[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 13412] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]IN RECOGNITION OF THE PAN-MACEDONIAN STUDIES CENTER ON THE OCCASION OF ITS SECOND ANNUAL TESTIMONIAL DINNER ______ HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of new york in the house of representatives Monday, June 23, 2008 Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the Pan-Macedonian Studies Center on the occasion of its Second Annual Testimonial Dinner. This year the Center will be honoring His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, with the Philippion Award. The Pan-Macedonian Studies Center was established in 1995 by Elias L. Neofytides, Fotis Gerasopoulos and Paul Evangelou to help forge links between generations and between persons of Hellenic descent living in the U.S. and Greece. The Center thus helped ease the transition for adults adapting to a new life in America and increase understanding between generations. The Pan-Macedonian Studies Center has showcased the best of American and Hellenic cultures. It sponsors programs for young and old, including offerings in sports, fitness, arts and crafts, and dancing; educational initiatives such as a lending library and tutoring; and services including lessons on health education, accounting, civics, and computer literacy. The Center also helps produce Macedonian TV programming airing on Queens public television, and publishes and disseminates books on Macedonian culture to schools and libraries in the United States at no cost. The Center is open to all, regardless of ethnic origin, and all its services and programs are free of charge. This year, the Pan-Macedonian Studies Center has selected His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios to receive the Philippion Award for his contributions to the Hellenic-American community. His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios is a distinguished Macedonian who always brings ``peace and serenity'' into the hearts of the faithful adherents of his faith. He was born Demetrios Trakatellis in Thessaloniki, Greece on February 1, 1928. In 1950 he graduated with distinction from the University of Athens School of Theology. In 1960 he was ordained a deacon, and in 1964 he became a priest. He was elected Bishop of Vresthena in 1967, and served as an auxiliary bishop to the Archbishop of Athens with the primary responsibility for the theological education of the clergy. From 1965 to 1971, on scholarship from the Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, he studied New Testament and Christianity's origins and earned a Ph.D. ``with distinction'' in 1972. As Bishop of Vresthena, he then returned to his ecclesiastical position in the Archdiocese of Athens and in the ensuing years he held the responsibilities of the theological education of the clergy, youth ministries, and other duties related to theological conferences in Greece and abroad. In 1977, he earned a Th.D. in Theology from the University of Athens. From 1983 to 1993, the Bishop of Vresthena was the Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies and Christian Origins at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA. Serving as a faculty member for more than a decade, he taught many of America's Greek Orthodox clergy. He also taught at Harvard Divinity School as a Visiting Professor of New Testament during the academic years of 1984 to 1985 and from 1988 to 1989. After several years in the United States, he returned to Greece in 1993 to pursue full-time scholarly writing and research. At the same time, he resumed his responsibilities at the Archdiocese of Athens. Elected Archbishop of America in 1999 by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Archbishop Demetrios was enthroned on September 18, 1999 at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York City. As Archbishop of America, he leads a church of more than one and a half million Greek Orthodox Christians in the United States. He has done so with distinction, and in so doing has made enormous contributions to our Nation and our world. I ask that my colleagues join me in saluting the Pan-Macedonian Studies Center and its distinguished honoree, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios. ____________________