Orthodox Church in America - July 29, 1999

[ Address of Metropolitan Maximos of Aenos
to the 12th All-American Council of OCA ]

[ ... ]

I am delighted to bring to all of you, the members of the All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America who meet in Pittsburgh the greetings of our Archbishop SPYRIDON, who asked me to represent him this evening. As I do so, I wish to remind you of the fine words pronounced by our Archbishop in Chicago, five years ago. It was in the context of the national Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Archdiocese. At that time, Archbishop SPYRIDON was the Metropolitan of Italy. As he brought the greetings of Ecumenical Patriarch BARTHOLOMEW to the congress, the Metropolitan remarked that it was about time for all Orthodox Christians in America to unite. “There is nothing more ridiculous than to allow ethnicity to take priority over our common Orthodox faith,” SPYRIDON said in the presence of Metropolitan THEODOSIUS. Metropolitan THEODOSIUS did not hid his enthusiasm regarding this statement. I personally join both these hierarchs in their assessment of our ecclesiastical situation in the Americas, and I pray for that Orthodox unity beyond ethnic boundaries to become a reality as soon as possible.

[ ... ]

[ Orthodox Church in America
   https://www.oca.org/holy-synod/statements/metropolitan-maximos/
   address-of-the-metropolitan-maximos-of-aenos-presiding-hierarch-of-the-dioc
   July 29, 1999 ]