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Published
by the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America,
June 6, 2005
Last Will and
Testament of the Late Archbishop Iakovos of
North & South America |
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"My final testament to my Church and
to my people is to remain steadfast and devoted to
Greek Orthodoxy, to maintain the valiant struggle
to perpetuate the Greek language in the Americas
as a living symbol to both our Faith and our
glorious heritage, and to encourage an ever
increasing participation in the ecumenical
objective of the unity of Christendom to its never
ending and universal quest for the greatest good
of all mankind."
New York - In his Last Will and Testament, dated
December 22, 2004, the late Archbishop Iakovos of
North and South America addresses the above words
to the faithful of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
of America who he so worthily served for over 66
years, from the time he arrived in the United
States as a young deacon in 1939 until his falling
asleep on April 10 of this year. This final
exhortation truly reflects the distinguished
ministry of the Archbishop who labored day and
night on behalf of Orthodoxy, was a leading
advocate of all things Greek and was a forerunner
and leader of the ecumenical movement not only in
the United States but throughout the world.
In addition to this lasting testament to his
people, Archbishop Iakovos designates in his Last
Will and Testament how the remainder of his
belongings are to be distributed and at the time
of his demise, his assets amounted to
approximately $235,000. It should be noted that in
1997, the Archbishop donated a significant amount
of his personal funds to help build the library at
Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of Theology.
Moreover, his vestments, ecclesiastical artifacts
and other personal effects were placed in a
special collection on the top floor of the
library. It was his desire that the library be
built for the benefit of the students of this
Archdiocesan institution of higher learning and
also as a repository of the history not only of
his ministry but of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
of North and South America which he led for 37
years.
Furthermore, he requests in his Last Will and
Testament that the expenses of his funeral and
interment at Holy Cross be paid by his estate. Of
the remaining amount, he gifted a total of $50,000
to the Theological School of Halki, to the
Metropolis of Imbros and to the Patriarchal Church
of St. George, and, to seven close relatives and
life-long friends in Greece and Canada a total of
$80,000. Any remaining funds are to be divided as
such: 5% each to the parochial schools of St.
Demetrios, Astoria (NY), and of Holy Trinity,
Lowell (MA); 20% to be used for the benefit and
maintenance of the Archbishop Iakovos Library at
the seminary; and 70% to the Expansion Fund of the
St. Michael’s Home, Yonkers (NY) in memory of his
beloved parents, Maria and Athanasios Coucouzes.
In the 1980’s, the Archdiocese received ownership
of Archbishop Iakovos’ residence in Rye. At the
time, it was agreed that he would reside there
until the end of his life.
Contact: Bishop Andonios of Phasiane
Tel.: 212.774.0283
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