With the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan Sevastianos and in coordination with Fr. Stavros Akrotiriankis, Fr. Ioannis Capones, Fr. Dino Carros, Fr. Kyriakos Hambos, Fr. Alexander Kamilaris, Fr. Robert Lawrence, and Ms. Monica Gjerde, Youth Director for the Metropolis, Archons Gus Kazakos, Dr. Terry Sarantou, Drew Theodore, and Steve Trakas developed an Archon presentation to be delivered to over 500+ campers and youth advisors during St. Stephen’s Summer Camp held at the Alexios Retreat Center in Salem, South Carolina. During the five one – week camp sessions held between June 21 – July 19, Archons Kazakos and Trakas presented on the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the mission and commitment of the Archons to safeguarding religious freedom as well as promoting harmony and reconciliation among all faiths. They also spoke about the challenges that the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Orthodox Christian community face in Turkey and former Byzantium today.
The presentation highlighted the 1054 schism, the subsequent lifting of the excommunications in 1965 by Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI and the recent joint celebration in Constantinople, modern day Istanbul, and in Nicaea, modern day Iznik, Turkey between His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Leo XIV on the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed at the site where the First (325 AD) and Seventh (787 AD) Ecumenical Councils profoundly shaped the faith, unity, and life of the worldwide Church.
In addition, the Archon Sprout program and Pilgrimage of Discovery were introduced to our young leaders. Rocky cards of His All-Holiness were distributed to all attendees and Archon baseball hats were awarded to campers that answered questions during the interactive presentation. In closing, a short video detailing His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s prophetic work on protection of the natural environment was viewed. All those in attendance were encouraged to search for ways to come together to protect God’s creation and to take an active role in the support of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
