By St. Photios National Shrine contributor
The St. Photios National Shrine, in honor of its 40th anniversary, presented Archbishop Elpidophoros of America with a $5,000.00 gift for the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of the Holy Trinity located on the island of Halki.
Saint Photios the Great, patron saint of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America’s first national shrine, was the founder of the monastery in the late 9th century during his tenure as Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch.
The monastery is also the site of the Theological School of Halki established by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the 19th century.
Hierarchal Proistamenos of the Shrine, Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, presented the gift on behalf of the Saint Photios Foundation Board of Trustees to Archbishop Elpidophoros of America during a visit to the Archdiocesan Headquarters in New York.
The Archbishop served as the Abbot of the Holy Trinity Monastery from 2011 until his election as Archbishop of America and led a renewal of the monastic community there as well as an extensive rehabilitation of the library and grounds at the Theological School.
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
