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Today, in this wonderful community of Kimisis tis Theotokou in Brooklyn — in the presence of your family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ — you ascend the next step in the One and Holy Priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ. You enter into the ministry of the Presbyter- Πρεσβύτερος, which speaks to your position as an “Elder” in the Church. As such, you bear an even greater responsibility. Thus, I begin my exhortation to you with the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy, in order to encourage you at this milestone in your service to the Holy Church of God. Paul writes to the young Timothy:
