The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople enjoys a resonant historical title but, unlike the Pope in the Roman Catholic context, has little direct executive power in the world of Eastern Orthodoxy. Patriarchs have had to earn the authority on the world stage, and, in fact, not many Patriarchs in recent centuries have done much more than maintain the form of their historic dignities.
Patriarach Bartholomew, however, has turned the relative political weakness of the office into a strength, grasping the fact that it allows him to stake out a clear moral and spiritual vision that is not tangled up in negotiation and balances of power. And this vision is dominated by his concern for the environment.
In a way that is profoundly loyal to the traditions of worship and reflection in the Eastern Orthodox Church, he has insisted that ecological questions are essentially spiritual ones. He has stressed that a world in which God the Creator uses the material stuff of the universe to communicate who He is and what He wants is one that demands reverence from human beings. Probably more than any other religious leader from any faith, Patriarch Bartholomew, 68, has kept open this spiritual dimension of environmentalism.
The title Ecumenical Patriarch historically refers to the Patriarch’s pastoral responsibility for “the whole inhabited world.” This brave and visionary pastor has given a completely new sense to the ancient honorific; his work puts squarely on our agenda the question of how we express spiritual responsibility for the world we live in.
Williams is Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Anglican Church
From the Dean's Desk
I once again marvel at the success of our Greek Festival. How a group of amateur volunteers can pull off such a tremendous event. How people from all walks of life come in such crowds and enjoy our offerings. How well our members respond with the many labor-intensive jobs associated with the festival. There is no easy labor of love, yet many of our members go over and above the call of duty to get the job done. To all who volunteered of their time and talent, I truly thank you. I especially want to express the appreciation of our entire community to the Festival Committee, which had many challenges this year and met more often than in previous years to make sure our new layout would work. Their efforts bore fruit with a better flow of traffic and better access in getting the food where it needed to go. Finally, a special thanks to George Vithoulkas and the young men who helped him in repairing equipment, setting up, working morning to night during the festival, and cleaning up in record time. This effort was over several weeks and we truly appreciate their work.
No need to mention that summer is here - the early on hot spell awakened us to that reality. I am pleased with our church attendance through June and hope our members will continue to be faithful in attending worship services. In reality, there is no reason to stop going to church in the summer. It is only an hour and a half out of a 168 hour week. Surely we can show our thanks to God by offering this communal worship at least once a week. We also hope that our members can keep up their stewardship contributions during the summer months. We strive to reach our goals so that the Festival profits can be allocated into other areas, including the building fund so we can avoid a mortgage note.
May our Lord bless your summer activity, enjoy your vacations, and I’ll be looking to greet you regularly in church.