.As 2016 draws to a close I am looking back at a year when I have travelled more than at any time in my life. My experiences included the incredible blessing of being present on Crete during the Holy and Great Council, but it was also wonderful to participate the Clergy - Laity Congress of the Archdiocese of America that was held in July in Nashville, TN, where fellowship and inspiration abounded at the reception for alumni of Hellenic College/Holy Cross on July 5
Father Theodore Petrides, the outgoing president of the alumni association and HCHC Board Member Helen Carlos introduced HCHC President Fr. Chris Metropulos, who declared “we are proud of you and can never hear enough about your triumphs in your parishes ad we pray for you every morning.”
He then urged the priests to “help us educate, mentor and prepare the next generation.”
Brimming with pride in the school, Archbishop Demetrios noted the school “is the training place for the people who will be ‘the voice of Christ is a changing world,’ - the theme of the Clergy-Laity Congress - and took the opportunity to praise the current generation of students for the contribution they made as stewards at the Holy and Great Council in Crete.
“It was something unbelievable…and now HCHC has been inscribed in this very important part of the history of the Orthodox Church in the 21st century,” he said. Later, the Archbishop presented Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit, who served on the Board of the prestigious American Bible Society, as an example of the quality of the theological education at HCHC.
The Metropolitan noted in his remarks that there were times when ABS scholars were struggling over the interpretation of New Testament texts when he said “come and ask us…we wrote it.”
Among the highlights of the evening, which was most enjoyable for the opportunity given to alumni to reconnect with their dear classmates, was the award presented to Fr. John Chakos for his missionary work among the native Americans of Guatemala.
Fr. Chakos made a moving presentation of his experiences among people who first knew Christ through the Catholic Church, but who after difficulties partly related to their remote location, embraced Orthodoxy with joy.
“The liturgies are so powerful that every Sunday feels like Pascha…the church is packed…500 people sometimes receive communion,” he said.
Archbishop Demetrios emphasized the sacrifices made by missionaries and their families, and invited Metropolitan Ambrosios of Korea to speak about the missionary activity he oversees there. The latter, who studied at HCHC and called it “my school, my home,” told the guests “you can come anytime to Korea to help us.”
Fr. Michael Lambakis, Dean of Houston’s Annunciation Cathedral evoked loud applause when he presented that community’s gift of $50,000.
During the reception Fr. Metropulos also shined a spotlight on the school’s Permanent Diaconate program that just marked its 10th anniversary. There have been 80 participants from a wide range of professions, 31 of whom have been ordained.
Deacon Sal Fazio the first among them to be ordained, summarized his motivation by saying “It’s all about service.”
Archbishop Demetrios, observing the interest and high spirits of the participants declared with joy “this is how you turn a reception into a high spiritual opportunity.”
