On February 5, at the 35th Annual Leadership 100 Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America centered an Archpastoral address on the legacy of His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos of blessed memory, and how the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Fund continues to shape the life of the Church.
Photo by Orthodox Observer/Dimitrios Panagos“Leadership 100 was his vision and dream,” Archbishop Elpidophoros said, reminding participants the organization was born when Archbishop Iakovos “gathered a group of Greek-American business leaders to pursue that vision.”
“Forty-two years later, this Fund has distributed nearly 83 million dollars, and is currently approaching a value of 130 million dollars, with over fourteen hundred members,” His Eminence said. “It’s really an amazing evolution of a Church organization that is unprecedented in modern Orthodoxy.”
“You should all be very proud to be part of this movement, which has seeded, nurtured, and matured so many ministries for these past four decades, fulfilling the vision of Archbishop Iakovos and the Founders.”
Photo by Orthodox Observer/Dimitrios PanagosTurning to contemporary concerns, His Eminence reflected on the spiritual challenges of modern life, including smartphone use. Today, Archbishop Elpidophoros observed, many are “present in body but absent in spirit.”
“I believe that Archbishop Iakovos would challenge us, and perhaps even dare us, to reclaim our full and complete humanity, a humanity that can only be realized in relationship and in communion with others,” Archbishop Elpidophoros said. “I believe he would invite us back, back to a way of fellowship that truly sees one another, that listens deeply to one another, and that embodies respect and love in tangible ways.”
Photo by Orthodox Observer/Dimitrios PanagosHis Eminence also spoke on artificial intelligence, warning “AI may erode our faculties of intelligence, diligence, hard work, and creative expression,” causing us to “rely too heavily on machine-thinking and slowly abandon the discipline of thinking for ourselves.”
Archbishop Elpidophoros encouraged the faithful “never to surrender our God-endowed gifts of reasoning, dialectic, and logic,” or take “a lazy posture enabled by technology,” but to “harness our God-given powers of the mind, to guide and govern these powerful tools, so that they may serve humanity and the created world.”
Archbishop Elpidophoros also recognized those who have guided Leadership 100, offering particular gratitude for Executive Director Paulette Poulos and her “extraordinary ministry and exceptional leadership” over many years of service.
Leadership 100, His Eminence concluded, stands at “a moment rich with possibility,” called to carry forward a legacy of faith, stewardship, and service to the Church and “give flesh and form to the dreams and aspirations of our own time.”
> Read His Eminence’s full message
The 35th Annual Leadership 100 Conference in Phoenix, Arizona will continue through February 8. Learn more here.
