wfn.org | Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Meets US Political and

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2004

Contact:  Nikki Stephanopoulos
www.goarch.org/en/special/usvisit2004

HIS ALL HOLINESS BARTHOLOMEW CELEBRATES DIVINE LITURGY AT
ST. JOHN CATHEDRAL IN NJ, MEETS WITH RELIGIOUS LEADERS,
KOFI ANNAN, MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND SENATOR CLINTON AND
INAUGURATES BYZANTINE EXHIBITION AT METROPOLITAN MUSEUM

New York, NY - His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual
leader of over 250 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, arrived in New
Jersey on Saturday, March 13 to begin his fifth visit to the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of America and first official pastoral visit to the Metropolis
of New Jersey. Welcoming His All Holiness upon his arrival at Morristown,
NJ Airport were His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek
Orthodox Church in America, His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos of New
Jersey, diplomats, officials, clergy and laity of the Metropolis of New
Jersey.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew went immediately to Holy Trinity Church in
Westfield, NJ where hundreds of young people participating in the annual
Sights and Sounds program of the Metropolis warmly greeted His All
Holiness. "We grant upon you our paternal love and patriarchal blessing,"
he said, "and we pray that, day after day, you will approach the infinite
beauty of the good creation of God, so that you will convey to all the
message of joy, the Gospel of Christ, the hopeful message of the
restoration of the relationship between man and God, and the end of feeing
orphaned; you will share with all the news of your new adoption by our
affectionate heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. By doing this you will
experience a joy that is compete and inalienable".

On Sunday morning, March 14, hundreds packed the Cathedral of St. John the
Theologian in Tenafly, NJ for the Divine Liturgy celebrated by the
Ecumenical Patriarch.  Later that evening over 1,000 people attended a
banquet in honor of His All Holiness, including the Governor of New Jersey
James McGreevey.

On Monday morning His All Holiness met with the hierarchs of the Standing
Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas  (SCOBA) and the
Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches (SCOOCH) at the
Archdiocese Headquarters. In his remarks, the Patriarch said, "?we are glad
for this opportunity of a face-to-face personal exchange with you,
especially in the time of the Holy and Great Lent. This is a time of
fasting, of prayer, of spiritual refuge, and of lifting our hearts to the
Lord Who is Coming for His Holy Passion, a journey to which HE ever invites
us to sojourn with Him."

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew also held separate private meetings with
Senator Hillary Clinton and with Edgar M. Bronfman, President, and Rabbi
Israel Singer, Chairman, of the World Jewish Congress.	His All Holiness
also offered his patriarchal greetings to the Members of the Preparatory
Meeting for the Interreligious Conference and Dialogue.

The entire staff of the Archdiocese gathered for a Patriarchal Greeting and
Blessing in the St. Paul Chapel. Later, some 200 Archdiocesan Leaders from
throughout the Archdiocese attended a luncheon in honor of His All Holiness
at The BoatHouse in Central Park.

Following the luncheon, His All Holiness met with His Excellency Kofi
Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations at the United Nations
headquarters.

Later that evening he attended dinner at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on
the occasion of the inauguration of the exhibition  Byzantium: Faith and
Power (1261-1557). "May the works in this exhibit," said His All Holiness,
"lead us to the right path of true faith from which true spiritual power
derives. This spiritual power, in turn, is the creative power behind these
displayed works of art. Most importantly, it is the creative power behind
works of life that are less glamorous, but nevertheless are works that
produce love for another, joy and hope in life. We wholeheartedly pray for
the success of this exhibit, and we will consider as a great
accomplishment, the true realization of the message conveyed through its
title, in its true dimension:  Faith and Power".

On March 16 His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios hosted a breakfast for
religious leaders in honor of His All Holiness.   Guests at the breakfast
included Cardinal Egan, Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, Episcopal
Presiding Bishop, Frank T. Griswold, General Secretary of the National
Council of Churches, Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar, and Rabbi Joseph Potasnik.	In
concluding his remarks, His All Holiness said, "If mutual understanding,
open dialogue and common action on issues of general concern among the
various religions were needed in the past, today they are even much more
needed. We live in a world of rapid social, political and economic changes.
We live in a world of violence and terrorism and wars declared or
undeclared?. And we live in a world in which more and more the role of
religion as vital, indispensable and dynamic factor is being universally
recognized."

Also on March 16, clergy of the Direct Archdiocesan District received the
Patriarchal Greeting and Blessing in the Archdiocesan Chapel. His All
Holiness then attended a luncheon in his honor hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Ahmet
Ertegun and Mr. And Mrs. Murat Koprulu.

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