Your Eminence, beloved brother in Christ,
Archbishop Spyridon of America,
Your Grace, Bishop Alexios,
Beloved daughters and sons in the Lord,

We greet you with our paternal love and the blessings of the Mother Church, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.  We have come from the Sacred Center of our Faith in the Phanar, to observe the historic 75th anniversary of our beloved Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.  Let us thank God together, for the privilege and blessing of being able to gather in unity and love.  Let us celebrate our indissoluble bonds of love and peace, which make us one Greek Orthodox family.  Let us share in this banquet of faith like the ancient Agape meal of the Apostles, for the table of our hearts is full laden with joy and spiritual gladness.
Indeed, it is our paternal joy to be in the presence of dedicated Greek Orthodox men and women, who are committed to the growth of our Holy Orthodox Church.  This God-protected Diocese of Atlanta is a shining example of your faith and commitment to spreading the Gospel of Christ to the uttermost ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).  Here in the New South of the American Nation, you are building up the Orthodox Faith as a vital and recognized factor for the greater good of your communities and society-at-large.
And yet you understand the mission of the Church as being so much more.  You are flesh and bone of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, whose world-wide concerns strive to protect and engender peace, unity, brotherhood, human rights and religious freedom.  As the beloved children of the Mother Church, you recognize that we stand poised on a new millennium of opportunity for Orthodoxy, not only in the United States, but around the world.
Consider the freedoms that are now ringing through Eastern Europe.  Consider that your Patriarchate is leading the way in matters of environmental concern, the dialogues with other religions on the frontier borders of Eastern and Western civilization, and the struggle for religious freedom and tolerance around the globe.  These are your accomplishments as well, because you participate in the ecumenical life of the Church.
Here in the United States, this blessed country graced with freedom unknown in many parts of the world, you have unique opportunities and unique abilities.  You can reach out beyond your borders to the rest of humanity through the world-wide ministries of the Church.   There is no secret to Church growth and progress.  The Lord gave us the key to unlocking the power of his love.  “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).
This is the message that this Diocese was founded on, for you possess the deepest roots of Greek Orthodoxy in America. In this Diocese, the first Greek immigrants came to these shores at the colony at New Smyrna, Florida.  By giving the shrine in St. Augustine the name of our glorious predecessor on the Ecumenical Throne, Saint Photios, you demonstrate that your liberality with the gift of Christ is boundless.  For it was Saint Photios the Great who sent the holy brothers, Cyril and Methodios to bring the light of Christ to the Slavic peoples.  Today, over one thousand years later, those peoples represent the greatest number by far of Orthodox people in the world.  Where the Word of God was sown in faith, the harvest can be a hundred fold (cf. Matthew 13:3-23).  You continue to sow the Word of God throughout the world by the missionary efforts which spring from the Saint Photios Shrine.
This Diocese also has the oldest continuous Greek Orthodox Community in the United States, the Church of the Holy Trinity in New Orleans.  This Church, founded in the middle of the last century, was and is a paradigm for the future of Orthodoxy in America.  There were many different cultures, ethnic groups and languages represented in that early worshipping community, but their faith was single, unified and true.  Is this not an example for America today?  We must open wide the doors of all our Churches and welcome whomever would desire to live the fullness of the Orthodox Faith.  Whether they come to us on their own, or through marriage, or through whatever means; let us remember that God has called them, and we must welcome them with all our love.
  And lest we forget, let us call to mind the example of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association – the Order of AHEPA – founded here in Atlanta seventy five years ago this year, in the same year as the our beloved Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.  This forward-looking organization embodies what is best of Hellenic Paideia, and insures that the cultural legacy of our people shall remain.
We exhort you to stand fast in these traditions, ever building upon them and edifying each other.  The Mother Church has great spiritual pride and satisfaction in you.  We shall always pray unceasingly before God on your behalf.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  Amen.