HONOLULU – Archbishop Elpidophoros of America made his first archpastoral visit to Sts. Constantine and Helen parish in Honolulu Hawaii. The last time that the parish was visited by an Archbishop was 29 years ago, when Archbishop Iakovos of North and South America consecrated the nave.
The Archbishop, accompanied by Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco, paid a solemn visit to the Pearl Harbor Memorial, as part of his arch-pastoral visit to Hawaii. During their visit, they offered prayers for the repose of those 1,177 brave officers and crewmen whose mortal remains rest with the USS Arizona, even as they offered fervent prayers for peace in the world.
Archbishop Elpidophoros was enthusiastically received by the parish of Sts. Constantine and Helen which consists of 120 families of Greeks, Serbians, Ukrainians, Russians, Lebanese, and Asiatics.
The Archbishop in his homily said among other things “what a marvelous thing to be here with you in Honolulu today, to worship the Lord Jesus Christ and to receive Him in Holy Communion. Though we have had to travel thousands of miles, you remain near and dear to us in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit at all times. It is a great gift, in my first year as Archbishop, to have the opportunity to come and to visit you. In the Gospel reading, we heard the story of the Ten Lepers who came to Christ for healing. Leprosy is a terrible disease, though it is rarely seen nowadays. Leprosy causes weakness and pain, like every disease. But it also brings about isolation and loneliness, for in ancient times and modern, the person with leprosy was required to live apart from the rest of society, an outcast and an exile. For this reason, Saint Luke tells us, the ten men stood at a distance and raised their voices, calling out for mercy from the Lord. Their speech was plain and simple. They asked much, even while saying little. And this humble prayer for mercy, the Lord heard and answered.”
He also said that that “in the request of the lepers, we find an example for our own prayers. We might get the impression from the length of church services that God requires a multitude of words before He will listen. This is certainly not the case. The Lord Jesus said that when we pray, we should not heap up phrase upon phrase (Matthew 6:7). Instead, He taught His disciples to pray in a simple and straightforward way, as we do when we recite the Our Father. Saint Makarios the Great, whose feast we celebrate today, had something to say about long prayers. He was a monk who lived in the wilderness of Egypt in the fourth century, leading a life of prayer and fasting. His whole life was one seamless and continual prayer. And yet when someone asked Saint Makarios how best to pray, Saint Makarios said: “There is no need at all to make long speeches; it is enough to stretch out one’s hands and say, ‘Lord, as you will, and as you know, have mercy.’”
The Archbishop concluded by saying that, “having been granted mercy, we should also follow the example of the tenth leper, the Samaritan. For he alone returned to the Lord, to speak the simple word of thanks. In the Divine Liturgy, the Eucharist, the ‘efcharistia’, we offer thanks to God as Christ showed us, with gifts of bread and wine that become His Body and His Blood.”
After the Liturgy a luncheon followed in honor of the Archbishop.
It should be noted here that the parish, which belongs to the Metropolis of San Francisco, was established in 1965. Fr. Alexander Leong, is the presiding priest since 2013. Metropolitan Gerasimos accompanied His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros during his entire visit to Hawaii and the West Coast. Metropolitan Gerasimos is a hierarch who gives the outmost support, respect, and honor to Archbishop Elpidophoros as the First of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.
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