[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13412]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




IN RECOGNITION OF THE PAN-MACEDONIAN STUDIES CENTER ON THE OCCASION OF 
                  ITS SECOND ANNUAL TESTIMONIAL DINNER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 23, 2008

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the 
Pan-Macedonian Studies Center on the occasion of its Second Annual 
Testimonial Dinner. This year the Center will be honoring His Eminence 
Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, 
with the Philippion Award.
  The Pan-Macedonian Studies Center was established in 1995 by Elias L. 
Neofytides, Fotis Gerasopoulos and Paul Evangelou to help forge links 
between generations and between persons of Hellenic descent living in 
the U.S. and Greece. The Center thus helped ease the transition for 
adults adapting to a new life in America and increase understanding 
between generations.
  The Pan-Macedonian Studies Center has showcased the best of American 
and Hellenic cultures. It sponsors programs for young and old, 
including offerings in sports, fitness, arts and crafts, and dancing; 
educational initiatives such as a lending library and tutoring; and 
services including lessons on health education, accounting, civics, and 
computer literacy. The Center also helps produce Macedonian TV 
programming airing on Queens public television, and publishes and 
disseminates books on Macedonian culture to schools and libraries in 
the United States at no cost. The Center is open to all, regardless of 
ethnic origin, and all its services and programs are free of charge.
  This year, the Pan-Macedonian Studies Center has selected His 
Eminence Archbishop Demetrios to receive the Philippion Award for his 
contributions to the Hellenic-American community. His Eminence 
Archbishop Demetrios is a distinguished Macedonian who always brings 
``peace and serenity'' into the hearts of the faithful adherents of his 
faith.
  He was born Demetrios Trakatellis in Thessaloniki, Greece on February 
1, 1928. In 1950 he graduated with distinction from the University of 
Athens School of Theology. In 1960 he was ordained a deacon, and in 
1964 he became a priest. He was elected Bishop of Vresthena in 1967, 
and served as an auxiliary bishop to the Archbishop of Athens with the 
primary responsibility for the theological education of the clergy. 
From 1965 to 1971, on scholarship from the Harvard University Graduate 
School of Arts and Sciences, he studied New Testament and 
Christianity's origins and earned a Ph.D. ``with distinction'' in 1972.
  As Bishop of Vresthena, he then returned to his ecclesiastical 
position in the Archdiocese of Athens and in the ensuing years he held 
the responsibilities of the theological education of the clergy, youth 
ministries, and other duties related to theological conferences in 
Greece and abroad. In 1977, he earned a Th.D. in Theology from the 
University of Athens.
  From 1983 to 1993, the Bishop of Vresthena was the Distinguished 
Professor of Biblical Studies and Christian Origins at Holy Cross Greek 
Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA. Serving as a faculty 
member for more than a decade, he taught many of America's Greek 
Orthodox clergy. He also taught at Harvard Divinity School as a 
Visiting Professor of New Testament during the academic years of 1984 
to 1985 and from 1988 to 1989. After several years in the United 
States, he returned to Greece in 1993 to pursue full-time scholarly 
writing and research. At the same time, he resumed his responsibilities 
at the Archdiocese of Athens.
  Elected Archbishop of America in 1999 by the Holy and Sacred Synod of 
the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Archbishop Demetrios was enthroned on 
September 18, 1999 at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in 
New York City. As Archbishop of America, he leads a church of more than 
one and a half million Greek Orthodox Christians in the United States. 
He has done so with distinction, and in so doing has made enormous 
contributions to our Nation and our world.
  I ask that my colleagues join me in saluting the Pan-Macedonian 
Studies Center and its distinguished honoree, His Eminence Archbishop 
Demetrios.

                          ____________________