Archbishop Elpidophoros of America addressed the Archdiocesan Cathedral Board of Trustees during the Oath of Office ceremony at the Archdiocesan Headquarters on January 11, 2024.
He expressed gratitude to outgoing president Stella Pantelidis for her dedicated service and welcomed the new president, Elias Lambiris. Emphasizing the transformative power of sacrificial love and stewardship, he urged the board to create a welcoming environment. The Archbishop highlighted the challenges and opportunities of the coming year, underscoring the importance of Christ-centered relationships in facing them. He encouraged the trustees to be exemplars of love, inclusivity, and acceptance in serving the Cathedral.
Read the full speech of Archbishop Elpidophoros:
Dear Father Chrysostom and Beloved Trustees,
Another year of God’s grace has arrived, and we have gathered to answer the call to embrace the spirit of service and love for our precious Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. I want to thank you for your willingness to serve – whether you are returning for another year, or this is you first participation on this fine Board of Trustees.
To our outgoing president, Stella Pantelidis – on behalf of all, thank you for your stalwart service to the Cathedral community. You continue to inspire us with your devotion and dedication to the Church at every level.
To our new president, Elias Lambiris, we look forward to your administration and to a unifying vision that will be inclusive of all.
To all the members, together with Fr. Chrysostomos, your vocation is to make an offering of sacrificial love for the sake of the community. This is what brings the kind of spiritual benefit to the Cathedral that will be transformative for the faithful. Your stewardship is not simply about the material resources that support the Cathedral. It is just as much about creating a loving and supportive environment where everyone feels welcome.
This New Year of 2024 will present us with many challenges and many opportunities. But it will be the Christ-centered dynamic of our relationships that will enable us to meet those challenges and capitalize on the opportunities. Our interactions with one another are the manifestation of our faithfulness to the Gospel. As the Evangelist John pointedly reminds us in his First Epistle:
For if you do not love your brother or sister whom you have seen, how can you possibly love God Whom you have not seen?*
Here, in the simplest of terms, we have the essence of our Church relationships. And all of us with leadership responsibilities and duties have an obligation to be exemplars to those who have entrusted us to act on their behalf.
Let us, then, be known as persons of love, of inclusivity and of acceptance. And let us serve this great Cathedral with the very best that we have to offer.
I have confidence and great hope in all of you, and I will pray for your every success.
Thank you, and may God bless you and your families in this New Year of God’s grace, 2024.
* I John 4:20.
Photos: Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
