Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh

A message of encouragement for parents. Let us attend!

Holy Week Schedule of His Eminence Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh:

On the Saturday of the Akathist Hymn, April 17, 2021, and Sunday, April 18, 2021, the 5th Sunday of Lent Sunday, of St. Mary of Egypt, His Eminence Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh visits Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Reading, PA, where he will ordain Mr. Constantine Alexandrides to the Holy Diaconate and Holy Priesthood. AXIOS!

On the 4th Sunday of Lent, April 11, 2021, the Sunday of St. John Climacus, His Eminence Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh visits Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Ambridge, PA.

On the 3rd Sunday of Lent, April 4, 2021, the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross, His Eminence Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh visits Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church in Campbell, Ohio.

Letter received at the Metropolis today (personal information has been redacted) regarding Metropolitan Maximos: The late Metropolitan, His Eminence Maximos, was our Bishop while we lived in (City, PA) for many years. I am now (#) years old, so I have very old, inspiring memories of Bishop Maximos. He did small things daily (that) no one knew about. He was extremely empathetic, kind, caring, and loved his "sheep." My husband had cancer, ad he came to our home and gave him communion. My mother was elderly and told him she could not fast properly before communion. He said to her in Greek - "I will take your sins" - He was a wonderful human being - no one is perfect, but he really was exceptionally approachable. May his memory be eternal!

There are a number of wonderful people who are sharing remembrances of Metropolitan Maximos during these days of joyous sorrow over his departure from the earthly life and entry to the Kingdom. We encourage you to tag both the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh (this page) and Metropolitan Maximos (a tribute page set up by some young adults in his honor a few years ago) so others can see your beautiful reflections.

Eulogy for Metropolitan Maximos, (former) of Pittsburgh Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania November 7, 2020... Your Eminence Metropolitan Savas, Beloved Family of our late and dear Brother, Dear Reverend Fathers and Beloved People of God, , O guide of Orthodoxy, Teacher of piety and solemnity With the hymn of his patron Saint, we gather together in the Cathedral that was the See of our beloved and ever-memorable Metropolitan Maximos: to remember his person and his pastoral ministry, to console one another in this moment of loss, and to bless his memory. We commit his soul to God, and we commit the remembrance of his life to every heart and mind who holds the recollection of his love in a special experience, unique to each. The life and ministry of Metropolitan Maximos is not easy to encapsulate in a single encomium, no matter how eloquent or embellished it might be. But one thing is certain he was a true guide of Orthodoxy and a teacher of piety and solemnity. His entire life was dedicated to the knowledge of God: whether he was studying assiduously at Halki or Louvain, or teaching at Hellenic College and Holy Cross, or teaching and preaching for decades as your Spiritual Father, as the first Bishop of this Diocese of Pittsburgh, and then as your first Metropolitan. The words of Saint Gregory the Theologian, in his famous eulogy and oration after the death of his nearest and dearest friend, Saint Basil the Great, come to mind, and could be said as easily of our blesséd Metropolitan Maximos: He pursued philosophy, a holy renunciation of the world, and communion with God, by concerning himself, amid things below, with things above. He was, as Saint John Chrysostom says of the exemplary priest, a man with his feet on earth and his mind in Heaven. He was energetic and dutiful, inquisitive and didactic, and always dedicated to his spiritual children. This devotion to those whom he shepherded whether they were his students at the Scholi, or the parishioners and clergy who commemorated his name in the Divine Services Metropolitan Maximos was always the kind and good shepherd. He sought the best for everyone, and went out of his way to minister to the needs of each. You all knew him in his ministry in America, but let me tell you of his love for the Mother Church of Constantinople. He was a true , a brother of the Theological School of Halki, where this young man of Chios, the son of a noble priest and presvytera, opened his remarkable mind to the study of our Holy Orthodox Faith. He took his brilliance and entered the stream of the Ecumenical Movement at the University of Louvain, where he excelled in academic accomplishment. His study of Saint Basil the Great’s, On the Holy Spirit, is a classic to this day, and can still be read today by the students at our Seminary. His strong convictions about Orthodoxy opened his mind and heart to the experience of other Christians. He had the confidence in his own faith to encounter the faith of others. His contributions behind the scenes provided important help to the rapprochement between the Sister Churches of Elder and New Rome. But you, my beloved Christians, you are the bereaved children of this spiritual father, who receded from view nearly a decade ago, because he valued your spiritual health above his own physical health. Your hearts are pained today because he sacrificed his life on your behalf for over thirty years. There is an entire generation of pious and Orthodox Christians who grew up in the See of Pittsburgh for whom Metropolitan Maximos was the only father and shepherd in Christ that they ever knew. The impact of his archpastoral ministry cannot be overstated. Today, his successor, our Venerable brother Metropolitan Savas, is the great beneficiary of Metropolitan Maximos’ decades of ministry. Here, the Apostolic saying rings so true: one plants, another waters, but God gives the increase. My beloved Christians, dear friends, and family: The blesséd and ever-memorable Metropolitan Maximos proved to be true to his name and to his Patron Saint, Maximos the Confessor. As we sing of the Saint, we can sing of his namesake: , . O wise Maximos, you enlightened all through your teachings. He taught with wisdom; he taught with love; he taught all of you to seek after wisdom with his preaching and to practice loving-kindness in your lives. All of you are better Christians, better people, better human beings, because he was your servant in Christ. May you be comforted through these days of grieving, and find the happy memories of his ministry in your presence. And may the Lord our God Who is the Resurrection and the Life grant unto our departed brother and concelebrant, Metropolitan Maximos, eternal rest among the Saints in the many mansions in the House of the Heavenly Father, and the tabernacle of Holiness in the Kingdom of Heaven. May his memory be eternal! !

The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh welcomed Archbishop Elpidophoros of America today for the funeral of Metropolitan Maximos, who led the Greek Orthodo...x community of this region for over 30 years. The Rev. Liddy Barlow and her predecessor, Pastor Don Green, were honored to represent the ecumenical community, in which Metropolitan Maximos participated with great wisdom, skill, and humility. Left to right: Archbishop Melchisedek of the Archdiocese of Pittsburgh and Western PA, Orthodox Church in America; Pastor Don Green; Archbishop Elpidophoros; Rev. Liddy Barlow; Metropolitan Savas of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh.

LIVE STREAMING OF SERVICES FOR METROPOLITAN MAXIMOS Friday's 2:00pm entry of Metropolitan Maximos to the Cathedral and the subsequent Trisagion, and then the 7:55pm Trisagion, will be broadcast via the Cathedral's livestream, which can be found at: http://stnickspgh.org... Saturday's Divine Liturgy and Funeral will be broadcast at: www.twitch.tv/sherervideo/profile

IN MEMORY OF METROPOLITAN MAXIMOS In lieu of flowers, those wishing to memorialize Metropolitan Maximos are encouraged to donate to: - St. Gregory Palamas Monastery, Perrysville, OH (where Metropolitan Maximos will be buried)... - The Metropolitan Maximos Endowment for Youth & Young Adult Ministries, continuing his legacy of promoting joyous, engaging, spiritually deep ministries to the young members of the flock of Christ. Donations to this Endowment may be made online at: https://www.pittsburgh.goarch.org/en/support Donations to this Endowment by mail may be made via checks written to "Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh" with "Met. Maximos Youth Endowment" in the memo line. Please mail these contributions to our secure lockbox at: Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh PO Box 645953 Pittsburgh, PA 15264-5257