hese Dark Chambers pause to note the passing of one of the true giants of the modern religious community: His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos. In the late spring of 2005, a virtual Gathering of Nations assembled in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City for the funeral of His Holiness Pope John Paul II. And shortly afterward, the world received news of the loss of yet another human icon among the real defenders of Good against Evil.
He was a towering figure in the ecumenical movement, the first Greek Orthodox Archbishop in over 350 years to officially confer with the Catholic Holy Father, a leading champion of social causes, and, more to the point, one of New York City's true living legends.
Born as Demetrios A. Coucouzis, July 29th, 1911, on the tiny island of Imbros in the Aegean Sea, near the entrance to the Dardanelles, Iakovos' parents ran the local general store, where as a child, he sold dry goods, icons and other memorabilia. By age 16, he secured his admittance to Halki Theological Seminary, graduating therefrom in 1934, at which time he was named an archdeacon. 5 years later, young Iakovos' journey led him onto the shores of America, where he taught at Holy Cross Theological School during its years at Pomfret, Connecticut.
When he was elevated to the priesthood in 1940, he chose for himself the name Iakovos, meaning James. A short sojourn in Hartford, CT led him back to the Big Apple, where he dispensed his wisdom at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. World War II saw him spending his time in Boston, working there as Dean of the Cathedral of the Annunciation. By 1945 he had earned a graduate degree from Harvard University's Divinity School; it would be another five years before he finally became a U.S. citizen.
In 1956, Iakovos assumed the rank of Metropolitan; three years later, he was named Archbishop of North and South America. At the time of his Enthronement, the church had 1.5 million communicants, 375 churches, and over 150,000 worshippers across the U.S. and Canada. Then, in 1959, he visited Pope John XXIII --- marking the first time in more than 350 years that an Orthodox prelate had sought an audience with the Pope. The encounter would serve as prelude to the historic meeting between John XXIII and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras in 1964. The Eastern branch of Christianity, rooted in the Greek-speaking portion of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Western branch, rooted in the Latin-speaking realms, had not come together since 1054 A.D., when the Patriarch of Constantinople ordered the closing of Roman Catholic churches in his region, leading to his excommunication by Pope Leo IX.
In 1965, in what many observers of Orthodoxy still call his greatest achievement, Archbishop Iakovos marched in Selma, Alabama, alongside Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As a New York Times article reported: "The striking cover story in Time Magazine which depicted Dr. King side-by-side with the black-garbed Iakovos marked a new presence of Greek Americans and the Greek Orthodox chuch in American life." Even joining the ranks of those who opposed the Vietnam War, Iakovos remained outspoken in his beliefs and observations. "If we lose our youth," he warned his flock in 1969, "our churches will be empty within the next 10 years, except for those few survivors of our first-genenration immigrants."
Iakovos' unexpected retirement in 1996, on his 85th birthday, left most members of his flock shocked and stunned. Even today, there are some supporters of Iakovos who feel that his retirement was a sign that Patriarch Bartholomew wanted to reaffirm his authority over the American church. At issue between the Archbishop and the Patriarch at the time was a unification plan which Iakovos had conceived, encompassing all the U.S.-based Orthodox churches with ties to the mother churches overseas, notably the Albanian, Ukrainian, Syrian, Bulgarian, Serbian and Romanian churches. When, in early 1994, Iakovos assembled the leading prelates of all these churches in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, Bartholomew was apparently displeased that the Archbishop had not immediately sought out his approval for such a gathering. The Patriarch went on to denounce Iakovos' unification bid as a step toward independence from the Mother Church of Istanbul.
Eventually, Iakovos was succeeded by Warren, Ohio's own George Papageorgiu, who subsequently took the name of Spyridon. Alas, after 3 1/2 years, Archbishop Spyridon's reign was beset by allegations of controversy, many of them stemming from a series of reports of sexual misconduct on the grounds of Holy Cross Theological Seminary. By late 1999, the five ruling Metropolitans of the American Church had voiced their concerns to Patriarch Bartholomew; the findings of their scathing joint report eventually proved instrumental in bringing about Spyridon's unprecedented resignation as Archbishop. And so, in the early spring of 2000, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios was brought in to continue the efforts begun by his two immediate predecessors. 5 years later, His Present Eminence is still overseeing his flock from his 79th Street and Central Park West headquarters --- where he remains one of the most popular Greek Orthodox Archbishops in recent memory!
Still, even if Archbishop Iakovos was reaching the boundaries of old age, there were those at Greek Orthodox Headquarters who still held a special place in their hearts for him. They'll tell you the tale, for example, of the time he spent with the children of St. Basil's School at Garrison, NY. When it was time for Iakovos to leave, then 7-year-old Marina Madiotis got mad at the people in charge at her school. "He's my best friend," she pouted. "Make him come back!"
Today, I would suppose, there are many youngsters at St. Basil's who'd feel the same way. Of course, the Eternals will, as ever, have other plans for those who are good at heart; and certainly, Archbishop Iakovos was truly a good person at heart. His death at the age of 93 brings to a close the era of New York City's three greatest religious heroes, the other two being John Cardinal O'Connor and Lubavitcher Grand Rebbe Menachem Schneerson. Though their respective styles and methodologies differed, these three leaders were, and are, praised by every New York City Mayor and New York State Governor who has ever encountered them in their respective lifetimes. Their influences on New York's Government, both State and City, will certainly never be forgotten.
Shortly before his retirement, Iakovos determined himself not to remain still in his devotion to his beloved Archdiocese. To remain still, he believed, would only further hasten his death. "I will use the time I have left to further my ecumenical work," he declared from his home in Rye, NY. "The Orthodox Church in America must remain an active church and an activist church, because the world today needs to be rearranged." One must hope, especially in a post-9/11 world, that Archbishop Demetrios can indeed fulfill Iakovos' challenge ..... and triumph!
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