GREETING By His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America To the San Francisco Metropolis Bay Space Clergy – Messages
GREETING
By His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America
To the Clergy of the San Francisco Metropolis Bay Area
Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity
San Francisco, California
March 1, 2023
Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco,
Your Grace[s],
Dear brothers of Christ,
Blessed Lent!
Yesterday I was with the brethren in Sacramento and was very impressed by their dedication and enthusiasm for our preparation for the Holy Passover. Today I have the pleasure of being with you – the ministers of the Bay Area. But allow me to say this about your beloved Metropolitan Gerasimos. His Eminence is the pastor of a pastor. His love for all of you, his dedication to serving your needs, and his constant desire to help his clergy are very moving to see.
Thank you, my good brother, for the ministry of Christ you have brought to this vibrant metropolis over the years. Your archpastoral ministry to the flock of Christ here in the western states is an example for all of us.
In fact, your Metropolitan’s example is a shining example of the pastoral care written by Saint Gregory the Great in his classic Liber Regulae Pastoralis, the “Book of the Pastoral Rule”. I wholeheartedly recommend the text to you. Like the “ladder” for monks, this would be good reading at any time of Lent. In chapter five of this book, Saint Gregory describes the clergy as those who fulfill the prototype of levirate marriage, in which the brother must marry his deceased brother’s wife and raise children in his name.
And don’t we? We who are the younger brothers of him who gave himself for the life of the world? Do we not raise children in His Holy Name and call them “Christians” when they come from the source of baptism, which is the matrix of the Church?
We read about this strange custom of levirate marriage in the Gospel reading at matins on Holy Tuesday. The Sadducees confront our Lord with the story of the woman who married seven brothers. They try to trap him with their legal arguments and are confused when the Lord gives his accusers his final testimony:
“He is not the god of the dead, but of the living!”[1]
What a grand ending to this story! Christ is the elder brother who willingly dies for us. But as the One who rose from the dead, He empowers our ministries to raise children to His glorious name. What a privilege for us, my confreres, to receive such a special grace.
Therefore, as we journey through this Lent, let us remember our great responsibility and duty to educate, train, educate, and guide our elder brother’s children. For He died and rose again to make the whole human family to be the family of God.
Thank you very much!
Happy Lent and Happy Easter again!
Photo: Kostas Petrakos
