Message Regarding Upcoming Consecrations of Bishops-Elect
His Eminence Metropolitan Philip writes:
August 8th, 2011
To the beloved hierarchs, clergy, esteemed members of the Archdiocese Board of Trustees, and faithful of this Archdiocese:
Greetings to all of you in the Name of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ! As you all know, the nomination and election of three new Auxiliary Bishops for this Archdiocese took place at our recently concluded Archdiocese Convention which was held in Chicago, IL. The three priests who are now bishops-elect are:
Rt. Rev. John Abdalah - Auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese of Worcester and New England
Rt. Rev. Anthony Michaels - Auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese of Toledo and The Midwest
Rt. Rev. Nicholas lyad Ozone - Auxiliary Bishop for Brooklyn to assist the Metropolitan at the Archdiocese Headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey
On Sunday August 7th, 2011, we spoke by telephone with His Beatitude Patriarch IGNATIUS IV at the University of Balamand in Lebanon. His Beatitude has been very busy with the consecration of the twelve new Auxiliary Bishops who will serve in various locations within the See of Antioch. He was very pleased with the nomination and election of our three new Auxiliary Bishops, and he expressed the desire that they be consecrated at one of the Patriarchal locations in either Lebanon or Syria in December of 2011. The exact date and location will be determined by His Beatitude, and communicated to us.
Praying that the Lord will continue to bless you all, I remain
Your father in Christ,
Metropolitan PHILIP
Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America