Dear Lord,
Today we bow our heads, bend our knees to the ground, clasp our hands in prayer to You and close our eyes trying to calm ourselves as we remember that frightful day when America was attacked 20 years ago. We come to You, Lord, in order to receive your blessings and to feel your comfort and strength in the very depths of our souls for this event has shaken the world as we know it.
It is so difficult for us to comprehend how such a heinous crime could be conceived, let alone carried out by our fellow human beings. We pray for those who lost their lives in the various attacks. We pray for the first responders who, without hesitation, ran up the stairs of the Twin Towers while those in the tower ran down the stairs, fleeing for their lives. We remember those who died in the plane crash in Pennsylvania and those who perished at the Pentagon. We bring to your loving concern those who were on the planes that crashed that day, having innocently boarded their flights to their destinations. unaware of what was to come.
May we find the strength to forgive and yet never forget this crime perpetrated on your creation. May we gain the wisdom to discern good from evil, for it is the greatest of virtues. Have mercy on us O Lord and on your creation. Forgive us of our sins and grant us entrance into your Kingdom when our time comes.
-
Shaped by a life of service to Christ’s Church, Fr. Christopher has dedicated
himself to using all the tools God has placed at his disposal to spread the light of
Orthodoxy across the United States of America and around the world. Speaker,
Radio Host, Professor, Founding Father of the Orthodox Christian Network
(OCN), Pastor, Leader of 12 Pilgrimages to the Holy Land and the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, Author, Father, Grandfather and Defender of the Faith.
As founder, host, and executive director of the Orthodox Christian Network he
shepherds a dynamic and rapidly expanding ministry bringing joy, hope, and
salvation in Jesus Christ to close to 1 million people a month in more than 190
countries. A nationally known radio personality, Fr. Christopher co-hosted the
groundbreaking, internationally televised Epiphany Celebration of Tarpon
Springs, Florida in January 2006, presided over by Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew and seen on the Hallmark Channel. He was also featured in a
2012 television broadcast on TLC entitled “4 Weddings.” In May 2014, he
offered live English commentary from Rome via Radio Vaticana and EWTN for
the worldwide televised broadcast of the historic meeting of Pope Francis and
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Jerusalem. In November 2014, he
returned to Rome to provide the English commentary on a second Radio
Vaticana/EWTN worldwide televised broadcast, this time on the occasion of
Pope Francis’ visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul in celebration of
the Feast Day of St Andrew. He worked alongside a team of professionals from
the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America on these broadcasts. Currently
serves as Vice President, International Association of Digital Media Orthodox
Pastoral Care.
Fr. Christopher holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Hellenic College of
Brookline, Massachusetts, a Master of Divinity Studies Degree from
Brookline’s Holy Cross School of Theology, and a Doctor of Ministry Degree
from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. His dedication to the family unit
drove Fr. Christopher to be certified as a Family Mediator by the Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court of the State of Florida. Fr. Christopher has also studied
extensively at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. He has served
the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese for more than 40 years. He has held many
different assignments as: Representative to the United Nations and United
States Missions; Assistant Priest St. Demetrios Cathedral, Astoria, NY; Dean of
the Assumption Cathedral in Denver, CO; Pastor of the Archangel Michael
Church, Roslyn, NY; Pastor of the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Ft
Lauderdale Florida, President of Hellenic College Holy Cross School of
Theology, Dean of Admissions and Registrar of the Hellenic College and Holy
Cross School of Theology; member of the Archdiocesan Council; President of
the Archdiocesan Presbyter’s Council for two consecutive terms; and council
member of the Metropolis of Denver and the Metropolis of Atlanta. He also
served as Vicar of the South Florida Conference from 1998-2011. In the
summer of 2008, he was elevated by His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios to the
rank of Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the blessings of the
Holy and Sacred Synod, the highest honor bestowed on a married clergyman.
Fr. Christopher and his late wife, Presbytera Georgia Mitsos, have six children
and four grandchildren.
With the blessings of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros and Metropolitan
Gerasimos of San Francisco he was appointed as Interim Pastor of St. Nicholas
Greek Orthodox Church in San Jose, Ca in October 2021.
View all posts
0 Comments