wfn.org | Sunday of Orthodoxy Celebrated in New York

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				    SCOBA
  The Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas
		   8 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10021

For Immediate Release
March 17, 2003

For More Information:
Phone: (212) 774-0248  Fax: (212) 774-0202
E-mail: scoba@goarch.org

SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY CELEBRATED IN NEW YORK
BY HIERARCHS OF THE STANDING CONFERENCE OF
CANONICAL ORTHODOX BISHOPS

New York, NY -- On Sunday, March 16, Eight hierarchs from Orthodox Churches
who are members of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox
Bishops in the Americas concelebrated the Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity
Greek Orthodox Cathedral, commemorating the feast of the Sunday of
Orthodoxy. Each year on the first Sunday of Great Lent, Orthodox Christians
around the world commemorate the restoration of icon veneration, first
celebrated in 843 A.D. in Constantinople.

As an expression of the "oneness" of the Orthodox Church, Orthodox
hierarchs, clergy and faithful from many jurisdictions gathered on this day
in cathedrals and churches around the world, to proclaim with one voice,
"the faith of the Apostles?the faith of the Fathers?the faith which has
established the universe."    In their Sunday of Orthodoxy encyclical the
bishops addressed the current world situation stating, "The healing power
of our united Christian witness is especially crucial for our modern age,
which is plagued by attitudes of racism and bigotry, assaulted by increased
threats of war and terror, and challenged by environmental degradation and
poverty." Prayers said by the bishops and faithful confronted these and
other ills in the world, while offering the saving truth and compassion of
Christ and His Church.

His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in
America and Chairman of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox
Bishops in the Americas, presided at the hierarchical Divine Liturgy.
Concelebrating with him were the following hierarchs: Archbishop Nicolae of
the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America & Canada, Archbishop Antony of
the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA (representing Metropolitan
Constantine), Metropolitan Nicholas of the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox
Diocese in the USA, Bishop Antoun of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian
Archdiocese of North America (representing Metropolitan Philip), Bishop
Seraphim of Sendai (representing  Metropolitan Herman of the Orthodox
Church in America), and Bishop Ilia of the Albanian Orthodox Diocese of
America. Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos, General Secretary of SCOBA, also
concelebrated.

Clergy participating in the Liturgy included Fr. Robert Stephanopoulos,
Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Fr. Irinej Dobrijevic (Serbian Orthodox
Church), Fr. David Brum (Orthodox Church in America), Fr. Thomas Zain
(Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese), Fr. William Diakiw (Ukrainian Orthodox
Church), Fr. Nektarios Morrow (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese), and Deacons
Panteleimon Papadopoulos (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese) and Robert A. Buczak
(Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese).

The Cathedral choir, under the direction of Dr. Dino Anagnost, sang
responses for the Liturgy, while seminarians from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox
School of Theology chanted matins.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, students from Holy Trinity Cathedral
School and members of the Cathedral Fellowship, along with the clergy
carried icons in a solemn procession, chanting hymns glorifying the
fullness of Orthodox Christianity and its triumph over false teachings. The
procession concluded with the entire congregation reciting the Proclamation
of Faith.

In his homily for the Sunday of Orthodoxy, Metropolitan Nicholas spoke of
the incarnational foundation of Orthodox teaching. He exhorted the faithful
to bear witness to the Gospel in home missions, especially to the lost
sheep in their families and households, as they also invite others to "come
and see how good the Lord is."

Archbishop Demetrios expressed his profound thanks to all visiting
hierarchs, clergy and faithful who participated in this year's Sunday of
Orthodoxy observance.
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