My Big Fat Greek Debacle


Well folks, it’s not getting any better. Seriously, things are going from bad to worse at 79th Street.

Admittedly, this fiasco is embarassing on its face. Most of us chalk it up to mere ineptness and/or malfeasance. However, to quote Obi-Wan Kenobi, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Let me explain. Last Fall, Gail Sheppard, one of our commentators, made a startling observation, specifically that the scandals that plagued the GOA were engineered. That this was a controlled demolition (so to speak).

Now, like most of you all, I like Gail. But this was too much and I told her so. Oh sure, it was plausible; the dots could easily be connected to show such a picture, but –still. To believe that, would require a leap of (bad) faith.

But now, Billy Jack Sunday, another of our esteemed commentators has taken Gail’s scenario a step or two further. And I owe Gail an apology. I now think she was right all along. Or at least more right than wrong.

The picture that Billy and Gail have painted is not merely plausible, it’s more than probable. And what it portends for the future of Orthodoxy here in America is quite scandalous.

Imagine the irony: we are left to hope that the scandals that plague the GOA are due to stupidity and incompetence. And that’s the best-case scenario.

McGrath Architectural Company Warns to Dispose St. Nicholas Materials

Source: The National Herald

BOSTON.-The McGrath Architectural Surfaces Company in a letter dated April 26, 2018 threatens the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese to dispose material of St. Nicholas church in Ground Zero “should McGrath not receive the $2.4 million currently owed on or before by April 30, 2018.”

The letter was addressed to Bishop Andonios of Phasiane, Chancellor of the Archdiocese, by the company’s General Manager Paul Kitching.

It is stated in the letter that “the payment timelines communicated to McGrath over the past year have been an ever-sliding date that comes and goes with no funds being made available. It’s been a year of broken promises by the Church.”

The National Herald reveals the letter in its entirety:

Dear Bishop Andonios,

We are writing today in one final attempt to make the Church fully aware that McGrath has repeatedly made requests for payment of our outstanding invoices on the project amounting to approximately $2.4 million. We have attempted to collect on these unpaid monthly amounts which date back a full year. To date, the Church has refused, and continues to take no definitive action nor has it accepted responsibility for the project’s current financial status. There have been numerous individuals, including representatives of McGrath, who have spoken directly to you and others within your organization to express the financial impact resulting from the lack of payment.

Unfortunately, the Church is now out of time as we can no longer leave ourselves in a position to receive monthly additional cost claims and deficient payment notices from our vendors. McGrath and our vendors have been experiencing continued accumulating costs for storage of materials and interest on unpaid balances. Please note, all the materials produced were done so in good faith that timely monthly payments would be made by the Church. The payment timelines communicated to McGrath over the past year have been an ever-sliding date that comes and goes with no funds being made available. It’s been a year of broken promises by the Church.

Should McGrath not receive the $2.4 million currently owed on or before by April 30, 2018 we will have no choice but to dispose of all project related materials overseas and within North America. By continuing to hold these materials we fear we will only be seeking a larger unpaid amount from the Church with no assurances the project will proceed.

Our hope is the Church can make payment on the $2.4 million owed and can free up the additional $4 million to continue fabrication of the remaining overseas materials. If this payment does not occur by April 30, 2018 we firmly believe the entire exterior rainscreen we spent 3 years developing from the architect’s concepts will be lost and not repeatable.

Respectfully,

Paul Kitching
General Manager.

P.S. Here are Billy Jack Sunday’s insights which led me to this conclusion: https://www.monomakhos.com/breaking-demetrios-to-take-the-fall/#comment-121906

As for Gail Sheppard’s comments, please go to the archive and type in “A Way Out for the GOA?”

Comments

  1. Greatly Saddened says

    I am a bit surprised to see the letter from McGrath Architectural doesn’t seem to be dated. Not that this would have made any difference as to the payment due date for the archdiocese to pay by.

  2. Greatly Saddened says

    Again I repeat, in my humble opinion, I feel the Ecumenical Patriarchate, along with this so called religious institution, the Archdiocese and its Metropolises, need to see the general laity has finally reached a point they will longer stand by idle and accept the utter BS that has been dished out to us.

    This is totally unacceptable. They have fooled and taken advantage of us for much too long. It is time for the general laity to revolt or have an uprising. We can no longer count on the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Archdiocese and the Metropolises. Sadly, nor the hierarchal appointed laity, such as the Archdiocesan Council, Leadership 100 and last but certainly not least, especially the Archons of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle.

    These laity groups seem to be too deeply entrenched with protecting their hierarchal appointed positions and they obviously seem to be protecting the ones who have appointed them as well. They are unfortunately an extention of the hierarchy who appointed them and because of this, are partial and cannot be subjective.

    They have been and continue to be a major part of the problem as well. They seem to have been and continue to be a rubber stamp for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Archdiocese and the Metropolises

    Unfortunately, the only way to get their attention is for the general laity to stop funding them. If we don’t, we will only be funding their continued addiction and continue to be enablers.

    Parishes throughout the Archdiocese need to unite and stop funding beyond the local parish level. Due to mismagement at the Archdiocese, they leave us no choice but to take these unfortunate drastic measures.

    They have taken advantage of us for far too long. We need to cut the purse strings, so they will hopefully get the message. The days of abusing us have ended. Since it is our money they spend, we demand accountability and transparency. The days of free spending have come to an end. It’s time to show a line by line item breakdown and not just group everything in to one lump sum.

    We should also demand and I repeat, demand, forensic audits, no matter what the cost. Can you believe how sad all this is? We are dealing with clerics/hierarchs with advanced college degrees that cannot seem to even comprehend basic math.

    It’s time to … “Drain the Swamp” …. because if we don’t, there will be nothing left of our hard earned donations and contributions. For all we know, the hierarchy may be putting away funds in preparation for the possible demise of the Archdiocese. Can they be trusted? I will leave that up to each and every one of you to answer for yourselves.

  3. Seems they cannot be trusted. When one looks at the witness of the ROCOR in Orthodox faith and worship and the general simplicity in which the bishops live, the contrast is great. Sure human failings will happen as long as we human, but the hierarchs of the Archdiocese are neither monks nor pastors of souls, but business men and O Boy. NOT TOO GOOD ONES!!. Any that stand against this trend as decent and humble.; Well God and the people will know them.

  4. Wayne Matthew Syvinski says

    That’s no moon…it’s a black hole for cash!

    To amend a quote by Mark Twain: There are lies, there are damned lies, and there are Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan finances.

    • Again when reading the ONLY 3MILKION DOLLARS gone astray, one is tempted to ask is this a church or a business. AND Yes agree Church needs money and must manage it in a business BUT ALSO CHRISTIAN WAY, but truth is they have done neither.
      Where is the language of Christ, of simplicity, of love, no just money money money and yes to do good. To aid people in need, to pay clergy with families a descent standard, the Church needs money but it is THE AMERICAN MODERN MENTALITY WORSHIP OF MONEY that has captured the Church. Just bourgoise and COMFORTABLE. It’s prophetic function dead.
      AD for cultivating Monasticism, i cannot make any personal points as do not know these monasteries but while I am supportive of monasteries and a church without, is a church in crisis, i understand fully the danger of the ORTHODOXISM as ‘other ‘ extreme from what went before ( a sort of greek anglicanism’
      I know the esteemed monastery of St John BAPTIST in Uk, a centre of love and Peace. I note the business financial mentality that has penetrated Athos and I recall attending a ‘lecture’ by Ephraim, many years ago, and I them smell something not right. Cannot say more than this.
      But I have seen the ‘ worship ‘ of the staretz, superceeding the liturgical life of the Parish for some time. Not good.

  5. Will Rev Karloutsos make himself available at the Boston Clergy Laity Conference to answer questions of the faithful ? ….ya right !

  6. I had always thought that the Greeks were rich, kinda like Christian Jews in a way. This was not based on anything racial or ethnic, it was based on the fact that that 79th Street mandated that its priests be paid handsomely – mandated it.

    When I was attending a Greek church, I assumed 79th Street was moneybags.

    Wow.

    So, I must apologize. The situation appears to be slightly different than I had explicated.

    Apparently, Constantinople is bankrupt and that is why they are floating autocephaly for the Church in the Ukraine.

    It’s a fundraiser.

  7. Bankrupt spiritually. . Does anybody in this FEED see beyond all the Politics and materialism to see how this is destroying people’s faith.?
    The gates of HELL will not prevail against the Church but INDIVIDUALLY, churches may disapear.
    The greek archdiocese in USA as i hear when visit USA is seen by faithful as a money demanding machine stuck in main in a pseudo western worship and mock byzantine extras having little to say Yes there are many good clergy and good things and as in any disaster, these will remain for future to build upon.
    For me the future of church in USA is in an english speaking and worshipping Church encorporating all the ethnic riches of greek and russian, serb and arabs etc tradition and building on them. It’s money and efforts must be for it’s people.
    And it must realise it is in midst of a society Kardashians orientated opposed TO ALL IT STANDS FOR and where Christian, it is in aggressive extreme protestant way.
    What has happened as late Fr Alexander SCHMEMANN wrote so all seeing those many decades ago, ‘the danger for soul of Church is, was not communist attack, as we see, but the secularization of the Church in USA and its subservience to power today in Russia etc”. No lessons learnt, no temptation not fallen for.

    • Michael Bauman says

      Nikos, I understand your concern but faith cannot be destroyed if it is correctly placed. Tested yes but not destroyed.

      • Yes. And we need to look more closely at events in Russia post 1917 where a church that was broadly seen as spiritually lacking and losing out amongst the emerging working class and then domination by RASPUTIN’S ability to have key bishops he wanted, appointed like Pitirim of Petrograd, and yet produced martyrs in the tens of thousands and a spiritual blooming after 1917 and Bishop such as Veniamin of Petrograd and Patriarch Tikhon.
        The problem for us today is that the Patrarch of CONSTANTINOPLE, heads a hollowed out bureaucratic organization needing west to survive as much as the empire did in 1453. We, all of us must start to live our faith not just nominally because there is no more spiritual capital in the bank
        .

    • Johannes Ypsilantis says

      Interesting that you chose the Kardashians, who are nominally Oriental Orthodox. Adds some extra sad depth to the symbolism.

    • Why is the blame being put on Archbishop Demitrios? He is a very pious leader. Very spiritual and he isn’t about money. He does not receive money from all the churches here in the U.S., but rather the money goes directly to Patriarch Bartholomew. If a church does not contribute to the Patriarchate, they face the possibility of closure. So stop putting the blame on the Archbishop Demitrios whose hands are tied. I hope he doesn’t give in to stepping down. Everyone loves him.

      • George Michalopulos says

        Chris, I for one, don’t put any blame on Demetrios. In reality, he was set up by the Phanar to fail. Once they elevated the bishops to metropolitan status, Bartholomew effectively placed every newly-minted “metropolis” under his direct control –not the Archbishop in NYC.

        • Billy Jack Sunday says

          Personally, I hope Archbishop Demetrios is the Lando Calrissian of the GOA and perhaps for all Orthodox living in the United States

          Appearing treacherous at first (being under great duress) but in reality – a key instrument in heroic salvation – indicated by his true fidelity

          Time will tell

          Happy belated Star Wars Day to all

        • George Michalopulos says

          Correction: I place some blame on Demetrios. All GOA bishops are to blame. But that’s the point: the GOA synod has been a conclave of peers specifically designed since 2002(?) to prevent a strong Archbishop form of governance.

          Hence I stand by stand by my earlier assertion that Demetrios is a patsy, a designated fall-guy.

          • Greatly Saddened says

            Yes, unfortunately, to a certain degree, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios is at fault as well. Being the so called “Archbishop,” even with his vastly limited powers since the Ecumenical Patriarch’s change. It is still his responsibility to stop this seemingly on going corruption. Even if he has not been part in parcel to it, he is still required to put a stop to the demise of the archdiocese. Better to be castigated for speaking up for the truth and doing the right thing, rather than by standing by the sidelines and saying and doing nothing.

            Unfortunately, either way, it seems to be a no win situation for His Eminence. Please excuse me for the saying, but better to leave with your head held up high, than leave with your head between your legs in embarrassment.

            As for the metropolitans, I agree with you wholeheartedly. They are totally to blame. The gang of eight seems to have lost their voice, as well as their backbone. Not to mention losing anything else!

            They certainly want to stay in good graces with the Ecumenical Patriarch and the last thing they want to do is cause any waves. This is in fact why the archdiocese finds itself in this unbelievable and undesirable situation.

            Remember … money is the root of all evil and money corrupts those that allow it to!

            Time has run out and so have the excuses. Time has come to verify and unfortunately, NO longer trust!

