Congratulation to His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America on the Name Day

On November 2 according to the New Julian calendar, the Church celebrates the memory of the Martyrs Acindynus, Pegasius, Aphthonius, Elpidephorus, Anempodistus, and 7,000 with them of Persia, the Saints of the 4th century.

On this day, the head of the American Archdiocese, HE Archbishop Elpidophoros, prayerfully commemorated the memory of his Patron Saint, leading the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in New York. He was assisted by a council of hierarchs and clergy of the Greek Archdiocese from different parts of America. At the invitation of HE Archbishop Elpidophoros, the following clergymen of the Slavic Orthodox Vicariate took part in the festive service, namely His Grace Bishop-elect Alexander of Nicopolis, Vicar and Rector of the Cathedral of St. Matrona in Miami, Florida, Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne Olexander Belya, Rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Brooklyn, New York, Archpriest Ivan Voloshchuk, Rector of the Church of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco in Jacksonville, Florida, Archpriest Rostislav Zadorozhnyy, Rector of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Red Bank, New Jersey, and Archpriest Maksim Pliskou, cleric of the Miami Cathedral. Also praying in the church was a cleric of the Vicariate, Archpriest Igor Tarasov.

On his Name Day, HE Archbishop Elpidophoros ordained Gregory Gounardes, an employee of the Chancery of the Archdiocese, a Deacon.

At the end of the Liturgy, the Head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America received numerous congratulations on his Name Day. Bishop Nektarios of Diokleia, on behalf of the Episcopate, clergy and laity, delivered a congratulatory speech in which he thanked His Eminence for his service and continuous work to support Orthodoxy in the United States and beyond. The clergy of the Slavic Vicariate, led by His Grace Bishop-elect Alexander of Nicopolis, presented His Eminence with a Panagia, the image of the Most Holy Theotokos, wishing His Eminence to have Holy Theotokos’s intercession and protection in his high service for the benefit of Orthodox Christians.