Archbishop Iakovos: The Greek American community deserves a holy leadership that will be willing to give all it can to this community.

Archdiocese "ruled" by monk Ephraim once of Philotheu, Athos

The National Herald, March 3, 1998

"The Greek American community deserves a holy leadership that will be willing to give all it can to this community. I say that people like those that make up this community are hard to come by. I have said that wherever I go." Thus spoke Archbishop lakovos, the former prelate of America, to The National Herald as he exited the church of St. Demetrios in ~ last week. Parishioners there greeted him with wild enthusiasm and considerable nostalgia.

We are told that we live in an era when "image" has ostensibly triumphed over substance. Rubbish! Despite the conscientious - and frightfully expensive - efforts of various image makers, substance, our "inexorable self," always surfaces. And that is true of everybody, presidents, generals, captains of industry and, naturally, archbishops.

It was heard in the corridors of the Phanar: The Archdiocese, the rumor goes, is "ruled" by a monk by the name of Ephraim, whose base is in Flushing, New York, but frequents Pennsylvania and Arizona as well. Soon enough he will be appearing in Garrison, New York, too. Or so the rumor goes.