Today, in recognition of Juneteenth, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America issued the following message via his social media accounts:
“Today we observe Juneteenth, the day that marks the emancipation of the last enslaved African Americans in Texas in 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It is a day of truth-telling and of remembrance.
For generations, men, women, and children were held in bondage and denied the freedom that is the birthright of every person made in the image of God. Juneteenth invites us to remember them honestly, to give thanks for the freedom finally proclaimed, and to honor the dignity that belongs to every human being.
Those who follow Christ must understand that faith without justice is a contradiction, and that silence in the face of inequality is not an option.
Our Lord proclaimed, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed’ (Luke 4:18). Juneteenth summons us to live in truth and to build a more righteous society, one in which the image of God is honored in every human being.”
