Archbishop Elpidophoros of America expressed his gratitude to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for his vision, strength and guidance in the discussions that took place in Constantinople regarding the Constitution of the Archdiocese of America.

As he noted, “the Constitution of the Archdiocese is very important for the relationship of the largest province of the Ecumenical Throne with the Mother Church, our Ecumenical Patriarchate. The fraternal discussions we had in a spirit of unity with the Metropolitans of the Holy Provincial Synod of our Archdiocese, who responded with love to the invitation of the Ecumenical Patriarch, make me and I feel much more optimistic returning to the United States of America”.

In addition, he underlined that “the meeting we had at the Ecumenical Patriarchate was particularly productive and successful”.

After the meeting, the Ecumenical Patriarch thanked the Archbishop of America for the proposals he submitted regarding changes to the Constitution of the Archdiocese of America, and also the Metropolitans for accepting his invitation to be in Istanbul and share their thoughts on the upcoming amendment which began at the initiative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2022, which at that time had also proceeded to establish a Joint Committee. Following the relative exhortation of the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Holy Provincial Synod of the Archdiocese of America will be convened in order to reassess in special sessions the current canonical foundation of the administrative structure of the Archdiocese of America and the timely arrangement of its internal boundaries, as is also emphasized in the official announcement of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Additionally, it was agreed that the Archbishop will continue to travel across America and discuss with the staff of the Archdiocese the future Constitution as he envisions it, taking into account the opinion of all, clergy and laity.