This is somewhat painful for me to write for two reasons: first, my admiration for the Antiochian jurisdiction and second, because of own experiences with law enforcement brought upon because of my diabetes.
As I understand it, Bishop Demetri Khoury had an altercation with law enforcement several years ago brought upon partly because of this same disease. As stated, I am in sympathy with him in this regard as I myself am afflicted with this disease and I can easily see how a person’s actions can be misunderstood for drunkenness. (At some point in the near future, and in the interest of full disclosure, I will write about my own experiences in this regard.)
That being said, I think the optics of shuffling around a bishop from one jurisdiction to another look bad. To my knowledge, this has never been a problem in the Antiochian jurisdiction. From what I gather, their bishops are stand-up guys. Unlike the OCA’s and the GOA’s episcopal synods, rumors don’t abound. They may not be outstanding theologians per se but then again, scandal hasn’t touched them. For example, none of them were smuggled out of foreign countries because they ran afoul of local authorities or were accused of being drunk and disorderly. None have been recipients of slush funds for that matter.
I would ask therefore that the Holy Synod of bishops of Antioch to reconsider this appointment. If nothing else, the appearance of scandal is simply too great. As you can see from the provenance of this article, it has raised concerns internationally as well.
May the Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.
Source: Pravoslavie
Met. Joseph and Bp. Demetri
On Wednesday, October 26, a press conference was held outside the St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles, reports pokrov.org . The topic was unpleasant, but one which has many in the diocese deeply concerned—clergy and laity alike.
In a letter dated October 6, His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America announced the appointment of Bishop Demetri as vicar bishop of the Diocese of the West, saying “I would like and expect you to welcome His Grace Bishop DEMETRI to your parishes and to treat him as though I myself was visiting you.”
The concern arises from Bishop Demetri Matta Khoury’s February 25, 2004 conviction for attempted fourth degree criminal sexual misconduct. He was arrested July 9, 2003 after appearing plain-clothed and visibly intoxicated in a Michigan casino where he grabbed a woman’s breast. He stated that he didn’t remember the night, but plead guilty after viewing the casino’s security footage.
He was sentenced to twenty-eight days in jail with two years of probation, and required to register as a sex offender, although his conviction and classification were both later revoked after he appealed in 2014.
Bishop Demetri was granted retirement following his conviction, but while still a registered sex offender was appointed as auxiliary bishop for the Antiochian Archdiocese of Mexico, though the Synod again retired him in 2009 due to public outcry.
Given this history, many are concerned about personal safety, and struggling to understand this move on the part of Met. Joseph, what message the diocese is sending about sexual abuse, and how to best proceed in this difficult situation.
http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/alt-right/
Maybe I’m not in on all the latest intel, but what on earth does the linked site have to do with Met. Joseph, Bp. Demetri, or anything/anyone else in the posted article?
I feel like I was dragged through algae-laden slime by skimming the article for even mentions of Orthodoxy. The only one was that a man in the article named his son Nicholas for the last Tsar of Russia and that someone had a “picture of the Orthodox Jesus” in his house.
Nothing else.
???
Matthew Heimbach, mentioned in the article, was for a time a member of the Antiochian parish in Bloomington.
Is this supposed to imply guilt by association? What does Matthew Heimbach – or his “for a time” membership in an Antiochian parish in Bloomington – have to do with Bishop Dimetri?
You should address that question to the person who posted the link. I was responding to the person who didn’t see the connection of the article to Orthodoxy.
Note sure, but that may be Bishop Basil in the photograph and not Met. Joseph.
I, too, think this is Bishop Basil. Behind the front row of clergy, there appears to be another Bishop, or at least I see a long, colorful garment….
I thought this couldn’t be clearer — bishops convicted of crimes (let alone whatever grabbing a woman’s breast in a casino translated to as a charge) should not serve in any capacity in the church.
I had not heard that this had been appealed and revoked, however. Your link says the conviction was “set aside”? I don’t have a clue what that means.
