NEW YORK — His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America welcomed Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla to the Archdiocese headquarters in Manhattan on Tuesday, Sept. 22. Rodríguez, who is in New York for the high-level week of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, was accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío.
During the meeting, Minister Rodríguez briefed Archbishop Elpidophoros on what he described as worsening humanitarian conditions facing the Cuban people, especially the most vulnerable. The Archbishop, for his part, spoke of the Church’s responsibility to place the human person and the God-given dignity of every individual at the center of its concern. “I will pray that the Lord illumine the minds and hearts of all those engaged in dialogue, so that they may find a peaceful path forward that will relieve suffering and bring hope to the people of Cuba,” Archbishop Elpidophoros said. His Eminence also said he would reach out to the Archdiocese’s ecumenical partners, beginning with the National Council of Churches, to explore how faith communities might cooperate in humanitarian efforts.
Cuba has had an Orthodox cathedral since January 2004, when Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew consecrated the Cathedral of St. Nicholas of Myra in Old Havana.
