On Wednesday, May 21st, the feast of Sts. Constantine and Helen, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, received Archbishop Elpidophoros of America in an audience with the Holy Cross senior students on the St. Helen’s Pilgrimage led by Archimandrite Bartholomew Mercado, a member of the Holy Cross faculty.
Archbishop Elpidophoros offered remarks to the Ecumenical Patriarch in which he expressed the dedication and commitment of the Sacred Archdiocese and the beloved School to the self-sacrificial ministry of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Mother Church of Constantinople. He then proceeded to introduce the students of the St. Helen’s Pilgrimage, which included a formal address to the Ecumenical Patriarch by Holy Cross senior George Miller.
In his remarks, Mr. Miller thanked the Ecumenical Patriarch for his sterling example of pastoral leadership, moral resolve, and fatherly love. He continued by expressing the collective sentiment that the Ecumenical Patriarch’s example motivates their own ministries in the future. He also expressed thanks to Archbishop Elpidophoros for his love, support, and care for the students and for HCHC as a whole.
In response, the Ecumenical Patriarch underscored the dynamic and successful ministry of Archbishop Elpidophoros, which, as he noted, has also been shown through the development of the Theological School, and he congratulated the students as they prepare for their respective ministries. The students then presented a gift to the Ecumenical Patriarch, an engolpion of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, with the Holy Cross Chapel depicted in the background.
