Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco spoke about the situation with the fires in California.
In statements to ERT News, Metropolitan Gerasimos emphasized, “I went there on Saturday and Sunday, and I visited the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Los Angeles. It is located near several neighborhoods that have suffered damage. However, the Saint Sophia Cathedral and all the regional churches have not been harmed. None of the Church buildings sustained damage.”
The Metropolitan stressed that the most serious issue is that people there lost everything within two hours. Nothing remained in their homes. “12,000 buildings have been destroyed — businesses and homes,” he noted.
“The Church’s mission is always to stand by wounded and afflicted people. That’s what we have done, as has the Archdiocese, and that is what we are continuing to do now. Archbishop Elpidophoros will come to Los Angeles next week so that we can coordinate efforts to assist all people — not just our own, but also those who are not members of the Orthodox Church,” he added.
On Sunday, he visited the Saint Sophia Cathedral. As he noted, the church there is very large, accommodating 850 people. “It was full. I was deeply moved; I did not expect people to come during such a disaster. Yet they came to pray, to help as much as they could, to do something for their fellow human beings. There is this biblical-scale destruction, but there is also a magnificent display of solidarity,” said the Metropolitan of San Francisco.
He also noted that California is home to 80,000 members of the Greek-American community. “There are many of us. But the six states that make up the Metropolis of San Francisco have 185,000 Greek-Americans,” he said.
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
