Pat. Bartholomew Holds Audience With Young Adult Leaders

NEW YORK — Following his address at the Council on Foreign Relations on Friday, His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople held a patriarchal audience and blessing with the Young Adult Leaders (YAL) of New York and New Jersey at the St. Nicholas National Shrine.

Konstantinos Ouranitsas, chairman of this year’s YAL conference, began the event with an address. A current parish council member at the St. Nicholas National Shrine, Ouranitsas shared that the site “continues to inspire, heal, and bear witness to the power of our faith.”

Konstantinos Ouranitsas address Patriarch Bartholomew. Photo: Aaron Hickman/UOJ

Growing up a short walk from the shrine, Ouranitsas said that he has witnessed New York in both its darkest and most hopeful moments. 

“In 2001, at the age of 11, my neighborhood was devastated,” he said. “My father stayed behind to help those in need. In 2021, my family suffered another deep loss – my father passed from cancer connected with Sept. 11. For my family and for this community, the opening of this shrine was more than symbolic – it was a place of true healing.”

Fr. Barnabas Powell, priest at Ss. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cuming, Georgia, who is also well known for his “Faith Encouraged” online ministry, next addressed the Patriarch about the convert surge in America. 

Fr. Barnabas opened by making reference to his Protestant upbringing and eventual conversion to Holy Orthodoxy.

“You might have noticed that the last name is Powell, not Powellopoulos,” he joked. “I didn’t grow up in the Orthodox Church – I grew up in a Pentecostal church. If you hear a little bit in there it’s just still a part of me.”

After serving as a pastor for many years, Fr. Barnabas and a friend found themselves realizing that something was missing, and what was missing were deep roots. In 2001, Fr. Barnabas, his friend’s family, and 20 other families from their church became Orthodox.

“It was weird then, but it’s getting more and more common now,” he said, adding that his own father was confused and asked if he was becoming Jewish.

Fr. Barnabas Powell speaks about the surge of converts to Holy Orthodoxy. Photo: Aaron Hickman/UOJ

Well-versed in the Reformation history and the beginnings of the Pentecostal movement near the turn of the 20th century, Fr. Barnabas was pleased to find that the Holy Spirit had already preserved the true faith for 15 centuries before his knowledge began.

“I was taught my entire life, ‘Son, you’ve got to be like Jesus, you’ve got to be like Jesus, you’ve got to be like Jesus,’ and man, that’s the truth. How do you do that? Twenty centuries of beautiful, timeless wisdom and the lives of the saints and the divine mysteries of the Church, and the living out of the faith in the midst of community with a Eucharistic life of the Holy Spirit in our midst.”

In his parish near Atlanta, they’re preparing to receive 39 people into the Church at Christmas and another 50 at Pascha. This surge which is not unique to his parish was summed up by Fr. Barnabas in this manner:

“The United States of America is the wealthiest society on the planet materially. The United States of America is the most powerful nation militarily in the world – we go anywhere we want to go and do anything we want to do, God help us. The United States of America is the most technologically advanced society that has ever existed. And yet, with all of our material wealth, with all of our power, with all of our technology, the No. 1 prescription being prescribed today is an antidepressant… the No. 1 challenge for our young adults is loneliness… the truth of the matter is, everything we have been told by nihilistic secular materialism has proven to be not strong enough to bear the weight of the dignity of the human soul. It’s too small – it doesn’t feed where we’re deeply hungry. It doesn’t satisfy the true thirst of our heart, and our true thirst is to be with and like Jesus Christ.”

He also made reference to a great claim made in every liturgy: that we have seen the true light, we have received the heavenly Spirit, and we have found the true faith through the worship of the undivided Trinity.

“This materialistically wealthy society but horribly broken society is in desperate need for that light, that faith, that truth.”

Speaking next, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros said that the day was an extraordinary moment for the St. Nicholas National Shrine. 

“We are blessed to receive this special visitation of our spiritual father, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,” he said. “Four years ago, His All-Holiness opened the doors of this national shrine of our sacred archdiocese, even before we had completed every aspect of the church. Today, he beholds the fulfillment of all our labors to bring this amazing institution, this amazing holy temple, into its entirety – a hallowed place, a place of healing and of memory.”

Abp. Elpidophoros closed by asking for the Patriarch’s prayers to always be found worthy of the mission to be of service to our Lord Jesus Christ and His Church.

Archbishop Elpidophoros called the day an "extraordinary moment." Photo: Aaron Hickman/UOJ

Finally, Patriarch Bartholomew addressed the young adults in both English and Greek. Reading from prepared notes in English first, His Holiness began by extending a patriarchal blessing to each person there for the edification of their souls and the realization of their dreams.

“You are much more than the future of our Church,” he said. “You are also the “now” of the Church.”

As leaders of the young adult movement, he told the crowd, it is vital to be prepared to bear witness to the fullness that the Orthodox Church provides. With an enormous inheritance that spans many centuries, Orthodox Christians have a special responsibility “to our own people and to the Christian world at large to present the authentic faith of Christ in accordance with the traditions of the Church as they have been handed down to us.”

“Look around the World Trade Center today, and you will not see any visible sign of faith or religious practice except the St. Nicholas National Shrine,” he continued. “There is a very deep lesson in this observation... In our contemporary and secular world, where religions are often co-opted to serve aligning purposes, it is still possible to stand out and to stand with integrity (on the) spiritual path.”

To close out the event, Pat. Bartholomew spoke from the heart in Greek and was visibly emotional, even needing to take a break from speaking while fighting tears. 

Patriarch Bartholomew crosses himself ahead of Friday's event. Photo: Aaron Hickman/UOJ

Noting that, when he lit a candle in the narthex, he saw a commemorative sign that read that he had visited and venerated there a day earlier on Sept. 18, he said that when those who attend the church see it, they will remember that the Patriarch stopped by this place, they met with him, they saw him, they heard him, and they kissed his hand.

“I will not have with me such a commemorative plaque of our meeting. I to you, I have written you in my heart and I will remember you.”

Following the YAL audience, the inaugural Beacon of Hope Dinner hosted by the St. Nicholas National Shrine was held at Casa Cipriani. The “Beacon of Hope” award was presented to New York Fire Department Commissioner Robert Tucker, New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and Port Authority Police Department Superintendent Edward Cetnar.

Earlier in the day, actor George Xanthis and director Akis Konstantakopoulos spoke to the young adults during a Q&A session while waiting for Pat. Bartholomew’s arrival. Xanthis portrays the Apostle John in “The Chosen” series, and Konstantakopoulos is one of the show’s directors.