      • I agree. Dimitrios is a good man and pastors. Wish true of some others. And although I did not agree with many views of Iakovos, i say he was a dedicated priest and pastor and who lived in the real world.
        On a different matter but in way related.
        The Culture ward should be foreign to the Church. If the Church is just another ‘body’ talking about ‘isms’ and CONDEMING GROUPS. It has nothing to say that could not be said better by a lobbyist.
        As Pastanak wrote in Dr Zhivago, ( a very Orthodox book) THE UNIQUENESS of CHRIST is that he brought THE πρόσωπο, or Person, as opposed to the group, into history. Christ, as the priest in confession, stands before EACH UNIQUE PERSON and respond to the Person, NOT THE GROUP. If it does not do that, then it is time to take up some other honey on a Sunday morning, ORGAN PLAYING FOR GREEK AMERICANS.
        I recall attending a liturgy ( trying to attend about that NOISE!) at Greek Cathedral in New York listening to sermon based on the film AVATAR. As i had watched it on the flight over from UK where then lived, i was somewhere amused and bored! Priest meant well,good man as he was.
        Here in Bulgaria there are no St Nicholas shines, indeed not many churches really compared to Greece, and I will shortly attend Liturgy in small chapel as the large church it is in, closed since communist times as too close to a school, is still clossed as no money to restore. Believe me O THSNK GOD FOR LIVING IN BULGARIA WAY FROM THE STINK OF MONEY WORSHIP that destroying the Faith of people more effectively than any atheist diatribes. But God will not forget his people. BUT POLITICS AND POWER, YES

  8. Ternas Ligofanitis says

    It is just so over!Remember all those czarist talismans in the altar? Even the Greeks don’t want the rest of the world to know it was originally an old calendar church funded by the czar. So they want the church to be terminated. Upset that industrious Albanians invaded their lazy, gungrabbing, babykilling homeland, the soviet-churched Greeks vindictively hire, house and promote illegals in USA. As quakes render their homes disposable, Greeks are oblivious to the very concept of maintenance. Instead of blaming environmetalists for fires and socialists for deficits, jealousy driven soviet faith seeks scapegoats. Olympia Snowjob supports Obamacare and abortion because of her gangrene patriarch (Is Orthodox Christianity progressive? Michelle Boorstein Washington Post 11-4-09 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew spoke about the spiritual imperative for nonviolence, universal health care and reducing consumption to help the environment.) Ancient Greeks reduced consumption to help the environment through infanticide and sodomy. Bart ignores Genesis 1:26 when he calls for stewardship which is really feudal and the reason Greeks refuse to ever sell their house or let their offspring grow up. Management theory believes workers are more productive when empowered by a sence of ownership and Bart wants to reduce them to vassal stewardship? And Bart gives our seminarians vascanic evil eye talismans?

  9. Yosemite Tom says

    All those “Greek Banks” are fronting for soviet Iranian terrorist money launderers. In 1969 Minos Zombanakis invented the corrupt LIBOR cabal so he could loan Khodadad Farmanfarmaian and the Shah of Iran $80 million. Patriarch Demetreus served as pastor of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Tehran, Iran, from 1945 to 1950. Obama buddy Giannoulias’ family real estate portfolio is financed by a French bank known for its investments in Iran’s energy sector and connections to Iran’s Central Bank. They also loaned $22.75 million to Nadhmi Auchi whose bank financed the delivery of chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein, which may have been used to gas the Kurdish city of Halabja in 1988.

  10. Monk James says

    But then, the Archdiocese sent out this note today:
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Contact: PRESS OFFICE
    Stavros Papagermanos
    pressoffice@goarch.org

    Date: May 4, 2018

    UPDATE ON ST. NICHOLAS INVESTIGATION – PHASE 1 PRELIMINARY FINDINGS ANNOUNCED AT ARCHDIOCESAN COUNCIL

    PITTSBURGH – On May 4, 2018, Elaine Allen, Chairman of the Standing Audit Committee of the Archdiocesan Council, of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, announced the substantial completion of Phase 1 of the St. Nicholas Special Investigative Committee’ s (SIC) investigation into the management and finances of the St. Nicholas Church and National Shrine project. The SIC has received PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) Phase 1 draft report and is expected to announce its findings to the Executive Committee of the Archdiocesan Council imminently.

    Among key findings from Phase 1, the amount owed by the Archdiocese to St. Nicholas has been confirmed to be less than $3.7 million, with the exact dollar figure to be finalized in the coming weeks. Moreover, the review found that all other monies raised to fund the St. Nicholas project are accounted for, and that the expenditure of these funds was consistent with donor restrictions.

    As a result of the aggressive financial restructuring efforts undertaken by the Archdiocese over the last year, led by Treasurer Mike Psaros, the Archdiocese has already repaid $1million of the pending total amount it owes to St. Nicholas, and will voluntarily pay interest on the full amount owed to the project. The Archdiocese will also make a voluntary contribution of $670,000 to St. Nicholas. This amount represents the full amount of unrestricted investment returns generated on donations from 2001 – 2012.

    Finally, Ms. Allen announced that the Archdiocese will repay its debt to St. Nicholas with interest. The amount of the interest payment will be confirmed following the SIC’s completion of the findings report, which will include the finalized amount owed by the Archdiocese to St. Nicholas.

    Phase 2 of the SIC’s investigation is also being conducted by PwC. The work is ongoing and includes a review of the St. Nicholas project’s baseline costs and cost increases, a review of design changes, and an analysis of vendor payments with the goal of identifying potential non-disclosed relationships between the St. Nicholas project management team and vendors paid with St. Nicholas funds. The SIC’s findings report is expected to complete within one month.

    Immediately following the completion of Phase 2, Phase 3 of the SIC’s investigation will begin. It will largely be a project management and design exercise intended to finalize construction plans, costs, and a revised timeline for completion of the project.

    The SIC is committed to completing its comprehensive and exhaustive investigation into mismanagement allegations around the St. Nicholas project, and to addressing all issues potentially raised in this investigation before construction proceeds.

    The St. Nicholas Church will be a sacred space with its doors open to all. As a National Shrine on hallowed ground, it will stand in memorial to the lives lost on September 11, 2001, as a symbol of reconciliation, and as a spiritual beacon of hope and for generations to come. The Archdiocese remains committed to the completion of this deeply meaningful landmark and spiritual capstone to the World Trade Center site redevelopment effort.

    • Wayne Matthew Syvinski says

      Can any of our esteemed blog readers provide a copy of the engagement letter from PricewaterhouseCoopers?

    • Greatly Saddened says

      Rather than all these Madison Avenue style professionally put together press releases, why not try speaking from the heart and give us the straight and honest scoop. I personally feel this archdiocese, to include hierarchs and the hierarchal appointed laity, seem to have lost touch with the general laity. Perhaps being in and around the so called “ivory tower” has hindered you from being able to communicate to us in a somewhat down to earth fashion.

      If you seem to be so concerned with your image, why not try putting all your energy and resources in speaking the truth and in learning to balance the books. That in my estimation would be a great start!

    • Greatly Saddened says

      Below please find an article from Sunday on the Greek News Online website.

      I guess we should be ever so thankful and grateful that “less” than $3.7 million dollars of Saint Nicholas at Ground Zero funds were used by the archdiocese. Who is kidding who, even the use of $100.00 woud have been too much and wrong!

      Less than $3.7 mil. of St. Nicholas funds were used by Archdiocese
      MAY 6TH, 2018
      COMMUNITY, 
      GREECE, 
      TOP STORY

      http://www.greeknewsonline.com/less-than-3-7-mil-of-st-nicholas-funds-were-used-by-archdiocese/

  11. George Michalopulos says
  12. Vaseili Doukas says

    Please post the Gail Sheppard and most recent comments about the planned destruction of the GOA

  13. Greatly Saddened says

    I wonder if these words below may seem to ring a bell with the boys from East 79th Street. Do they sound familiar … because they sure should!

    “Tell them lies— repeat them over and over again and eventually they’ll believe it – even if there isn’t an ounce of validity or evidence to back the claim.”

    Now, in addition to being used by politicians, it seems
    it may also be applicable to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese as well.

  14. Greatly Saddened says

    I wonder if these words below may seem to ring a bell with the boys from East 79th Street. Do they sound familiar … because they sure should!

    “Tell them lies – repeat them over and over again and eventually they’ll believe it – even if there isn’t an ounce of validity or evidence to back the claim.”

    Now, in addition to being used by politicians, it seems it may also be applicable to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America as well.

  15. Ashley Nevins says

    Objectively, it is interesting watching the GOA destroy itself with systemic corruption, incompetency and cultism. It is even more interesting reading that many believe the problem is somehow the solution to the problem.

    The GOA does not seem to understand that systemic corruption means that hierarchy, priests, laity and monastics are all corrupted and that what is corrupted cannot provide the solution to what is causing the corruption. The problem is much wider than an incompetent archbishop and scapegoating patriarch of Astoria NY sex abuse corruption fame. The hypocrisy could not be more apparent. Hypocrisy is not the solution to the hypocritical problem of this debacle.

    The archbishop did not create this problem by himself. The entire GOA for decades has enabled this level of incompetency and corruption and done nothing to stop it. The GOA would rather keep embracing and enabling what is destroying it rather than come to corporate (system wide) repentance of its systemic and cultic corruptions.

    Yes, GOA, keep promoting such things as aerial toll houses as part of the process of salvation.

    I also find it interesting that some can recognize the systemic corruption of the hierarchy and not see the cult corruption of the Ephraim monasteries and even believe that if Ephraim monastics were metropolitan’s then such corruption and incompetency problems would cease. That thinking simply does not understand just how systemically corrupt the GOA really is or what systemic corruption really is.

    It was the systemic corruption that allowed the cultism of Ephraim into the GOA. Denial of that will not provide any solution to GOA systemic corruption and its obvious death spiral as a dead church that is really only relevant to itself in its Greek ethnocentric cultic thinking.

    The solution is for the hierarchy to come to repentance and then lead the GOA through a corporate or system wide repentance process. What it is going to take to get the hierarchy and the greater GOA itself to become that humble before the Lord in repentance is far more than any of you can currently imagine.

    Yes, just when is the GOA hierarchy going to repent and lead the church through a corporate process of repentance, recovery and restoration?

    Years ago I told the GOA laity that is concerned about the corrupt state of their church to show up in force at the archdiocese clergy/laity conferences and confront the problems in protest. To disrupt the corrupt leadership by exposing it in protest of its incompetency and corruption. I did that once was kicked out and had the police called on me. Oh, but the GOA laity instead of protest in person is afraid, apathetic and indifferent and spiritually immature passive. Now look at what they have as a church.

    You get the church you make the Jesus Christ like sacrifices for and if you don’t you get what the GOA is. You can have hundreds of parishes but if the church is systemically corrupt, cultic, has a arrogant superior attitude, is a exclusive closed system, is incompetently led and is really only relevant to itself what do you really have as a church in America? Jesus Christ in the Gospels is what this church characterizes?

    Looks like to me that GO have a corrupt, cultic and dying church that claims to be Gods only true church. I can verify that by experience others and myself have had with it and it is obvious unless you are in spiritually deceived denial.

    GO is Lord have mercy the solution to the death spiral of the GOA?

    What is it going to take for this church to be resurrected from the DEAD? What is bottom for this church, is it church death?

    Satan will not prevail against Christ and His church but does that mean the largest Orthodox jurisdiction in America is impervious to destroying itself? It can die and go away and few will even notice that it did. That is how irrelevant it really is in America. I am firm believer in removing rotted dead wood.

    It’s not like the GO were not told of the problems and their consequences for a generation or longer. Now it’s too little far too late to solve the dying state of church problem. You can lead the dead to Christ’s living water and if they don’t drink it’s because they’re dead.

    • Ashley,

      There is something bitter and evil in your comments. Your son was not psychologically strong enough to endure the rigors of entering an Orthodox monastery as a novitiate. Now you all are taking out your frustration and pain over that fact at what everyone agrees is a dysfunctional, tiny little slice of Orthodoxy known as GOARCH. The monks at Fr. Ephraim’s monastery were too ascetic for your tastes, GOARCH is too worldly. Fine. No one is asking you to convert to Orthodoxy. We have enough of our own problems, frankly.

      I doubt most of what your son allegedly told you about the Athonites in Arizona is close to accurate. Most of it is his spin and yours. You do not come from an Orthodox background and the psychological shock of encountering a different worldview is too much for you in the wake of your sons tragic death, just as it was too much for him to enter a monastery before he had had a long time to acclimate himself to the general mindset of an Orthodox layman and unlearn all of his latent Protestantism.

      Mistakes were made by all.

      Time to let it go.

      • Anonymous says

        Misha,

        Sigh. Where to start. Stripping away the emotional and insulting statements from your post, we are left with this: “Most of it is his spin and yours.”

        What evidence do you have to back up your claim? You claim that “most of” what Ashley and Diane Nevins, Scott Nevins, and all those who raise questions and have testified are “spinning”? Again, please provide evidence, with links.
        s? If you have no evidence, it is far better to remain silent.

      • Well said, Misha. Every time Ashley submits a post, it is laced with bitterness and evil. It is always a very sad thing to read.

      • Jane Rachel says

        Misha,

        I’m reposting directly under your comments to Ashley Nevins, in case my other post gets lost at the bottom of the page. The issues are too important to “let it go” as if what happened and is still happening are “mistakes.”

        Misha,
        Stripping away your emotional insults, we are left with this:

        “Your son was not psychologically strong enough to endure the rigors of entering an Orthodox monastery as a novitiate.”

        How do you know? Scott Nevins was at the monastery for more than five years.

        “I doubt most of what your son allegedly told you about the Athonites in Arizona is close to accurate. Most of it is his spin and yours.”

        They are Ephraimites, not Athonites. How do you know “Most if it is his spin and yours”? Have you read the interview they gave? Have you read the “Letter of Demand”? Have you read the article I linked to regarding money laundering? Have you read countless other statements from websites online? The Nevins gave signed statements drawn up by a lawyer.

        I have a question. The parents state that Scott Nevins was admitted to hospital more than once for dehydration due to taking too many probiotics. Take a look at the monastery grounds, covered in opulent, green landscaping. How much water was used to water those plants? How did Scott get so dehydrated that he had to go to the hospital?

        If you don’t have evidence to back up your claims, you are only giving opinions, which mean nothing.

        Mr. Nevins wrote:
        “I also find it interesting that some can recognize the systemic corruption of the hierarchy and not see the cult corruption of the Ephraim monasteries and even believe that if Ephraim monastics were metropolitan’s then such corruption and incompetency problems would cease. That thinking simply does not understand just how systemically corrupt the GOA really is or what systemic corruption really is.

        It was the systemic corruption that allowed the cultism of Ephraim into the GOA. Denial of that will not provide any solution to GOA systemic corruption and its obvious death spiral as a dead church that is really only relevant to itself in its Greek ethnocentric cultic thinking.”

