THE CHURCH OF GREECE - Archbishop

Εulogy in honour of the former Archbishop of America Iakovos

A great, a unique leader of Orthodoxy and Hellenism, an unswerving and unyielding champion for the prevalence of the good throughout the world, a zealous crusader on behalf of peace, an inspired visionary of the unity of Churches, a genuine Greek patriot, a conscious guarantor of the Greek-Orthodox traditions on this great American Continent, a nostalgic advocate of freedom, a philosopher of truth and of human matters, the former Archbishop of America Iakovos now lying in state is no longer with us.

“We shall not mourn for the departed one, because he is even better than well where he went to”, as Gregory the Great teaches us ; but we shall pay tribute to him, because it is “the most just of all duties” and we shall weep for him, because the work and the contribution of the late Hierarch laying in state here today oblige us to stand before him brimming with tears and admiration. We are in tears because of his bodily absence from amongst us and we cannot but admire the magnitude of his imposing work as Spiritual Shepherd and Father and as a Greek, bravely struggling for the rights of the Greek Community (“Omogeneia”) and of the Homeland, for the rights of every man.

It was his consciousness of duty that guided Iakovos’ thought and action throughout his life, since the time when he, as a young theologian, was first invested with the honoured robes of a clergyman, until his advanced old age, when, like a fruitful olive tree, he was deemed worthy of seeing his spiritual offspr ings “like olive shoots” around his table. You, who are present here today, and the entire “Omogeneia” of America knew him as your Archbishop ably steering the helm of the Church’s ship and struggling with unfailing courage on all levels as a genuine Greek Orthodox Hierarch and leader. He fought with all his powers so as to take the “Omogeneia” out of the ghettos of immigrants, and he succeeded. Today the children and grand-children of those first poor immigrants excel in this new land and have the Church at the centre of their lives; the Church, which spiritually nourishes the people, which inspires and guides, which gathers and protects Its faithful under Its wings.

He was conscious, as only few others were, of the necessity for a Greek Hierarch to have one more responsibility, apart from the pastoral one, namely the defence of Greek consciousness, the defence of Greekness in our souls. He heard the voices of those who claimed that a Hierarch’s all-embracing care for Hellenism was no longer incumbent upon him. He heard those who asked him to confine himself to his purely ecclesiastic duties and to stay out of broader matters such as schools, language, national consciousness, the roots of the nation, history. He heard them but he did not obey.

Iakovos saw that, in spite of the wishes of the ideologists of de-hellenisation, Greek consciousness should be preserved alive, even though the generations of immigrant Greeks were passing by. He saw this because he believed that the peoples secure their essential survival not by denying their national and cultural origins but through their continuous contact with their ancestral roots, without this contact’s being an impediment to their integration in the new societies, in which they have chosen to live and to distinguish themselves. It did not escape his attention that Greece was one of the few countries in Europe which still had “national problems”. Iakovos knew of course that it is incumbent upon the political powers and not upon the Church to deal with such dangers and national matters. But he also knew what the theorists of de-hellenisation underestimate and the enemies of Greece fear, namely that the Church is the greatest factor of national self-knowledge and unanimity, a cohesive bond and a uniting power for all of us. It was this unanimity that Iakovos strove to achieve; this was the purpose for which he laboured day and night for the sake of the nation; this was the cause for which he mobilised all the resources of the Church for the national struggles, irrespective of the political party which was in power.

Iakovos found himself many times in a postition where he had to fight alone, to endure insults. This is often the fate of the modest and genuine fighters. He underwent calumny and saw his motives and intentions being called into doubt and his right of rebuttal being denied to him. This was also the case a while ago, when he felt the end was near and, with disarming honesty and indisputable evidence, wished to relate the main aspects of his life, so as to shed light not only on his own personal history but on the history of Hellenism in America, of which he was the undoubted leader. He endured vituperation and insults, and yet he stood firm on his bastion, disinterestedly persisting in the attainment of his sacred goals, seeing his robes often tainted by the assaults of those who could not understand or of those who did understand but wished to stop him, to silence him, to make him useless. Even so, he never lowered the flag of his ideals and never quailed before the powerful of the day, he who could see far beyond the pettiness of the mean and the short-sightedness of puppet men.

Although in the last year there were many who expected his natural, his biological end, nevertheless no one wants to admit today that Iakovos is no longer with us. You, who had him for many years as your Father and Bishop, and we from the homeland, who regarded him as a model of integrity and dynamism, cannot easily live with this sad reality. Everyone says, Iakovos is no longer alive. But we, who believe in Resurrection, say that he is now amongst the blessed spirits “expecting the rising of the dead”. He sees us now and encourages us from the skies to continue his struggle, to complete his vision; to open up our hearts in co-ordination with the heartbeats of History; to show ourselves “much worthier”.

The Church of Greece, which I represent, is bowing, through the person of Its President, before this coffin, in which the earthy relic of Archbishop Iakovos is reposing. It is bowing before the man who raised himself to the height of circumstances and honoured more than most the quality of Spiritual Father and fighter for the good of our nation. We have come here to express our respect and recognition due to him, now that he has completed his task on earth, having kept his faith pure and unalloyed, as he walks on the blessed way of eternal repose. Our prayers and our love will always be with him.

May his memory be immortal.

1. Funebris in laudem Caesarii fratris oratio, superstitibus adhuc parentibus, 1: «Οὔτε γὰρ θρηνήσομεν τὸν ἀπελθόντα πλέον ἢ καλῶς ἔχει».