On Tuesday, June 10, 2025, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America hosted the Opening Session of the Impact Week Conference of the National Council of Churches (NCC).
Yesterday’s event, with the theme of “Re-Building Bridges: The Role of Religious Communities During a Time of Crisis in Multilateralism,” was held at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine in New York City. The conference will feature discussions on topics such as justice, peace, and humanitarian aid, and encourage bridge building.
Speakers at the Opening Session included: United Nations Under-Secretary-General, High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilization, Miguel Ángel Moratinos; NCC President and General Secretary Bishop Vashti McKenzie; Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Bishop Elizabeth Eaton; Executive Director of the New York State Council of Churches Peter Cook; and Archiepiscopal Vicar of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, Rev. Andreas Vithoulkas.
Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, who currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Governing Board of the NCC, offered closing remarks reflecting on the purpose and theme of the Conference and the significance of holding this session at St. Nicholas Shrine: “Your presence here at Ground Zero, within this Shrine for the Nation, is indeed most welcome! For we always proposed that this sacred site would be a place of gathering and convocation, even as it continued the century-old ministry of the little church that was destroyed on September Eleventh. I always thought that the raising of this spiritual space would bring hope and healing to the thousands of visitors of every faith and tradition, and so it has. I am very glad that all of you are here today.
Our common purpose and theme during this NCC Impact Week – Re-Building Bridges – could not be timelier. In a world – secular and religious – where walls are being raised daily to divide the human family, we, who represent the Faith of Jesus Christ, are called to break down such barriers, and turn those walls into bridges. These bridges find their meaning in the horizontal beam upon which our Lord was nailed to the Cross. His one hand is stretched out to the Thief who confessed Him, as much as the other is extended to the Thief who railed at Him. This manifestation of His equanimity with all people should inspire us to do likewise. Not everyone will give up their walls so easily. They might feel very safe inside their palisade, afraid of what is outside. And the more we try to knock them down, the more entrenched they may become. Our task is to lovingly speak the truth, as the Apostle Paul advises, and sometimes this will be hard for people to hear.”
Photos: Orthodox Observer/Dimitrios Panagos
