Mourns

Published by The National Herald, December 10, 2004

Community Mourns with Metropolitan Evangelos

By Theodore Kalmoukos
Special to The National Herald

NEW YORK – Magdalene Kourounis, mother of His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey was laid to rest last Saturday, December 4, after a funeral service held amid an atmosphere of reverence at Saint Spyridon Church in Washington Heights.

Apart from Metropolitan Evangelos, the deceased is survived by her husband John and the Metropolitan’s brothers, Charalambos and Michael.

Archbishop Demetrios of America presided over the funeral, in which Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, Metropolitan Paisios of Tyana (Abbot of the Patriarchal Monastery of St. Irene Chrysovalantou in Astoria), Bishop Philotheos of Meloa, Bishop Demetrios of Xanthos and Bishop Vikentios of Apameia also participated. Eleven Archimandrites and 30 priests also participated, while hundreds of faithful flocked the church, which was brimming with flowers.

The service was preceded by an Orthros service, followed by a Divine Liturgy presided by Metropolitan Evangelos himself, along with 14 priests. Hymns were chanted by the church choir, headed by St. Spyridon’s Chief Cantor, Ioannis Tertipis.

In his eulogy, Archbishop Demetrios referred to Mrs. Kourounis as "a pious and wonderful mother." The Archbishop last met with Mrs. Kourounis right before his recent visit to the Vatican to attend the ceremony for the return of the relics of Saints Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom to Constantinople.

"I had the great honor of visiting her at the Presbyterian Hospital. We prayed together, we talked, and I said goodbye. During my visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, I was informed that this pious woman and wonderful mother had departed from this world. I told His All Holiness (Patriarch Bartholomew), who immediately expressed his wishes for the just repose of her soul and asked me to convey his condolences both to her dear and exceptional son, Evangelos, as well as to the rest of her family, her husband and their two other sons. Magdalene Kourounis was a person filled with works of faith and love, a person that radiated these values in her every step," the Archbishop said.

"I can not forget her love and faith, evident at the hospital during my visit. Even though she had trouble breathing, she managed to express, with great clarity, her unshakeable faith in God, Who has a plan for all of us. We witnessed her faith and patience during the years she fought with a harsh illness."

Mrs. Kourounis died at midnight on Wednesday, December 1, after a long illness. She was 79 years of age. She was the spiritual child of the newly manifested Saint Savvas of Kalymnos.

Burial was held at St. Michael’s cemetery in Astoria and, followed by a traditional memorial dinner at Flushing’s Terrace on the Park.

In lieu of flowers, the Kourounis family is requesting that memorial donations be sent to the Metropolis of New Jersey, 629 Springfield Road, Kenilworth, NJ 07033. Checks should be made payable to the Metropolis Building Fund, with a memo "in memory of Magdaline Kourounis."



Volume 6 Number 50 - Tuesday, December 14th, 2004	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY