Archbishop Demetrios Hosts President of the American Bible Society

Demetrios of America welcomed Dr. R. Lamar Vest, President of the American Bible Society, yesterday at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in New York. Archbishop Demetrios had invited Dr. Vest along with key American Bible Society staff involved in the recent publication of the first-ever military edition New Testament and Psalms for Orthodox Christians.

On behalf of the Holy Eparchial Synod, Archbishop Demetrios presented Dr. Vest with a check in the amount of $30,000 in gratitude for this new Orthodox Military Bible edition and the other Orthodox-related projects. The American Bible Society has underwritten all costs associated with the production and printing of the New Testament and Psalms for Orthodox Christians.
During their meeting, the Archbishop extended his sincere appreciation to Dr. Vest for the many successful projects that have come to fruition as a result of the strong cooperation between the American Bible Society and the Archdiocese. Moreover, the Archbishop expressed his strong desire that this cooperation continues to strengthen and bear even more fruit.

Dr. Vest also presented the Archbishop with a copy of the recently published Children’s Bible Reader in Serbian. The Serbian edition was based on the highly acclaimed Greek, English, and Spanish versions, which were collaborative efforts of the Greek Bible Society, the American Bible Society, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Dr. Vest was received along with Robert Briggs, Executive Vice President of Global Scripture Ministries; Chris Thyberg, Managing Director of Emerging Programs and Global Scripture Ministries; Nick Garbidakis, Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer; Tom Durakis, Director of Licensing and Product Services; and Lea Velis-Drivas, Director of Legal and Risk Services. Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit and Archdiocese Director of Administration Jerry Dimitriou, who serve on the American Bible Society Board of Trustees, were present along with Theo Nicolakis, the director of Internet Ministries who serves as the Archdiocese’s representative to the American Bible Society.

Archbishop Demetrios made his first official visit to the American Bible Society on March 6, 2008. During that visit, the Archbishop met with the president, was shown the Society’s rare Bible collection (the largest collection of print Bibles in America), and given a tour of the Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA).

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