"We don't Have a Pope" [...right]
KOFI ANNAN & HOLINESS BARTHOLOMEW
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.
Mar 18/04
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(XOFC Staff)