The Apodosis of Pascha at our sister parish

The Apodosis of Pascha at our sister parish - the Church of Our Saviour in Rye on the eve of the Feast of the Ascension of Christ.

Congratulations to all of our graduates!

Holy Trinity, the AHEPA and our Ladies Philoptochos honored our high school, college and grad school graduates this morning following the Divine Liturgy. The annual event was hosted by our own AHEPA chapter. Congratulations to all of our graduates.

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Last Night's Soup Run

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by Despina Kartson

The torrential rain didn't stop us from venturing out to serve our guests during last night's soup run. By the time we arrived at our spot in Manhattan, the skies cleared, the downpour subsided to a drizzle and we served more than 125 meals to the large group who were waiting for us. No matter what the weather, those who are hungry or homeless still need to eat.

Our guests were exceptionally grateful - thanking us for "coming out in this weather", saying "God bless you for what you do", and expressing appreciation for the delicious meal. A couple of our guests helped us set up and serve. One man told us that he remembered we provided food an extra day last month, on Orthodox Good Friday, and remarked about how kind he thought it was that we wouldn't miss one of our regular evenings.

We talked with a homeless Vietnam veteran who stays in various shelters because he cannot afford rent and food - it's one or the other. He showed us the ID card he carries which identifies him as a 9/11 survivor. He was working on the 86th floor in one of the World Trade Center towers when he heard an explosion. The noise reminded him of his time in Vietnam and he knew something was terribly wrong. He said he immediately started making his way down the building, assisting others along the way and noted how "everyone was the same color" when he made it outside to the rubble and ash covered streets. After 9/11, his life turned into a downward spiral as he struggled with addiction and homelessness. Today, he said he is clean, volunteers helping teens with addiction and talking with them about survival - even as he survives every day without a home and wondering about his next meal.

We received an extraordinary financial donation from a close friend of one of our volunteers. The friend owns a restaurant in Florida, knows about our monthly Soup Run and donated money that was inadvertently left by a customer on the counter of the restaurant. When the money was not claimed for quite some time, the restauranteur gave the money to our volunteer so that she could provide clothing for the homeless. The restaurant owner wishes that the customer who left the cash behind knows that the money has been put to very good use. What an amazing gesture!

Every month we are grateful to all who so generously support, through their actions and their offerings, the mission of the Soup Run. This month's outreach was made possible by supporters and volunteers from Westchester County, NY; New York City; Norwalk, CT; New Jersey; Washington, DC; and Clearwater Beach, FL:

  • Kathy Tzortzides for her sponsorship

  • Manny Louros and Zachary Karounos for preparing the meals

  • Minos Samoladas and Paulette Poulos for their generous donations which enabled us to purchase much-needed socks and underwear

  • Maria Altikatis (Clearwater Beach, FL) for her generous donation which provided many new clothing items

  • Emmy Kalmanides for baking koulourakia

  • The New Jersey Philoptochos Metropolis for donating back to our Soup Run money raised from the sale of

  • Last Night's Soup Run

  • Ruth and Kevin Walter from Dobbs & Bishop Fine Cheese (www.dobbsandbishop.com) for a box of new backpacks

  • Nathan Darling of Beveridge & Diamond PC for a box of hats and hand sanitizer

  • Deborah Farone for toiletries and clothing

  • Irene Drivas for the bags of clothing, shoes and special request items

  • May Vlachos (St. George NYC) for preparing the Mental Health Clinic guide and including the Soup Run dates

  • Constance and Georgeann Mavrovitis and Cynthia Herzegovitch for organizing the clothing and toiletries

Please join us on June 27th.

Another great Memorial Day weekend at the 2019 Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan District Olympics!

Another great Memorial Day weekend at the 2019 Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan District Olympics! Weather was fantastic and many memories and friendships were made. Over 35 athletes participated from our parish’s Goya and Joy youth groups. Medals were won in many events including chess, checkers, ping pong, track and field, kickball, soccer and swimming. A special thank you to Alexis Cossifos and Sofia Rivera for coordinating our youth, and all the coaches and parents for keeping the children fed and hydrated, on schedule and cheering them on from the sidelines. Please consider joining the fun next year! Look for announcements early spring! So incredibly proud of the sportsmanship displayed by our youth this weekend!

Congratulations!

Alexandra King received her Cross as she prepared to receive her Master Of Divinity Degree tomorrow (May 19th) from Holy Cross School of Theology.

Sunday Highlights

Beautiful Mother’s Day poems were read by students of our Greek Afternoon School at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy. Happy Mother’s Day to all!

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.

Archbishop Elpidophoros Lampriniadis was born in Istanbul in 1967. He attended the Urban School of Makrochori, Istanbul and completed his basic education in Thessaloniki, Greece. Afterwards, he attended the 1st High School of Kallithea, Athens and he successfully took entrance examinations for the School of Pastoral and Social Theology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in academic year 1987 – 1988.

In July 1991 he graduated cum laude (8.89) and in September of the same year he was admitted as a graduate student in The School of Byzantine Literature at the University of Bonn in Germany. In October 1993 he completed his postgraduate studies. In April 1994 he was ordained a deacon at the Ecumenical Patriarchate and named “Elpidoforos”. In the same month he was appointed scribe of the Holy and Sacred Synod. From August 1994 until March 1995 he served his military service. During the academic year 1996 - 1997 he was sent, by decision of the Congregation, at the Theological Faculty of St. John of Damascus in Balamand, Lebanon to further improve his knowledge of the Arabic language, where he attended theology classes under Professor Father John Romanides. In December 1995 he was appointed Undersecretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod, a position he held until February 2005, when he was promoted to the Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod. He was ordained on the 20th of March 2005 by His All Holiness, Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch and was awarded the title of Archimandrite of the Great Church of Christ.

Concurrently, since 1994 he was a graduate student and PhD candidate at the School of Pastoral and Social Theology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and in 2001 he submitted his doctoral thesis on “The stand of Severus of Antioch against the Synod of Chalcedon”. The summer semester of 2004 he taught as a visiting professor at the Theological School of the Holy Cross of Boston, USA a class on “The position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Orthodox Church". Since the 25/1/2011, he has undertaken duties of Associate Professor in the Department of Pastoral and Social Theology at the Theological School of Aristotle University and teaches Symbolics, Interorthodox – InterChristian Relations and Ecumenical Movement. 03/20/2011 Consecration to Bishop of Bursa and from August of 2011 he is the Abbot of the Monastery of Holy Trinity in Halki.