Memory Eternal!
nick cobb
Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco, died Saturday, December 25, 2004,
following a short illness. Metropolitan Anthony was diagnosed with
Burkitt’s lymphoma, a rare form of cancer, in November. He was 69 years old.
In announcing the passing of Metropolitan Anthony of San Francisco, His
Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America, Primate of the Greek Orthodox
Church in America, deeply moved, issued the following statement:
"Today, at the evening of Christmas day, a very prominent and
beloved Hierarch of our Church in America, Metropolitan Anthony of San
Francisco, was called by Jesus Christ our Lord to leave this perishable
world, and meet Him, and be forever with Him in the company of the
saints and the righteous. His life epitomizes the statement by St. Paul
the Apostle, 'If we live we live to the Lord, and if we die we die to
the Lord' (Rom. 14:8).
Deeply saddened by the sudden separation, we are comforted by the
certainty that our beloved brother is with God, leaving behind a
precious legacy of a total dedication to Christ and His Church, an
amazing episcopal work, a remarkably strong love for the people, a
burning passion for Orthodoxy, and a joy for multidimensional ministry.
We are sure that now the Holy Metropolis of San Francisco has a
permanent, strong ambassador to God in the person of her departed
Hierarch and we fervently pray for the repose of his soul among the
great saints and pastors of the triumphant Church in heaven."
According to Father Paul Schroeder, Chancellor of the Metropolis of San
Francisco, a Trisagion (Prayer) Service will be held at the Annunciation
Cathedral, San Francisco on Tuesday, December 28 and the Divine Liturgy
and the funeral service will take place on Wednesday, December 29 at the
Ascension Cathedral, Oakland, CA.
Archbishop Demetrios will preside over the Divine Liturgy and funeral
service at the Cathedral. In both services, members of the Holy
Eparchial Synod will concelebrate with the Archbishop, assisted by
clergy of the Metropolis.
Metropolitan Anthony was enthroned as the first bishop of the
newly-created Diocese of San Francisco on June 7, 1979. He served as the
Bishop and later Metropolitan of San Francisco for over twenty-five
years, overseeing the western states of California, Arizona, Nevada,
Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii.
Metropolitan Anthony was born March 2, 1935 in the village of Avgeniki
on the island of Crete, Greece, the third of six children, growing up
during the brutally difficult years of the Nazi occupation. He attended
the ecclesiastical school of Chania, Crete; following graduation he
entered the internationally renowned Halki Theological School of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, receiving his degree in
Orthodox Theology in 1960. He was ordained a deacon on July 27, 1958,
and a priest on September 29, 1960.
After his ordination to the priesthood, he came to the United States to
pursue graduate studies and serve the Church in this country. While
serving as a parish priest, he earned a Masters of Divinity at Yale
University and pursued doctoral studies in Contemporary Church History
at the University of Chicago, and in Russian and Balkan History at the
University of Wisconsin. In 1974, he was appointed Dean of the St.
George Cathedral in Montreal, Canada, where he remained until his
elevation to the episcopacy on May 21, 1978. As titular Bishop of
Amissos, he served the Eighth Archdiocesan District in Denver, Colorado,
until his election as Bishop of San Francisco in 1979.
During that time, he was responsible for a tremendous expansion of
ministries and programs, an unparalleled period of vitality and renewal.
His tenure saw the founding of over twenty new parishes and missions in
the Metropolis of San Francisco, as well as the establishment of three
monasteries. He was the founder of St. Nicholas Ranch, the Greek
Orthodox Conference and Retreat Center located in the Sierra Nevada
foothills. He was also the driving force behind the construction of the
Monastery of the Theotokos the Life-Giving Spring on the premises of St.
Nicholas Ranch.
Metropolitan Anthony of San Francisco developed the annual Metropolis
Folk Dance Festival into the largest exhibition of authentic Greek folk
dance, costume, and music in the world. Together with the Metropolis
Philoptochos, he created the Bishop Anthony Student Aid Endowment Fund,
a multi-million dollar scholarship account providing funding for
seminarians and students from the Metropolis to attend Hellenic College
and Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. He served
as a member of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese of America.
He proved a source of inspiration for countless thousands, not only
Greek Orthodox faithful, but also religious and civic figures who
recognized in him a great leader and a true man of faith.
vjp...@at.biostrategist.dot.dot.com
I received antidoron from him at the Clergy Laity Conference
liturgy; He seemed very weak. Fr Paul Palesty of Flushing (who first
ministered in San Jose) said Sunday Palesty's eldest was the first
episcopal baptism by Anthony and that Anthony gave his clergy the
freedom to do their jobs (I think those were his words).
- = -
Vasos-Peter John Panagiotopoulos II, Columbia'81+, Bio$trategist
BachMozart ReaganQuayle EvrytanoKastorian
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/vjp2/vasos.htm
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Steven W. Hunter
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AGGreen
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