Patriarch's arrival exhilarates faithful
An eager crowd of about 300 that included believers, worshipers and dignitaries came for a "once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity."
By ROBIN STEIN
Published January 5, 2006
CLEARWATER - Bristling with anticipation, the crowd jostled for a glimpse of His All Holiness Bartholomew as he arrived Wednesday at the St. Petersburg Clearwater Airport.
As the ecumenical patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church passed her, Sophia Holder peeled away from the line of people, her face flushed, a Greek flag waving in her hand.
"I touched him," she said, her arms covered in goose bumps, tears welling in her eyes. "Look at me, I have chills all over my body. I touched him, and I felt peace."
Among the 300 people who gathered to greet him were choir girls in patent leather shoes, Greek dancers in tasseled hats and billowing pants, busloads of the faithful, local dignitaries and camera crews.
The patriarch made his first trip from the church's headquarters in Istanbul to Florida to preside over Tarpon Springs' centennial Epiphany celebration this week.
Head of the world's second-largest Christian church since 1991, His All Holiness Bartholomew has been a spiritual force for millions of Orthodox Christians around the world, including an estimated 160,000 in Florida.
He also has won advocates in Europe and the United States, as his embattled church has struggled to extricate itself from the stifling religious policies of the Turkish government.
"His personality and his global mission have found very strong support here over all these years," said Alexandros P. Mallias, Greece's ambassador to the United States, who came from Washington for the Epiphany celebration.
"He is ecumenical, his global missions are fully supported by this administration - and the past administration - in a very outspoken manner," Mallias said.
Several U.S. political leaders, including Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton, have made appeals to the Turkish government to improve its relations with the church.
They have lobbied Turkey to recognize the patriarch's status as a world leader, return church-owned land seized by the state, and reopen the Orthodox Theological School of Halki in Turkey, the only school that trains Orthodox Christian leaders. The patriarch graduated from the school in 1961.
The patriarch has also proven to be a powerful advocate for the environment and interfaith reconciliation.
His relationship with the late Pope John Paul II has been crucial in repairing the ages-old schism with the Roman Catholic Church, which began in 1054 when the two churches split over doctrinal and theological differences.
"They've really made great strides to reconcile their differences," said Father Chris Metropulos, who leads an Orthodox parish in Fort Lauderdale.
"He is head of a Christian church, but he lives in a predominantly Muslim country, which puts him in a position to be a bridge."
As the patriarch stepped off the plane, draped in black robes and flanked by bearded, bespectacled clergy, the crowd, which had been talking and milling about casually, stopped.
All attention turned to the long-anticipated visitor.
"What drives us here is our faith," said Georgia Potaris, of New Port Richey.
Potaris' son Theodore, 16, will be one of 56 young men diving for the cross on Friday, and her daughter Olympia, 20, had been at the airport all day preparing for the patriarch's arrival.
"He is our pope, like for Catholics," she said. "In these times, in particular, when people are scared to say "Merry Christmas,' we're trying to embrace our faith."
Christine Major, 34, of Spring Hill said seeing the patriarch was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"We don't know what to expect," she said. "That is why we are so anxious to meet him."