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Published by
the Orthodox Church in
America,
April 12, 2005
Metropolitan Herman offers
prayers for newly departed Greek Orthodox
Archbishop Iakovos |
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SYOSSET, NY [OCA
Communications] — On Monday, April 11,
2005, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate
of the Orthodox Church in America, sent a letter
of condolence to His Eminence, Archbishop
Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of
America upon learning of the death of His
Eminence, Archbishop Iakovos, retired primate of
the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South
America.
“It is with great sadness that we have learned of
the falling-asleep in the Lord of the
ever-memorable Servant of God, His Eminence, the
Most Reverend Iakovos, former Archbishop of the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South
America,” Metropolitan Herman wrote. “Throughout
his life, Archbishop Iakovos served Christ and His
Holy Church with deep faith and great devotion. We
are confident that the Lord will now reward him
for his dedicated archpastoral service by granting
him eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
“In expressing our sadness at this loss, I ask
that you please accept the heartfelt condolences
and prayerful support of the Hierarchs, Clergy,
Monastics, and Faithful of the Orthodox Church in
America,” Metropolitan Herman continued. “May
Christ Himself comfort you as you mourn the loss
of a dearly-beloved archpastor who served his
flock in imitation of the One True Shepherd, who
came ‘not to be served, but to serve’ [Matthew
20:28]. Be assured of our fervent prayer that the
Lord will grant rest with the saints to His newly
departed servant, Archbishop Iakovos, and make his
memory to be eternal!”
Archbishop Iakovos, who served the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese from 1959 until his retirement in
1996, passed away April 10 in Stamford, CT, at the
age of 93.
Born Demetrios Coucouzis on the Island of Imvros,
Turkey, he graduated from the Ecumenical
Patriarchal Theological School at Halki, after
which he was ordained to the diaconate in 1934,
taking the name Iakovos. Ordained to the
priesthood in 1940 in Lowell, MA, he held several
pastorates. He also taught and served as assistant
dean of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Theological
School, then located in Pomfret, CT. In 1945 he
earned a Master of Sacred Theology Degree from
Harvard University.
In 1954, he was consecrated to the episcopacy by
His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras.
On February 14, 1959, the Holy Synod of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate elected Metropolitan
Iakovos as successor to His Eminence, Archbishop
Michael as the archdiocese’s primate.
In addition to his archpastoral duties, Archbishop
Iakovos worked tirelessly in the areas of
ecumenism and human and civil rights. He was
well known for courageously walking with Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, AL, an historic
moment captured on the cover of LIFE Magazine on
March 26, 1965.
In his desire to promote closer ties among
Orthodox jurisdictions, he founded the Standing
Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the
Americas in 1960. He also called a gathering of
North American’s Orthodox Christian hierarchs at
Antiochian Village, Ligonier, PA, in 1994, the
first such gathering of its kind, to share and
discuss the life and future of the Church on this
continent.
May his memory be eternal!
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