wfn.org | Encyclical of Archbishop Demetrios for Thanksgiving

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

> GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA
> 8-10 East 79th St. New York, NY 10075-0106
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> Protocol 109/09

> November 26, 2009
> Thanksgiving Day

To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the
Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils of
the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Distinguished Archons of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the
Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth, the Hellenic Organizations, and
the entire Greek Orthodox Family in America

> Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we gather together again with family and friends on this day of
Thanksgiving, we offer our gratitude to God for His abundant grace and
assuring presence which fill our hearts with joy and bring meaning and
salvation to our lives.

This holiday, a traditional American day of thanksgiving to God, has
been celebrated for generations, through times of peace and security
and in times of great crisis and tragedy.  Under all circumstances of
life and at all times, it has been a day that offers an enduring
witness to the power of thankfulness.  This day originated with a call
to prayer and expressions of gratitude to God in the midst of
tremendous challenges.  When President Abraham Lincoln inaugurated the
national observance of Thanksgiving Day in 1863, this nation was
embroiled in a terrible civil war.  In the midst of conflict and loss,
his proclamation was a call to bear witness to the One who could bring
healing and restore peace to the nation.

Further, for over a century this day has been a time for the people of
this country to pause from the labors of their hands and minds, to
gather with loved ones, and to reflect on the blessings of life,
family, relationship, community, and sharing.  This gathering and
reflection is another witness to the power of thankfulness, as we
contemplate the aspects of our lives that are the most significant to
our well-being, our nation, and the world.  In the moments we share
with one another or in service to those in need, we move beyond the
thoughts of material things and personal ambitions to ponder the
deeper and more enduring qualities of life and relationship.

It is also on this day, that we as Orthodox Christians affirm the
power of thankfulness through the association of this holiday with our
faith.  At the very center of our life of faith is our spiritual and
physical participation in a sacrament of thanksgiving.  The very name
of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist means â??to give thanks;â? ? and
in our reception of the Body and Blood of Christ, we are called to
give thanks to our Lord for what He has done for us.  We give thanks
for His gift of life and sustenance.  We give thanks for His love and
sacrifice for our salvation.  We give thanks for His mercy and for the
hope and peace engendered in our hearts through His divine presence.
Through this communion with Christ and our expression of gratitude to
Him, we offer a powerful witness to the world of all that is genuine,
true, and eternal.  In the greatest act of thanksgiving through the
Holy Eucharist, we call all people to a more blessed state of life and
relationship that can lead them through and above the challenges of
this world and into the kingdom of God.

On this day of Thanksgiving, may our hearts be filled with
gratefulness to our Creator and Giver of Life.  May we bring honor and
glory to God through our words of praise and thanksgiving, and may our
lives be beautiful and constant witnesses of the power of thankfulness
so that others may find peace and salvation in Christ and in the love
that we share as the family of God.

> With paternal love in Christ,

> ?DEMETRIOS
> Archbishop of America