wfn.org | Archbishop Serapheim

[Miriam REIDY PROST <mr@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches
Press Release
For Immediate Use
15 April, 1997

Archbishop Serapheim of Athens and all Greece

Following the death, on Friday 10 April, of the head of the (Orthodox)
Church of Greece, Archbishop Serapheim of Athens and all Greece, the
General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev Dr Konrad
Raiser, has sent the following letter to His Eminence Chrysostomos,
Metropolitan of Messinia, who is now acting head of the Church of
Greece.

"While Christians in the West were celebrating the joyful feast of Easter,
we received the sad news of the passing away of the most respected
Primate of the Church of Greece, Archbishop Serapheim of Athens and
all Greece.

"Together with my colleagues in the World Council of Churches, I share
the pain of the Orthodox faithful in Greece and join them in prayer asking
our common Lord, the God of life and resurrection, to give rest to the
soul of this devoted labourer of the gospel, the loving pastor and beloved
church leader, the man of dialogue and reconciliation, the hierarch who
was respected both by the Orthodox believers and the wider Christian
community.

"The World Council of Churches expresses its gratitude to the Almighty
God for the life and witness of the late Archbishop Serapheim. We
remember with gratitude our close collaboration with him when he was
Metropolitan of Ioannina deploying tireless efforts to improve life
conditions in the remote area of Ipiros by undertaking a series of
important pioneering developmental projects. We are also mindful of his
initiatives to eradicate hunger in the world by inviting all Christian leaders
to join hands and help people in distress. 

"Having had the privilege to meet personally the late Archbishop, I wish
to assure you that we shall remember him as a spiritual man of extreme
simplicity and sincerity, sensitive to the needs of today s society, a
straightforward interlocutor, fully aware of the difficulties of ecumenical
relationships and yet fully supportive of any effort aiming at the unity of
the Church. 

"May his memory be eternal! 

"Expressing the World Council of Churches  sincere condolences to the
hierarchy, the clergy and the faithful of the Church of Greece, I remain,

Yours faithfully in the risen Lord,
Konrad Raiser, General Secretary"

**********
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 330, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions.  The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but
works cooperatively with the WCC.  The highest governing body is the
Assembly, which meets approximately every seven years.  The WCC
was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Its staff is
headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church
in Germany.

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