Georgetown’s New Orthodox Chaplaincy Endowment

The Ecumenical Patriarch greets Michael Psaros (B’89), a member of Georgetown’s Board of Directors who endowed a new Orthodox Chaplaincy at Georgetown.

Thanks to a generous gift from Georgetown Board of Directors member Michael Psaros (B’89) and Family, the Orthodox Chaplaincy is the first chaplaincy in the Office of Campus Ministry to be endowed with a named Chaplain. The Orthodox Christian Chaplaincy will be named in honor of His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew I.

This endowment will support a full-time Orthodox chaplain to serve the pastoral and spiritual needs of the university’s growing Orthodox Christian student community.

“This endowment will result in the very tangible presence of the Holy Orthodoxy at the University for centuries to come,” Psaros said. “Georgetown University is now in possession of a patriarchal chaplaincy, in the name of Bartholomew, the longest-serving Ecumenical Patriarch in history and the most consequential in modern history,” he said.

Fr. David Pratt, Georgetown’s Orthodox Christian chaplain, shared that the endowment is “fitting to Georgetown’s long-standing commitment to serving Orthodox students.”

“As the Orthodox Chaplain at the oldest Jesuit, Catholic University, I was honored to witness the Ecumenical Patriarch’s symbolic visit to our chapel, and to be part of his advocacy for interreligious dialogue and greater cooperation among people of faith,” Pratt said. “The endowment also brings fresh attention to the importance of ministering to the spiritual needs of students and their formation as genuine Christian leaders for the future.

“This new chair will in the years to come provide ongoing energy to our ecumenical work of reconciliation and mutual understanding,” the Ecumenical Patriarch said. “And this is because Georgetown is more than a foundational and exemplary academic institute,” he said during his dinner remarks. “Georgetown is a microcosm of the world and how we choose to interpret it.”

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and senior hierarch to more than 250 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, promoted interfaith unity and collaboration during a historic, ecumenical visit to Georgetown on Monday, Oct. 25, as part of his 12-day U.S. tour.

Later in the evening at an on-campus dinner, the Ecumenical Patriarch was introduced by Michael Psaros (B’89), a member of Georgetown’s Board of Directors and vice chairman of the Executive Board of Advisors of Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business. Psaros is also an Archon, or honoree, of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and a member of the Order of St. Andrew, where he serves on its National Council.

With files and photos from Georgetown University News.