        Now THAT makes sense.

        Keep it up, Mr. Nevins.

        • George Michalopulos says

          Jane Rachel, the term “Ephraimite” is synonymous with “Athonite” at least here in the U.S. It is neither a pejorative nor are a laudation but merely a short-hand term conjured up (for whatever reason) by people because these monasteries were founded by the Elder. Nothing more.

          • johnkal says

            George, I don’t think the two terms are synonymous. Ephraim endorses and practices a particular type of monasticism. Not all Athonites practice the same form of monasticism. Some of the monasteries are not even communion with each other.The monasticism practiced at Simonopetra is very different from that of Ephraim.

        • Jane,

          There is no such thing as an Ephraimite. Fr. Ephraim is an Athonite monk who received a blessing to found Athonite monasteries here in the United States. Arizona is not the only one under his direction.

          “’Your son was not psychologically strong enough to endure the rigors of entering an Orthodox monastery as a novitiate.’

          How do you know? Scott Nevins was at the monastery for more than five years.”

          Because he bolted, ending up deeply conflicted and killed himself. That is pretty convincing.

          What constitutes, precisely, “systematic corruption”? I see a young man who attained the age of majority, therefore responsible for his own thoughts, feelings and actions, exercised his right as an American to freely associate with whomever he wished and became depressed and suicidal because of a head on collision of irreconcilable worldviews: that of the milquetoast, Protestant McChristianity, a hybrid of Christian remnants and secular humanism, and traditional Orthodoxy in its most refined, demanding and weaponized form – Orthodox monasticism.

          Make no mistake, Scott Nevins’ own inner demons got him killed, not Athonite monks. I have read the Demand Letter, that is what prompted my comments. You’re suing a monastery when the only witnesses to what actually happened are either dead, hysterical grieving parents or the monks who continue to live there. No doubt a court will sort out fact from fiction as best it can, but the fact remains that Athonite monasticism is a more or less fixed phenomenon which Scott attempted to assimilate but could not, given his own condition. Countless scores of monastics over the last thousand years or so have been able to assimilate it. It is not surprising that some can’t or won’t.

          The solution to that is to simply walk away and leave it be. For some reason Scott was compelled within himself not to do that. But no one had a magic death ray or secret spell that was cast over him overriding his free will. And it is certain that no monk put a gun in his hand.

          Athonite monasticism isn’t going anywhere but upward.

          • Jane Rachel says

            Misha,

            You and all are free to post here and let everyone know your opinions, apparently. Why do you want to silence Mr. Ashley Nevins? “Hysterical grieving parents”? That is the oldest trick in the book. Have you watched the interview? They are far from hysterical. Ashley Nevins’ eyes flash with intelligence.

            I responded to Michael Stankovich’s post, but it has not been posted yet. Did you know this? Did you know that Saint Paisios and Saint Porphyrios did not think highly of Elder Ephraim or the Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos?
            “Both these saints criticized and disagreed with his methodologies as an Elder. They believed he was deluded and they cautioned people about him. St. Paisios was also very critical of Philotheou Monastery and how things were run there; especially the practice of ‘yelling the prayer.’ St. Paisios would tell pilgrims who were thinking of visiting Philotheou, ‘Don’t go there, it’s too noisy.’ … In the mid-90’s, Geronda Joseph Voutsas (NY); Gerondissa Olympiada Voutsas (PA) and Gerondissa Melanie Mikragiannis (WI) would tell pilgrims about St. Porphyrios, ‘Yes, he was very holy but he was also very critical of Geronda Ephraim.’ Apparently, all three of them, together with Sister Vryenni, went to visit St. Porphyrios when they were lay people, and heard themselves many negative things come out of St. Porphyrios mouth about Geronda Ephraim, ‘Things not worth repeating!’”

            Wait a second. You wrote: “Because he bolted, ending up deeply conflicted and killed himself. That is pretty convincing.”

            How do you know he “bolted”? He was running for his life, according to his own and his parents’ testimony. He was not allowed to take anything with him. He had been there for at least seven years. He did not “bolt” because he was emotionally immature, but because he was afraid for his life. That is the testimony. What right do you have to state otherwise? Were you there?

            I am going to say this. I have doubts about the narrative we were given. There are so many unanswered questions about his death. But you cannot answer them. You will continue to believe what you are told, because that is what you want to believe. I will never place blame on Scott Nevins or his parents. I will look at facts, continue research and continue to be alarmed.

            I will also say this. I was around Monomakhos during the time when the OCA was in a great upheaval. I spoke openly, over and over, that I KNOW the allegations against Fr. Robert Kondratick, and the lies leveled against Bishop Nikolai Soraich are FALSE. Lives were destroyed by the systemic corruption in the Church on this earth. I am bringing this up again and I am back on Monomakhos because HERE WE GO AGAIN.

            I believe Ashley and Diane Nevins. I believe Scott Nevins. I believe Niko. I will not stop asking questions. George may decide not to post my replies to people, but I will keep trying.

            No one addresses the truth about Emmanuel Mamalakis and money laundering, where two Ephramite monasteries are implicated. God forbid we should look at facts. http://www.pappaspost.com/businessman-implicated-in-complex-money-laundering-scandal-involving-ephraimite-monasteries/

            In case my reply to good ol’ Michael Stankovich doesn’t get posted, I will ask these questions here:

            Scott Nevins wrote this about Elder Ephraim: “He’s no ascetic either! He has two refrigerators full of expensive, imported foods all to himself, and his own, personal cook. He eats lobster, imported cheeses, and fine wines, daily.”

            I have a question: Why was Scott Nevins admitted to hospital several times for dehydration? From another ex-novitiate: “for the record,” says Niko, “I was told the Elder Ephraim was taught this by his spiritual Fr on Mt Athos, Father Joseph (Papou Josef) and that one time Fr Ephraim had been plagued with pride and was found beating himself mercilessly with ‘the cane’ in his cell, or a small church on the mountain. The story goes that he was heard to be confessing his sinful pride, beating the shit out of himself while at the same time screaming at himself to ‘Stop…STOP’, he continued on and was purged of pride and it has never returned to him to this day.” Niko also testified: “[Abbot] Paisios told me to make a whip out of an electrical cord and whip myself with it and do it in an inconspicuous place so people wouldn’t notice. He recommended on chest or my back or on the shoulders. I chose the upper part of my body. That was part of the daily routine. He even showed me how thick the whip should be. I went to Walmart and I was describing it to the salesperson, who asked me for what purpose would I use it, and I couldn’t come up with an answer.”
            Is this common practice on Mount Athos? Is it common practice at the OCA monasteries? Is GOD in this. No. Way.

            Misha, methinks thou dost protest too much.

            • Michael Bauman says

              Jane, Mr. Nevins has not been silenced. But after being subjected time and again to 1200-1500 word screeds that are essentially the same in every particular it comes down to this: My name is Ashley Nevins, you killed my son, you are filth and deserve to die.

              Got it.

              I pray that his natural, derp and heartfelt grief does not fester in his soul. The thing about suicide is that it can create great guilt on those left. That guilt if not submitted to got can destroy people. Coming here and constantly condemning the Church and everyone in it is harmful to Mr. Nevins.

              The fact of the matter is that suicide is the result of a person agreeing with Satan that they should die. Lots of sin around to be sure but wallowing in guilt and condemnation only extends the sin. Revenge masquerading as justice.

              Praying for the repose of Scott’s soul and seeking mercy is much more effective.

              • George Michalopulos says

                And that, will be the last word.

                Thank you Michael, for getting to the nub of the matter.

    • Jane Rachel says

      From an interview with Paul Pantanizopoulos, Niko Pantanizopoulos’ son:
      P: First of all, Niko has always been healthy and has never had an ongoing illness. Niko wrote and told us, almost from the beginning of his stay there, that he was not well. He complained of an ongoing cough, then of pain in his stomach and an abdominal pain when he walked. Although the monks took him to a doctor and Niko was given prescription medication for an ulcer and for GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease), he later told us that the monks were giving him St. Johns wort, an herb. We researched the herb and discovered that it is one used to treat depression. And we ask, ‘If a monastery is supposed to be a healthy environment, then why is our son sick’?

      • Jane Rachel says

        M. Stankovich. I tried to reply under your comment, but it did not appear there.
        Michael,
        Sticking to the facts and ignoring the rhetoric, we get this:
        You wrote:
        “Those who “hypothesize,” theorize, blame, and attribute scandal, purposeful wrongdoing, and outright evil to those monastics who are in this world to contend with darkness and demons, specifically for this world and for its salvation. should shock us.”
        I presume you are talking about how we should be SHOCKED! SHOCKED! by my posts, along with the countless others who raise questions – not about monasticism in general, mind you, but about these specific Ephraimite Monasteries established in these here United States. It isn’t “scandal,” it is fact. Here are some facts: Saint Anthony Monastery in Arizona and Saint Chrysostomos Monastery in Wisconsin have been directly connected to the Mamalakis’ money laundering scheme, as reported in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. Do you need the links again, so you can read it for yourself? How is that a theory? It is FACT.
        Where is blame being placed? I’m not “blaming” the monasteries, nor Ephraim nor Paisios. I am asking questions and reading factual accounts, and doing a lot of research. This is serious stuff, and the deeper I delve, the more alarmed I become. There is a possibility (indeed) that you are wrong, incorrect, misinformed, and unwilling to bother to find out the truth. Ashley Nevins is as far from being “superficial, unlearned and ignorant” of the FACTS as he can be.
        You wrote: “Ancient customs and practices” that are passed down from the Holy Fathers…” did you know that Saint Paisios and Saint Porphyrios did not think highly of Elder Ephraim or the Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos?
        “Both these saints criticized and disagreed with his methodologies as an Elder. They believed he was deluded and they cautioned people about him. St. Paisios was also very critical of Philotheou Monastery and how things were run there; especially the practice of ‘yelling the prayer.’ St. Paisios would tell pilgrims who were thinking of visiting Philotheou, ‘Don’t go there, it’s too noisy.’ … In the mid-90’s, Geronda Joseph Voutsas (NY); Gerondissa Olympiada Voutsas (PA) and Gerondissa Melanie Mikragiannis (WI) would tell pilgrims about St. Porphyrios, “Yes, he was very holy but he was also very critical of Geronda Ephraim.” Apparently, all three of them, together with Sister Vryenni, went to visit St. Porphyrios when they were lay people, and heard themselves many negative things come out of St. Porphyrios mouth about Geronda Ephraim, ‘Things not worth repeating!’”
        Go ahead, give it your best shot.
        Saint Anthony the Great’s calling was this: ““If you will be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me,” (Matt. 19:21)”
        Does anyone see the irony in your application of this verse to these opulent, money-making monasteries? Good God Almighty. Get a clue.
        Of COURSE Elder Ephraim comes across as “ a small, elderly man who emanated peace, piety, and most importantly, love. He was kind, gentle, warm, and unforgettably loving.” So that makes YOU right and Scott Nevins, and others who lived there wrong and deluded about their testimonies, which they experienced and you did not? Were you there?
        Scott Nevins wrote this about Elder Ephraim: “He’s no ascetic either! He has two refrigerators full of expensive, imported foods all to himself, and his own, personal cook. He eats lobster, imported cheeses, and fine wines, daily.”
        I have a question: Why was Scott Nevins admitted to hospital several times for dehydration? From another ex-novitiate: “for the record,” says Nikos, “I was told the Elder Ephraim was taught this by his spiritual Fr on Mt Athos, Father Joseph (Papou Josef) and that one time Fr Ephraim had been plagued with pride and was found beating himself mercilessly with ‘the cane’ in his cell, or a small church on the mountain. The story goes that he was heard to be confessing his sinful pride, beating the shit out of himself while at the same time screaming at himself to ‘Stop…STOP’, he continued on and was purged of pride and it has never returned to him to this day.” Nikos also testified: “[Abbot] Paisios told me to make a whip out of an electrical cord and whip myself with it and do it in an inconspicuous place so people wouldn’t notice. He recommended on chest or my back or on the shoulders. I chose the upper part of my body. That was part of the daily routine. He even showed me how thick the whip should be. I went to Walmart and I was describing it to the salesperson, who asked me for what purpose would I use it, and I couldn’t come up with an answer.”
        Is this common practice on Mount Athos? Is it common practice at the OCA monasteries?
        Why do you want to shut up Mr. Nevins, again? I forgot. The meaning got lost in the words.

      • Jane Rachel says

        Question: Scott Nevins wrote under a photo of a saguaro cactus on his Facebook page: “This is the beautiful saguaro cactus, which I was told, can not legally be knocked down, unless the cactus’ position conflicts with building. Elder Ephraim had his monks knock over countless saguaro cacti for absolutely no reason at all. The man is a criminal at best (May 25, 2012).” Why did the monastery knock down countless saguaro cacti?

        Another question: Why did the monastery have an illegal still on the premises? Scott Nevins wrote on his Facebook page: “Distilling alcohol is illegal in Arizona, but Elder Ephraim still has his monks distill alcohol! This man has no respect for the law. Don’t have anything to do with him (May 25, 2012). [2 days before his suicide, Scott commented on this post: Elder Ephraim correction: it’s illegal without a license, and they could obtain one; however, they choose not to. (9 June 2012 at 19:34)”

        Another question for all you Saint Anthony’s Monastery supporters out there: How is this a good thing? I know! Let’s attack Nikos and ignore what he testifies to here! Go ahead. Give it your best shot.
        Nikos testifies: “Paisios told me to make a whip out of an electrical cord and whip myself with it and do it in an inconspicuous place so people wouldn’t notice. He recommended on chest or my back or on the shoulders.
        TNH: Did you do that?
        Smith: Sure, I chose the upper part of my body. That was part of the daily routine. He even showed me how thick the whip should be. I went to Walmart and I was describing it to the salesperson, who asked me for what purpose would I use it, and I couldn’t come up with an answer.”