What is most upsetting to me is reading of clergy in the Antiochian Archdiocese who essentially shame their parishioners who are concerned about having Bishop Demetri back serving a diocese in America. As in, “don’t you believe in forgiveness?” — the working assumption being that if you were a good Christian and forgave people, then you should be fine having Bishop Demetri serve in the Antiochian Diocese in the West.
But this is not the issue at all. (For full disclosure, I am not in the Antiochian Archdiocese, but as an Orthodox Christian in the United States, obviously I care about how every jurisdiction here carries itself). One can forgive, yet also think that someone should not be in a certain position. I can forgive a schoolteacher who has been convicted of a sex offense, but that doesn’t mean I think he/she should be teaching 3rd-graders again.
We can forgive Bishop Demetri, but that does not mean he should be back leading a flock in America. My personal opinion is that he should not. I also do not think it is acceptable to “farm him out” to a diocese elsewhere in the world. Yes, this kind of thing has probably happened in the past many times, but we now have mass communication which is widespread and very accessible. It is simply too scandalous for a bishop who has been a convicted sex offender to be back serving as a bishop. End of story. The Antiochian Patriarchate can have Bishop Demetri serve in some other capacity — an administrative position, maybe have him be at a monastery — but now having him as essentially a Diocesan Bishop or a Diocesan-Bishop-to-be, no way.
And the way this has been handled — shaming parishioners into keeping their mouths shut or being embarrassed of reservations they may have? Man, I’d be livid if I were in the AA under his jurisdiction.
Sad part is, it’s likely that money talks more than anything. A high-profile, expensive lawsuit is what it may take for the AA to realize this is a bad move.
It’s irrelevant how much we forgive Bishop Demetri or how much contrition/repentance there has been. This is scandalous to the faithful. And the Antiochian leadership should themselves be ashamed about shaming parishioners into “accepting” Bishop Demetri.
What is most upsetting to me is reading of clergy in the Antiochian Archdiocese who essentially shame their parishioners who are concerned about having Bishop Demetri back serving a diocese in America. As in, “don’t you believe in forgiveness?” — the working assumption being that if you were a good Christian and forgave people, then you should be fine having Bishop Demetri serve in the Antiochian Diocese in the West.
But this is not the issue at all. (For full disclosure, I am not in the Antiochian Archdiocese, but as an Orthodox Christian in the United States, obviously I care about how every jurisdiction here carries itself). One can forgive, yet also think that someone should not be in a certain position. I can forgive a schoolteacher who has been convicted of a sex offense, but that doesn’t mean I think he/she should be teaching 3rd-graders again.
We can forgive Bishop Demetri, but that does not mean he should be back leading a flock in America. My personal opinion is that he should not. I also do not think it is acceptable to “farm him out” to a diocese elsewhere in the world. Yes, this kind of thing has probably happened in the past many times, but we now have mass communication which is widespread and very accessible. It is simply too scandalous for a bishop who has been a convicted sex offender to be back serving as a bishop. End of story. The Antiochian Patriarchate can have Bishop Demetri serve in some other capacity — an administrative position, maybe have him be at a monastery — but now having him as essentially a Diocesan Bishop or a Diocesan-Bishop-to-be, no way.
And the way this has been handled — shaming parishioners into keeping their mouths shut or being embarrassed of reservations they may have? Man, I’d be livid if I were in the AA under his jurisdiction.
Sad part is, it’s likely that money talks more than anything. A high-profile, expensive lawsuit is what it may take for the AA to realize this is a bad move.
It’s irrelevant how much we forgive Bishop Demetri, or how much contrition/repentance there has been. This is scandalous to the faithful. And the Antiochian leadership should themselves be ashamed about shaming parishioners into “accepting” Bishop Demetri.
I believe that your link indicates that Mme Sakoda is still hoping to salvage SOMETHING/ANYTHING from the court’s decision to revoke His Grace’s conviction, by contacting the prosecutor, rather than the judge, about it?
