New Orthodox era // Greeks welcome 1st American-born archbishop

In a four-hour service replete with incense and ornamentation,Greek Orthodox welcomed home one of their own Sunday - the firstAmerican-born leader of their church.

Making his first appearance in the Chicago area since his Julyinstallation as head of the 1.5 million-member Greek Orthodox Churchin America, Archbishop Spyridon presided at a liturgy in southwestsuburban Palos Heights.

In an interview following the service at St. Spyridon HellenicOrthodox Church, the archbishop said his visits to churches acrossAmerica have revealed to him "a wonderful community very vibrant anddynamic, one that offers many possibilities to do a lot of things forthe future."An estimated eight in 10 Greek Orthodox now marry outside theirfaith. Because Greek Orthodoxy uses Greek in its worship,non-Orthodox spouses often are alienated from the faith. Eventually,the entire family breaks away from Greek Orthodoxy.Spyridon said that conflict is the most pressing problem facingthe church in America."I would say everyone is concerned with interfaith marriages,which means we will have to do a lot in the field of religiouseducation," he said.When Spyridon was chosen by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I,the spiritual leader of all Orthodox in the world, many AmericanOrthodox were thrilled. Some of them felt that foreign-born churchleaders have failed to grasp the complexity of their church as itevolves from an immigrant institution in the United States.Spyridon, 52, was born George Papageorgio in Warren, Ohio.Although he had not lived in the United States for 35 years beforehis appointment as archbishop, Spyridon said the fact that he is anAmerican has been useful as he settles into his new post. "It hashelped in trying to understand the situation in America and assessingour problems and concerns," he said.Spyridon said he has no immediate goals other than "to do ourjob a little bit better than how we are doing right now."The use of English has been a point of contention in manychurches; some use it extensively, a few not at all. Spyridon hassaid he favors striking some sort of balance. That approach wasapparent Sunday as he preached in both Greek and English.For those who have grown up in the faith, Spyridon's easylanguage shift was encouraging.Andrea Petrakos, a 47-year-old Beverly accountant, said herGreek immigrant grandparents were among the first parishioners of St.Spyridon, which was founded in Pullman in the 1920s. Liturgies werealways in Greek when she was a child, she said."People do still send their kids to Greek school, but ourparents were immigrants and so we spoke it around the house. It'snot the same, today," she said.