Your Eminence, beloved brother in Christ Archbishop Spyridon of America,
Your Grace, Bishop Methodios of Boston
Honored guests and friends,
Beloved children in the Lord,

By the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we bring to you the paternal blessings of the Apostolic Throne of Saint Andrew and Mother Church of Orthodoxy, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.  Let us thank God for this opportunity to gather in unity and love, and to share in His abundant mercy.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is celebrating its seventy-fifth year, and we must prepare for the future.  We must imagine how God wants us to be, in order to have the vision to grow.  For as the wise King Solomon said: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18).
We rightly praise the early Greek Orthodox Christians, who came to this country with virtually nothing but their dreams of a better life for themselves and their children. These first pioneers blossomed into the major portion of today’s five million Orthodox Christians in America.  Their contribution to the health and prosperity of this great nation has been most significant.  From their first arrival at the colony of New Smyrna, Florida, in 1768, to the first Greek Orthodox Church in America in New Orleans in 1864, to the founding of our Holy Archdiocese in 1922, to today, we have witnessed virtual miracles in the lives of our faithful.
You know for yourselves the accomplishments of the Greek Orthodox communities of New England.  The Greek Orthodox presence here has been strong for generations now; with names like Lowell, Peabody, Nashua and Portland among the many cities and towns that are graced with long-standing and thriving Greek Orthodox communities.
Your fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers came from the cradle of Western Civilization, Greece, carrying in their hearts and minds the Faith and the “phronema” of the Great Church of Christ.  They brought with them a revolutionary idea — that the Christian Faith abides unchanged and unaltered in the Greek Orthodox Church — to the places where the American Revolution took shape.  You are the inheritors of all these traditions, which are steeped in five thousand years of culture and language, two thousand years of faith, hope and love, and two hundred years of American ideals of  freedom and equality.  Be proud and stand fast in these traditions!
Under the progressive and effective ministry of our beloved brother, Bishop Methodios, together with the pious clergy of the Diocese of Boston, you have led the way for the Orthodox Faith throughout this historic region.  Your Churches are filled with thousands upon thousands of faithful.  Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, founded by our ever-memorable predecessor on the Ecumenical Throne, Patriarch Athenagoras, lies at the heart of this Diocese, instilling the you with hope for tomorrow, as you see first-hand generations of priests come to life on that holy hill.
We do not underestimate the value of your proximity to the Seminary, for we know how much benefit its presence is to the spiritual life of this Diocese.  We know well your love for Hellenic College and Holy Cross, and we enjoin you to continue your support for these sacred institutions, so vital to the life of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.  Take care of the young men and women who ascend that hill of hope, whose purpose is to serve the Church of Christ.  We deeply appreciate your support of this, the best hope for spiritual, educated, and pious clergy in America.
Let the vision of this Diocese be the patrimony and inheritance of the “protoporoi”, that first generation of pioneering Greek immigrants.  They were simple farmers, business people and families who had one thing in common: They knew how to build up the Church in a new land.  They could envision the future as God wanted it to be, and they never lost faith that Christ would increase His Church and, in the process, save many, many souls.
Dearest daughters and sons, it is imperative that we trust implicitly that God’s will shall be done in our lives and in our Church.  The progress that you have accomplished over the past generations is only a shadow of the glory to come.  Together, we shall go forth into the new millennium to achieve great things for the glory of God.
May His grace and infinite mercy be with you all, always and forever.  Amen.