Why would she go to the judge who set aside the conviction after he plead guilty? I hope she DOES go to the prosecutor. The problem with this man are his connections.
I do not understand Metropolitan Joseph’s actions on this and wonder if he is being pressured. There is SOME reason, Metropolitan Philip, and now Metropolitan Joseph, are hell bent on bringing this man back into our jurisdiction, yet again, after his retirement in 2004 AND in 2008. Then of course there was Mexico, Chili, Venezuela, Central America and the Caribbean. How he got his conviction set aside, AFTER he pleaded guilty is also a mystery that bears investigation. He’s got a lot of “staying power” for a guy whose actions caused so much havoc in our jurisdiction. There is probably a backstory, that I don’t want to hear, because it will just make me angry all over again.
In Metropolitan Joseph’s letter to the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West he said Bishop Demetri has been given the authority, “to direct and correct you as clergymen when necessary and to speak to your parish councils in order to handle and mediate problems as they arise.” I thought parish councils had the autonomy to mediate their own problems. I can’t imagine our priests are OK with this, but what can they do?
I do not think diabetes played a role in Bishop Demetri’s actions, as this man is a known alcoholic. He was in a casino, for petes sake! Diabetes didn’t make him walk in there! I wish I had kept it, but a long time ago I tripped across this blog written by a young woman in FL. In one of her posts, she talked about how she had run into Metropolitan Philip, Bishop Demetri and their entourage, who were a regulars in the local night life. I didn’t publish it, because I didn’t know who she was and she clearly didn’t know the implications of what she was saying. She didn’t know or care who they were.
I’m afraid this move will call into question Metropolitan Joseph’s judgement. He has to know that. The question is why. Why is he doing this?
Why you ask? Because Metropolitan Joseph seems incapable of comprehending that he is in America, not Syria or Lebanon, where apparently such antics are tolerated. He should be sent back to where he came from and American born bishops raised in America should shepherd the flocks here.
It is time to send him back to tbe country of his home’s desire, and that is not America.
Has Bishop Basil not concurred with this? Whatever George and other detractors of the OCA and its synod like to point at, I might suggest that the elephant in the room is the matter of how Bishops are elected to rule dioceses, not how the perhaps temporary appointment of a temporary ruling bishop is made. George, I know Father Gerasim is in Georgia, but won’t you want to consult him on this? Or Bishop Alexander? Monomakhos, no matter how pious, even saintly its holy contributors, experienced in binding and loosing at the drop of a hat or remark, so many of you like to counsel OTHERS to call this or that instance to account, who have you contacted in this matter? Peter A. Papoutsis got quite exercised when I declined to telephone Metropolitan Tikhon to question his morality, pretending that such a call would be too lofty a matter to hand to a MERE layman like himself!
Has ANYONE here bothered to consult his parish priest or diocesan hierarch in this matter of Bishop Demetri? No? It would be hard, then, not to characterize the utterances here on Monomakhos as gossip, if I understand how that charge is usually considered here? I miss hearing from Fr George Washburn on many topics of Monomakhos gossip, but the topic of how to judge Bishop Demetri is one I’m sure he could address in a neighborly and good way!
Hello friends:
What a gracious comment from Vladyka! Maybe I will learn enough this week to say something beyond mere guesswork.
Walking home a few minutes ago we came through the Passage des Patriachs, then up one of my favorite streets all time: Rue Graciouse.
Earlier we were at the Place de la Bastille. Query: the internet equivalent of a guillotine is ….?
Love,
Fr. George
Not all that glitters is gold. Since Metropolitan Joseph took office, there really hasn’t been a significant amount of change other than some staff shakeup in New Jersey and at Antiochian Village. I think most everyone in the Antiochian Archdiocese was willing to let the new metropolitan plot some sort of course but the unfortunate truth is that he has done very little if anything except spend a lot of money. Are there audited financial statements? No. Are there even complete financial statements? No. Is there any disclosure of the assets that were left by Metropolitan Phillip? No. Does anyone know where the money from the Food For Hungry People, Syrian Relief, Baptisms, Weddings, or the litany of various projects, has gone? No. It’s all based on, “Trust Me.” Perhaps it is time to stop being so trusting. And how much did it cost to renovate the archdiocese headquarters and the new digs at Antiochian Village? I guess we will never know. The whole situation with Bishop Demetri is just par for the course.
