March 21, 2000

To the Reverend Clergy, Monastics, Parish Councils, Philoptochos Societies, Choirs, Youth Organizations, and All the Faithful of the Diocese of San Francisco:

Already, we have begun to traverse the road of Great Lent, that most inspirational period of the ecclesiastical year. The season of Great Lent provides us with the opportunity to engage in contemplation and spiritual reflection; it initiates us into the mystery of salvation, and manifests the true dynamism of our faith.

      The richness of the sacred services, the effort of fasting, and the intensity of prayer constitute the distinctive elements of Great Lent. Prayer, abstinence, and the life of worship introduce a change into the routine of our everyday lives, and prepare us in an ineffable manner for our encounter with the Risen Lord.

      The benefits arising from this forty-day journey to the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord are immense. By our participation in the spiritual riches of our Church we develop patience, learn humility, and are taught love for God and our fellow human beings. It is this love which validates all our other spiritual labors. Without love, our ascetic efforts lose all their value, and may even become an occasion of harm for us.

      Let us therefore dedicate ourselves during these holy days to the sacred contest of love, whatever our occupation, whether at home, at work, at school, or wherever we may be. In this manner, we will spread the witness of our Orthodox faith in the midst of the pluralistic society in which we live, so that each of us in our own way may become an occasion whereby the Name of God is praised and glorified.

      Finally, my beloved children in the Lord, I want to inform you that I will not be with you for Pascha this year. I will be traveling to my beloved homeland of Crete to celebrate the Resurrection with my aged mother for the first time in 55 years. It seems to me the least that I can due in response to her immeasurable love.

      With these brief and simple thoughts, I wish from the depths of my soul a blessed and fruitful Lenten season to all, with abundant joy and health to you and your families.

With Paternal Love,

+ Metropolitan Anthony of the Dardanelles

Bishop of San Francisco