By Theodore Kalmoukos | The National Herald – The Magazine | March 19-20, 2011
A life of witness and martyrdom. Concepts identical throughout the course of his life. He sensed beforehand and tasted in advance death, that last enemy of us all, but he managed to outwit it by the strength of his soul and of prayer, which can raise even the dead.
Confined to a wheelchair by a severe stroke he suffered five years ago, which brought him to the threshold of death, yet with his soul, as always, unfettered and unenslaved, strong and prayerful, 56-year-old Pavlos Stratigeas, the Metropolitan of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of North and South America, received The National Herald with much love and honor in his residence, which is located next to the Cathedral of Saint Markella.
Metropolitan Pavlos’s quarters, which also serve as his office, are simple and unadorned, with the pronounced characteristics of a monastic cell. Over his inner cassock we could see the pectoral emblem, embroidered with the Precious Cross, worn by monks of the Great Schema, a constant reminder that Metropolitan Pavlos Stratigeas, above and beyond everything else, is a monk in the literal sense of the term; that is, he represents what genuine monasticism ought to be: an unceasing witness to the joyful mourning of the Church.
His life, his course, his work, his witness and his martyrdom are known to the Greek-American community, of which he is its own offshoot, flesh of its flesh and bone of its bones, that is, its own child. He was born in Astoria, New York, on September 26, 1955, to his pious and God-fearing parents, Panagiotis and Maria Stratigeas, who raised him “in the discipline and admonition of the Lord.”
From his earliest infancy he was led into the Church, which he experienced in his childhood and youth, being nurtured by his ever-memorable uncle, the G.O.C. Bishop of Astoria, Petros Astyfides, whom he has now succeeded in the Metropolis.
After primary school in New York, he went to the American School in Halandri, Athens. Then, in 1974, he entered the Theological School of the University of Athens, from which he graduated in 1978. On November 17, 1978, he entered the Monastic Brotherhood of Saint Markella, while on the Sunday of Pentecost in 1979 he was tonsured a monk by Bishop Petros. One year later, on the Sunday of Pentecost in 1980, he was ordained deacon, and in 1985, again on the Sunday of Pentecost, he was ordained presbyter and was awarded the office of Archimandrite. The young cleric Pavlos developed noteworthy activity in the preaching, catechetical, philanthropic, and pastoral fields of the then G.O.C. Diocese of Astoria under Bishop Petros. From 1981 Metropolitan Pavlos began giving theological talks every Monday evening after Vespers, which he continues to this day.
On February 6, 1998, he was elected Metropolitan of the Genuine Orthodox Christians of North and South America by the Synod of the Church of the G.O.C. of Greece. His consecration took place in Athens on February 13 by the ever-memorable Archbishop Chrysostomos.
The G.O.C. Metropolis of America under Metropolitan Pavlos, with its seat at the Cathedral of Saint Markella in Astoria, consists of fifteen parishes throughout the United States, such as in Florida, Chicago, Detroit, and several monasteries, among which is the Monastery of the Ascension of the Lord in Bearsville, New York, where seven monks reside. The metropolis has twenty priests and one auxiliary bishop, Christodoulos of Theoupolis, of whom Metropolitan Pavlos said that “he is my right hand.”
We began our conversation by pointing out that we were surprised by his knowledge of the Greek language and how he had learned it so perfectly. His eyes flashed at once and he said, “My parents were from Greece, my father from Mani and my mother from Chios, and they spoke Greek to me,” adding that “I learned Greek more from my uncle Petros; we always spoke Greek.”
To the question, “What do you remember most about your uncle, Bishop Petros?” Metropolitan Pavlos, readily and without delay, said, “I remember our Christ,” and added, “He spoke to me and taught me continually about Christ. I do not know how to say it, but my uncle planted me with our Christ.”
To the related question of what kind of man Bishop Petros was, he said that he was “a man of religion, of love, of sacrifice.” He also said that his uncle Petros “came to America in 1951 and was at first at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Manhattan, which was destroyed by the terrorist attack on September 11, 2011,” and added that “the Church of Saint Nicholas was on the Old Festal Calendar then.”
He also said that “Bishop Petros was a wonderful man.”
He said that the G.O.C. Metropolis of North and South America “is progressing very well with the help of God.” To the question of how you support yourselves financially, whether you have dues, he said, “No, we do not have dues; we are supported by the love of the people. People give whatever each one wishes.”
To the follow-up question whether they charge for the performance of the Mysteries, Metropolitan Pavlos looked with an expression of surprise and said, “No, no.”
The information obtained by The National Herald indicates that if a Greek-American knocks on Metropolitan Pavlos’s door and says to him, “I want to baptize my child, but I have no money,” Pavlos opens his arms, congratulates him for making his child a child of Christ, baptizes the child, and in addition helps the family as much as he can.
It was inevitable that our conversation would turn to Theology, since, after all, it is a fact that Metropolitan Pavlos is educated and has a theological formation. And so, when we asked him what the Church is for him, he said that “the Orthodox Church is everything, the Alpha and the Omega,” while the priesthood, as he said, “is everything to me.”
If Metropolitan Pavlos were beginning his life today, he would again become a priest. He also said, “Of course I would become a priest, nothing else,” and added: “But I would not become a Bishop, because the work of a Bishop is heavy; I am not worthy to bear such a weight upon myself.”
His companions in his residence are the icons of Christ and of the Panagia, the photograph of his uncle, the ever-memorable Bishop Petros, and a photograph of Hagia Sophia, the great church of the Greek Nation.
