The Metropolitan of New Jersey issued an encyclical on Father’s Day, emphasizing that although it is not an ecclesiastical holiday, “today, we have the opportunity to recognize all of the fathers in our lives and to acknowledge their contributions which have led us to who we are as persons today.”
Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey emphasises that “Our Lord has given us a family, parents, godparents, and friends who assist us and make us the people we are today.”
Metropolitan Evangelos also underlines in his encyclical that “Whereas we celebrate and honor our biological fathers and grandfathers, we must also remember to honor and recognize our priests, our spiritual fathers, our godfathers, and people who serve as father figures to us.”
He also urges us to “praise and glorify the Name of your Heavenly Father and I paternally encourage you to keep the Fifth Commandment when He tells us, ‘Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you’ keeping these words in the forefront of your heart and mind.”
Read the Metropolitan’s Father’s Day Encyclical
Father’s Day 2020
The Very Reverend and Reverend Clergy
Esteemed Members of the Metropolitan Council, Esteemed Members of the Parish Councils, Philoptochos Sisterhood, Faculty and Students of the Catechetical and Greek Afternoon Schools, Directors and Participants of all Youth Organizations, and all devout Orthodox Christians of the Communities of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New JerseyMy Beloved in the Lord,
Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ has placed numerous people in our lives who have guided us, formed us, and inspired us. He has given us a family, parents, godparents, and friends who assist us and make us the people we are today. One of the most important people we have in our lives and, on a biological level, someone without whom we cannot exist, is our father. Today, we have the opportunity to recognize all of the fathers in our lives and to acknowledge their contributions which have led us to who we are as persons today.
The role of the father, however, is not restricted to biological limitations. Whereas we celebrate and honor our biological fathers and grandfathers, we must also remember to honor and recognize our priests, our spiritual fathers, our godfathers, and people who serve as father figures to us. The role that these fathers have played in our lives cannot be quantified since each has offered us a unique expression of fatherhood. They have nurtured us and guided us. They have imparted to us their wisdom and morals. They have protected us and provided for us. Moreover, they have sought to follow the path that God has set before them so that, through their fatherhood, they might lead their children, whether biological or spiritual, to the ineffable glory of God. Of all the fathers, that exist, however, we must not neglect to honor and give praise to our singular, common and most sacred Father, our Father in Heaven, our Lord and our God, who created us in His image and likeness. The One who continuously guides, protects, and illumines our heart and our mind. The Father who knows no limits and who out of an abundance of love, keeps us close to His bosom, irrelevant of our shortcomings.
My dearly beloved in the Lord, I beseech you to keep a strong connection with both your Heavenly Father and with your earthly fathers. Praise and glorify the Name of your Heavenly Father and I paternally encourage you to keep the Fifth Commandment when He tells us, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you” keeping these words in the forefront of your heart and mind. Furthermore, let us give thanks to God for our earthly fathers, whether they are related to us by blood or by spirit. Keep this relationship strong so that you may continually be blessed with their wisdom and guidance. Fathers, be willing to offer your love and care for all of your children and lead them on the path to salvation which is only possible through Christ. It is with these thoughts that I wish you all a Happy Father’s Day. Assuring you of my love, gratitude and respect, and praying that God, in His Fatherly compassion, blesses all of you this day, I remain
With Paternal Love and Blessings,
† E V A N G E L O S
Metropolitan of New Jersey