[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 168 (Friday, October 27, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S16157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CONSECRATION CELEBRATION

 Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today to call to the 
attention of my colleagues the activities that are underway to 
commemorate the consecration celebration of the St. Demetrios Greek 
Orthodox Church of Baltimore, MD. This indeed is a major achievement 
for this community and culminates 25 years of dedication, hard work, 
and energetic involvement.
  His Excellency Metropolitan Silas of New Jersey will join with Father 
Ernest Arambiges, pastor of St. Demetrios, and the parishioners and 
friends of the community to celebrate the ancient ceremony of 
consecration. This signifies that the church is formally dedicated to 
its spiritual mission.
  Founded in 1970, St. Demetrios is one of three centers of worship for 
the Greek Orthodox community in Baltimore. Located in northern 
Baltimore County, St. Demetrios is a product of the love and labor of 
its parishioners. It took the 300 families of St. Demetrios almost 8 
years of fundraising before they had the means to build their church's 
edifice. Before that, they worshipped in the auditorium of Parkville 
High School. The community has worshipped in the present edifice for 
over a decade and has found itself a permanent and lasting home.
  The consecration marks a new chapter in the history of Orthodoxy in 
Maryland as the St. Demetrios community is the first in the Baltimore 
area located outside the central city area. It is a focal point for 
wholesome community life where young and old can pray, learn, and grow 
together both socially and spiritually.
  I want to congratulate the entire St. Demetrios family for their 
dedication and for enriching our Baltimore community with this 
inspiring church building.
  Mr. President, I request that an article from the Baltimore Sun which 
records this important event be printed in the Record.
  The article follows:

                        [From the Baltimore Sun]

               St. Demetrios Consecration Planned Sunday

       In what Greek Orthodox clergy say is ``a once-in-lifetime 
     event,'' Baltimore County's St. Demetrios Church will be 
     consecrated this weekend by two of the denomination's revered 
     leaders, who will encase relics of three early Christian 
     saints in the altar table.
       His Eminence Archbishop Iskovos and His Excellency 
     Metropolitan Silas will preside at the consecration service 
     at 9 a.m. Sunday, the culmination of a series of ancient 
     rites this week at the domed church at 2504 Cub Hill Road.
       Construction of the church, decorated in the Byzantine 
     style, began in 1983 on a 30-acre site in the Cub Hill 
     section of the county north of Carney.
       Bones of Saints Boniface, Cyril of Alexandria and 
     Panteleimon will be brought to the church tomorrow and set on 
     a paten. The relics will be covered with a veil until Sunday 
     morning, when they will be interred in a 1,600-year-old 
     ceremony.
       During the services Sunday, Archbishop Iakovos, Primate of 
     the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, 
     will be assisted by Metropolitan Silas, who has immediate 
     jurisdiction over the parish. They will carry the relics 
     around the church three times in a procession of the 
     congregation.
       Water and oil will be used in the consecration service, 
     which will include the lighting of the vigil lamp before the 
     tabernacle.
       The congregation's worship and celebrations this week began 
     with the St. Demetrios Feast Day Vesper Service and a 
     reception Wednesday evening, and continued with a Divine 
     Liturgy yesterday morning. The Great and Solemn Vespers of 
     Consecration at 7 p.m. tomorrow will be followed by another 
     reception in the church's Fellowship Hall.
       The congregation has planned a third reception and a 
     dinner-dance beginning at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Sheraton 
     Baltimore North Hotel, 903 Dulaney Valley Road, Towson.

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