    • M. Stankovich says

      Now it’s too little far too late to solve the dying state of church problem. You can lead the dead to Christ’s living water and if they don’t drink it’s because they’re dead.

      So, Mr. Nevins, having reached this brilliant conclusion, you are now free to extricate yourself from this entire relationship with the Orthodox Church and move on. Except for the fact that you cannot. Why? Because you fail to see how you have entered a symbiotic relationship with the Orthodox, and have become “impervious to destroying yourself.” In fact, you fail to see how you have remarkably transformed yourself into the mirror image of what you proclaim to despise and loathe – and ironically, whereas for the longest time, your words were at least met with some effort to attempt to comfort you – now, it is rare that your rants are even addressed. I, for one, was simply taken aback at your words suggesting that the Orthodox Church “can die and go away and few will even notice that it did,” when you have fashioned yourself into such an unsympathetic caricature, that the same could be said of you, as a realistic statement of just “how irrelevant” you have become. If you are a “firm believer in removing rotted dead wood,” then you need to take your own advice and leave here. You have not made a new or insightful statement, literally, in years, and your words have become a Byzantine “ison,” such as it is; intended, when properly executed, to maintain both pitch and pace, otherwise serving as an annoying distraction and detraction from the greater message. This is not an “investigative body” or a news organization, nor is it a motivational platform for “action” within or about the Orthodox Church, nor is this a body for the initiation of “justice” despite the fact that others have chosen to deposit their their own unresolved trash in the front yard of this site. And the most disturbing aspects of your continued presence here is your fundamental lack of respect and gratitude to the members of this forum – from Mr. Michalopulos, who has attempted to bear your suffering by publishing your voluminous, detailed, and specific insults and outright castigation of contributors to this blog, as well as to the individuals who offered you heartfelt prayers, sympathy, empathy, and Christian love, only to be insulted for years by your “dead church” rhetoric and obsession.

      Those who “hypothesize,” theorize, blame, and attribute scandal, purposeful wrongdoing, and outright evil to those monastics who are in this world to contend with darkness and demons, specifically for this world and for its salvation. should shock us. They should shock us for their superficial, unlearned, and ignorant second guessing of the ancient traditions of the monastic life – the angelic life – passed down to us from the Holy Fathers of the Philokalia and the Fathers of Athos through centuries of monastic tradition. Instead, we are asked to “examine” a YouTube interview and apply our collective “wisdom” from this world to determine the “authenticity” of the monastic instruction – and I don’t know what – evaluate the wisdom and “safety” of the ancient customs and practices. The Lord only knows what these “monastic experts” would determine which conspiracy should be concluded if Geronda Ephraim stated to these novice monks, “If you will be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me,” (Matt. 19:21) such is the level of “suspicion” for righteousness. I have said several times on this forum, I was skeptical about meeting Geronda Ephraim – “He is clairvoyant,” “He can tell you your sins,” “He can see your struggles and offer you insight” – everything smelled of “cult, of someone looking for money… And when I finally met him, I was surprisingly underwhelmed. No miracles, no levitation, no grandiose “insights,” but instead a small, elderly man who emanated peace, piety, and most importantly, love. He was kind, gentle, warm, and unforgettably loving.

      Mr. Nevins, you need to move on. In this state of mind, you will never understand because you are blind. You are like the last angry forest dwellers in CS Lewis’ The Last Battle, the final book of the Chronicles of Narnia, who only see darkness and refuse to see the dawn of the New Day opening before them. The people of Narnia beg them to open their eyes and look, but they scream as they cover their heads, that they are being tricked – there is only darkness. Enough, Mr. Nevins. You don’t belong here, and you will find no peace here. Let this be the end.

      • Jane Rachel says

        Michael,
        Sticking to the facts and ignoring your rhetoric, we get this:
        You wrote:
        “Those who ‘hypothesize,’ theorize, blame, and attribute scandal, purposeful wrongdoing, and outright evil to those monastics who are in this world to contend with darkness and demons, specifically for this world and for its salvation. should shock us.”
        I presume you are talking about how we should be SHOCKED! SHOCKED! by my posts, along with the countless others who raise questions – not about monasticism in general, mind you, but about these specific Ephraimite Monasteries established in these here United States. It isn’t “scandal,” it is fact. Here are some facts: Saint Anthony Monastery in Arizona and Saint Chrysostomos Monastery in Wisconsin have been directly connected to the Mamalakis’ money laundering scheme, as reported in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. Do you need the links again, so you can read it for yourself? How is that a theory? It is FACT.

        Where is blame being placed? I’m not “blaming” the monasteries, nor Ephraim nor Paisios. I am asking questions and reading factual accounts, and doing a lot of research. This is serious stuff, and the deeper I delve, the more alarmed I become. There is a possibility (indeed) that you are wrong, incorrect, misinformed, and unwilling to bother to find out the truth. Mr. Ashley Nevins is as far from being “superficial, unlearned and ignorant” of the FACTS as he can be.

        You wrote: “Ancient customs and practices” that are passed down from the Holy Fathers…” Did you know that Saint Paisios and Saint Porphyrios did not think highly of Elder Ephraim or the Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos?
        “Both these saints criticized and disagreed with his methodologies as an Elder. They believed he was deluded and they cautioned people about him. St. Paisios was also very critical of Philotheou Monastery and how things were run there; especially the practice of ‘yelling the prayer.’ St. Paisios would tell pilgrims who were thinking of visiting Philotheou, ‘Don’t go there, it’s too noisy.’ … In the mid-90’s, Geronda Joseph Voutsas (NY); Gerondissa Olympiada Voutsas (PA) and Gerondissa Melanie Mikragiannis (WI) would tell pilgrims about St. Porphyrios, “Yes, he was very holy but he was also very critical of Geronda Ephraim.” Apparently, all three of them, together with Sister Vryenni, went to visit St. Porphyrios when they were lay people, and heard themselves many negative things come out of St. Porphyrios mouth about Geronda Ephraim, ‘Things not worth repeating!’”

        Go ahead, give it your best shot.

        Saint Anthony the Great’s calling was this: ““If you will be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me,” (Matt. 19:21).” Does anyone see the irony in your application of this verse to these opulent, money-making monasteries? Good God Almighty. Get a clue.

        Of COURSE Elder Ephraim comes across as “ a small, elderly man who emanated peace, piety, and most importantly, love. He was kind, gentle, warm, and unforgettably loving.” So that makes YOU right and Scott Nevins, and others who lived there, wrong and deluded about their testimonies, which they experienced and you did not? Were you there?

        Scott Nevins wrote this about Elder Ephraim: “He’s no ascetic either! He has two refrigerators full of expensive, imported foods all to himself, and his own, personal cook. He eats lobster, imported cheeses, and fine wines, daily.”

        I have a question: Why was Scott Nevins admitted to hospital several times for dehydration?

        From another ex-novitiate: “For the record,” says Nikos, “I was told the Elder Ephraim was taught this by his spiritual Fr on Mt Athos, Father Joseph (Papou Josef) and that one time Fr Ephraim had been plagued with pride and was found beating himself mercilessly with ‘the cane’ in his cell, or a small church on the mountain. The story goes that he was heard to be confessing his sinful pride, beating the shit out of himself while at the same time screaming at himself to ‘Stop…STOP’, he continued on and was purged of pride and it has never returned to him to this day.” Nikos also testified: “[Abbot] Paisios told me to make a whip out of an electrical cord and whip myself with it and do it in an inconspicuous place so people wouldn’t notice. He recommended on chest or my back or on the shoulders. I chose the upper part of my body. That was part of the daily routine. He even showed me how thick the whip should be. I went to Walmart and I was describing it to the salesperson, who asked me for what purpose would I use it, and I couldn’t come up with an answer.”

        Is this common practice on Mount Athos? Is it common practice at the OCA monasteries?

        Why do you want to shut up Mr. Nevins, again? I forgot. The meaning got lost in the words. I remember you calling me a “rat” years ago, when I was speaking out against the corruption in the OCA. (Hah, shall we talk of that again?)

      • Dear Mr. Stankovich:

        Thank you for your comments. I was deeply moved by your insight.

      • The pain too deep, the cross too heavy. We should just leave the poor fellow alone.

        • Billy Jack Sunday says

          A lot of finger pointing and insults all around

          A lot of history and emotions

          However, the real issue on the table is

          Is the GOA not just suffering from some pockets of corruption here and there, but is, in fact, systemically corrupt.

          If it’s true that the GOA had systemic corruption, the question is

          Why is the GOA systemically corrupt?

          Laying aside simplicity (this is a complicated matter with fine details), emotions and finger pointing

          What are the “Whys”

          How did we get here and why?

          First, does Orthodoxy itself cause an Organization to become systemically corrupted?

          This we would not say. Orthodoxy itself is not the cause. We disagree on this with those who oppose Orthodox theology and practice

          So if Orthodoxy does not cause corruption, what does?

          Sin

          Yes. But more specifically

          Forces

          Getting warmer

          What forces?

          In what way? Why? How?

          Forces and what else? Why?

          More whys will give more answers

          Ehith God’s help, the only hope of an actual resolution

          Do we assume we know the answers, or have we avoided the tough questions and just finger pointed at some guys wearing Imperial Margarine hats?

          Maybe there’s more who in the who category than most of us realize

          Is the GOA in charge of the GOA? Is the EP in charge of the Church of Constantinople?

          Maybe

          However, personally, I believe the answer to both of those questions is yes

          and no

          • Billy,

            You on to something, if not spot!

            All we have to do is honestly ask ourselves who is responsible for our sins, and as a collective group, religion, parish, etc. Who is responsible for our collective shame, corruption and greed.

            We do the best we can Billy. Our best always falls short, and is never perfect.

            God and His Church are perfect. That Church is the Orthodox Church and nothing we do, or don’t do will destroy it, or not keep it perfect.

            We are blessed! Smile, sing, dance, praise, and thank God for all our blessings. I don’t know what I would do without God and His Church, which I am blessed to be a part of.

            Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!(2 Corinthians 9:15)

            BTW. Imperial Margarine hats, cracked me up! Keep on mark brother!

      • Jane Rachel says

        Michael, Michael, Michael,
        Sticking to the facts and ignoring the rhetoric, we get this:
        You wrote:
        “Those who “hypothesize,” theorize, blame, and attribute scandal, purposeful wrongdoing, and outright evil to those monastics who are in this world to contend with darkness and demons, specifically for this world and for its salvation. should shock us.”
        I presume you are talking about how we should be SHOCKED! SHOCKED! by my posts, along with the countless others who raise questions – not about monasticism in general, mind you, but about these specific Ephraimite Monasteries established in these here United States. It isn’t “scandal,” it is fact. Here are some facts: Saint Anthony Monastery in Arizona and Saint Chrysostomos Monastery in Wisconsin have been directly connected to the Mamalakis’ money laundering scheme, as reported in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. Do you need the links again, so you can read it for yourself? How is that a theory? It is FACT.

        Where is blame being placed? I’m not “blaming” the monasteries, nor Ephraim nor Paisios. I am asking questions and reading factual accounts, and doing a lot of research. This is serious stuff, and the deeper I delve, the more alarmed I become. There is a possibility (indeed) that you are wrong, incorrect, misinformed, and unwilling to bother to find out the truth. Ashley Nevins is as far from being “superficial, unlearned and ignorant” of the FACTS as he can be.

        You wrote: “Ancient customs and practices” that are passed down from the Holy Fathers…” did you know that Saint Paisios and Saint Porphyrios did not think highly of Elder Ephraim or the Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos?
        “Both these saints criticized and disagreed with his methodologies as an Elder. They believed he was deluded and they cautioned people about him. St. Paisios was also very critical of Philotheou Monastery and how things were run there; especially the practice of ‘yelling the prayer.’ St. Paisios would tell pilgrims who were thinking of visiting Philotheou, ‘Don’t go there, it’s too noisy.’ … In the mid-90’s, Geronda Joseph Voutsas (NY); Gerondissa Olympiada Voutsas (PA) and Gerondissa Melanie Mikragiannis (WI) would tell pilgrims about St. Porphyrios, “Yes, he was very holy but he was also very critical of Geronda Ephraim.” Apparently, all three of them, together with Sister Vryenni, went to visit St. Porphyrios when they were lay people, and heard themselves many negative things come out of St. Porphyrios mouth about Geronda Ephraim, ‘Things not worth repeating!’”

        Saint Anthony the Great’s calling was this: ““If you will be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me,” (Matt. 19:21)”
        Does anyone see the irony in your application of this verse to these opulent, money-making monasteries? Good God Almighty. Get a clue.

        Of COURSE Elder Ephraim comes across as “ a small, elderly man who emanated peace, piety, and most importantly, love. He was kind, gentle, warm, and unforgettably loving.” So that makes YOU right and Scott Nevins, and others who lived there wrong and deluded about their testimonies, which they experienced and you did not? Were you there?

        Scott Nevins wrote this about Elder Ephraim: “He’s no ascetic either! He has two refrigerators full of expensive, imported foods all to himself, and his own, personal cook. He eats lobster, imported cheeses, and fine wines, daily.”

        I have a question: Why was Scott Nevins admitted to hospital several times for dehydration? From another ex-novitiate: “for the record,” says Nikos, “I was told the Elder Ephraim was taught this by his spiritual Fr on Mt Athos, Father Joseph (Papou Josef) and that one time Fr Ephraim had been plagued with pride and was found beating himself mercilessly with ‘the cane’ in his cell, or a small church on the mountain. The story goes that he was heard to be confessing his sinful pride, beating the shit out of himself while at the same time screaming at himself to ‘Stop…STOP’, he continued on and was purged of pride and it has never returned to him to this day.” Nikos also testified: “[Abbot] Paisios told me to make a whip out of an electrical cord and whip myself with it and do it in an inconspicuous place so people wouldn’t notice. He recommended on chest or my back or on the shoulders. I chose the upper part of my body. That was part of the daily routine. He even showed me how thick the whip should be. I went to Walmart and I was describing it to the salesperson, who asked me for what purpose would I use it, and I couldn’t come up with an answer.”
        Is this common practice on Mount Athos? Is it common practice at the OCA monasteries?

