Spectrum of Religious Leaders Celebrates Diversity of ‘Byzantine-Latino Quarter’

Reaching across religious and cultural lines, a Greek Orthodox archbishop, a Roman Catholic cardinal and Protestant and Jewish leaders on Saturday celebrated a revitalized neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles as a showcase of civic cooperation in the midst of diversity.

Officially, the gathering was to honor Archbishop Demetrios, head of the Greek Orthodox Church in the United States, on his first official pastoral visit to Southern California.

But the affair quickly became an occasion to highlight more than five years of cooperation, spearheaded by the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, that has led to a kind of urban resurrection of what Greek Orthodox Father John Bakas said was once “a hollow core” of the city.

Located in the Pico-Union district and bounded by 11th Street, Venice Boulevard, Hobart Boulevard and Alvarado Street, the area has been dubbed the “Byzantine-Latino Quarter.”

Forty-eight hours before Saturday’s celebration at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral--located in the middle of the district--a huge neon sign atop a building across the street made it official. “Byzantine-Latino Quarter” it proclaimed.

Beneath it was the slogan that has become the multicultural neighborhood’s theme: “We are each of us angels with one wing. We can only fly embracing each other.”

“This is a piece of art,” Demetrios said of the cooperation that led to the neighborhood restoration. “We can enjoy it with all the senses. It’s something you smell. You see it. You hear it. You walk on it.”

Demetrios became the American archbishop of his church in August 1999.

“We celebrate community spirit, the community of Los Angeles, the coming together of religious leaders of all religion,” Demetrios said. “We celebrate our humanness of just being human . . . being born and becoming human.”

He was joined by Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles. Referring to the latest U.S. census figures underscoring Los Angeles’ diversity, Mahony said Los Angeles has been an ethnically mixed city since at least 1860. That is the bedrock on which today’s cooperation has been built, he said.

“It was always that way. Los Angeles is blessed, not only a year but decades and a century, with this tremendous spirit of being one spirit and one community,” he said.

Mahony said that though urban renewal was the visible result of cooperation, faith drove the effort.

“The value that underpins our respective positions all comes together in a special way here. The reason we’re involved is because it’s part of our faith,” he said. “To be faithful to our tradition we cannot help but reach out to others.”

That spirit has played out in the revitalization of the neighborhood, led by the Greek cathedral and nearby St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church.

Metropolitan Anthony, who oversees the Greek Orthodox Church in the Western United States, said that in walking around the neighborhood he noticed “no graffiti, no drug dealing, no prostitution and no litter. It’s amazing what is happening around here,” he said at a luncheon held at the cathedral.

Besides Demetrios, Mahony and Anthony, those present included the Rt. Rev. Jon Bruno, bishop coadjutor of the Los Angeles Episcopal Diocese, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, and businessman and philanthropist Stanley Black.

Before Saturday’s Los Angeles luncheon, Demetrios presided over a special Lenten service Friday evening at St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine. More than 500 worshipers attended the ancient ritual, called the Akathist Hymn, which celebrates the role of the Virgin Mary in the salvation of Christians.

“We’re excited, we’re thrilled, we’re grateful,” said Father Steven Tsichlis, St. Paul’s pastor, of Demetrios’ first visit to the 20-year-old church. “The archbishop is genuinely a kind and amazing human. He’s an icon, an image of Jesus.”

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Times staff writer William Lobdell contributed to this story.