In the name of love, peace and hope, we convey our warmest greetings — of the 270th successor to the See of St. Andrew the Apostle — to the 105th Congress of the United States of America. We are truly humbled to receive so great a tribute from so great a nation.
This is a moment rich with layers of meaning — consider, for example, the graceful dome that arches over our ceremonies and protects us, the way America itself has protected the world from adversity throughout this century. That dome is a link with Greco-Roman civilization, which together with both the Old and New Testaments, form the well-spring of Orthodoxy, and which was so admired by America’s founders. But it represents an even closer link between us: how many of us realize that an Orthodox Church was used as a model for this dome? It was the famous Cathedral of St. Isaac, on the banks of the Neva River in St. Petersburg, which inspired the architect who designed and built the final dome for the Capitol. Thomas U. Walter actually obtained a drawing of St. Isaac’s and closely replicated its dimensions.
So we feel quite at home here today, for many reasons. We have come from one of the most ancient civilizations on Earth, to one of the most modern. But both the United States Congress and the Orthodox Church represent great traditions that have endured. We can learn much from each other.
You represent about 270 million Americans; we represent about 300 million Orthodox Christians — 5 million of whom live in the United States. And if you look beyond our robes and your business suits, there are many other things we have in common. Like the United States, Orthodoxy is composed of many different peoples — not just Greeks, but also Native Americans, Russians, Germans, Albanians, Romanians, French, Serbs, Bulgarians, English, Ukrainians, Palestinians, Chinese, Nigerians, Egyptians and many, many more.
Like the United States, these diverse peoples are united by certain principles held in common — in your case, the Constitution; in our case, the Nicene Creed. It is indeed fitting that the very first article in our Creed – the words “I believe” – is the very first guarantee in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, which recognizes the inalienable right of every human person to freely choose and practice their religious beliefs.
This commitment to the ideals of religious liberty is the cornerstone of American Democracy and the genius of American diversity. It is no wonder that Orthodox Christian peoples from the world over have found a welcome reception and secure haven in these United States, especially when you consider the persecution endured in this century.
For the Orthodox Church, as a Church (independent of the behavior of Her members) may be opposed, but opposes no one; may persecuted, but does not persecute, is fettered, but chains no one; is deprived of Her freedom, but does not trample on the freedom of others.
Together, this nation and our Church share principles of receptivity, diversity and tolerance. This orientation brings the capacity for another kind of freedom. It is freedom of the individual from within.
As you have opened your arms to us, so we open them to you. The Orthodox Faith is for all people, and always offered with respect for difference and freedom; never with coercion or threat. This is the fundamental meaning of “catholic” – “for all people.” And this is the message of the United States – a society that is free and open, respectful and tolerant of difference. We bless this nation, for this land has in the past and continues to be a great refuge and hope for all humankind.
Indeed, the greatest lesson about America lies under this magnificent dome. Although American armed forces are heroic in every sense of the word – for they have given their lives time and again to save the world from catastrophe — if one had to choose a building that represents what is great about America, it would be not the Pentagon, but the Capitol.
The Pentagon embodies might; but the Capitol embodies right. In these halls, different points of view meet and are reconciled. In these halls, narrow interests are compromised for the greater good. And — most important for the Orthodox Church during many dark decades — in these halls, human rights are preserved and human dignity is enhanced.
We Orthodox will never forget the horrors of those years — out of 70,000 churches in Russia before the Bolshevik revolution, only 6,500 remained by 1986. The very same Saint Isaac’s Cathedral that served as a model for this Capitol was turned into a “Museum of Atheism” from 1924 until 1991. Its religious functions have since been restored and in 1993, our Modesty was deeply moved to celebrate the Divine Liturgy under that dome.
We thank you, the American people, for helping preserve the Orthodox faith under communism. Indeed, it is you who should be receiving this medal, not we. We pledge to continue to work with you to bring peace and democracy to the world, and insure that human rights and religious freedom prevail around the globe. In helping to restore worldwide Orthodoxy, we have seen the fruits of our labors. The Orthodox Church in Albania has been re-established. A viable pan-Orthodox solution in Estonia was achieved.