James, how can one definitively say there hasn’t been much change, when so much of what’s going on is outside our purview? For example, we can’t know how much money Metropolitan Joseph has spent, but if he runs the Archdiocese the way he ran our Diocese, he’s not doing anything outrageous. With regard to Metropolitan Philip’s assets, they would go back to the Archdiocese (unless they’re frozen in some bank somewhere). Finally, our Metropolitan does not operate independently from our Board of Trustees or the Patriarchate. That’s just a fact. There is only so much a metropolitan can do. Metropolitan Joseph may have been encouraged to find a place for Bishop Demetri and give him every consideration. How wise to put him in the West, the Diocese he KNOWS.
They did some renovations at St. Nicholas for Metropolitan Joseph’s Enthronement, but hadn’t heard the Archdiocese was renovated. I also know the Antiochian Village got some new furniture, paint and carpet, but so what?! I think it’s important to separate the real issues from the imagined ones.
To be honest, it’s not what Bishop Demetri did that concerns me, as much as all the consideration he received in the wake of what happened: the condo in FL, numerous appointments and attempted appointments, his conviction being overturned, etc. This reeks of the “old guard.”
But, on the other hand, it’s been a long time and to my knowledge, he has never gotten in trouble again. If this sort of behavior were a habit for him, we probably would have heard about it. If something like this were to happen again, I’m sure Metropolitan Joseph would act. He usually wastes no time in these matters.
* * *
Bob, it is highly doubtful that Metropolitan Joseph will change his mind and the local authorities won’t recognize a conviction that has been overturned. Guess you could notify the casinos, but I doubt they will beef up security to keep a man from groping women, as that sort of thing goes on all the time, unfortunately.
* * *
Still Concerned, I’m in agreement that the laity should not be asked to “forgive.” As far as I know, only a few members of the laity are saying that, not Metropolitan Joseph. God forgives.
We don’t know that this Bishop is going to be ineffective and it’s not our job to make that determination. It’s Metropolitan Joseph’s and he’s made his decision. Until proven wrong, we just have to suck it up and hope for the best.
To be sure Demetre receives a proper welcome to my area, if he plans a “visit” I will help out by notifying local police and the county sheriff. I’m sure they know what precautions to take with a registered offender in the neighborhood. I know they have an interest in public safety, would that the Self-Ruled Archdiocese had the same concern for their laity, young and old. I will also alert several local news outlets. If Met Joseph wants publicity, he shall have it. Or he might use his head and change his mind about this assignment. Barring that, the laity can choose to stay home that Sunday. We have lots of casinos in the area, Demetre might be visiting those as well, they need protection too.
How many years ago did this incident occur? (12 years, ago) Yes, it did happen, Bishop Dimitri paid the price, I liked this kind, lonely man. He was a good bishop, led astray by people who wanted to “show him a good time.” They were wrong, he was wrong, too, he should not have been in the casino ( gambling, an ethnic trait of some middle easterners). Could you trust the Metropolitan, just a little, who knows the situation? No, of course not. So many scandals among Orthodox jurisdictions have made the people wary. So, go ahead and condemn him. Consign him to the trash heap. But I am very sad at this judgmental
attitude. I loved Bishop Dimitri, and I’m equally sad because there is no charity toward this fallen, but repentant man. I will never condemn Bishop Dimitri. He IS good, and the wolves are after him. Go get him, Bob. I hope you get the purity you demand.
Aghast. I am with you on this. I am sure Met Joseph acted for the good as he sees it.
Nevertheless we should ask questions. Not from anger and doubt like Zacharias but from faith and love as Mary, the Theotokos.
