Archbishop Elpidophoros of America presided over the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross Officiated at The Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church, Whitestone, New York.
After the completion of the Divine Liturgy, the Archbishop of America spoke about the Hellenic College Holy Cross and appealed to all Greeks in America to enroll their children there for studies. Specifically, the Archbishop of America said: “I want all of us to support the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Because without the Theological School we do not exist. We cannot exist. We will not have priests, we will not have theologians, we will not have people to work for our Church.
That is why, my brothers and sisters, I want to support the Theological School. Do not think that the Archbishop is asking you for money again. I’m not asking you for money this time. The Theological School does not need money. It needs children, people, send children! Not only to become priests, because in Boston, in the “Holy Cross” we do not only have a theological school. We also have the Hellenic College. Hellenism has only one college in America, only one in Boston. Next to the theological school.
Schools are made to operate, to get our children to learn our culture, our language, and our religion. That’s why you all gave so much money and built this school.”
Archbishop Elpidophoros did not fail to refer to the Theological School of Halki.
“This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the closure of the Theological School of Halki in Constantinople by the Turks. And we are fighting so hard to open it, we are talking to the Turks, we are trying to convince them, to explain to them, we are trying to ask for the help of governments, the American, our own, and other governments to open our Theological School. 50 years closed!” said the Archbishop of America, and continued: “We, here in America where we are free, have closed schools! I cannot find excuses. In fact, in Turkey, there is an excuse that the Turks closed it to us, we cannot open it otherwise. But here we are strong, we are free, we have all the possibilities to do it, brothers.