NEW YORK – There are parishes throughout the Archdiocese that have had the unenviable task of responding to a natural disaster – floods, hurricanes, wildfires, etc. – but none could be prepared for the pandemic that gripped the United States in the opening months of 2020. Parishes could only respond to their best of their…

Anywhere you dig in Constantinople (Istanbul), and you will surely find something that is historically Greek. The city was first founded in 660 BCE by settlers from Megara in today’s Athens metropolitan area. They called the city Byzantium and established it on the European side of the Bosphorus. The name was changed in 330CE from…

It’s the annual summer celebration that all friends of the United States in Greece await— the annual Fourth of July Reception at the Ambassador’s Residence in central Athens. The event’s invitation list is a who’s who of business, political and community leaders in Greece, as well as American citizens living and working in Athens. But…

The Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II has congratulated the Ambassador of the United States of America, Kelly Degnan on the Independence Day of the United States. The congratulatory message has been released by the Patriarchate. “We cordially congratulate you on the Independence Day of the United States and we would like to express our gratitude…

“Hagia Sophia is a pan-Christian holy site,” Metropolitan Hilarion said The preservation of Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia will be brought into question if the historical monument, which is now a museum, is turned into a mosque, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion said. Hagia Sophia is the…

Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, said he is concerned about the possibility of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul being made a mosque. “We are closely following with serious concerns the events surrounding the Hagia Sophia Cathedral. We are waiting for the official publication of the decision…

Today’s Gospel extract (Mathew 8, 5-13) refers to the great virtue of faith in God, which however must always be accompanied by the other great virtues which must characterize the life of the virtuous person, as are the virtues of humanity and indiscriminate love towards every person who is in need of our help. The…

July 5, 2020 Kimisis Tis Theotokou Greek Orthodox Church Poughkeepsie, NY Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I am delighted to be with the Kimisis community of Poughkeepsie this morning, and experience your faith and your devotion as we continue to reopen our churches. We do so still exercising great caution and abundant concern for the…

US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt and Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece paid a visit to the ‘Dimitrio’ Center for Creative Work affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Church through the NGO ‘Apostoli’. As the American embassy has cancelled this year’s reception for Independence Day (July 4), it is donating instead 400 plates of food for…