Hierarchs Meet At The Cathedral of Saint Markella
Hierarchs Visit from Across America and Greece
Hierarchs and clergymen from across Greece and America concelebrated an Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of Saint Markella in Astoria, New York, on Sunday, October 9, 2023 (Old Style). Many of the Hierarchs and clergymen will be attending a meeting of the Holy Eparchial Synod to be held this weekend in Westwood, Massachusetts, a few hours’ drive from Astoria.
Present at the event in Astoria were His Eminence, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Attica and Bœotia; His Eminence, Metropolitan Photios of Demetrias; His Eminence, Metropolitan Demetrius of America; His Eminence, Bishop Auxentios of Etna and Portland; His Grace, Bishop Maximus of Pelagonia; His Eminence, Metropolitan Pavlos of America Emeritus; and a number of clergymen from various parts of the United States and Greece.
A banquet was served after the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, followed by a presentation about the Saint Photios Orthodox Theological Seminary given by its Rector and one of its Professors, Bishop Auxentios. Bishop Maximus, a Visiting Instructor at the Seminary, translated Bishop Auxentios’s remarks into Greek for all of the Greek-speakers present. The presentation about the Seminary was very well received by those in attendance, generating excitement about the Seminary and its mission.
Guests at the banquet were given gift bags that included a copy of the newly-published F.A.Q.s About the G.O.C., a book written by Dr. Demetrios Alibertis, an Adjunct Professor at the Seminary. F.A.Q.s About the G.O.C. answers frequently asked questions about the validity of the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece by exploring the historical and theological reasons for the existence of the Greek Old Calendar movement. The book had its official launch at the end of the presentation, when the Reverend Presbyter Father Dr. Jiří Ján, a Professor at the Seminary and the Ἐφημέριος (serving parish Priest) of the Saints Cyprian and Justina Orthodox Church in Etna, California, read a speech on behalf of Dr. Alibertis.