        Why do you want to shut up Mr. Nevins, again? I forgot. The meaning got lost in the all the words you use.

        • George Michalopulos says

          Jane, please understand that while I appreciate your commentary (as well as the recitation of the facts that you present), I’m afraid that we’re going to have to respectfully “agree to disagree” regarding the Elder and his monasteries.

          Several reasons spring to mind:

          1. I’ve visited two of these monasteries over the past 20 years. Almost a dozen times if memory serves and have every intention of going back as God wills.

          2. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the Elder privately for an extended period of time and have found him to the one of the most delightful people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. I may be wrong (as I’m a fallen man) but there is no guile in him.

          3. The fact that two great saints who knew him didn’t like his methodology, admittedly gives me some pause. However the Church is filled with stories of saints who didn’t like each other. Ss Peter and Paul spring instantly to mind. (I don’t believe that they ever reconciled for that matter.)

          4. Jesus said “by their fruits ye shall know them”. The older I get, the more truth I see in that statement by our Lord. We are not saints, even the saints among us are sinners (and boy, am I the chief of sinners). But God works His will through each and every one of us, should we let Him. The fruits of these monasteries are apparent. The fruits of the GOA hierarchy on the other hand –and by this I mean the debacle that is 79th St–are equally apparent.

          Perhaps I’m too forgiving and non-confrontational. I overlook much and try mightily not to look too deeply into things. Especially when it comes to people’s intentions. To me that involves too much judgment on my part. Do I agree with Catholic ecclesiology? Not for one second. Yet I was born in a Catholic hospital, as were my sons. Rather than force them into the open sewer that is government schooling (in my neck of the woods anyway), I sacrificed to give them a private education in a Catholic school. Etc.

          What I’m saying is that nobody’s perfect. No institution likewise. Yet based on my own experiences I am forced to come to an opposite conclusion. That’s all. And please understand that I don’t think your critique is invalid in any way. As long as Monomakhos continues to run I’ll always offer an open forum for honest and good-faith debate.

          • Jane Rachel says

            George, Thanks. So many concerns have been raised by people who know far more than I do. The Elder Ephraim has beaten himself with a cane, and Elder Paisios has ordered others to beat themselves with electrical cords. That being said, I’ll cut-and-paste the following https://www.thenationalherald.com/171780/letter-editor-reader-takes-issue-matsoukas-kalmoukos/:

            BILL STOTIS on JULY 25, 2017 3:53 PM
            This discussion is rife with inaccuracies. The “defense” of the Monasteries under the spiritual direction and control of Elder Ephraim should be the last place that terms like “true Orthodox Christian”, placing judgment on fellow Orthodox Christians or dealing in speculation about others should exist. I served on the Monastery Review Committee (“MRC”) since its inception. I served with Elaine Jaharis and Jerry Dimitriou as well as several others.
            My personal background includes the practice of law for over 30 years, as well as being Chairman of the Board of a Bank in Illinois for a decade. I served in many positions my Bank and was educated in the areas of money laundering and other illegal activities. This is necessary in todays banking environment to identify criminal activity.
            In my law practice, I was retained by defendants charged with a variety of crimes. All of this useful in an investigation. I was picked for the MRC because of my understanding of banking and criminal activity. If you really want to know the truth demand the Hierarchs publish the MRC reports. Yes, I said reports, as in multiple reports.
            The posts I have read here concerning the topic of Elder Ephraim and his Monasteries reek of the tactics used by those who defended the former Priest George Passias. While many of Passias’ parishioners sounded the alarm bell, all they experienced for years was to be attacked. It was not until the release of the video tape that his exploits and the truth came out. Yet the damage from ignoring and attacking good people is still being measured. Here we have people still attacking in the name of what they see as a superior form of Christianity, i.e. the Monasteries of Elder Ephraim.
            Some months ago someone posted information on this blog (in a different story byline) containing more inaccuracies about the Monasteries of Elder Ephraim. I wrote to set the record straight and Mr. Dimitriou posted what is quoted below. Yet we still have individuals making judgments and attacking the truth-tellers. Mrs. Jaharis has a graduate degree in Business from the University of Chicago and is a former banker. Instead of applauding her courage and candor her “true Orthodox” beliefs and even her understanding of the Church Fathers is under attack.

            Here is what Mr. Dimitriou the Executive Director of the GOA had to say then:
            .
            “Jerry Dimitriou on April 13, 2017 7:27 pm
            Dear All,
            Thank you Bill Stotis for your comments! Greetings to Mr. Carris who I have known for over 35 years!
            For the record, I never reviewed financial statements provided by the Monasteries and said they were in “good order”. As Bill Stotis knows, the members of the Monastery Review Committee MRC (of which I was a participant) requested financial statements from ALL of the monasteries but NEVER received most of them. The ones we did receive were insufficient and incomplete. The MRC obtained financial statements of the Monasteries that were filed with their state or filed when they were purchasing properties and not directly from the Monasteries. The financials that we found, were significantly different and showed substantially more assets than those provided by the Monasteries to their Metropolitans or the MRC.
            The Monasteries in the United States are NOT following the regulations set forth by the Synod nor are they complying with the direction of their Metropolitans. They are functioning independent and do not follow the rules or the direction of their Metropolitans in most cases.
            I hope this clarifies some of the statements made above. Bill Stotis’ comments are exactly on point.
            Thanks and have a Kali Anastasi and Blessed Pascha!

            Jerry Dimitriou Executive Director
            Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America”

            Here is the link for the above comments of Mr. Dimitriou:
            http://ocl.org/orthodox-christian-laity-requests-check-monasteries/

            Here is what Mr. Cherpelis had to say on this same issue:

            STEPHEN CHERPELIS on JULY 15, 2017 2:46 PM
            I read again and again the open letter that Elaine Jaharis wrote to “All” and published in the National Herald on July 1. And I read it many times because this is not just a “letter.” This is a homily, this is a sermon, this is a wake-up κήρυγμα that should be read from the pulpit, from the amvona to all the parishioners every Sunday from every priest and every hierarch. The Ephraimite teachings are not the Orthodox Monasticism as we know it, it is not even Christian. It is a devious medieval doctrine that insists in the total obedience to Ephraim and snuffs out our pure, our chaste faith to the crucified for us Son of God Jesus Christ. It is a malignant growth, a “morphoma” that preys on our youth from a very, very, young age and on the weak and elderly.

            I will not devote to these pages as to what I observed personally at the start of this “malignant growth” at my parish. It will take not just pages but whole volumes to describe how devious is this trickster, this mascara, who appeared all of a sudden in our lives and in reality threatens the existence of our Orthodox Church in America (and believe me, in the world!).

            But I will humbly ask the editor of the National Herald to translate and publish Elaine Jaharis’ letter in the daily ΕθνικόςΚήρυξ– after, of course, receiving permission from Elaine Jaharis.

            Respectfully submitted,

            Stephen Cherpelis
            Douglaston, NY

            So the thousands of OCL members, Stephen Cherpelis the vice-chairman of the direct district of the Church and long time Archdiocesan Council member, Elaine Jaharis long time Archdiocesan Council member and member of the Monastery Review Committee (“MRC”), Jerry Dimitriou Executive Director of the Archdiocese and member of the MRC, Bill Stotis former Archdiocesan Council member, also a member of the MRC and many others all see issues. Are they all “liberals, agnostics or atheists”? Are the Monasteries of Ephraim infallible? Do you know for a fact that nothing is wrong? Is suppressing open dialogue by insulting people who engage in dialogue about the Monasteries of Ephraim another heresy associated with the followers of Ephraim?
            Your response to Mr. Matsoukas’ article is an insult to the intelligence of all orthodox Christians. I do not need to even discuss the balance of what was written by you as the first few sentences speak volumes about who you are.

            +++++

            Elaine Jaharis letter:
            Source: The National Herald

            By Elaine Jaharis

            Open Letter to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Archbishop Demetrios, the Synod of Bishops and the Archdiocesan Council – Consultation Committee;

            The selection of the next Metropolitan of the Metropolis of Chicago will shape the future of the entire Greek Orthodox Church in America – for better, or for worse. There is no middle ground. There are many reasons why the “status quo” is unsustainable. This Metropolis cannot survive “more of the same”; or, a “temporary placeholder”.

            An inspired selection will steer the Metropolis in new directions; rejuvenate stewardship rolls; and restore joy to the life of the Church that has been grievously wounded in recent years. An improper selection will doom this Metropolis; accelerate its decline; and start a chain of events that will negatively impact the entire Archdiocese, as well as the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

            The next Metropolitan must be a loving, ethical shepherd who cares for the flock entrusted to him, both clergy andlaity alike. He must possess the temperament, wisdom and insight to engage a laity that is divided and disengaged; heal the divisions among the clergy, who espouse opposing systems of thought and theology.

            The next Metropolitan must be willing and capable of confronting the influence of the Monasteries of the Elder Ephraim on the clergy and parishes of the Metropolis of Chicago, which extend their reach beyond the traditional role of monasteries as part of the Church. He must be willing to vigorously enforce the obligations of these monasteries under the Charter of the Archdiocese, or remove from them the color of legitimacy that they derive from being under his Omophorion. The new Metropolitan cannot claim to be agnostic about this critical issue, while his actions and inactions support them.

            The rapid expansion and outreach of the monasteries of the Elder Ephraim has reached a critical stage. It is approaching the point of no return. The new Metropolitan of the Metropolis of Chicago will either lead the way to rein in their control or he will empower these monasteries to continue to grow, destroying our faith and our communities and creating grave geopolitical and legal repercussions.

            The Eparchial Synod and the Ecumenical Patriarchate have the awesome responsibility to decide the future of the Metropolis of Chicago, the Archdiocese of America and, by extension, the Universal Church of Christ. They will “own” the decision they make, now and forever. I pray that the Holy Spirit, which is present everywhere and fills all things, will come and abide among our Hierarchs to make a selection that will be “pleasing to God” and all of His people.

            Elaine Jaharis has served as a member of the Archdiocesan Council (2004-2017) and as Chair of the Committee on Youth Ministries (2012-2017). She is also a Founder of Faith: An Endowment for Orthodoxy and Hellenism and a member of Leadership 100.

            • I cannot give a direct opinion and I have long been concerned at the lack of Monasticism in USA for Church but my nose in regard to Fr Ephraim and as a psychologist, smells something not right. An unbalanced spiritual life Unhealthy. I leave it at that and his monastery on Mount Athos a business, but if spiritual life not right. Nothing will be right.
              All I can say is thst many years ago I heard fr Ephraim speak and my gut feeling was of unease.
              I contrast this with the memory I have of Elder Sophrony of Essex monastery. AGLOW WITH JOY AND LIGHT AND THE LIFE OF SAINT SERAPHIM.
              The Church has had it’s RASPUTINS along side it’s Holy elders and will continue to do so. Maybe the COMMERCIAL organ and ‘greekfest Culture’ of the Greek church in USA has led to other extreme.

              • Jane Rachel says

                Nikos, thanks. Your insights are much appreciated. I certainly cannot understand the cult standing of Elder Ephraim and his monasteries. SO many unanswered questions. To be honest, although I don’t intend to meet him, ever, he gives me the willies.

                I want to thank George for all your hard work and honesty, and willingness to keep this a free forum. Many thanks for your sensitivity as well, and I apologize to you especially for my hot temper at times.

                I’ve done further research into the dealings around Emmanuel Mamalakis, his company, (SXP Analytics – a high-frequency trading company), and his close connection to the Ephraimite monasteries . For anyone with ears to hear, here is what I have found. This seems to be only the tip of the iceberg. But what do I know?

                Emmanuel Mamalakis was a former securities litigator who had “earned millions from a class action lawsuit and sought a new project.” In the spring of 2007, a priest at Saint Anthony’s Monastery in Arizona introduced Mamalakis (who visits Saint Anthony’s 2-3 times a month, according to his own testimony), to Dr. Vitaliy Godlevsky. “And Dr. Godlevsky had wandered by the exact same monastery at the time and had been talking to a couple of people there, explaining what had been going on with his relationship with Quantlab. And at first that they had actually introduced him to me, they just said, Well, this guy is — you know, if something bad happened to you from your prior employer, talk to this guy. He’s a nice guy. Maybe he can help you out. ” https://newsfraudalert.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/emmanuel-mamalakis-transcript-hearing.pdf

                Who are “they” and what does he mean when he says “if something bad happened to you from your prior employer”? It appears to me that the monastery set up the meeting, and it has been surmised that “they” are Saint Anthony’s Monastery, and that “they” are, or were, a “silent partner” with Mamalakis and his ilk. I am baffled as to why people refuse to question what is going on.

                More on Dr. Godlevsky: https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20140220h01
                Article in the Wall Street Journal: http://www.weareorthodox.com/usersubmissions/WSJ-SXP-and-the-Monastery.pdf

                The company they formed is SXP Analytics, named after Saint Xenia (pray for us!). In addition, Mamalakis was in charge of several “non-profits,” and the IRS tax forms for those non-profits claim the millions that came in went to “indigent individuals” and other 501 (C) (3) organizations. https://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2010/204/295/2010-204295116-07cae77d-9.pdf

                Did “they” go out on the streets and hand out hundreds of thousands of dollars to homeless people? If so, where is the evidence to support that claim? Where are all the happy indigents?