What is the good here that overrides the appearance of not good?
I sincerely doubt Bp. Demetri is a risk to anyone except himself. If he has learned humility and repentance we can learn from him.
The shortage of bishops is a problem. There are two men in the Diocese of Wichita who are qualified but they are both quite young and already engaged in significant ministry and there is a dearth of obvious people to replace them.
God is asking: Who is there to send? Because, for the most part, we lead lives of complacency with an all too modern and juvenile approach to our faith, the candidates are few and often flawed.
As I have said, if we want better bishops, we must be better, more serious, more faithful. I have to take the beam out of my own eye. In any case the cry of Anaxios should never be made out of fear, anger or embarrasement which is what I sense is the case here, especially by “Bob”.
Wait, watch and pray for Met. Joseph, Bp Demetri and all our clergy and the people. As Met. Joseph said last Sunday in his homily, “prayer is the best form of communication.”
If we learn to pray in humility, God’s order will manifest. But we also have to watch; be vigilant and wise–and prepare.
May God forgive me a sinner.
Aghast,
No one is arguing that Bishop Demetri may be a good man, a repentant bishop for the offense, one who “paid the price,” as you write. That is all likely true.
But the fact of the matter is, once a bishop has been convicted of a sex offense, he loses the ability to be an effective bishop. The laity don’t take him seriously any longer and he cannot be effective. It is beyond scandalous. This is not 50 or 100 years ago when these things could be kept hidden up. The issues with Bishop Demetri are all over the internet, and anyone and everyone can access it.
It is not the laity’s job to “show charity” and “stop being judgmental.” Come on. This is what I wrote about above. Influential persons in the Antiochian Archdiocese who like Bishop Demetri are shaming the faithful into accepting him.
If you have to shame the faithful to accept a bishop, that should be one heck of a sign that he ain’t wanted and won’t be effective.
It’s not the laity’s job to “man up” and just take him. It’s the leadership’s job to realize this is a bad move.
Some Orthodox jurisdictions in America suffer tremendously from terrible leadership, horrible leadership judgment, and bad decisions. Don’t blame this one on the laity. From the tremendous amount of stewardship to the explosive growth in missions in the Antiochian Archdiocese over the years, the longsuffering laity are certainly doing their part.
This is a bad leadership decision. Yes, you like Bishop Demetri. No one is arguing that fact. But he should not be a bishop overseeing a Diocese. He lost that prerogative 12 years ago. Being a bishop is a privilege, not a right.
Stop trying to shame the laity into accepting him!
When seemingly irrational decisions are made–always–FOLLOW THE MONEY.
Father Josiah Trenham has sure been quiet….
Father Josiah Trenham has sure been quiet…
Please recall the number of responses to the OCA bishop of the Midwest – including myself – who compromised himself by exchanging emails with a young woman that merely gave the appearance of impropriety; the church was scandalized by his appearance of impropriety, and he was retired. By all accounts, he is considered to be a “good man” who made a poor choice, and it was his conscious poor choice that compromised him.
Contrast the above situation with a supposed monastic bishop who consciously chose to visit Babylon in the form of a casino – a “proclivity” of certain ethnic groups? Seriously? – “in plain clothes,” and proceeded to become intoxicated. And a note to Mr. Michalopulos’ comment regarding diabetes and alcohol, I will simply say that diabetes has no bearing on blood alcohol content nor amnesia for events occurring while intoxicated (“blackouts”) whatsoever. A study from September 2, 2016 in the journal Diabetes Medicine indicates
If the bishop has Type 1 diabetes and is drinking heavily, something is seriously wrong. A “blackout” has never been a acceptable defense for behaviour in any US court, and having seen himself on video, the bishop pleaded guilty because he was guilty, irrefutably and undeniably. How is it possible that as he stands to preach, one could not recall him in “plain clothes,” intoxicated in a casino and groping a woman? His repentance is admirable, and now he should retire to a monastery.
