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Congress.gov - September 18, 1996

Enthronement Of Archbishop Spyridon

Congressional Record Vol. 142, No. 129
(Senate - September 18, 1996)

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●  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, a new chapter commences in the life of the Greek Orthodox Church of America this Saturday with the enthronement in New York of new Archbishop Spyridon at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in New York City. Archbishop Spyridon, the first American- born hierarch to hold this position, assumes this important responsibility at a time when the Orthodox Church in America faces great challenges and opportunities. All Americans of Greek Orthodox faith have great hope that this new spiritual leader will continue the Greek Orthodox Church's positive role in the religious life of our country.

In pursuing this mission, the new Archbishop will build on a firm foundation established by his predecessors--Archbishop Iakovos, who did so much to advance Orthodoxy in the Americas, Archbishop Michael, and the late Patriarch Athenagoras, who led the church during its early and difficult period in America.

Archbishop Spyridon was born in Warren, OH, the son of Clara and the late Dr. Constantine Papageorge, and spent most of his youth in Tarpon Springs, FL where, as a teenager, he divided his summers between Florida and the Island of Rhodes, the home of his father. The Archbishop graduated high school in Tarpon Springs and then enrolled in the Theological School of Halki near Istanbul, Turkey, where he was graduated with honors. He pursued graduate studies in Switzerland and Germany and is fluent in English, French, Greek, German, and Italian. He eventually was assigned to the permanent delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland, and later served as Secretary of the Orthodox Center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate located in Chambesy, Switzerland. In 1976 he was assigned to duties as Dean of the Greek Orthodox community of St. Andrew's in Rome and later assumed added responsibilities as Orthodox Executive Secretary of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. He was elected a Bishop on November 5, 1985; and in 1991 he became the first person ever elevated to Metropolitan of Venice, Italy.

The new Archbishop's responsibility includes serving as the direct representative in the United States of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, the spiritual center of world Orthodox Christianity. His personal and ecclesiastical experience combine a rich grounding in Orthodox spirituality, a meaningful involvement in interfaith- ecumenical activities, and an understanding of the American tradition of religious freedom and separation of church and state.

I join with Orthodox throughout our country and all Americans of good faith who wish His Eminence a long life, a productive ministry, and the strength and wisdom to meet the many challenges which await him.  ●

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  September 18, 1996 ]