                Apparently, Mamalakis’ mother was bookkeeper at the Saint John Chrysostomos monastery in Milwaukee, and Father Dokos’ family members also apparently worked for Mamalakis. “But in perhaps the most telling ‘connecting of the dots’, the person listed as being in charge of the ‘books and records’ of the International Non-Profit Assistance Foundation (INPAF), is listed with a Florence, AZ address, which happens to be the location of St. Anthony’s Monastery, the world headquarters of Ephraim and his followers.” https://www.thenationalherald.com/32686/american-monastery-money-intrigue/

                Cayman Island OFFSHORE shenanigans: http://www.weareorthodox.com/usersubmissions/WSJ-SXP-and-the-Monastery.pdf “SXP will withdraw funds from its trading account and use such funds to repay a loan it received from INPAF. INPAF will then donate such funds to Foundation, which will subsequently contribute those funds to its Cayman Islands subsidiary, May 1st Financial Ltd. (“Financial”). Financial will then deposit its funds into sxp’s trading account pursuant to the management agreement. In essence, the funds complete a ·’circle” and eventually end up back in SXP’s trading account (although the funds are owned by Financial rather than SXP when the transfers are complete). 46. The bank and tax records reveal that Mamalakis and his entities followed through with the plan concocted by SXP’ s counsel- with further additional steps taken to attempt to hide the transaction.”

                A recent comment by an angry GOA parishioner in an online forum:
                “What about SXP Financial? You know what that is? It is, or rather it “WAS” a high speed stock trading firm that was raided and shut down by the FBI. What does this have to do with the Monastery? Court testimony of one of SXP’s founders indicates Ephraim’s Monastery in Arizona was one of the silent partners. Godlevsky, I believe, is his name. Do not be so naïve to think that all disgruntled “Americans” who are Orthodox ran away to fund the Greek speaking Monasteries of Ephraim. https://ocl.org/who-lost-chicago/

                In case the comment was lost, “Court testimony of one of SXP’s founders indicates Ephraim’s Monastery in Arizona was one of the silent partners.”

                Question: Where does the money come from, and where is the money going?

                • Constantinos says

                  Jane,
                  Excellent investigative reporting on your part. I share your doubts about these Monasteries.

                • George Michalopulos says

                  Jane, I want to thank you for your insights & critiques on this matter. If you don’t mind, I’d like to respectfully respond to them (as well as those others) who have similar views about monasticism here in North America. Thumbnail sketch: we may be talking past each other.

                  To all: please give me the time necessary to formulate my apologia in this matter. In the meantime, I would ask that any further critiques be cogent, fact-based and bereft of any personal animus to the Elder Ephraim and the monasteries that he has planted here in the States.

                  • M. Stankovich says

                    Mr. Michalopulos,

                    The issue here is not “monasticism in north America,” for which I would contend is, in fact, a marvelous distraction from the matter at hand, but a door of obsession which you are re-opening because that’s just the kind of place this is. In my estimation, Jane is prepared to take this forum on the first, “Pardon me, but who cares?” great distractions of 2018, utilizing the worst assortment of the “tools” of defamation:

                    1. The Scripture and the Holy Fathers could not be clearer:

                    if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone: if he shall hear you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be to you as an heathen man and a publican. Truly I say to you, Whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matt. 18:15-18)

                    If you are bold and courageous enough to suggest that a man in the Athonite lineage and tradition is a felony “money-launderer,” hint that he is an accessory to suicide or murder, and that he is master of a felonious “spiritual enterprise” built upon perversity and hypocrisy, you damn well better step into the light as to who you are by name. Jane is not a “whistleblower” – Jane has voluminously quoted whistleblowers ad nauseum. Jane is an anonymous gossip, and by the definition of our Father John Climacus, a “murderous gossip” because she will not face her accused as the Scripture requires; he gives her the “willies.” Instead, she lurks in the shadows of the cowardice of internet anonymity. It is anonymity alone – not authority or righteousness – that enables her attitude of sarcasm. It would vanish in the light.

                    2. “Research” is not Google. Google provides you with what you want, what fits the narrative of your search. Google will not tell you, for example, that one site that ruthlessly attacks Geronda Ephraim is exclusively comprised of parents whose children are monastics in monasteries founded by Ephraim. These “children” are adults who voluntarily chose the monastic life, apparently are content and satisfied, and resent the “tricks” (e.g. rushing home when told a parent is very sick, only to be “confronted” by a family group attempting to keep them home; various takes on “throwing away your life,” “I’ll never have grandchildren,” mourning as if they are dead, etc.). How would you begin to judge the veracity of “fact” without first knowing the ulterior motivation? Jane has sarcastically snapped at me and others, “Setting aside opinion… setting aside rhetoric… setting aside… let’s look at the facts…” “Were you there?” or “How do you know?” she continuously asks, but return the question and she quotes… Google. If this were so easy, I say pack all this bullshit up, take it to the Attorney General of the State of Arizona. Voila! Would that suffice? Absolutely not. Jane “forgot His works, and His wonders that He had showed them.” (Ps. 77:11) Our God has promised justice. He did not promise power.

                    I can only speak for myself, but what is the point of pursuing this here? An anonymous gossip presents Google gossip against an Athonite monk responsible for establishing Athonite-model monasteries on American soil financed by donations alone, and they flourish. Does anyone feel compelled to quit their day job to actively pursue the “take-down” of the hypocrite Ephraim because he keeps gourmet food & drinks in his cell or beats himself with his cane?

                    I am an ambitious man. If I had the time and passion Jane did in the interim she was absent from this site, and the energy she wasted on this “investigation,” I would have gotten a law degree and studied Greek and the Patristic Fathers. I would have a useful skill at my disposal, and some reasonable boundaries.

                    Save your apologia, Mr. Michalopulos, as you are unwittingly being drawn into a morass.

                    • George Michalopulos says

                      Dr S, thank you for your advice (which is well-considered) but it has long been in my heart to write something along these lines. Now, thanks to the catastrophe that is the GOA, it seems more than ever appropriate to write something which compares and contrasts the Athonite experience as established here in America by Elder Ephraim and the Good Luck Opa! Country Club that is the GOA experience as enabled by the L100/Archons.

                      And as I’ve said before, no discussion will be entertained anymore regarding the tragic events that attended the demise of the young Mr Nevins.

                    • Michael Bauman says

                      Michael S & George, the questions I would have:
                      1. What is genuine Athonite Monasticism? (there does not seem to be one way to do it)
                      2. Since we live in a consumerist culture, how can we evaluate and critique any monasticism except in the most superficial ways?

                      Things to consider:
                      A. The culture clubs of pseudo-Orthodox will always be opposed to anything that even looks like monasticism because it is not modern. It embarrasses them. It scares them.

                      B. The Super-Orthodox will be opposed because it is “not rigorous enough” therefore it is not the “real” thing.

                      C. Whatever monasticism is, it will not be liked in this country. Monastics will be seen as kooks, bizarre and dangerous. Of course that does not mean that all Kooks, bizarre and dangerous people are really monastics.

                      D. My brother once told me he thought he was in love with the idea of monasticism rather than with actual monasticism.

                      How do any of us separate our own idea of what monasticism is from what it really is.?

                      The modern world resists even the attempt at holiness and has thousands of built-in distractions to such attempts and trying to living a life devoted to prayer and repentance (the heart of what I believe monasticism is). Any attempt to be monastic will be met with such distractions as well as attempts to stop them out of shame, fear, loathing and perfectionism.

                      Being a monastic is not easy. It is hard, demanding labor of the type few, if any in our modern culture are willing to consider. It is not utilitarian in anyway. It is not to be romanticized or mythologized or demonized.

                      But, what is it?

                    • Jane Rachel says

                      Michael,
                      Baloney.

                    • M. Stankovich says

                      Michael Bauman,

                      As to your question, “What is genuine Athonite Monasticism? (there does not seem to be one way to do it),” I cannot presume to answer this question with any authority, but I can provide you with “apophatic” suggestions about how not to go about discovering it.

                      First, it seems to me equally imposing to be asking, “What does St. Paul really mean by the mystery of Christ and the Church as analogous to “a man [shall] leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh?” (Eph. 5:31) And even further, continue the thought with Paul Evdokimov, “What do you mean by conjugal love in marriage is transcendent and is an image of the intimacy of Christ and the Church?” In both cases, the the only definitive answer is discovered one way: “γεύσασθε καὶ ἴδετε ὅτι χρηστὸς ὁ Κύριος” [taste and see that the Lord is Good]. (Ps. 33:9 [Sep]) Or, as the Lord called to Andrew, who called to his brother, Simon Peter, and Philip who called to his brother Nathaniel: “Come and see.” (Jn. 1:39, 42, 46) Then the problems begin…

                      In both cases, it seems fair to say that the Church speaks of both the angelic life of monasticism and the conjugal love of Christian Marriage as μυστήρια, and in fact, St. Paul refers to the relationship of Christ to the Church (as an analogy to assist us in understanding the enormity of the marital relationship) as a “great [μέγα] mystery.” (Eph. 5:32) Nevertheless, the reference is not to something “mysterious,” but rather to something revealed only to its initiates and the root from which the word is derived: μύστης, “an initiate/one initiated (into).” Likewise, this derives from μυέω, “to initiate; the act of leading, teaching, instructing another into the initiation.) [Note BJS: in case you don’t read the Greek, μυέω is not “meow,” but rather “mu-Eo.” It’s a joke, dude]. Why do I raise this point? I had suggested earlier that at least I was disgusted that someone would “betray” what is sacred to any monastic, the content of their cell, or what he or she does within the context of their cell. I will never forget reading a Russian novel (and I would swear the title was translated as Village Folk, but I can’t find it – if anyone can help) where in a very powerful scene, a village “simpleton” is very ill, and when the priest and his friends brought the doctor and they began to undress him, someone cried out in a loud whisper, “Oh, Fr., look!” The man had wrapped his upper torso in barbed wire. Do they do that in OCA monasteries? Should the bishops be sending “specially trained” readers to silently sit in a corner of your bedroom to be sure that the sanctified μυστήριον of your marital life with your spouse is “proper & appropriate?” If you say this is a ridiculous idea, duh. Does it make more sense in a monk’s cell?

                      My final thought, Michael Bauman, is that, over the course of years and many issues, we have heard from “councils” on Mt. Athos who have felt compelled to warn or condemn us for one thing or another. Nevertheless, we have not received any council as to the matter of the monasteries of the GOA. Nor have we heard from any American Orthodox monasteries from any jurisdiction regarding these monasteries. In other words, we have heard from a parade of Googled individuals whose motivation is unclarified and unknown, but where is the word of the μύστης? Is silence assent?

                      The maxim is Qui tacet consentit: the maxim of the law is “Silence gives consent”. If therefore you wish to construe what my silence betokened, you must construe that I consented.

                      — Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons

                      I literally see monasteries where there were none, filled with monastics where there had been none. That and, “God is my King of old, working salvation in the middle of the earth.” (Ps. 73:12)

                    • George Michalopulos says

                      Dr S, you have outdone yourself with this exegesis. The “mystery” of the “initiation” that exists within the monastic cell (really his/her relationship with the divine) is akin to the mystery of conjugal love. It is sad that this type of affection is not as preponderant as it should be. Having said that, what you wrote is beyond profound.

                      Thank you.

                    • M. Stankovich says

                      The novel I cited above as recalling to be titled Village Folk, suddenly struck me at 2255 PST: The Cathedral Folk by 19th century Russian writer Nicholai Leskov. Where did I learn about this author? Fr. Alexander Schmemann’s course, “The Church in Russian Literature” in 1978. Holy Cow!

              • M. Stankovich says

                I am concerned when someone who claims to be a psychologist indicates “I cannot give a direct opinion,” but then proceeds to do so (and then some), apparently based upon gut-level reactions and his “nose.” Being trained in an evidence-based model of the practice of psychiatry, attempting to manage my own level of bias with replicable, corroborated, and substantiated data, perhaps you utilize an unique form of assessment of which I am unfamiliar? Otherwise, I would suggest that you tread the very fine line of appearing to assess a patient you have never actually evaluated, or risk appearing to draw a psychological conclusion of an individual you have never examined based on a “special” intuition. While I would certainly agree we are all entitled to our personal opinions, and our private professional opinions, I would suggest you be more careful in regard to your ethical responsibility when publishing.

  16. Greatly Saddened says

    In today’s Ethnikos Kyrix there is an article pertaining to the most recent meeting of the Archdiocesan Council held in Pittsbugh. It states there seems to be a problem with the Priests’ Pension Fund.

    Unfortunately, the article is locked. I will be on the lookout and if found in its entirety, I will either translate from Greek or post from The National Herald.

    • George Michalopulos says

      If the pension fund has been raided (probably) then the priests need to file a class-action lawsuit. I’m not a lawyer but we could be entering RICO territory when it comes to 79th St.

      Any thoughts from any lawyers reading this blog?

      • Alitheia1875 says

        A priest raised the question of the pension fund about 2 clergy laity congresses ago. There was a question from at least then about its status. I don’t remember the response but the question has lingered for several years.

        • Greatly Saddened says

          At the most recent Archdiocesan Council meeting held May 3- 4th in Pittsburgh, PA, the clergy pension fund chairman, Father Konstantinos Pavlakos of St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church in Falls Church, VA, raised the question one more time.

          Archdiocesan officials acknowledged that “what has happened never should have happened” with the pension fund, “but we are obligated by law to first pay $3.7 to St. Nicholas. We have already returned $1 million and have $2.7 million remaining.”

          Meanwhile, there isn’t even agreement on how much the pension fund is owed: differing accounts identify the shortage as $850,000 or $650,000, and the Archdiocese says “first we have to find out the exact amount, and then the Archdiocese will put it in.”

