Faithful Gather as Archbishop Joani Celebrates Historic Liturgy in Boston Metropolis

Sunday, March 01, 2026

The Metropolis of Boston and His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios were honored to host His Beatitude Archbishop Joani of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania at St. Catherine Greek Orthodox Church in Braintree this morning.

St. Catherine’s parish faithfully and graciously hosted this historic pan-Orthodox Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, offering warm hospitality to the visiting hierarchs, clergy, and faithful who gathered for this blessed occasion. His Beatitude presided over the Divine Liturgy, concelebrating with His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and numerous hierarchs from abroad and from the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. The sacred celebration coincided with the Feast of the Sunday of Orthodoxy and marked the commencement of His Beatitude’s first visit to the United States following his election and enthronement in March 2025.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Archbishop Joani expressed heartfelt gratitude for the presence of so many concelebrating clergy representing multiple jurisdictions, emphasizing the importance of Orthodox unity. “The world needs to see us together—we need a visible unity,” he noted. “In heart we are united with each other, but we should show the world this. We cannot invite other people for dialogue if we do not dialogue with one another.”

Following the services, a parish luncheon was generously hosted by George and Cathy Sakellaris, whose continued love and support of the Church are deeply appreciated.

Photos by Orthodox Observer/Dimitrios Panagos.

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