On Friday, January 5, 2007, the eve of the Great Feast of Theophany, His Grace, Bishop JOSEPH received His Eminence, Metropolitan GERASIMOS, the Greek Metropolitan of San Francisco, at the Los Angeles Chancery.

The two Hierarchs exchanged brotherly greetings on the front porch of the Chancery and then proceeded to the dining room for lunch. The Hierarchs discussed a wide range of topics that affect the Orthodox Church including the need for Orthodox unity in North America. The Hierarchs discussed the need for the canonical Orthodox Hierarchs of the West to meet from time to time and agreed to work together to arrange for a meeting as soon as the new OCA Bishop of the West is elected and enthroned. The meeting would include the bishops of the Greek, Antiochian, OCA, and Serbian sister Churches in the West Coast.

Toward the end of the discussion His Grace extended an invitation to His Eminence to concelebrate a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with him at the Diocesan Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Los Angeles. His Eminence graciously accepted the invitation and the Hierarchs are currently working on setting a date, in the near future, for this historic Hierarchical Divine Liturgy to take place. That date will be announced once it is agreed upon by both Hierarchs.