NEW YORK, NY –
On Saturday, April 20, 2024, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, ordained Bishop-elect Anthony Avramopoulos [Vrame] to the episcopacy at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in NYC, April 20.
His Grace’s family, fellow hierarchs, local clergy, and many Greek Orthodox faithful gathered for this special ordination.
Hierarchs in attendance included Archbishop Demetrios former of America, Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco, Bishop Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church of North, Central and South America, Bishop Athenagoras of Nazianzos, Bishop Theoph
an of Philomelion, and Bishop Nektarios of Diokleia. Also attending the ceremony was Bishop Anba Suriel of the Coptic Orthodox Church, a colleague in the field of religious education of Bishop Vrame’s.
Also in attendance was Lieutenant Governor of California, Eleni Kounalakis, Bishop Vrame’s cousin, and Demetrios Katos, President of Hellenic College Holy Cross.
Archbishop Elpidophoros remarked, “May your Episcopacy be infused with such grace, so that the ancient glory of Synada and all your predecessors’ shines through all your ministries. And may your words and actions breathe life into the faithful you serve, so that they may know the God of the Living. Amen.”
His Grace addressed the faithful in attendance thanking His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, Archbishop Iakovos, Archbishop Demetrios, the Holy Eparchial Synod, and his family. He spoke with emotion about his journey and his thoughts about his ministry.
“A phrase I learned many years ago in my doctoral studies has stayed with me as a guide: ‘Loyal but open.’ I have labored to hand forward our Faith and Way of Life as it has been received, trying to be clear about the treasure we have inherited while differentiating what my personal thinking may be, and to be open to the ideas and experiences of others” His Grace remarked.
[GOA]