When we asked him what Hellenism is for him, he said “everything,” and, pointing to Hagia Sophia, stated that “I live and breathe Constantinople.”
When we referred to the Greek-American community, Metropolitan Pavlos teared up, struggled a little, and said that “the Greek-American community is everything; I can give my life entirely for the Greek-American community.” He celebrates the Liturgy in the Cathedral of Saint Markella, as he said, “in Greek, only in the Greek language,” and emphasized that “Orthodoxy and Hellenism are one thing.”
Regarding whether faithful who were born in America also attend church, and whether they complain that he does not chant in English, he said that “of course people born here attend church; no, they do not complain that the Liturgy is in Greek.”
For the past five years Metropolitan Pavlos has been climbing his own personal Golgotha, laden with a heavy cross upon his shoulders because of the stroke he suffered. He walks the road of martyrdom with steadfastness and great patience, and continually glorifies the name of God for his remarkable recovery and healing. He has regained his speech, since he had been in a coma for months, and now expresses himself correctly, with clear thought and flowing speech, though not without small difficulties, which, however, he overcomes by stopping for a few seconds to think and articulate his words. With each passing day he continues to improve and walks the path toward full recovery.
He remembered and recounted to us everything that had happened to him: “My office was not here, but was across the way, and I felt a disturbance within me. I called Fr. Nektarios and said to him, ‘Come, because I want to confess.’ I told him everything, I confessed, and at the end I also said to him, ‘And now, Fr. Nektarios, I am going to die.’ I understood that I was ready for death. I said to Fr. Nektarios, ‘I am going to depart from this world; forgive me. I do not know how I will face our Christ,’ and immediately I fainted.”
At this point he stopped for a moment and fixed his gaze on the icon of Christ, smiling at Him in an attitude of prayerful thanksgiving.
He also said, “I lost consciousness; when I woke up I was in the hospital. I was in a coma for four months, but when I woke up, I realized what had happened.”
To the question whether there came moments when he said, “Ah, my God, why?” he said, “I confess to you at this moment with all my heart: I felt our Christ within my soul; I am telling you the truth,” and added that “I was saying, and I always say, may Thy will be done, my God.”
He found and continues to find balm and consolation for his pain and great trial in prayer. Metropolitan Pavlos’s beloved prayer is the prayer of the heart: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” “From morning until evening I would say the prayer,” he said.
To the question of how he feels today, he did not answer immediately, but turned his gaze to the icon of Christ and to the photograph of Hagia Sophia and said that “I feel well,” and added that “when Christ calls me, I am ready to depart at once.”
Asked whether this trial has changed him as a person and as a cleric, he said, “Yes, it changed me; it has brought me closer to our Christ.” He further added, “I love Christ to the utmost possible degree,” and, looking at the icon of Christ, he smiled at Him.
He confessed that “I see life differently,” while to the question whether there come moments when he asks why there is pain in our life, he said, “There is an answer to that,” and clarified that “pain is man’s inheritance; all the saints without exception, such as Saint Catherine, Saint George, Saint Spyridon, and Saint Anthony the Great, suffered pain in their lives.”
To the question whether pain is a scandal, why man must suffer, he said that “we must suffer because the devil wars against man very greatly,” and added that “our Christ suffered upon the Cross.”
Regarding whether he fears death, he said, “No, I do not fear death in itself; I fear what we will encounter after death.”
When we asked him about some things that marked his life, he said, “my studies in Athens, and I must tell you that I love the University of Athens very much; you cannot imagine what the University of Athens was for me,” while he added that “the greatest university, however, is the Church, and my professors are the saints, all of whom I love, but Saint John Chrysostom has a special place in my heart,” and he added that “I have studied all his works.”
He also said, “I also love Basil the Great, and indeed in my first year of Theology I wanted to take his name. I was reading his work for young people, ‘Address on How to Derive Benefit from Greek Literature.’”
“I did not know Greek; of course I spoke it and chanted in church, but I did not know advanced Greek, and when I read this book by Basil the Great, I was astonished.”
At this point he stopped for a few minutes, looked at the icon of Christ and at Hagia Sophia, and said, “You cannot imagine how much I enjoy this conversation,” and continued, “When I read the first page of Basil the Great’s book, I understood that I needed help. I sat down and read the book once, twice, three times, five times, and I said to Basil the Great, ‘Please help me learn Greek.’”
Metropolitan Pavlos’s secular name was Peter. “I said to my uncle, ‘Give me the name Basil when you ordain me,’ and he answered, ‘Whatever the Holy Spirit enlightens me to do at that moment,’ and he gave me the name Pavlos.”
Metropolitan Pavlos has not fulfilled all his dreams. He said, “I have one great dream: I want to build Hagia Sophia up in the mountains at the Monastery; it is a two-hour drive from here. I will die; my successors will build Hagia Sophia. This is my legacy.”
His desire is to establish a Greek Day School, but as he said, “unfortunately, I do not have the means.”
Metropolitan Pavlos begins his day at 5 o’clock in the morning, says twelve prayer ropes, then reads the Holy Scripture, and afterward the Service.
Many Greek-Americans visit the Cathedral of Saint Markella and Metropolitan Pavlos daily. To the question of what people say to him, he said, “they are seeking our Christ; they are searching for our Christ.”
His desire is for the Calendar issue to be resolved. He said, “I want a Pan-Orthodox Council to take place and for this issue to be resolved.”
Greek source: Εθνικός Κήρυκας, Το Περιοδικό, Saturday, March 19 – Sunday, March 20, 2011.
Online: https://s3.amazonaws.com/ekpdf/periodiko/pdf/2011/0319_20/0319_20.pdf
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