I strongly urge Ms. Sakoda to file a request under the Freedom of Information Act to access the video evidence and the petition to remove the bishop from the sex offenders list.
Agreed. My own unfortunate experience with law enforcement was because I went into hypoglycemic shock at 7:30 in the morning. No alcohol (and also no breakfast or supper the night before –yeah, I was stupid). If you’d seen me you’d a thought I was drunk. I certainly was driving erratically.
I was just trying to be as charitable as possible to His Grace.
Studies to date have not provided evidence that drinking light to moderate amounts of alcohol, with or without a meal, affects any measure of glycaemic control in people with Type 2 diabetes.
Sufering from type 2 diabetes, I appreciate learning this, Dr. Stankovich.
Just from personal experience, however, I might have reached a different inference. To wit—on the one recent occasion when the absence of our deacon obliged me to consume the Holy Communion and purify the Chalice, I nearly passed out. I was obliged to sit down in a stupor and drink a great amount of water; my adult Sunday School class had to be postponed for 15 minutes..
Although my heart and mind confess that “this is truly Thine own immaculate Body and this is truly Thine own precious Blood,” the only things my alimentary system recognizes in the Sacred Chalice are a lot of carbohydrates, sugar, and alcohol.
Rather than put himself in such a dangerous position, I suspect that Fr Patrick’s bishop would bless him to ask the assistance of a devout and faithful layman to consume what remains of Holy Communion, especially if that layman had already partaken of the Lord’s own Body and Blood. I say this from personal experience, once having had to assist a priest in just such a way myself while I was still a layman.
Fr. Patrick,
The statement, “light to moderate” is a generalized term for what the author went on to describe as a an “otherwise healthy young man” who consumed a specific amount of ETOH over a specific period of time (again referrred to as “typical”), thought the exact amounts I do no not recall. I strongly suspect a chalice rather rather consumed defies the author’s intention. Secondly, to make the clear distinction between tolerance which is a developed need to consume more to cause the desired effect (and at times is shocking in its enormity), and a symptom of alcoholism, accommodation is simply the learning experience of accommodating larger dose. The point being, a younger, healthier, more frequent drinker, albeit type-2 diabetic, should be similarly affected as a young, healthy, frequent drinker who is not diabetic.
In regards to His Grace Bishop Demetri’s recent appointment as the locum tenens for the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West for the Antiochian Orthodox Church, North American Archdiocese, here are some points for consideration:
— The Church of Antioch was founded by St. Barnabas and St. Paul, and St. Peter was its first bishop.
— The Church of Rome was founded by St. Peter and St. Paul, and St. Peter was its first bishop.
Those points are significant because both St. Peter and St. Paul committed serious sins against Jesus Christ and the Church — yet both men were not only forgiven by Christ, but they were also restored to ministry by Christ. To recall: St. Peter denied knowing Jesus Christ and being His follower three times on the night when He was betrayed. Later, St. Paul was originally supporting and then organizing persecutions of Christians. Yet, after their sins, each man was called by Christ, forgiven by Christ, and given ministry by Christ. And each man, as apostles, spent the rest of their lives to share Christ and the Gospel, and to build up His Church, and to die as martyrs.
Likewise, Bishop Demetri has committed serious sins. In one night in 2003, according to the police report (which is publicly available via http://www.pokrov.org/persons/bishop-demetri-matta-khoury/), Bishop Demetri did four bad things: He was gambling at a casino. He got drunk. He behaved lewdly with a woman (who was consenting). He sexually assaulted another woman (who was not consenting) by grabbing her breast. He was arrested and convicted for the last sin. He served time in jail in 2004. Afterwards, he has been mostly retired: not serving as a bishop, but serving in various other roles in the Church.
It has been twelve years since then.
That is about the same amount of time which St. Paul needed to repent after his conversion on the road to Damascus. Then, St. Barnabas discerned that St. Paul was ready for active ministry; and he called him to serve the Church of Antioch.
