Inspired by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Chicago’s Assumption Church Becomes FOUNDER of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation

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Inspired by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Chicago’s Assumption Church Becomes FOUNDER of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation

Dear Brother Archons and Treasured Friends of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,

I asked the question several weeks ago: What is your parish doing to ensure that the Sacred Center of our Holy Orthodox Christian Faith survives and thrives in an extremely difficult environment?

Since then, we have experienced the tremendous blessing of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s historic Apostolic Visit to the United States, during which he kept up an extraordinary level of activity, meeting with President Trump and other world leaders, receiving the Templeton Prize for his heroic efforts to protect the natural environment, and delivering a series of profound and thought-provoking addresses that warrant study for years to come.

Inspired by his holy example, Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago has just become a FOUNDER of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation. In a resolution, the parish noted that His All-Holiness, “the 269th successor to St. Andrew, has been an advocate for Christian unity, world peace, and environmentalism over his 34 years of patriarchal ministry.” Assumption Church, the resolution added, “extends our appreciation to His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew for his decades of church leadership and for granting us exemplary hierarchs including His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago.” The resolution below may serve as a template for other parishes throughout the nation to commit to being a FOUNDER of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation.

Assumption Church Proclamation

There are now 17 parishes out of 500 of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America who are FOUNDERS. Here is a list of the Churches by Metropolis who have stepped up:

  1. Direct Archdiocesan District – 5 parishes
    1. Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, New York, NY
    2. Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, New York, NY
    3. Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, Southampton, NY 
    4. Kimisis tis Theotokou Greek Orthodox Church, Brooklyn, NY
    5. Saints Constantine and Helen Cathedral, Brooklyn, NY
  2. Metropolis of Boston – 0 parishes
  3. Metropolis of Detroit – 3 parishes
    1. Saint George Greek Orthodox Church, Southgate, MI
    2. Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Plymouth, MI
    3. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Carmel, IN
  4. Metropolis of Pittsburgh – 2 parishes
    1. All Saints Greek Orthodox Church, Weirton, WV
    2. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Camp Hill, PA
  5. Metropolis of San Francisco – 0 parishes
  6. Metropolis of Atlanta – 3 parishes
    1. Saint Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, Naples, FL
    2. St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church, Boca Raton, FL
    3. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Mobile, AL
  7. Metropolis of New Jersey – 3 parishes
    1. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Elkins Park, PA
    2. Cathedral of Saint John the Theologian, Tenafly, NJ
    3. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Westfield, NJ
  8. Metropolis of Chicago – 1 parish
    1. Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, Chicago, IL
  9. Metropolis of Denver – 0 parishes

If your parish is not on the HONOR ROLL, please prayerfully consider undertaking the sacred, all-important mission of promoting and defending the Ecumenical Patriarchate by urging your parish priest, parish council president and parish council members and most importantly your fellow parishioners to have your parish commit to becoming a FOUNDER of the EPBF. It is a $100,000 commitment payable over 10 years ($833.33/month or in any convenient payment plan). Perhaps your parish would like to become a FOUNDER in honor of or in memory of a beloved priest or other person in the life of the local church. Or maybe it would simply like to go on record in this turbulent time as supporting the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and not just in words.

As an Archon, you can make it part of your own sacred diakonia to help your parish make this decision. Suggested action steps:

  1. Approach your parish priest.
  2. Discuss it at your next parish council meetings.
  3. Get it added to the agenda at the next parish assembly meeting.
  4. Arrange to make a presentation on the EPBF at the next Clergy-Laity Congress in your Metropolis.

Please also consider, if you yourself are not an individual FOUNDER of the EPBF, becoming one now. If not a FOUNDER, then a Builder (any amount less than $100k). It is critically important that we all do what we can within our means to provide the economic support necessary for the needs and ministries of the Ecumenical Patriarchate – especially given the intense religious persecution faced by the Holy Mother Church in Constantinople and Christians around the world.

For 34 years as Archbishop of Constantinople, New-Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has been a beacon of courage in a darkened world, bearing indefatigable witness to the saving truths of our Holy Orthodox Faith and sounding a prophetic voice for peace, unity, care for the natural environment, and much more.

Will you stand with him?

Yours in the service of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,

Anthony J. Limberakis, MD
Archon Grand Aktouarios
National Commander

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