By Efi Efthimiou from New York
The new Archbishop of America, Elpidophoros, gave a press conference on Friday morning in New York.
He stressed that it was a great pleasure for him to speak as the new Archbishop of America.
He admitted that the Archdiocese of America has to face several problems, which is, however, common for a living organization.
He referred to the issue of the Saint Nikolaos church, which, as he pointed out, “compromises us in the eyes of those who have supported its reconstruction and to the eyes of the American people. It is my priority. It is a point of honour for us to complete this church. I am sure that there will be good news for the issue of St. Nikolaos Church.
Regarding the Cyprus dispute, he stressed that “as Archbishop of America I will work hard to ensure a positive outcome and end the tensions and aggression. We, the Greeks, are a people that flourishes in peacetime. We do not want war. We are brave in time of war but we always pursue peace. As Archbishop of America I will work to ensure peace and reconciliation of peoples. ”
One of the Archbishop’s priorities is the reopening of the Halki seminary. As stated, this issue does not concern governments in other countries. The Turkish government cannot ignore the duty that it owes to its citizens. They must respect religious rights and give them the right to attend a religious school.”
He added that “you cannot close a seminary that is so important to the whole world, either Orthodox or not. The current government in Turkey is positive to reopen the seminary.”
Referring to the Greek language, he noted that there were six generations of Greeks in America. “It is idealistic to expect people like them to speak fluently English. What we can achieve is to promote Greek language. However, it is long-term objective, and it will take time.”
He also noted that technology is a blessing, and he uses enough social media. “God gave us logic and reason to be making progress in this matter,” he said.
Concerning the issue of financial transparency, he said that he would not refer to the past, but he was interested in doing more and doing it better from now on. “I am sure that the associates of the Archdiocese will assist in this development too. Transparency is not something that I invented. It is something that governs the entire US economy, and we have to follow the rules. We have a lot of competent people from the Greek community, such as amazing lawyers, so with these associates and with this wonderful Greek community I am sure that the objectives for transparency will be achieved.”
