Elpidophoros of America

Elpidophoros with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in September 2020

Ioannis Lambriniadis was born and raised in Istanbul's Bakırköy district (Makrohori), Turkey.[3] He attended the Urban School of Makrochori in Istanbul before attending high school in Athens and then the School of Pastoral and Social Theology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1987–1988.[4] While living in Turkey he also served in the Turkish military.

Later, he studied at the Department of Pastoral Theology, Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, from which he graduated (Bachelor of Arts) in 1991. In 1993, he finished his postgraduate studies (Master of Arts) at the Philosophical School of the University of Bonn, Germany. In 1996–1997, he studied Arabic Language at the Theological School of St. John the Damascene in Balamand, Lebanon. Elpidophoros received his PhD degree in Theology, from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2001, with honors.

In 2004, he was invited to Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he taught as a visiting professor for one semester.[5]

Since 2011, Elpidophoros has undertaken the duties of associate professor at Aristotle University's Department of Pastoral and Social Theology, teaching Symbolics, Interorthodox – InterChristian Relations and Ecumenical Movement.[6] In 2018, Elpidophoros become professor at Aristotle University.[7]

On 3 June 2020, at the invitation of the Borough President of Brooklyn, Eric Leroy Adams, and State Senator Andrew Gounardes, Archbishop Elpidophoros attended a peaceful protest in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, over the killing of Louisville EMT Breonna Taylor. In remarks following the march he said:

"I came here to Brooklyn today in order to stand in solidarity with my fellow sisters and brothers whose rights have been sorely abused. This was a peaceful protest, one without violence of any kind, and I thank all of those involved, because violence begets only more violence. We must speak and speak loudly against the injustice in our country. It is our moral duty and obligation to uphold the sanctity of every human being. We have faced a pandemic of grave physical illness, but the spiritual illness in our land runs even deeper and must be healed by actions as well as words. And so, I will continue to stand in the breach together with all those who are committed to preserving peace, justice, and equality for every citizen of goodwill, regardless of their race, religion, gender or ethnic origin."[19]

In early July 2020, the Council of State annulled the Cabinet's 1934 decision to establish the museum, revoking the monument's status, and a subsequent decree by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered the reclassification of Hagia Sophia as a mosque.[20] Archbishop Elpidophoros took a stand against this decision. On 19 July, the Members of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, under the presidency of Archbishop Elpidophoros, designated 24 July as a day of mourning.[21] In an interview with the BBC, the archbishop said, "This day is for us a mourning day. It’s the day we grieve this decision of the Turkish government to reconvert a monument, which is so important for the whole world. This is such a painful situation for us that we announced this day as a day for mourning. It’s like Good Friday for all Christians." He went on to say, "Certainly I can tell you that we will never stop. It’s a beginning for us. We will start a campaign. I already, yesterday, had the opportunity to express the concerns of all Orthodox Christians in the United States to the President, Trump, who received me in the White House, and to the Vice President, Mr. Pence."[22]

On 23 July 2020, Archbishop Elpidophoros met with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on the concerns of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese over the seizure and re-conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque. Following the meeting with the President and Vice President, the Archbishop stated: "I am grateful to have met with President Trump and Vice President Pence in the White House and communicated our grave dismay at the re-conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, as well as ongoing security concerns for the Ecumenical Patriarchate and issues of religious liberty. In view of tomorrow’s day of mourning, we persevere in prayer but also bring our struggle to the highest levels of government for action and consideration."[23] While the archbishop was meeting with the president, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by unanimous consent, an amendment offered by Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV) objecting to Turkey's seizure of the Great Church of Holy Wisdom.

The Titus amendment to HR 7608 - which was cosponsored by Congressmen Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Chris Pappas (D-NH), David Cicilline (D-RI), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) - calls on the State Department to "denounce Turkey for taking formal action to change the status of Hagia Sophia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site spiritually significant to people of many faiths and backgrounds, from a museum to a mosque; and to engage with Turkey for the purpose of returning its status to a museum so as to welcome people of all faiths and those who have marveled at its architectural and artistic splendor."[24]