From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Welcomed by Children in New
From
Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>
Date
Thu, 18 Mar 2004 16:34:34 -0800
GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA
8-10 East 79th St. New York, NY 10021
Tel: (212) 570-3530 Fax: (212) 774-0215
Web: http://www.goarch.org
Email: communications@goarch.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2004
Contact: Nikki Stephanopoulos
HUNDREDS OF SCHOOL CHILDREN WELCOME ECUMENICAL
PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW TO ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH IN FLUSHING
New York, NY - Hundreds of children from several greater New York Greek
Orthodox Parochial schools warmly and enthusiastically welcomed His All
Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of over 250
million Orthodox Christians worldwide, to St. Nicholas Church in
Flushing, NY on Wednesday, March 17.
His All Holiness, who is making his fifth visit to the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of America, responded with words of faith, love and hope.
"Your gathering today constitutes a community of hope, for you are indeed
children of hope. You are the children of heroic immigrants who came to
this country with their faith and with the will to live a free, bountiful
and prosperous life...Because of their struggles and achievements, they
have made it possible for you to grow amidst happy families, in happy
homes. And, they made it possible for you to receive perhaps the
greatest gift that a parent could ever give: the gift of an extraordinary
and excellent education. The education that you are receiving at your
parochial Schools is an extraordinary education because it is rooted in
the inexhaustible wealth of our magnificent Orthodox faith and the
invaluable riches of the classical Hellenic tradition."
Immediately following, His All Holiness attended a luncheon in his honor
hosted by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation commemorating, "The Tenth
Anniversary of the Bosphorous Declaration", at the Minskoff Cultural
Center.
In the evening the Archons of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle hosted
a dinner in honor of the Ecumenical Patriarch at the Council of Foreign
Relations. Commenting on recent terrorist events, His All Holiness said,
" Two recent events have completely shattered our hearts: the terrorist
attacking Madrid, which resulted in the death of hundreds of innocent
people and the injury of hundreds of others; and the fire on Mount Athos,
which destroyed a large part of our historic Patriarchal Monastery of
Hiliandari. We mourn for the loss of innocent victims in Spain, and also
for the victims in United States of two years ago. Terrorism is blind. It
hit Madrid yesterday, Constantinople a little while ago; before that it
hit Moscow, and before that it attacked New York. When will people
finally realize that problems are not solved through blind, murderous
attacks against innocent and unsuspecting people, but, rather, through
dialogue and diplomacy? May God illumine those whose hearts have been
darkened by hatred religious bigotry, and senseless nationalism."
This morning, March 18, the Ambassador of Greece to the United Nations
Adamantios Vassilakis, hosted a breakfast at his residence, in honor of
His All Holiness. Twenty- two ambassadors and several other United
Nations diplomats attended and heard His All Holiness applaud their
efforts. "You have the high responsibility to represent the honorable
interests of your countries to the United Nations. Your work, especially
under the present conditions of increased turmoil and terrorism observed
throughout the globe, is hardly easy. You are well equipped, though, and
you bring your diplomatic experience, which is very significant, along
with the confidence that your countries have place in you. Keeping your
high mission in mind, we extend our warm prayers and blessings those of
the sacred Center of Orthodoxy. Your accomplishments are a source of joy
and satisfaction for the entire world."
His All Holiness will continue his visit to New York today with a lecture
this afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art entitled, Byzantine
Icons: A Legacy of Humanism. This evening, he will attend a Reception
and Dinner for the Library Conservation project of St. Catherine's
Monastery (Mt. Sinai) on the occasion of the Byzantium: Faith and Power
(1261-1557) Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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