held in our hearts and knowing that "retirement" is an unknown occupation for him, we hope and expect to see him in our midst often.

As His Eminence prays unceasingly for all of us, let us reciprocate by praying that our Lord grant him many years of good health as our beloved and most reverend spiritual father.

Eis polla eti, Despota!

[ The Hellenic Chronicle - Vol. LXXXII, No. 4 - July 25, 1996 - p. 4 ]