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Orthodox Observer - January 1997

A Strong Beginning

The end of December marks 100 days since Archbishop Spyridon's enthronement.

In that brief period, he has successfully taken thereins of his responsibilities and seized the initiative on many issues confronting the Church.

Also, his mild, yet firm, manner and charisma have served him in good stead in establishing quick rapport with the hundreds of private individuals and government leaders from both Greece and America which he has met with thus far.

In appointing His Eminence, the Patriarchate has sent a message of maternal love and concern for the Greek Orthodox faithful in America and a strong will to promote Orthodox cooperation in America.

Among the major concerns that the Archbishop has set as top priorities, are the key issues of interchurch marriages and religious education.

In his enthronement speech, the Archbishop spoke of inter-church marriages not as a problem, but as a "promise of things that can be."

To bring this about, he has set up a task force to study the inter-church marriage issue in hopes of developing practical ideas that can eventually be incorporated into a handbook to help priests at the parish level.

The Archbishop deems it very important to make substantial progress on this issue. He leads the Church in demonstrating its genuine love and concern for all inter-church married couples.

His Eminence has also assessed that religious education must be a top priority to instill the faith in our young. He feels that the lost of countless Orthodox over the past two generations can be traced to the lack of religious education at an early age.

He feels very strongly that all of our youth must be well-grounded in the knowledge about our Greek Orthodox faith and he will be watching developments very closely.

His Eminence has demonstrated his capacity for hard work and long hours, through an exhausting schedule, visiting dozens of parishes in New York, the Washington metropolitan area, Chicago and other areas over the past three months. He also has held his first meeting with SCOBA, underscoring his commitment to the unity of Orthodoxy in this country.

From a spiritual perspective, a key theme His Eminence has emphasized during his first 100 days has been that of humility and of the need for the faithful to reject divisiveness and instead to apply the love of Christ to their daily life. It is a message which we in America need to hear.

Parallel to the Archbishop's appointment, has been the reorganization of the Western Hemisphere to include three separate Metropolitanates of South America, Central America and Canada. In its action, the Ecumenical Patriarchate recognized the importance that each region's cultural and political realities affect the life of the Church, and has also shown an appreciation for the vast distances involved in ministering to the faithful in these areas.

The timely action will no doubt result in a far more efficient church administration and enable each hierarch to better address the concerns and issues confronting the faithful in each of these regions.

The New Year we are now entering will be marked by many exciting developments as Archbishop Spyridon addresses more of the issues facing the Church, as well as his preparations for the upcoming visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew next fall.

[ Orthodox Observer - Vol. 62, No. 1122 - January 1997 - p. 6 ]