Iakovos: A true leader

Published by The National Herald, April 15, 2005

Iakovos: A true leader

Archbishop Iakovos’ funeral was held on Thursday at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Manhattan. His body was to be placed to rest at the grounds of Holy Cross Seminary in Brookline, Massachusetts the next morning.

Iakovos was a true Greek American leader who governed the Church in America for 37 years. His death signals the end of an era: the Era of Archbishop Iakovos.

He was laid to rest with full honors. Even the famed Evzones of Greece stayed a few extra days after the Greek Independence Day Parade ended last Sunday to stand guard in honor of the late Archbishop.

The list of the dignitaries in attendance was expected to be long and illustrious. His Beatitude Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece was among them.

Unfortunately, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople decided not to attend, although two Patriarchal representatives were sent.

Iakovos was compelled to relinquish his archiepiscopal throne by his superiors in Constantinople back in 1996. Nonetheless, his presence continued to be felt strongly and influenced the events in the life of our Church in many ways. After 37 years at the helm, Iakovos still cared and remained deeply concerned about the affairs of the Church and the community.

To some, he was a nuisance. But to many more, he was the man to see for spiritual guidance, advice and comfort.

It is indeed difficult to accept that Archbishop Iakovos will no longer be with us after being part of our life as a community for so long.

It was natural and to be expected that it would happen, of course, but somehow, we did not want to believe it. Many of us were in denial, even though we knew he was almost 94 years old; even though we knew that, lately, he could hardly walk; that his voice was just a whisper.

But his mind was as sharp as ever, up to the last minute; his words always carefully chosen, balanced and replete with wisdom. Few people could command the Greek and English languages the way he could. Even fewer knew more than he did. And only a handful possessed his wisdom.

The sad news of his death at 6 PM on Sunday, April 10, shortly after the end of the Greek Independence Day Parade in New York, thundered throughout the community.

We feel orphaned. We lost our first genuine Greek American leader – the man who almost single-handedly elevated the stature of our community; placed it into the mainstream of American society; and helped it achieve international respect.

He had undergone a transformation these past few years since his retirement; perhaps because he did not have to carry the burden of his throne, even though he always carried the burden of the responsibility he felt for all of us.

His suburban home in Rye, New York had become a kind of shrine. Many Greek Americans would visit him for guidance, inspiration and spiritual renewal. And he would not disappoint his guests.

Few loved this community as much as he did. And few felt more passionately about it than he did. He would often tell the story of when he was about to leave Asia Minor for the United States: "Where are you going. They are all dishwashers in America," his fellow clergymen told him.

But he knew better. He knew there is no shame in a hard day’s work. And he knew that those "dishwashers" were moral, decent, hard-working, family-oriented people, and that their children and grandchildren would advance in life.

He wished to live among them, to be free like they were, to get far away from Turkey, the country which deprived him of his human rights – the country which enslaved his island.

He lived a long and tumultuous life. He was loved and honored by many, but he also had many adversaries. Perhaps it was because he saw further ahead than most the people that his opponents were incited to wrath. Maybe it was because he appeared to be so strong and aloof, but he would never demean himself, or sink to the level of his detractors.

When he was asked why he did not fight back when he was called CIA-kovos – an agent of the CIA – he replied that the dignity of his office would not allow him to do that, even though it caused him a great deal of pain.

The 20th Century was a stormy century. It saw great wars, ideological conflicts and immense social upheaval. During those tragic events, some great leaders emerged.

Iakovos was one of those leaders. He was born in a humble household. His father was a small general storeowner on the tiny neglected island of Imvros off the Turkish coast, which even the great Statesman Eleftherios Venizelos could not secure for Greece through the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.

Unlike other leaders, however, Iakovos’ power was not derived from the power of a country or an empire, or even an island. His power was rooted in the force his impressive personality and his vast knowledge, and he made it his business to acquire his eloquence and grace.

He supplemented that with the support he enjoyed from the community which loved him. Even those who disagreed with him – or those who resented him for the distance he sometimes kept from people, or for his autocratic attitude – knew that Iakovos was still one of them.

But Iakovos differed in one very important respect: He was the Prince of the Omogeneia. He was our unquestioned leader.

In some respects, he was a typical Greek American immigrant: a poor, but gifted and clear-minded young man who immigrated to America and achieved the American Dream, but who never forgot his roots, and who always tried to help his beloved birthplace.

Tears and the lamentations are not fitting for a man like Iakovos. Emotions which spring from the well of the magnitude of this tremendous loss can not be put into words.

He lived his life with exemplary dignity. He followed the path of a clergyman. He devoted himself to the service of God and his fellow man. He believed deeply in Christ and the example He set. He practiced forgiveness. He even loved his opponents, but he refused to be drawn into small, idle talk. He will be sorely missed.



Volume 7 Number 16 - Tuesday, April 19th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY