Appeal of His Grace, Bishop Demetrius of Boston, Regarding the Cathedral of St. Mark of Ephesus

Right Reverend Demetrius, Bishop

August 27/September 9, 2013
SS. Pimen the Great and Phanourios the Newly-revealed Great Martyr

My beloved children and brethren in the Lord:

Christ is in our midst!

Many of you may already be aware that the faithful of our Cathedral Parish of St. Mark of Ephesus in Boston, MA, have been searching for a new building for some twelve to fifteen years. Aside from the usual space for worship and facilities for community functions, such as dinners and spiritual talks and presentations, the Cathedral Parish has been in need of classrooms, offices, and parking to accommodate properly the needs of this large and active parish. However, no property either met the requirements of the parish or fell within the financial capability of the Cathedral—until the present.

I rejoice to report to you that this situation has changed. Indeed, our Cathedral Parish is currently under contract to purchase property located in Westwood, MA, an immediate suburb of Boston. All of the parish’s requirements are located on a bit over 2.6 acres, on which there also sits a second building, a small cottage which has the potential for use as the bishop’s residence and diocesan office. Of course, the structures will need renovations and improvements to convert them for use as an Orthodox Christian church and parish center.

The present owner, a Protestant church community, could have sold this property, because of its location and setting, to a developer for approximately double the agreed to purchase price of $805,000. However, the owner preferred to sell to either a school or another church. This property’s unexpected and sudden appearance on the market, the selling preference of the owner, the manner in which one hurdle after the other during the negotiations was readily overcome, the facilities themselves, and the timing of this entire undertaking all indicate the will and hand of our God helping His people.

The faithful of St. Mark’s Cathedral bought their present Roslindale, MA, property with their own funds back in the 1970s. Over the years, the parishioners, again with their own funds, not only maintained and sustained the property, but also renovated, improved, and repaired it on multiple occasions. Unlike our other parishes, however, the title to this property was not in the name of the Cathedral Parish. Nevertheless, the Cathedral faithful put all of this at risk a year ago when they stood up in defense of the Church and it’s precious Confession of Faith. Since then, they repeatedly have been taken to court and threatened with eviction with no place to go, but, thus far, our Lord has kept them free, safe, and secure. More important, our Savior, after all these years of our faithful searching for property, has seen now as the time that pleases Him to provide them their new home as a recompense for their love for Him and their stead- fastness in True Orthodoxy. Indeed, the Lord God has stood with all of us through the trials of this past year and blessed us all for our witness to the Faith.

My beloved, for 42 years, the Cathedral faithful have never made an appeal for material support beyond the boundaries of the Cathedral Parish. On the contrary, they have always re-sponded to the appeals of others, parishes, monasteries, and other ecclesiastical institutions and individuals and families. Even now, in just the last five weeks, except for a modest contribution from our Diocese, the Cathedral parishioners, out of their enthusiasm and commitment to this purchase, have raised about $250,000 out of their own personal funds. The fervor and unity of purpose that underlie this accomplishment are a testament to the great solidarity among the faithful of St. Mark’s Cathedral, yet another witness to the grace and blessing our Heavenly Fa-ther has conferred on us, His children. The members of our Cathedral Parish have as their goal to reach the required $400,000 down payment by about mid-October, a requirement for the pur-chase to be finalized.

So, I am appealing to you on behalf of our Cathedral Parish. Please help our Cathedral faithful with your Christian generosity. In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke records that the ho-ly Apostles sought material assistance for the brethren of the Church in Jerusalem, the spiritual center of the apostolic mission. As an unworthy successor of those holy Apostles, I am asking you for your assistance for our brethren of St. Mark of Ephesus Cathedral, the spiritual center of our Holy Diocese of Boston and New England.

May our Lord Christ Jesus remember your charity and bless you and your loved ones unto eternity.

Your fervent suppliant before the Lord,

Demetrius, Bishop of Boston and New England

Please earmark your contributions “Real Estate Fund,” and make them payable to “St. Mark of Ephesus Orthodox Cathedral,” and send them to:

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