September 1, 1999

TO: ALL PRIESTS OF THE ATLANTA DIOCESE

My beloved Brothers and Co-celebrants,

      While we are still in the beginning of the new Ecclesiastical Year, I would like to greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that God, the Father, will send down upon you and your co-workers the wisdom with which He endowed King Solomon and the strength with which He bestowed upon Moses to govern and lead the faithful to the promised land. Thus, you also can be enlightened and inspired to lead the faithful whom God has entrusted to your care. Lead them in prayer and in knowledge so that they may find their way to salvation.

      My beloved, we as clergymen have been entrusted from God with Divine power from the day of our ordination. With this power, we can indeed perform miracles and wonders and confront the challenges of today’s society. Our people are seeking a way to become closer to God and for this, they need your guidance. This guidance comes not only from ministry programs and sermons, from secular and ecclesiastic knowledge, but as Saint Basil reminds us from our personal and family life, we must indeed be the example of what we preach. We are the beacons! We must stand strong and illumine the righteous path for people to follow.

      I am aware that each of you is involved in many diverse projects in your parish life. Let us not forget that our priority must be the spiritual. In order to disseminate the spiritual, however, many times the materialistic is necessary. An example would be the Diocesan Diakonia Deca Ministry, a program which was initiated by our Diocese months ago. This program will be of great help financially to the Diocese for it will enable us to initiate programs by which our parishioners can share their talents with the purpose of enriching the spirituality of our faithful.

      I encourage you also to be aware of your appearance and attitude. It is the first impression as you approach people that shows your love and concern for them. We must at times make a personal sacrifice in order to reach our flock. Keep in mind, as orthodox clergy in your parish, you are Christ’s representative, be Christ-like in both appearance and attitude!

      As your Bishop, I also have priorities in my diakonia. Foremost is how to serve my priests better so that they in turn can guide their flock properly. Toward this end, I invite each of you to come to visit me at the Diocese. I would like to spend time with you to discuss your families, your parishes, your ministries, your hopes, your aspirations and any concerns you may have. I, in turn, will try my utmost to assist you in any manner possible. Please put aside one day per year to meet with me at my office. Make this appointment with Presbytera Christina. Our relationship must be one of mutual respect, trust and concern. I have already scheduled a meeting with the Diocesan Vicars where we will initiate and discuss in detail the many diakonia programs of our Diocese. Please work hand-in hand with them when they call upon you. At all Diocesan meetings you are called upon to attend, your presence is mandatory for it shows your concern for the Diocese and expresses the love for our parishioners and Holy Orthodox Church. Giving of your time to everyone, young and old, is the first step in building a relationship of love, one to another. With all this in mind, now I call upon you all to join me in welcoming the new Spiritual Father, our Archbishop, His Eminence Demetrios, for whom we are obligated to pray and with whom we have to work hand in hand.

I close, wishing you and your family good health so that you may fulfill the dreams and expectations of your parishioners for many years. With faithful commitment to His service, I remain,

Prayerfully Yours with Paternal Love in Christ,

+ALEXIOS

Bishop of Atlanta