Remarks
by His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America
at the Exhibition Hall Opening

Marriott Marquis (West Side Salon – 5th Floor)
New York, NY

July 3, 2022

Your Eminence Metropolitan Prodromos of Rethymnon and Avlopotamos,
Most Honorable Representative of the Mother Church of Constantinople:
Your Eminences and Graces,
Beloved Friend, Jim Logothetis, Chairman of Leadership 100,
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

A little while ago, we opened the Centennial Exhibit of this 46th Clergy-Laity Congress. In it, we beheld the legacy of the past One Hundred Years of our Sacred Archdiocese.

Now, in opening the Exhibition Hall of the Congress, we behold the ministries and services in which our faithful clergy and laity are currently engaged. In a word, there is something for everyone here. From ecclesiastical goods and services, to ministerial opportunities. Throughout this Hall, we shall experience the work of the Church – the effective and energetic ministries of the Archdiocese, the Assembly of Bishops, various organizations and the vendors who supply our Church’s needs.

All of these goods and services help us to provide for the People of God, or as Saint Paul might put it:

To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the edification of the Body of Christ, until all of us arrive at the unity of the Faith and the unity of the knowledge of the Son of God. Then shall we be a whole, complete, accomplished and perfected humanity, having attained to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:12-13)

Each of the people and organizations that we shall encounter are one facet on the jewel of ministry that graces this Clergy-Laity Congress and the life of the Church throughout the Archdiocese.

I am particularly grateful to the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership One Hundred Endowment Fund for their support of the Exhibition Hall, and I would like to recognize the Chairman of this incredible organization, my dear friend, Jim Logothetis.

Jim, please accept this small token of appreciation for your decades of work on behalf of the Church. And in your person, we honor Leadership One Hundred as well, for its sacred commitment to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

(PRESENTATION OF GIFT)

Let us cut the ribbon, open the Exhibition Hall, and see what ministries and services await us. Thank you to all of you!