BOSTON – An impediment has arisen regarding the canonization of the late Bishop Gerasimos of Abydos, which had been requested with the relevant justifications submitted to the Patriarchate by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. He had hoped the process would have been completed by now with the result presented at the Clergy-Laity Congress that is taking place this week in San Diego, CA.

We reveal today that this impediment was caused by objections, in the form of complaints (at least two), which reached the Patriarchate from America, forcing the responsible committee not to proceed with its recommendation to the Patriarch and the Synod.

Τhe National Herald is in a position to know that since his arrival in America, Archbishop Elpidophoros aimed to canonize Bishop Gerasimos, consulting various clergy and laity, as there is a small group of clergy, mostly retired, promoting this canonization.

Supporting this effort was a two-day conference held at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Boston on October 19 and 20, 2021, in memory of the late Bishop Gerasimos of Abydos (Papadopoulos) titled ‘Memories of the Beloved Elder in America’.

The general impression prevailing is that Bishop Gerasimos was characterized by his mild and serene nature and appeared as a hierarch with spiritual cultivation and elegance, piety, and humility, traits that made him approachable and beloved by people, especially the students of the Holy Cross School of Theology, where he spent the last years of his life as a spiritual father and confessor.

At the conference, held in the amphitheater of the Maliotis Cultural Center, several people spoke, including former Archbishop Demetrios of America, while present at the conference was the current Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, who with his gracious words opened the conference, where a video about the personal life, writings, and ecclesiastical life of Bishop Gerasimos was shown. The conference was also broadcast live over the Internet due to the limited space for in-person attendance because of the pandemic measures in effect at the time.

Bishop Gerasimos passed away in 1995 during open-heart surgery, and he was buried behind the apse of the Holy Cross Chapel of the School, near Archbishop Iakovos former of North and South America and Metropolitan Silas of New Jersey, who was later elected Metropolitan of Forty Churches and passed away with that title.

From his biography, we learn that the late Bishop Gerasimos, whose secular name was Elias Papadopoulos, was born in Bouzi, Corinth, on October 10, 1910. He was ordained a deacon on June 17, 1935 by Metropolitan Damaskinos of Corinth, and a presbyter in May 1941 by Metropolitan Michael of Corinth, later Archbishop of America. He graduated from the Theological School of Athens in 1944 and as a deacon he served at the renowned Church of St. Dionysius the Areopagite in Athens. He served as chancellor of the Metropolis of Corinth from 1945 to 1947 and in 1947 he went to West Germany, where he served as a priest in Munich. In 1952 he went to the United States, where on May 20, 1962 he was elected titular Bishop of Abydos, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of America. From 1962 to 1967, he served as the Archiepiscopal Vicar in Boston and from 1967 to 1977 had pastoral oversight of the Ecclesiastical District of Pittsburgh. On June 19, 1977, he retired from active service and settled at the School as a spiritual father.