ATLANTA—In a letter to His Eminence Metropolitan Sevastianos, Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer offered prayers and greetings to the clergy and lay faithful of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta for a Blessed Pascha. The text of the letter follows:

“My Dear Brother in Christ, Sevastianos:

Peace and All Good!

It is with a heart full of Easter joy that I extend to Your Eminence, to His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios, to the clergy, and to the entire lay faithful of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta, the most heartfelt greetings of the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta on the joyous occasion of Holy Pascha.

Christ is Risen! — Christos Anesti! These words, which echo across the centuries from an empty tomb in Jerusalem, resound today with equal power in our hearts, uniting us in the confession that is the very heart of Christian faith. On this greatest of all feasts, we stand together as brothers and sisters in the one Lord Jesus Christ, who “died for our sins and was raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25).

This Paschal season carries with it the residual joy of an extraordinary fall. We still feel the grace of two historic moments: Pope Leo XIV’s pilgrimage to İznik for the 1,700th Anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council, and his visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople for the Feast of the holy Apostle Andrew, the First-Called.

On November28, 2025, Pope Leo XIV and His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew knelt together at the archaeological excavations of the ancient Basilica of Saint Neophytus—the very ground where the Fathers of 325 AD defined the faith we still profess. There, surrounded by the leaders of Christian churches from across the world, Pope Leo declared with pastoral urgency:

We are all invited to overcome the scandal of the divisions that unfortunately still exist among Christians and to nurture the desire for unity for which the Lord Jesus prayed and gave his life. The more we are reconciled, the more we Christians can bear credible witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is a proclamation of hope for all.

Two days later, on the Feast of Saint Andrew, the First-Called, the Holy Father stood in the Venerable Patriarchal Church of Saint George and spoke of 60  years of walking together “on a path of reconciliation, peace, and growing communion.” He reaffirmed that the pursuit of full communion with the Orthodox Church “is one of the priorities of my ministry as Bishop of Rome.”

Together, the Holy Father and His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew signed a Joint Declaration at the Phanar in which they pledged to continue walking “with firm determination on the path of dialogue, in love and truth, towards the hoped-for restoration of full communion between our sister Churches.”

In his homily at the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of Saint Andrew, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew spoke words that every follower of Christ must take to heart. Welcoming Pope Leo to the sacred center of Orthodoxy, the Patriarch declared:

Christian unity is not a luxury. It is the ultimate prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ: “that all may be one” and also the essential condition for the mission of the Church. Christian unity is an imperative, particularly in our tumultuous times, when the world is fractured by wars, violence and all kinds of discrimination, while it is devastated by the desire for domination, the quest for profit, and the unrestrained exploitation of natural resources.

In his visit to Constantinople, His All-Holiness also reminded those gathered that the exchange of delegations between our Churches for each other’s patronal feasts “cannot be reduced to events of mere protocol, but on the contrary, express in a very concrete and personal way our deep commitment to the quest for Christian unity and our sincere aspiration to the restoration of full ecclesial communion.”

This Pascha, as your faithful chant “Christos Anesti” and ours proclaim “Alleluia,” we are praying the same truth, worshipping the same Risen Lord, and longing for the same day when we may share fully in that communion which is His gift to the Church.

Your Eminence, the journey toward that full, visible unity for which our Lord prayed at the Last Supper will require patience, prayer, and perseverance. But this Pascha fills us with the hope that the God who raised Jesus from the dead can also raise His Church from the tomb of our divisions. We at the Archdiocese of Atlanta look upon the faithful of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta with profound affection and fraternal esteem.

Please convey my warmest Paschal greetings to His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios, whose decades of faithful service to the people of this region have been a witness to us all, and to each priest, deacon, and lay faithful entrusted to your pastoral care.

May the joy of the Resurrection fill your hearts, your homes, and your holy churches throughout this blessed Paschal season. May the intercession of the holy Apostles Andrew and Peter, brothers in faith as we aspire to be, continue to guide our steps along the path to unity.

In closing, my dear brother, let us remember each other in prayer as we strive to lead our flocks with the heart of the Good Shepherd.

Sincerely in the Risen Christ, Most Rev. Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., Archbishop of Atlanta”