As the Ecumenical Patriarch, we have the fraternal care of upholding not only the Orthodox Churches, but by the preaching of the love of God, to work for the reconciliation of all humankind, the propagation of peaceful coexistence, and the preservation of the natural environment. Toward those goals, we have been happily informed that the academic dialogue between Orthodox Christians and Muslims, whose most recent meeting was June 3rd of this year in our city, has found a corresponding group in the United States. We also recently sponsored an international conference on how to save the Black Sea from ecological disaster.
It is clear that the Orthodox Church can learn much from America; but there are also a few things America can learn from the Orthodox Church. We come before you today as spiritual leader of a Church that is not merely revived, but growing rapidly — and not just in our ancestral lands of Europe, Asia, and Africa, but also in the United States — indeed, Orthodoxy was recently cited as one of this nation’s fastest growing religions. Why is this? How is it that this ancient church — which prides itself on maintaining an unbroken tradition of faith from the Day of Pentecost — why is it thriving in 1997 in the most modern country in the world?
There is a great hunger for spirituality; there is a thirst for transcendent meaning. We believe that, as we enter the next millennium, religious values, religious feeling, and religious faith are undergoing a massive revival.
Since the Enlightenment, the spiritual bedrock of western civilization has been eroded and undermined. Intelligent, well-intentioned people sincerely believed that the wonders of science could replace the miracles of faith. But these great minds missed one vital truth — that faith is not a garment, to be slipped on and off; it is a quality of the human spirit, from which it is inseparable. The modern era has not eliminated faith — you could no more eliminate faith than love. Even atheists believe in atheism. The modern era has simply replaced spiritual faith in God with secular faith in man.
Today, three centuries after the birth of Voltaire, the pendulum is swinging back. The 20th century showed our enormous capacity for creativity — but it also demonstrated our boundless capacity for destruction. We saw 75 million human beings killed between 1914 and 1945 alone. In its own fearsome power, humanity recognized its own appalling fallibility. Thus began our return to faith.
The urge that brings us here is not a complicated one: We want some meaning to our lives; we want to care about our neighbors and we want them to care about us; we want a decent life for ourselves and our families. Mother Teresa of blessed memory and with whom we share this honor, once said that the greatest disease in America is loneliness.
And so it is no longer considered unfashionable or backward to believe. A generation that worshipped many false idols — from drugs and cults to power and wealth — now seeks an authentic tradition for its own children. Many of them are drawn to our Church and its simple, unadorned faith, which is untainted by vain attempts to explain that which cannot be explained — a religion that is unmarketed and, we hope, unpretentious.
Therein lies the lessons of Orthodoxy for America: that paradoxically, faith can endure without freedom, but freedom cannot long abide without faith. And while God has led us to reason, reason alone can never lead us back to God. Only faith can do that.
We accept this medal on behalf of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which is celebrating is seventy fifth anniversary and for Orthodox Christians everywhere, especially those who were martyred to the faith. We note with great spiritual satisfaction that this medal was first awarded on March 25, 1776, to the father of America, George Washington. For Orthodox Christians everywhere as well as for our fellow Christians who are led by our brother, His Holiness Pope John Paul II, March 25th, marks the celebration of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary by the Archangel Gabriel.
It is a day in which we celebrate not only the Love of God incarnate for us in Christ, but the free, open and receptive response of a human person, the Virgin Mary, to the will of God. It is in this spirit of freedom that we pledge to redouble our efforts as peacemakers among different peoples and faiths. And we will continue our work as a religious and spiritual institution, teaching, edifying, serving humanitarian ideals, civilizing, and preaching love in every direction.
Dear friends, God is love, and although we stand at the end of a century filled with strife, we know that this love can lead to a new millennium of peace. The Orthodox Christian Church will do everything in her power to help fulfill this mission. May we all become apostles of love, hope and peace. This medal is further proof that there is more that unites the community of man, than divides us. And so we say to you, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and goodwill toward men.”
