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BOSTON — The Hellenic Women’s Club will honor His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston at its 90th Anniversary Mistletoe Ball on Saturday, Nov. 28, at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, the club announced on Thursday. The tribute marks Metropolitan Methodios’s 80th birthday, which falls on Nov. 19. The event is sold out.
Metropolitan Methodios has led the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston for more than four decades. He was enthroned as Bishop of Boston in 1984 and elevated to Metropolitan in 1997. The Metropolis serves about 200,000 faithful across New England.
“His Eminence Methodios has been a guiding presence in the Greek Orthodox community for generations, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to faith, education, philanthropy and service,” said Elaine Zouzas, the club’s president. “As The Hellenic Women’s Club celebrates 90 years of giving back to the community, we are especially honored to recognize His Eminence on his 80th birthday and celebrate the remarkable legacy of leadership and service he has built throughout his many years in Boston.”
Born George Tournas in New York City on Nov. 19, 1946, Metropolitan Methodios graduated from Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, earned a Master of Sacred Theology from Boston University and continued his studies at the University of Thessaloniki in Greece. He served for more than six years as archdeacon to Archbishop Iakovos of blessed memory before he was consecrated a bishop in 1982. From 1989 to 1995, he was president of Hellenic College and Holy Cross.
In Boston, Metropolitan Methodios championed the development of the Metropolis of Boston Center in Brookline, the acquisition of Camp Merrimack in New Hampshire and the founding of Philoxenia House, which supports individuals and families facing medical challenges. He holds honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from Boston University and Hellenic College-Holy Cross, and an honorary degree of Humane Letters from American International College.
Seven women of Greek descent founded the Hellenic Women’s Club, known in Greek as Ellinikos Omilos Kyrion, or EOK, in Boston in 1936. Its Mistletoe Ball began as a fundraising dinner dance in 1946 and, according to the club, is now the longest consecutively held event of its kind in Boston.
The club’s EOK Scholarship Fund has awarded more than $400,000 to young women of Greek descent pursuing higher education, and its Demetra Fund for Breast Cancer Research and Patient Assistance has awarded more than $625,000 in research grants. The club says it has raised more than $2 million for charitable causes over the past decade.
The Greek singer Glykeria will perform at the ball, with special guest Kostas Ageris.
More information is available at hellenicwomensclub.org.
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