[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 21, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4406-S4407]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HOLY AND GREAT COUNCIL OF THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCHES

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the historic 
events taking place in Crete, Greece. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew 
of Constantinople has called the first Holy and Great Council of the 
various Christian Orthodox churches around the world since 787 CE.
  The Holy and Great Council is the first meeting of its kind in over a 
millennium. The 14 Orthodox Christian Churches together have over 300 
million followers around the world, including over a million Americans. 
These churches are self-governing but united by common dogma, faith, 
liturgy, and moral conviction, with the Ecumenical Patriarch serving as 
the ``first among equals.''
  This meeting began on Sunday, June 19 and will continue through June 
26. Three hundred and fifty leaders are attending this meeting where 
they will promote unity among the world's Orthodox believers. They will 
discuss key issues facing Orthodox Christians, including the church's 
mission in today's world, the Orthodox diaspora, and the relationship 
of Christian Orthodoxy with the rest of the Christian world.
  The Patriarch has a record of reaching out and working for peace and 
reconciliation among all faiths and has fostered dialogue among 
Christians, Jews, and Muslims. His All-Holiness has received awards 
from the United Nations, the United States, and other nations for 
providing moral leadership throughout modern history's greatest tests. 
His efforts to convene this Holy and Great Council is a testament to 
his continued leadership at a time when it is greatly needed. After the 
September 11, 2001, attacks, the Patriarch organized a gathering of 
religious leaders, including Muslim imams, to condemn the attacks as an 
anti-religious act. He was also the first Ecumenical Patriarch to 
attend the inauguration of a pope.
  With so much suffering taking place around the world, we need people 
to come together, like they are in this historic meeting, to work 
together to advance our shared values. I commend and thank Ecumenical 
Patriarch Bartholomew for convening this Holy and Great Council of the 
Orthodox Christian Churches in Crete, Greece.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, once again, Greece, the home of 
democracy, the home of the fundamental principle of religious freedom 
that democracy has come to represent here in America, is making 
history, this time on the Island of Crete where Ecumenical Patriarch 
Bartholomew of Constantinople is leading a meeting of Orthodox 
Christian Churches, the Holy and Great Council, that occurs only once 
in a millennium. In fact, it has not happened since 787 CE, but it is 
happening now.
  The 3 million Orthodox Christians across America, from all 14 
national jurisdictions around the world with the largest number 
affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Church--the Church of the convener 
of the Council--Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, are following this 
historic gathering with great anticipation.
  It is the charge of the Holy and Great Council to deal with internal 
church matters, but Orthodox Christians are also deeply concerned with 
the opportunity this historic event presents for a wider ranging 
conversation about not only process within the confines of religion, 
but the prospects for peace and prosperity it represents for all 
members of the church and for all people around the world.
  Orthodox Christians in America come from all walks of life and 
represent all opinions and points of view. They include personalities 
well-known to all of us in this Chamber and beyond: ABC journalist and 
host of ``Good Morning America,'' George Stephanopoulos; Huffington 
Post creator Arianna Huffington; and sportscaster Bob Costas. In the 
political world, they include former Governor of Massachusetts and 
Democratic nominee for President Mike Dukakis; Hillary Clinton's 
campaign chairman and former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, 
John Podesta; and current Members of Congress--Representative Dina 
Titus of Nevada and Niki Tsongas of Massachusetts, as well as 
Congressmen John Sarbanes of Maryland and Gus Bilirakis of Florida.
  These are all respected, talented, accomplished Orthodox Christians 
whose faith and opinions are represented at the historic convocation of 
the Holy and Great Council. They are among the more than 1 million 
Greek Orthodox Americans who are led by their spiritual head, 
Archbishop Demetrios, who presides over seven metropolitans with 
regional jurisdictions that serve on the local Holy Synod. The 
archbishop and his predecessors have played a prominent role in 
American life, culture, and history that has been part of the fabric of 
this Nation. We all remember the famous civil rights march in Selma, 
AL, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but we may not remember that at 
the march was also the late Archbishop Lakovos, marching shoulder-to-
shoulder with Dr. King.
  Greek Americans, hailing from 500 churches across this Nation, 
including many in my home State of New Jersey, believe deeply that this 
Holy and Great Council is a fateful gathering that can have a dramatic 
impact on their religion and civilization for 1,000 more years, that 
the council's deliberations will hold great meaning and great promise 
for a better life for all of us, for peace on this planet, and for the 
greater good of generations to come. They know and we in this Chamber 
know that the importance of Orthodox Christians will be measured not by 
the history made in Crete at this meeting, but the history Orthodox 
Christians around the world have already made.
  I join all of my colleagues in hoping for a successful and productive 
once in

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a millennium session of the Holy and Great Council. I join with all of 
my Orthodox Christian friends in New Jersey and around the world in 
celebrating this historic meeting.

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