On November 28, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, Exarch of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Hierarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, celebrates his 54th birthday.
It was Metropolitan Elpidophoros who in 2018 wrote a book about the 2008 Ukraine visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The then-Secretary General of the Holy Synod, Archimandrite Elpidophoros, arrived in Kyiv to study the Ukrainian church issue and hold a series of meetings with Orthodox hierarchs.
Following the work done by Bishop Elpidophoros and other exarchs, the Ecumenical Patriarch paid a visit to Ukraine on the day of the Baptism of Rus in 2008, which showed the attitude of Ukrainians to the Mother Church.
Archbishop Elpidophoros also exposed various manipulative accusations voiced by the Moscow Patriarchate towards the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and his canonical rights. One such work, dedicated to the Ecumenical Patriarch, was published in January 2014. It told of the primacy in the Orthodox Church and that it is Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew who is entitled to accept appeals from other bishops, being “the first without equals.”
Archbishop Elpidophoros also researched the rights granted to the Moscow Patriarch in 1686 and worked hard to canonically substantiate the actions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to resolve the Ukrainian church issue and provide a tomos of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. It was Bishop Elpidophoros who contributed to exposing the false claims of the Russian Church of the alleged jurisdiction over the Kyiv Metropolis. This opened for Ukrainian Orthodoxy a canonical path to independence.
Speaking of the ROC, Archbishop Elpidophoros stressed that “for the Ukrainian Church a mother is the Church in Constantinople, while for the Moscow Church a mother is the Church in Kyiv.”
As the true builder of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he sided with the canons of the Orthodox Church and the Holy Tradition, speaking of the eternal and exclusive privileges and competencies of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Holy Synod of the Church of Constantinople to grant autocephaly in Orthodoxy.
Seeing such works of Bishop Elpidophoros, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the whole Church of Constantinople entrusted him to become Archbishop of America, where the bishop continued the work of rebuilding the Church of St. Nicholas destroyed by the September 11 terrorist attacks. Through the efforts of Archbishop Elpidophoros, the Church of St. Nicholas was completed and consecrated by the Ecumenical Patriarch during his visit to the United States, despite all the financial difficulties associated with the ongoing pandemic. In two years and several months, the bishop managed to solve the problems of construction, finances, and pension fund that had plagued the American archdiocese for decades.
The bishop did not stand aside even when the world was hit by a coronavirus pandemic. Through the efforts of the Archbishop and a number of donors, the American Archdiocese has donated about $250,000 to contribute to the coronavirus response efforts.
Continuing his work in the United States, Bishop Elpidophoros never forgot to support Ukraine, saying that over time, Russia will be forced to accept the new reality that emerged after the tomos was granted to the OCU.
“I have absolute faith in the prophetic ministry of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the decision of the Holy Synod to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church and return millions of believers to the Church. However, as in all prophecies, there is a period of time between foresight and fulfillment. The course of history will shift toward justice and unity of the Orthodox Church… I am sure that time will help the Russian Church to accept this reality with realism, self-control, and Christian spirit,” the bishop said.
Exposing the Kremlin’s geopolitical plans, Elpidophorosnoted that it was beneficial to Russia to have churches of the Moscow Patriarchate in the former post-Soviet countries in order to exercise influence over them.
Therefore, the entire team of the Spiritual Front of Ukraine and all Ukrainians, who are grateful to Bishop Elpidophoros for his work for the independence of Orthodoxy from Moscow, congratulate him on his Birthday.
We wish you the grace of God, good health, blessings, strength, and inspiration to carry out your pastoral ministry. We wish that through your prayers and God’s help, Ukraine will gain unity and recognition among the whole Orthodox world. May God grant you many and good years.
