Archbishop Elpidophoros of America has been in Constantinople since yesterday, in order to participate in the meetings of the Holy and Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, of which he is a member.

Today, the Archbishop of America took part in the brilliant Patriarchal and Synodal Workshop, which was also attended by the new Archbishop of Cyprus George, who from Friday is making a peaceful visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, who represented the Greek government, was also present at the meeting.

As Archbishop Elpidophoros noted in his post on social media, “it is a special privilege and honor to celebrate the Sunday of Orthodoxy in the holy center of our faith”. “We must all,” he noted, “always maintain unaltered the faith that was handed down to our saints, the faith that created the world.”

Meanwhile, yesterday, a memorial service was held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in New York for the lost victims of the train tragedy in Tempe.

In his message, the Archbishop of America, after mentioning that “many words are unnecessary in such a sacred and sad moment”, points out that “he prays for the repose of the souls of our fellow human beings who were lost so unjustly and for the consolation of their loved ones from above , their friends and loved ones. It is an unspeakable tragedy that brings to mind the spontaneous and unanswerable question of “why”, a tragedy that tests our faith and our hope. After all, how can one not be deeply saddened and mourn the untimely loss of all these people, especially the young children, male and female students who started on the journey back to their homes and instead found themselves unexpectedly in their last residence; How can one console the relatives of bereaved victims who have suddenly lost their beloved children, parents, friends, siblings, spouses and entire families forever? The human mind pauses, as it faces the wilderness of death and silence, awaiting an answer to this persistent “why.” Today is a day of immeasurable mourning and sincere reflection in the face of a tragic accident caused, on the one hand, by human error and, on the other hand, by the negligence and indifference shown to the issue of the necessary upgrading of railway infrastructure and systems network,” he added.