Our Clergy look forward to the Clergy Breakfast held each Clergy-Laity Congress, which gives all our priests an opportunity to be together with our Archbishop, the Hierarchs, and all of the clergy from around the country in a relaxed and social atmosphere. For some this was the first opportunity to meet the Archbishop as he went table to table to greet each clergyman. In his remarks, His Eminence stated, “We are first and foremost faithful to Christ. But we are also members of His Body, the Holy Church, and, as such, we are in relationship to one another. Therefore, I want each and every one of you to feel seen and heard. For pastoring our communities in such diverse and conflicted times as we are living in is a very stressful challenge, indeed. That is why, in this Centennial Year of our Archdiocese, I have cited our Unity in Christ as the foundation upon which every aspect of our ministry must be built.” (Full Remarks)

Rev. Protopresbyter John Bakas, St. Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles, California was given the honor of Centennial Honoree for his ministry in the Byzantine-Latino Quarter of Los Angeles.