BOSTON – His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is expected to begin his visit to the United States in Boston in May of 2020. He will arrive at Boston’s Logan Airport on Thursday, May 7 arriving from Constantinople, and on Saturday May 11 he will officiate at the graduation ceremonies of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. It will be the first time in the history of the School that an Ecumenical Patriarch will officiate at it graduation ceremony.

The Patriarch and his entourage will stay at the Theological School and not in a Boston hotel.

On May 12 His All Holiness will be granted a private audience by President Donald Trump at the White House. The President had mentioned that to His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America when they met in the Oval Office on July 16. Present at the time were Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, and Orthodox Christian, who represented the President and the U.S. Government at the Archbishop’s enthronement on Saturday, June 22.

The National Herald has learned that the Patriarch will stay in America for ten days through Sunday, May 17. Besides Washington he will visit New York, where the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese is located.

Also, the University of Notre Dame will honor His All Holiness with an honorary doctorate for his tireless efforts for the protection of the Natural Environment. The details of the Patriarchal visit will be discussed during Archbishop Elpidophoros’ current visit to the Phanar which began Sunday evening, November 17. He is being accompanied by a group of Archons from America, who are paying tribute to the Ecumenical Patriarchate on the occasion of Thronal Feast of the Church of Constantinople of the St. Andrew the Apostle.

It is noted here that it is the first time that Archbishop Elpidophoros has visted the Ecumenical Patriarchate after his unanimous election on Saturday, May 11 to the Archbishopric Throne of America.

It is also reminded that His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew visited the United States ten years ago, in October of 2009, when he travelled extensively to the various Metropolises and parishes and where he was received with reverence, enthusiasm, and honors.

Patriarch Bartholomew has a special place in heart for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and the Greek-American Community as it is the biggest and most prestigious Ecclesiastical Eparchy of the Ecumenical Throne, as Archbishop Elpidophoros reminded everyone present during his speech in the recent Archdiocesan Council meeting on October 17 in New York. The Archbishop said with emphasis the following: “we are all members of one Holy Archdiocese of America. We are not divided into metropolises, and parishes, and departments, and organizations, and institutions. This is a false and worldly view that misunderstands the very nature of the Church. Rather, we are apportioned for service through all of these organs of the Church that I just mentioned. We are not and can never be divided. Just as the Breaking of the Holy Eucharist does not divide the Lord Jesus Christ, but apportions Him so that all may partake of the ‘Banquet of Faith’, as the Holy Chrysostom says, we all have our roles and positions and vocations. But the Archdiocese is One! As the Charter from our Holy Mother Church states: ‘The Archdiocese, being the Eparchy of the Ecumenical Throne in the United States of America, is one indivisible entity in its entirety.’ (Article 3, para. a).”