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On November 4, 1997, St. George Parish was honored to welcome to our little church His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual father to 250 million Orthodox Christians worldwide. He came to the United States on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. During his visit, he met with the President and First Lady, members of Congress, addressed the United Nations, spoke and prayed at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and toured the United States. He chose to stop in Des Moines to visit a small parish in the American heartland. While in Des Moines, His All Holiness celebrated a Doxology of Thanksgiving here at St. George's, then celebrated an Ecumenical Doxology at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines. Dignitaries in attendence included Mayor Robert D. Ray (below), City Councilman Tom Vlassis, Bishop Joseph Charron of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines, Dr. Forrest Harms, Des Moines Area Religious Council, Dr. James Ryan, Ecumenical Ministries of Iowa, Bishop Iakovos of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Chicago, Archbishop Spyridon of America, and representatives of other faith communities in Des Moines and Iowa.  The Ecumenical Patriarch and Mayor Robert D. Ray Born in Turkey, he is a graduate of the Patriarchal Theological School of Halki and studied in Rome, Switzerland, and Munich. After serving as Metropolitan of Philadelphia (in Asia Minor), he was elevated to Metropolitan of Chalcedon. In 1991, he was elected as Ecumenical Patriarch. Speaking seven languages, His All Holiness has been very active in human rights, inter-Orthodox and inter-Christian dialogues and with the World Council of Churches. He has been called the "Green Patriarch" for his ministry concerning the environment. Color photographs on this page by Ben Siepmann. |
SPECIAL FEATURES: CBS' 60 Minutes inteviews the Ecumenical Patriarch, 12/20/09 |