          Sadly, neither laity, nor clergy can seem to trust what comes from the Achdiocese. It has been like a run away train. It seems numerous Archdiocesan accounts have been tampered with. Could there have been any criminal activity involved with any of this, where criminal charges may be warranted? Will the truth ever be acknowledged or will it once again be brushed under the carpet, as in the past?

          Thankfully, since the NY State Attorney General’s office is conducting an investigation, we may find out the truth!

      • George,

        The faithful Greek Orthodox in America find themselves in a similar position to the conservative Episcopalians who resisted the drift of their confession into apostasy. What every traditionally minded Orthodox believer in GOARCH should be doing right this very minute is identifying precisely who owns the properties on which their houses of worship are built, and any other facilities that each respective parish might own.

        This is extraordinarily important. That property which is held in trust for the Archdiocese might likely be forfeit in any attempt to resist the Phanar’s designs. This is no small matter. Seeking alternative episcopal oversight from another jurisdiction may seem like the way to go. I certainly have encouraged them to attempt to move their Archdiocese from under the Phanar to under the Church of Greece.

        However, do not believe for a second that the Phanar will hesitate to seek to snatch their churches away if they bolt. You can bank on it. They will do it. We need not argue about it or give it a moment’s further consideration. That is the type of bottom feeders with whom we are dealing.

        In that eventuality, any bolting parishes will need to lawyer up if they wish to keep their property if the Archdiocese has a legal interest in it. The other possibility is to just walk away and leave it for the Uniats. And that may be the best alternative for many.

        • George Michalopulos says

          Well, there’s what you describe. But many parishes are indebted for whatever reason. I’m not so sure that the “new, improved, soft-Unia GOA” will want to (or afford to) own a lot of these parishes. Especially if say 1/4 of the more tradition-minded people leave.

          Don’t forget, even the the GOA is the richest of the jurisdictions, every parish functions on a shoe-string on a year-to-year basis, just like every other OCA and ethnic parish out there. Throw in a building project and/or debt-retirement project and you are left with a combustible mixture of potential parochial insolvency.

          • Alitheia1875 says

            A couple of years ago Patriarch Bartholomew wanted to contest the Turkish notion that he was head of a small church (which was in direct opposition to his incorrect notion that he is the spiritual leader of “world Orthodoxy”, whatever that means) so the EP asked parishes in the US to sign over their properties to the EP so it would seem to be a “big” church. That sank like a lead balloon. Parishes need to register as non-profit organizations in their individual states to operate but another issue altogether is what name is on the deed. From experience I know that this is the most important issue. My guess is that most deeds reflect that the corporation owns the property. In that case the members of the corporation, the parishioners, own the property unless some other legal issue is involved concerning the various metropolises or the archdiocese. Parishes need to be sure the people know where they stand regarding this matter.

  17. Greatly Saddened says

    Unfortunately, we should not expect an apology, a request for forgiveness, repentance, contrition, humility or a sound conscience from this so called religious institution. Their apparent pride and ego disgusts me!

    They continue to show their inability to be above board and feel any remorse with all they have done. It’s as if they feel it is their God given right to do all this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

    If this isn’t downright arrogance, I don’t know what is!

    This is all the more reason why the purse strings must be cut and a new dawn should be in order. We all work much too hard to see our contributions and donations carelessly mismanaged by this seemingly group of misfits, who have the ordacity to masquerade themselves as representatives of Christ. How sacrilegious! One can only hope and pray the day comes when the culprits responsible for all this receive what they truly deserve.

    By their repeated actions, they do not deserve to manage our contributions or donations. Nor do they any longer deserve our respect or trust. They are one “BIG” failure and embarrassment. Shame on them all, but then again, I guess one needs to have a conscience to be embarrassed.

  18. Greatly Saddened says

    In God We Trust … Not in YOU!

  19. Greatly Saddened says

    Patriarch Bartholomew et all … I hope you have finally begun to realize what your so called undying love for your largest and may I add, most financially supportive Eparchy has resulted in. Your actions, along with your lack of action in many cases, has caused many of your faithful here in the good ol’ United States of America to lose faith and trust in you and your Holy and Sacred Synod. This has led to the demise of this once beloved and trusted archdiocese. Ever since you took the helm it has been one continuous disaster. Perhaps a little less love and unselfishness and more autonomy for the survival of this archdiocese is in order. Perhaps a change in course is due!

  20. I read all this MONEY MONEY MONEY and realise all that missing is ‘the one thing needful ‘CHRIST.
    I attended liturgy here in Bulgaria this morning in a chapel within a large church that was clossed under the communists as it is directly next to university faculty and that was considered a no no!!
    There is not the money to renovate the church, nor to redecorate the working ones. People earn low wages and money not there.
    But what is there is faith and belief. I experienced a liturgy full of all ages and where the congregation sang most of the hymns together. And after a Christian fellowship.
    That is what is missing with you guys

  21. Greatly Saddened says

    I often think to myself, I wonder how many hierarchs when visiting a parish and receive an honorarium, donate it to a good and just cause, rather than keep it for themselves. My gut feel tells me it is something best not known.

  22. old simple teaching is anti-christ is going to be the one single born
    human individual that will have powers effused to him directly from
    satan. And he will claim to be christ make his icon get 666 unction on
    forehead. Permanent invisible ink but the zebra bar code gets stomped
    on the ass with ultra-violet branding.

  23. Whiskey Six says

    We did not sign a pledge this year to our GOA parish. We still give generously. There are ways to send a message without hurting your local parish or priest.

    Just food for thought.

  24. Greatly Saddened says

    Below please find an article from Saturday in the Post-Gazette from the Pittsburgh, PA area.

    Orthodox Church pledges repayment of funds for NYC shrine
    PETER SMITH
    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    petersmith@post-gazette.com
    MAY 4, 2018 – 10:15 AM

    http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2018/05/04/Greek-Orthodox-Church-pledges-repayment-of-funds-for-NYC-shrine/stories/201805040114

  25. Michael Bauman says

    It is tempting to blame “the hierarchy” for all of the problems. Do not forget that “the hierarchy” also includes us. There has not been a jurisdiction I know of who has not suffered “bishop problems’ in the last several years. Bishops are not dropped from heaven.

    Not being GOA it is tempting to me to think that the bishop problems in the GOA are worse than the others, but really friends, it comes down to me. I am blessed, I have a really good bishop and I am part of the Cathedral parish (we just this week celebrated our 100th year). Still, my bishop will not always be with us. Even though he is younger than I am, I have to ask myself, what have I done to prepare the ground for a new bishop that is just as good or better. Precious little. Why should I expect anyone else to be better than I am?

  26. Michael Bauman says

    Then there is the reality that I am required to stand for the truth. However, that does not mean that I can or should hope to exercise any modicum of control over the outcome.

    If standing for the truth means leaving the jurisdiction to go under another bishop, it may well mean leaving behind the building where you and your family have been baptized for generations. I will not lessen the difficulty of that, but if that is the consequence then that is the consequence.

    There are good bishops in the U.S. Are they good enough to receive whole parishes from the GOA? Well, that’s the question isn’t it? It is unlikely they would turn away anyone on a personal basis.

    If it were me, I would have no practical choice on a personal level. There are three Antiochean parishes in my city. One moribund GOA parish which has a few old GREEKS still in it.

    The closest parish of any other jurisdiction is a small ROCOR parish 112 miles away that would take almost 2 hours to get to.

    • Constantinos says

      Since Orthodoxy is tanking in America, I predict you will see a mass exodus from Orthodoxy to Catholicism while Alitheia continues to debate how many angels can dance on a pin.

      • Michael Bauman says

        Mr. C: There could well be a mass exodus from the Church to heterodox/heretical/apostate communities. Although the exodus might well be in a unia type not what you imply.

        In fact that is pretty much what is described in the Bible and in some of the predictions of desert fathers. I really do not care who or how many or why. It is immaterial. I will be Orthodox forever by God’s grace. As long as I can find an Orthodox bishop and a priest and a few fellows, I will participate in the sacraments of the Church.

        The sins of men are found everywhere. Besides only the GOA is tanking and they are not, nor have they ever been “Orthodoxy” in the United States. Those who value being GREEK over anything else — have fun with your ouzo and windex.

        Those who want a deep abiding union with Jesus Christ and abundant life–learn to be Orthodox. Embrace the Cross and struggle up the hill in hope and thanksgiving. The Cross includes bad bishops, incompetent priests, stupid fellow lay people, corruption, lasciviousness and all manner of personal temptations and failings–having to fight not only the world, but one’s own depression, anger, apathy, etc.

        It will never be better than it is right now unless I repent for my own manifest stupidity, selfishness, laxity, hardness of heart, cupidity, etc, etc, etc. Face my own deep rebellion against God, in spite of which He still gives me great and abundant gifts which BTW include wonderfully wonky folks like you.

        I know Jesus Christ, I know He wants me in the Orthodox Church, the Ark of Salvation. The rest is up to me to learn repentance, patience and obedience especially not to judge my brother.

        Stupid, corrupt, incompetent actual Orthodox bishops and priests have more possibility of transmitting grace than the vast of majority of clergy outside the Church. I have tried almost all of the other avenues and only in the Church have I been able to taste and see that the Lord is good.

      • Billy Jack Sunday says

        Constantinos

        Perhaps Rome

        But I think most will probably go to the closest evangelical mega

        I visited one recently as an observer. Man, they have updated!

        I certainly didn’t agree with everything

        However, they did everything quite excellently and the people appear genuinely friendly and very passionate about loving God

        Biggest boon for them IMO?

        They have a huge huge foyer. 2 services every Sunday.

        Why?

        Immediately after each service (each with mass attendance), the pastor walks right into the middle of the foyer and stands to greet anyone passing by who wants to talk.

        A guy who oversees thousands. No line to speak of to greet him. Boom! Shook his hand said good morning and left it at that. He gave my arm a slap as if he was a friendly football coach

        No forced egress line to blessed bread. No having to buy a dinner reservation to meet the man at the top.

        He does this along with the rest of the pastors on staff

        Then they have a golf cart to bring you back to your car if you struggle to walk their massive parking lot

        Now a lot of folks here might talk a lot of trash about those dirty dog and pony show heterodox goofs

        But they love God, are very sincerely welcoming

        And the cultural issue was invisible. I didn’t feel like I was the awkward barely invited almost unwelcome cultural outsider. They were just simply random people from the neighborhood/city

        You know, scientist know the answer to “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop?”

        “The world may never know?”

        No

        That’s simple, really

        The question was asked, but no one really wanted an answer

        Even if we ask the right answers to our Orthodox Church problems here in America, it seems that there is no interest in the actual answers

        Because the answers are either staring is in the face, or rather simple to figure out.

        It’s just that the answers are not wanted

        • “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop?”

          Don’t you remember? The wise owl (obviously a Trinitarian) answered the question. “Ah one, ah two, ah three [crunch]…a three.”

        • Alitheia1875 says

          More than one of those mega-church buildings doesn’t have a cross in the worship area.

        • Michael Bauman says

          BJS, I have a question. What is community? I think the answer to that question is central to our cultural dilemma and why a lot of folks have trouble with the Orthodox approach.

        • Antiochene Son says

          A guy who oversees thousands.

          Megachurch pastors don’t oversee squat.

          • Billy Jack Sunday says

            A.S.

            How about evangelical parachurch ministers? Do they oversee squat?

            You guys seem to have a fuzzy memory about where you came from

      • Hieromonk Philip says

        “Since Orthodoxy is tanking in America, . ..”

        Thank you for this perfect example of the logical fallacy of “Begging the Question” which used to be explained & illustrated in Logic 101. I cannot understand why it has apparently been edited out of contemporary logic textbooks & degraded to a grossly ugly synonym for “Raising the question” in current discourse.

        • Constantinos says

          Hieromonk Phillip,
          My statement about Orthodoxy tanking in America is the antithesis of a logical fallacy. The Orthodox Church has one of the lowest rates of retention of all religions in America. Half of Orthodox Christian leave the Church when they become adults. The Church is not in steep decline because it was never anything in America to begin with. The Church is totally irrelevant. It’s deader than the Byzantine empire.

          • Hieromonk Philip says

            The logical fallacy of “Begging the Question” occurs when a statement is worded in such a way that it sounds like a universally accepted truth. “Since [we all accept the truth that] Orthodoxy in America is tanking, . ..”
            “The Church [as we all know] . . . was never anything in America to begin with.” Etc.

      • Alitheia1875 says

        The notion of angels on a pin is the kind of pedantic, scholastic, Jesuit baloney found in Roman Catholicism. You’re way, way, way off base if that’s how you think I think. As for Orthodox running to Roman Catholicism, wow, what Orthodox do you hang out with? And who says Orthodoxy is tanking in America. Orthodoxy in America is not only the GOA. Unfortunately, that’s exactly the kind of narrow mindedness that is proving so detrimental to the GOA.

      • Monk James says

        Where did ‘Constantinos’ get the idea that ‘Orthodoxy is tanking in America’?

        I don’t see anything like that around here.

        And I especially can’t imagine anything like ‘ a mass exodus from Orthodoxy to Catholicism’ any time soon, considering the RCC’s general theological confusion.

        Our theologians — when they consider holy truths and how best to express them — do NOT think about angels dancing on pins.

        Whence comes this uninformed criticism?

        • Constantinos says

          Yes Monk James,
          People are just flocking to Orthodoxy.In fact, the churches are bursting at the seams. Would you say that at least 8 out of 10 Americans have never heard of Orthodoxy? You don’t see anything like that around here? Don’t you live a monastery?
          When I referred to angels dancing on the head of a pin, I was talking about Alitheia’s very rigid Orthodox fundamentalism. I consider Alitheia to be the female version of Misha, except she lacks his charm.

          • Alitheia1875 says

            Who says Alitheia is a woman? Rigid Orthodox fundamentalism? Either you are Orthodox or you are not. Besides, some of us just happen to be better informed about certain subjects pertaining to the faith.

