Athenagoras the First, father of us all, has gone home to God. Athenagoras the First, this giant of a prelate, a lover of mankind, a pioneer in inter-Orthodox co-operation and a most prominent spokesman on Christian unity, we are asked to direct our prayers and thoughts.

      Athenagoras — this giant of a religious leader, both in stature and in spirit, was elected Ecumenical Patriarch on November 11, 1948, by the Holy Synod of Constantinople. He had travelled a long way from the day of his ordination to the diaconate at the early age of 17. Never in his wildest dreams did he, as a lad in Epirus, Greece, ever imagine that one day he would occupy the Ecumenical Throne in Constantinople. Athenagoras, upon graduating from the Halki Theological School in Constantinople, was assigned Archdeacon to Archbishop Meletios of Athens, and in 1910, he was ordained a priest and appointed to the Secretariat of the Holy Synod of Greece. In 1913, he was elected Metropolitan of Corfu at the age of 36, and it was only a matter of time that in 1930, at the age of 43, the Holy Synod of Constantinople appointed him Archbishop of North and South America.

      Athenagoras served the American Church well… too well, as a matter of fact, that the Holy Synod of Constantinople decided that he should lead not only the Archdiocese of the Americas, but rather he should become the leader of the world’s 250,000,000 Orthodox Christians.

      The esteem in which Athenagoras was held in these United States is evidenced by the gracious gesture extended to him through the person of President Harry S. Truman. This gesture being the placing of the President’s official plane, the Sacred Cow, at the disposal of Patriarch-elect Athenagoras to fly him to his new see of Constantinople,a t the direct instructions received from the Office of the President of the United States.

      Since his elevation to the Ecumenical Throne on January 26, 1949, Patriarch Athenagoras had warmed the hearts of all, young and old alike, who have had the good fortune to meet with him. His embrace was universal, as was his love for all, and as his title ‘ecumenical’ designates. His Holiness Athenagoras was ‘ecumenical’ both in word and in deed. He welcomed all, as a pastor would welcome his parishioners … no fanfare, and the like … no closed doors. He was always ready to receive all who called upon him.

      Patriarch Athenagoras spoke only one language — the language of love! Patriarch Athenagoras preached only one sermon — the sermon of love! Patriarch Athenagoras heard only one voice, the voice of love! This ‘thing’ called love had driven His Holiness Athenagoras to places that his predecessors never dreamed of, let alone accomplished. So consumed was Patriarch Athenagoras with this spirit of love, that he had travelled to all the Orthodox Patriarchates, to the holiest of mountains — Mt. Athos, to the institutional center of Ecumenism — Geneva, Switzerland, to the seat of Anglicanism — Canterbury! But over and above these trips, mentioned and not mentioned, he had embarked upon two pilgrimages which will forever warm the hearts of mankind. The one, being to Jerusalem on January 6, 1964, and the other being to Rome on October 28, 1967. In both instances, it was to meet with Pope Paul of Rome. Patriarch Athenagoras demonstrated his willingness to travel the breadth and width of the world in his pursuit for the reconciliation of Christianity.

      This was his dream … the reconciliation and eventual reunion of the Christian Church as Christ willed it. This dream forever appeared as the theme of his encyclicals, as was evidenced by his 1968 Christmas Encyclical, wherein Patriarch Athenagoras observed, “We exchanged a Cross and the Holy Chalice with His Holiness the Pope of Rome during our visits, bas well as the prayer that our merciful Lord send as quickly as possible to our Holy Churches of East and West the grace to jointly celebrate the Holy Eucharist and to share in the communion of our Holy Sacraments as it occurred unceasingly until the year 1054 A.D.” This dream of the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras has already begun to become a reality. Evidence of this was that contrary to protocol, Pope Paul of Rome called upon Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras on July 25, 1967, and thereafter Patriarch Athenagoras reciprocated the visit on October 28, 1967, which should have been the other way around according to church protocol. And over and above all this, the joint nullification of the formal excommunications of 1054 A.D. against one another is a sincere expression that the day of the ‘common Chalice’ between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic is not too far off in the horizon of the Church.

      Athenagoras the First … Ecumenical Patrairch The Good Shepherd … has fallen asleep. May His memory be eternal!