Perhaps we have a similar situation here. Perhaps Bishop Demetri has sufficiently repented during the last twelve years. Perhaps Archbishop Joseph has discerned that Bishop Demetri is ready for active ministry again; and he called him to serve the Church of Antioch as a bishop again.
Perhaps, like with St. Barnabas and St. Paul, we should allow a man a second chance to fulfill his vocation after his repentance.
Mr. Gfoeller,
This would make perfect sense if St. Paul had disguised himself, gone to some Roman den of debauchery, gotten drunk & groped women, blacked out, and pleaded guilty. Conversely, I would have expected Bp. Demetri to have been struck blind by a vision of the Lord inquiring why he was engaged in such blatantly offensive, blatantly stupid behaviour, being a monk & Bishop, after all. Where did you study logic & analogy, Mr. Gfoeller? Trump University?
Thank you, John Gfoeller! And many years to Metropolitan Joseph! As you know, Trump is the only person defended here ; otherwise, uncovering the nakedness of perceived “enemies” is the name of the game!
John,
Interesting thoughts, though they rest on a straw man argument. St Paul was not a Christian when he was persecuting the church. Had he been a Christian and left the Church to then start persecuting his former Church, and then he repented and wanted to return to the Church, I doubt his story would have been the same. St Paul’s story is compelling because it is a story of conversion, of metanoia, to Christ.
Those who are married and divorced before becoming Orthodox are still often given the 1st-marriage ceremony after they become Orthodox and want to remarry, since they were not Orthodox when they decided to get married the first time.
When you are an Orthodox Christian, you’re held to a higher standard in the Church’s eyes.
Look, no one is questioning Bishop Demetri’s degree of repentance, his faithfulness to Christ, that he, too, is a man who makes mistakes. No one is “out to get” him.
The issue is: can he be an effective church leader? As you write, there is quite the history:
–He sexually assaulted another woman (who was not consenting) by grabbing her breast
–He was arrested and convicted
–He served time in jail in 2004
This is scandalous to say the least. What are the qualifications for a bishop? From our Church’s scriptures, 1 Timothy 3:
“Blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
Now, yes, over time, the Church has since restricted the episcopacy to those unmarried. But do we not even bother to pay attention to the other qualifications? Is it just, “oh the other qualifications are just too hard, don’t even pay attention to them.”
Part of the problem is the manner in which this was foisted upon the Diocese in the West. It may have been different had the Antiochian leadership said publicly something to the effect that they are thinking of bringing Bishop Demetri back to the U.S. to be a bishop in the West and were gauging what would be the faithful’s reception. Then, maybe try to see what issues there would be and work on those issues. Maybe no one or hardly anyone would care? Maybe there would have to be some public discussion about it? Don’t know.
But this was essentially sprung on the Diocese as a surprise, and the faithful are supposed to “deal with it.” And if you object or have reservations, then you are “bad Christian” because you don’t forgive enough. Come on.
This style of leadership is the poster boy for bad leadership. If the AA thinks that Bishop Demetri should be given a “second chance,” then they need to make that case, or at least pretend that they are concerned this may scandalize the faithful. But, no, it’s just “here he is, he is your Bishop, and if you don’t like it you must be a bad Christian.”
Don’t be fooled for a second, though — if there is ever any sort of sexual assault case or sexual harassment case in the Antiochian Archdiocese, a lawyer will be all over Bishop Demetri’s history in a second and will use it to sue to the diocese, as an example of the kind of “sexual abuse that this church tolerates.”
As a parishioner in the Antiochian Archdiocese, I’ve heard nothing of this, nor has my local dean (in the Western Region). This appears to be rumor and hearsay . . . unless someone can provide a credible source.
Did you look at the letter linked in the news article that Mr. Michalopulos cited? My sources tell me that the letter is real, but if you have information to the contrary that I can verify, which I can not do based on what you posted here, please feel free to pass it along to me at melanie dot sakoda at gmail dot com.
Ms Sakoda, anything I can do to help.
If you could pass along anything that you hear about this situation, that would be very helpful. Thank you.
Will do.