New York, June 13, 2023
Photo: goarch.org
For the second year in a row, Archbishop Elpidophoros, the head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, decided to celebrate the name’s day of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople at an Episcopalian church in Manhattan.
The church, named for the Apostle St. Bartholomew, is explicitly pro-LGTBQ, and all the participants in the Great Vespers on June 10 had to pass under the “Progressive Pride Flag” that hangs over the church.
The church’s website also features pictures of the Holy Cross blasphemously adorned with the rainbow flag and the letters “LGBTQ” replacing the sign, “Jesus of Nazareth The King of the Jews.”
Bp. Saba of the Georgian Church is on the far right. Photo: Facebook
In addition to Constantinople hierarchs, Bishop Saba, the Georgian Orthodox hierarch in America, was also present.
In his homily during the service, Abp. Elpidophoros explained why the celebration was held at the Episcopalian church:
We celebrate the Ecumenical Patriarch’s nameday here in a church of another Christian community, because His All-Holiness is the very definition of ecumenicity. He, following in the footsteps of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, is continuously reaching out to those beyond his own circle and family of faith.
And he continued:
The Ecumenical Patriarch is a spiritual father for all people, whether they realize it or not.
The Archbishop also acknowledged that his celebration at the Episcopalian church would prove scandalous, which he attributes to the un-Christian attitude of the scandalized:
Being in this church, borrowed from another Christian tradition, is a sign of our expansive and embracing love for all people. It is a symbolic act that many will try to interpret through their own filters of grievance, prejudice, and lack of basic human kindness. But the truth of our presence and prayers here tonight is the same as the vision of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, which he enunciated a few years ago:
It is our belief and, at the same time, our hope that Christianity can be viewed as a religion of love and dialogue. The visions of the Gospel are what the Orthodox Church seeks to incarnate and support in the modern world.
In conclusion, the Archbishop exhorts:
Let us give thanks to our Merciful God, Who has bestowed upon the Church and the entire human family such a person as the Great Ecumenical Patriarch, His All-Holiness Bartholomew – Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome.
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