With his Eminence Elpidoforos, the newly elect Archbishop of America in the premises of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2010 when he was serving as the Chief Secretary to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Elpidoforos Lambriniadis, a distinguished member of the
patriarchal family of the Phanar, was unanimously elected to the ecclesiastical
throne of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America May 11 2019, carving a new
day in the relations of the Patriarchate with its more powerful Province.
The selection of the Metropolitan of Bursa by Patriarch
Bartholomew demonstrates that the need to strengthen the bonds of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate with its Church in America was above any other
consideration when it came to which candidate would inhabit the Archdiocese’s
mansion on Manhattan’s 79th street.
In the days previous, circles in America feared that the
election of the aforementioned, Turkish-born, abbot of the Monastery of Holy Trinity
in Halki could negatively impact the already tense relationship of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate’s strongman, Rev. Fr. Alex Karloutsos, with the Turkish government
given the longstanding Gulen affair. However, it appears that the pressing need
of the reunification of the Greek-American diaspora with its Mother Church in
Constantinople prevailed.
Indeed, the Metropolitan of Brousa, Lambriniadis, equipped with
brilliant theological studies from Thessaloniki and Bonn and with his
multilingualism (given his fluency in Turkish, Greek, English, German and
Arabic) may be the last opportunity of the Ecumenical Throne to solidify its
relationship with the Church of America. Since 2011, he has held the position
of associate professor of Theology at the Theological School of the University
of Thessaloniki, specializing in inter-Orthodox and inter-Christian relations
and demonstrating his passion for teaching.
Very polite and approachable, the former Metropolitan of Bursa
enjoys a very close relationship with Patriarch Bartholomew for whom he served
as Chief Secretary for many years. The upgrading of the Theological School of
Halki under his direction is proof of his administrative capabilities and the
re-opening of this storied institution will be a major topic on his agenda upon
his arrival in America.
The newly appointed Archbishop is not simply an
ecclesiastical man who has rested on the laurels of his academic success. On
the contrary, versatile and brilliant, he has made a point of cultivating his
relations with the major powerbrokers of the Greek-American diaspora that he originally
developed during his six month sabbatical at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School
of Theology in Brookline in 2004. At the same time, he has been reaching out to
the priesthood in America, tightening his contacts with key individuals in its
ecclesiastical hierarchy.
The election of Metropolitan Elpidoforos as Archbishop of
America sends a strong message from Patriarch Bartholomew to both friends and doubters
and indicates that:
1) he did not succumb to the pressures of certain “insiders”
who desired to see the appointment of an American born leader who could become
subservient to the few;
2) he had been preparing his own leader for the Church of America
for quite some time;
3) he fully understands that the potentially devastating
voices of “autocephalism” must be nipped in the bud;
4) the Phanar must have direct contact with the leader of its
largest and strongest Province of the Throne without the intermediation of
vested third parties.
On the other hand, newly elected Archbishop Elpidoforos has
many outstanding issues to settle which must be undertaken immediately including:
1) the raising of 40 million dollars required for the
completion of Saint Nicholas National Shrine at the World Trade Center with New
York Mayor de Blasio strongly pressing for its inauguration before the end of
his term;
2) the creation of a climate of peace between the pro and
anti-patriarchal factions in America;
3) the economic and theological consolidation of Holy Cross
College as the institution finds itself on the verge of being forced to cease
operations;
4) the fomenting of the Patriarchate’s bilateral relations with
Washington in its quest to bring about the re-opening of the theological school
of Halki.
At the same time, the newly elected Archbishop of America
will have an opportunity to promote the vital issues of the Greek Orthodox
Patriarchate of Jerusalem which is in danger of having its properties expropriated
by the newly re-elected conservative Government of Israel.
In all these endeavours, his Eminence Elpidoforos will be assisted by the
powerful priest Fr. Alex Karloutsos, who enjoys a tremendously close
relationship with all the political circles in Washington, in Athens and in Constantinople.
Many challenges, yes, but many attributes as well, for our
new American Archbishop. Worthy, or “Axios,” is Elpidoforos from Constantinople!
