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Last Friday, April 3, 2026, thousands of Catholic and Orthodox faithful participated in the Way of the Cross procession over the Brooklyn Bridge to mark Good Friday according to the Gregorian calendar.
For 30 years, the Way of the Cross procession, organized by the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation with the Catholic Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, has been a remarkable sign of public Christian devotion in New York City as the procession, led by a humble wooden cross, journeys from the Cathedral-Basilica of St. James over the Brooklyn Bridge and through lower Manhattan.
With the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, this year’s procession concluded in front of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church & National Shrine in Liberty Park, continuing atradition of ecumenical solidarity that began last year. The procession, led by His Excellency Bishop Robert Brennan of the Diocese of Brooklyn, was warmly received by His Grace Bishop Nektarios of Diokleia, National Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Rev. Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne Andreas Vithoulkas, Archiepiscopal Vicar of St. Nicholas National Shrine, Rev. Presbyter Samuel Davis, and the St. Nicholas community.
> Previously: Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholics join in Way of the Cross over the Brooklyn Bridge
Upon arriving to St. Nicholas Church, the wooden cross was processed around Liberty Park by Saint Nicholas Shrine’s Parish Council President Christina Halatsisas. Master Chanter Dimitrios Katsiklis chanted the Orthodox Lamentation hymns for Good Friday, followed by the Cathedral-Basilica Choir of St. James’s singing of Catholic Holy Week hymns and the Gospel readings for the fourth and final station of the procession.
His Grace Bishop Nektarios of Diokleia, National Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, shared a final reflection on how processions have been undertaken for two millennia “as an icon of the Christian walk and as a profession of faith,” finding their prototype in the Christ’s life and journeys.
“From His triumphant entry in Jerusalem to His agonizing walk to Golgotha, now known as the Via Dolorosa or the Sorrowful Way, to His humble journey with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Christ, as the true and living Way (John 14:6), transfigures and sanctifies not only the destination, but guides us as the Good Shepherd through life along the narrow way of salvation (John 10:14, Matt. 7:13-14),” Bishop Nektarios said. “Just as Christ willingly embraced death on the Cross for the life of the world, we are also called to take up our crosses and follow Him (Matt. 16:24). Yet, we do not follow Him to the Cross alone, thinking that Golgotha is the site of our ultimate ruin, but by His Cross, we follow Him to the tomb, to the ultimate ruin of death itself on the third day.”
In concluding his remarks, His Grace Bishop Nektarios reiterated the devotional and evangelical nature of processions, stating that “We process to profess Christ! We process to profess Christ Crucified! We process to proclaim the Risen Christ!” Such is true not only in the case of the Way of the Cross procession, but also for every procession undertaken by Christian communities, especially during Holy Week as the ekklesia, the assembled faithful of God, go out of the Church to commemorate Christ’s Passion and proclaim, with the Paschal light, His Resurrection to the whole world.
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