Jaharis Foundation establishes Orthodox Studies chair at Fordham University in honor of Archbishop Demetrios

The President of Fordham University, Fr. Joseph M. McShane, S.J. announced a Jaharis Family Foundation gift establishing the Archbishop Demetrios Chair in Orthodox Theology and Culture as part of the Orthodox Christian Studies Program of this renowned Roman-Catholic Jesuit University. The Foundation donated $2 million and the announcement came at the conclusion of the Sixth Annual Orthodoxy in America Lecture given this year by Fr. Stanley Harakas, ThD, who is the Archbishop Iakovos Professor of Orthodox Theology Emeritus at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.

Fr. McShane welcomed Michael and Mary Jaharis and expressed his great joy and gratitude. He further said that naming the chair after Archbishop Demetrios is a most deserving honor and that the University was “thrilled that his name (the Archbishop’s) and the name of the Jaharis family will forever be associated with Fordham.”

“The fact that the (Roman) Catholics and the Orthodox (Catholics) have been meetings over the years and becoming probably close in terms of theology is significant,” said Michael Jaharis in an interview with NEO magazine. “Also, for a (Roman) Catholic university such as Fordham, with a tradition in Orthodox studies, to have this chair will enhance its ability to play an even greater role in bringing the two churches closer.” He also considered it most fitting to name the chair after Archbishop Demetrios. “He embodies so many of the principles Orthodoxy is all about and of what this chair can be about.”

Michael Jaharis, founder and former chairman emeritus of Kos Pharmaceuticals Inc., which was sold to Abbott Laboratories Inc., is noted for his generosity to science, medicine and the preservation of antiquities. A $15 million gift to Tufts University School of Medicine last year was the largest in the institution’s history.

The Orthodoxy in America lecture series at Fordham University is the largest of its kind and the only one housed within a university setting. In addition, the annual series is the only one to explore the Orthodox tradition as it intersects with the American religious experience. And since it is housed within a Roman Catholic institution, the series provides an unparalleled opportunity for an advanced ecumenical conversation about the common issues facing the Orthodox Catholic and Roman Catholic traditions.

Fr. Harakas’ topic “The Future of Orthodox Christianity in America: A Normative Approach” captivated his diverse audience of academics, clergymen, students and laymen. He outlined the threats and pitfalls but also the opportunities of the social and cultural reality in America and suggested what we need to do and ought to do, as Orthodox.

The program was hosted and presented by Professors George Demacopoulos and Aristotle Papanikolaou, both graduates of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, associate professors of Theology at Fordham and co-founding directors of the Orthodox Christian Studies Program.

In attendance were also the Chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees John N. Tognino and the Secretary John P. Kehoe, Fr. Patrick J. Ryan, vice-president for University Mission and Ministry and many other Fordham professors and students.

From the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America attending were Metropolitans Methodios of Boston, Nicholas of Detroit and Evangelos of New Jersey as well as Bishop Savas of Troas, the President of the National Philoptochos Society Aphrodite Skeadas, the National Commander of the Order of St. Andrew Dr. Anthony Limberakis and many Orthodox clergymen, Archons, professors and other faithful.

Demetrios Rhompotis contributed to this article

©2009 NEOCORP MEDIA

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