LAST UPDATE: 13:21, 3/2/2024
On Friday, February 2, 2024, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the ordination of the elected Metropolitan Iakovos of Mexico as Bishop took place at the Phanar.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the Divine Liturgy with the participation of Metropolitan Elder Apostolos of Derkoi, Metropolitans Ignatio of Dimitrias and Almyros, Eirinaios of Myriophytos and Peristasis, Nektarios of Anthidonos, Maximos of Selyvria, Andreas of Saranta Ekklisies, and Theodoros of Seleucia.
The Ecumenical Patriarch provided guidance and encouragement to the newly ordained Bishop for the mission and ministry entrusted to him by the Mother Church.
“Your extensive theological and secular education, linguistic proficiency, diligence, organizational and administrative capabilities, dynamism, and fervor in carrying out your sacred duties, along with other virtues, make you deserving of elevation to the esteemed hierarchical position. In a short while, you will receive the fullness of priestly grace through the laying on of hands by our Mediocrity and the co-officiating hierarchs. We extend our congratulations on this significant honor bestowed by the Mother Church. May the Lord continuously fortify the Church, ensuring that, as a Bishop, you uphold the admirable character of a humble and virtuous clergyman. May you also fulfill the hopeful expectations with which the Mother Church dispatches you as a new Hierarch to labor in the vineyard of the American continent
To the devout Christians, our spiritual children in Central America, where you are headed from today, communicate with them in their language about the sacredness of the Ecumenical Throne and its significance—this grand entity and name. Discuss its ecumenical nature, the expansiveness of its vision, its radiance extending everywhere, and the respect and honor it commands.
Among his paternal words, the Ecumenical Patriarch said: “Proclaim, therefore, the ideals for which the Holy Great Church of Christ stands as the carrier and exponent. Share the message that our faithful can take pride in belonging to such a Church—an institution that, for centuries from its blessed and sanctified seat, continues to nourish Orthodox believers everywhere with the divine manna, ‘the sweetener of pious senses.’
To nourish them and not exhaust this manna, ‘which is always consumed and never spent, but those who participate,’ supporting and consolidating the Orthodox faith, patience, hope, and love. Indeed, to love, Your Grace, holy brother, as our Lord Jesus Christ taught us—to nourish and extend that love not only to our friends but also to our enemies and those who persecute us: ‘Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them!”
Concluding his speech, the Ecumenical Patriarch blessed and congratulated the parents of the Bishop, “who willingly offered their child to the Church to become a deacon of the Church and the faithful people of God.”
The Patriarch made a special reference to the spiritual father of the elected Metropolitan, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece. Despite his desire to be present, Archbishop Ieronymos could not attend the ordination of Iakovos as Bishop. He was represented by a three-member delegation led by Metropolitan Ignatios of Dimitrias and Almyros, whom the Patriarch welcomed and thanked for their participation in the co-liturgy. The delegation also included Archimandrite Ioannis Karamouzis, the new Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece.
Metropolitan Stefanos of Kallioupolis and Madytos, Bishops Adrianos of Halicarnassus, Smaragdos of Dafnouasia, and Paisios of Xanthoupolis, clergymen, Archons of the Great Church of Christ, the US Ambassador to Greece, Georgios Tsounis, the Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Mexico in Greece Edgar Cubero Gómez, the General Secretary of Public Property of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance of Greece, Nagia Kollia, the parents and relatives of the new Metropolitan, who traveled from the USA, believers from Constantinople, and pilgrims from Greece and abroad.
Following the service, in the packed Throne Room at the Patriarchal House, the newly appointed Metropolitan conveyed his gratitude to the Ecumenical Patriarch and the members of the Holy Synod for his election. Additionally, he expressed thanks to Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece for the paternal love and support extended to him until today.
Subsequently, the Ecumenical Patriarch conveyed his joy for the ordination of the Metropolitan of Mexico. He also expressed gratitude to the Greek-American Ambassador of the USA to Greece, Tsounis, for attending the event. The Ecumenical Patriarch received Ambassador Tsounis and his spouse Olga at the Patriarchal Office shortly thereafter. Metropolitan Ignatios of Dimitrias and Almyros conveyed the joy of the Church of Greece, expressing warm and cordial sentiments about the new Hierarch of the Ecumenical Throne.
Article translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas / Thanos Chrysanthopoulos
Photos: Nikos Papachristou