          • Michael Bauman says

            Too much tolerance destroys the ability of a system to function. What is rigid fundamentalism BTW? Please explain to me what that is?

        • Constantinos thinks that since we’re not all possessed by demons, sorry, accepting the charismatic renewal, then we’re tanking.

          • Constantinos says

            Basil,
            Be very careful about attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. As St. Paul said, “no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.” The Charismatic Renewal is completely Christocentric, and, of course, from God.

            • George Michalopulos says

              That’s a big claim there Constantino. One that I would not make, having had some experience with the mega-church/charismatic phenomenon.

              Don’t get me wrong, I know there are good people there. As there are good people at your typical Hindu ashram or mosque or synagogue. Or Mormon temple.

              Let’s just leave it at that for now.

              • Please, go and do a little research on the so-called “Toronto Blessing.” Or maybe “Holy Laughter.”

                The movement is of its father, the devil.

                • Constantinos says

                  Basil,
                  I know one billion times more about the Charismatic Renewal than you will ever know in ten lifetimes. You are so far out of your league, it’s pathetic. You don’t have the faintest idea what you are talking about. Talking to insouciant knaves like you bores me to tears.

                  • For all you know, I might have been a member of the movement for a good proportion of my life. Please don’t be presumptuous.

                    • Billy Jack Sunday says

                      So Basil

                      Were you possessed for a good proportion of your life then?

                      Just following your statements

                    • Constantinos says

                      Basil,
                      I have no interest in arguing with you or anyone else. Please forgive me for my arrogance. May God bless you!

              • Constantinos says

                George,
                I wasn’t talking about megachurches or anything like that. There have been and still are holy priests that strongly endorse the Charismatic Renewal. “Make love your aim, but earnestly desire the spiritual gifts. especially that you may prophecy.” St. Paul

                • George Michalopulos says

                  The Orthodox faith is charismatic. And apostolic and evangelical. It’s just that we muck it up yet it still survives our maladroitness.

            • Antiochene Son says

              Arius believed Jesus was Lord, yet he was far from the Holy Spirit.

            • Jane Rachel says

              Constantinos,

              I would have to agree with you about the “Charismatic Revival” if we are talking about people within that movement who truly worship God and seek God. Within this “movement” we have, as a result, for example, the founding of Youth With A Mission. I have no words to describe how much I love YWAM. Loren Cunningham, the wonderful founder, describes the time off the coast of Greece, when hungry YWAMers were praying on the Good Ship Anastasis, and a large fish jumped up on the shore, right in front of a young man. Immediately afterwards, twelve fish jumped onto the beach in front of another intercessor. And then, suddenly, thousands of fish jumped out of the water onto the deck of the Anastasis, providing food for the hungry kiddos. Truly a miracle and an act of the Holy Spirit.

              At the same time, if you strip away the wrongness of people, and the corruption, and the false teachings (such as the when Ephraim the Elder tells you that theosis comes through saying the Jesus Prayer in GREEK – a ridiculous notion) and find out what the Orthodox Church IS, you get truth. Real truth.

              I knew Father Jack Sparks well back in the day of the Jesus Movement in Berkeley. He was a mover and shaker in those days and started Christian World Liberation Front before he ever got into the EOC with those good ol’ boys, who eventually found Orthodoxy and joined the Antiochian Archdiocese en masse.

              Anybody ever seen Benny Hinn waving his jacket over a crowd of thousands, and hundreds of people falling over backwards? Anybody ever seen the big guys thrown up and backwards, and he doesn’t even touch them?
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UUNz1oEwHE

              Who is more powerful, God or Satan? God, of course. God is LOVE.

              I tell you what, I don’t particularly like Benny Hinn, but it isn’t Satan or his minions who throw those people backwards, it’s the Holy Spirit.

              No, the evil is in Benny Hinn’s financial shenanigans. I say this because I see the same thing going on within the Orthodox Church. Ahem, if you know what I mean….

              Imagine the gall it takes to tell young people who want to know God more than anything, that the only way to find God is through saying the Jesus Prayer in Greek. Sheesh. Here’s a way to say the Jesus Prayer: let it drop down into the bottom of your soul, walk around with it. Feel it in your being. “Oh Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner… Oh Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner….Oh Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner…”

              • Constantinos says

                Thank you Jane for the excellent post. Look at David Wilkerson and his book The Cross and the Switchblade. Personally, I can’t stand Benny Hinn or any of those televangelists. I’m coming from the perspective of Father Timothy Cremeens , Father Eusebius Stephanou’s Orthodox Renewal Center, and Orthodox Christian Laity. Are there abuses in the Charismatic Renewal? Absolutely, unequivocally!
                Some people say the Jesus Prayer can be dangerous, and that some people have gone insane in monasteries. That does not negate the holiness of the Jesus Prayer or the great benefit of monasteries. I’m not talking about Elder Ephraim’s monasteries, I mean the holy monasteries on Mt. Athos. I’m extremely negative toward the Ephraimite movement.
                Anyway, I have no interest in engendering controversy on this forum, therefore, I don’t think it is a good idea for me to discuss the Charismatic Renewal. The Orthodox Church is the true faith, and that’s good enough for me. Please pray for me, the foremost of sinners!

                • Jane Rachel says

                  Constantinos, I do remember Dave Wilkerson and “The Cross and the Switchblade” along with all the other work he has done. You are right about Benny Hinn, but my point is that the Holy Spirit is everywhere and fills all things, and is at work everywhere, no matter what people think or opine about. I agree with you wholeheartedly, and thank you for your post.

          • Billy Jack Sunday says

            You may not like how he says it, but it’s hard to say Constintinos is wrong about the state of Orthodoxy in America

            The Orthodox Church is the 2nd largest Christian communion if all Christian groups in the world

            The United States is the third most populated country in the world

            Orthodox Christians comprise 0.5% of the U.S. population

            Now approximately half of the one half of one percent is comprised by one jurisdiction – the largest Orthodox jurisdiction – which is the GOA

            No one here is arguing that the GOA is just hitting it’s stride

            So for sake of simplicity, and since some of you say that the GOA does not truly represent Orthodoxy in America, let’s just put aside the GOA for a moment

            You are left with the other one half of one half of one percent, or 0.25

            Who comprises the 0.25? Everybody else, but pretty much we can say for practicality (that is pretty accurate)the OCA, Antiochian and ROCOR

            So who vastly dominates (making up a little less than half of that group)? The Metropolitan Jonah loving OCA!

            So who remains after the one half of one half of one half of one percent?

            All you awesome Antiochian and ROCOR rock stars that think Constantinos is a jackass for staying that Orthodoxy is tanking in America

            Now put all those statistics together, remembering that the Orthodox Church is the second biggest communion and America is the third biggest country

            This is worse than the dead parrot routine from Monte Python

            If anything, saying that Orthodoxy in America is tanking might be a little too generous

            I’m not saying you gotta pick up a tambourine, but at least pick up a book on statistics if you want to begin to refute the matter

            • Constantinos says

              Thank you for your kindness Billy Jack Sunday.

              • Billy Jack Sunday says

                Sure thing Constantinos

                And let it be known for the record, I was the one who brought up the mega issue and only as an example/side note

                It was an experience I had recently

                Oh, and they have plenty of crosses around – and even tell non-Christians about the cross!

                Also, no one popped out at me trying to hussle some hummus – showing only interest in my cash and no care for my soul

                Not to say these people’s church doesn’t come with things that make me cringe and I certainly am not on board at all overall, but what they do right, they do very well.

                I can’t say I believe in this gift or that or movement or etc

                And I’m not out to discredit anyone or their experience regarding this issue

                But they believe in being filled with the Holy Spirit. Is that wrong?

                We as Orthodox would at least agree that we need to always greatly pursue to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit

                Does being filled with the Spirit of God make a difference? Totally! All the difference!

                Do I disagree with obtaining the infilling of the Holy Spirit? How can I?

                So there is a certain point you have here

                How all that looks I will leave for other discussions or other folks to debate

                It’s funny being told that many of my family members must be demon possessed. I certainly do not think this

                I’m very familiar with the Charismatic Renewal

                Pentecostal too

                But I am Orthodox

                • Constantinos says

                  Yes, I believe you are correct Billy Jack Sunday. It all boils down to the true faith which is the Orthodox Church. As much as I complain, as Gail said, there is nowhere else to go. The Orthodox Church is the one true church- and a safe guide to our journey toward theosis.
                  When I said the Orthodox Church is tanking in America; that does not negate the fact the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Despite all of our problems, we really do possess a pearl of great price.
                  I consider myself an Orthodox Christian-period without any prefixes. I’d like to see improvements. but repentance is most important. I don’t think there is a more effective way of praying than Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.
                  I’m not interested in discussing the Charismatic Renewal any longer.The Church needs to be renewed, but as a wise priest said, The Divine Liturgy should be our personal renewal along with repentance, confession, and obeying our Lord’s commandments. There is no place I’d rather be than the Orthodox Church. I also have no interest in introducing controversy. I still have questions like why are people still fat after Great Lent and fasting twice a week. That’s a conundrum for me.

                  • Michael Bauman says

                    Mr. C. Fat after fasting is due to too great an intake of carbs not balanced appropriately.

            • Michael Bauman says

              The Orthodox Church has never been big in the US and never will be. Does that mean she is not the Church, the Ark of Salvation? Do only numbers and feeling comfortable count? Mass consumeristic drivel.

              It is not hard to get a bunch of folks worked up and feelin’ good. Then you can sell them anything in line with their passions. No change required.

              Sorry but Mr. C’s conclusion is of the mind of the world and therefore wrong.

              It is not an inherent virtue to be small, miniscule to the point of vsnishing but the Protestants have done a great job of innocultaing people against the truth and creating a world in which even if one disagrees with them, their categories dominate.

              It it difficult to mass market repentance. Shoot it is difficult to even try. They have done a great job paving the way for the anti-Christ.

              BJS,. they love God? What God, what Christ?

              I ask the same question of my fellow Orthodox.

              • Billy Jack Sunday says

                MB

                Give me a break

                It wasn’t the Flying Spaghetti Monster

                Put down your books, go shake somone’s hand and ask them yourself

                You can’t swing a dead duck without smacking a born again Charismatic/Pentecostal Christian

                On the other hand, I haven’t come across another Orthodox person in daily life in about 6 years

                Probably less than 10 my whole life

                • M. Stankovich says

                  I have recounted on several occasions my first Great Lent at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, when I was 18-yrs-old, absolutely “shell-shocked” by the time we had reached the Lenten Retreat of imposed silence, dawn until dusk services with the complete readings from the Psalter and the singing of the complete Canons of Matins; the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete in the evening; and the days ending with the Compline at 10:00 pm. By Wednesday afternoon, having completed choir rehearsal, I found myself exhausted, and sitting silently on a bench on the front lawn next to one of my roommates, Robert Arida, waiting for the bell announcing the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts. The front lawn of the seminary faces the two-laned Scarsdale Rd., which is always driven too fast, and which always results in a continuous squealing of tires just before and just after the entrance to the seminary. Likewise, since the seminary is near local public & catholic schools, cars full of kids cruise by with radios blaring and passengers screaming. Trucks are forbidden on Scarsdale Rd. with the notable exception of “delivery trucks,” and as the crossroad between two parkways, the “cheating” is predictable. At the end of the day – and the start of the liturgy – the noise is offensive & oppressive. In the first real sentences I had heard in 3-days, Robert Arida quietly said, “You would have to imagine if we Orthodox did not take these actions, the world would collapse into chaos.” I took this to mean, “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the middle of them.” (Matt. 18:19-20) Certainly we may appear small in number, scattered, and disparate, but the Lord has provided His answer before the ages, in the same Psalm with which we are so familiar from Pascha (that begins, “Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered!”): “Why are you jealous, high hills? This is the Mount [Zion] the Lord has chosen to dwell in. Yes, He will dwell in it forever!” (Ps. 67:16) And most importantly, “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. (Jn. 15:16-17).

                  Now, all of this is to say what? How is it possible to conceive of a “type” of Orthodox Christian, me from you, both equally having received the Mystery of the Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit [Σφραγίς δωρεας Πνεύματος Άγγίου], yet some claim a “renewal” that sets them apart; that, in effect “distinguishes” them from the “common” Orthodox. Extraordinarily dangerous ideas when you consider the history of the heresies that tore the Church over similar beliefs.

                  I will not belabour the point to exhaustion, and I certainly do not wish to make this a “contest,” but I would simply point the discussion to what is always reliable in the Church: the combined wisdom of the Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers, expressed alone and in the Liturgical texts of the Church. First, the ancient texts of the Septuagint texts of the Prophet Isaiah have been the richest source for both the Fathers teachings and the Fathers Liturgical writings, namely:

                  And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a blossom shall come up from [His, the Lord’s] root: and the Spirit of God [πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ] shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding [πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ συνέσεως], the spirit of counsel and strength [πνεῦμα βουλῆς καὶ ἰσχύος], the spirit of knowledge and godliness [πνεῦμα γνώσεως καὶ εὐσεβείας] shall fill him; the spirit of the fear of God [πνεῦμα φόβου Θεοῦ]. (Isa. 11:1-3 ff.)

                  I would suggest comparing these characteristics, or gifts of the Spirit, against what you will find in the lengthy Kneeling Prayers of the Vespers of Pentecost. Further, if you read the full Liturgical texts of the Feast of Pentecost – astonishing in and of themselves – you will find a remarkable congruence with the Isaiah text. One example from the Apostikha of the Matins of Pentecost:

                  The Holy Spirit is Light and Life,
                  The living Fountain of spiritual gifts,
                  The spiritual wisdom,
                  The spiritual understanding.
                  He is good, upright, and ruling.
                  He purifies us from our sins.
                  The Spirit is the deifying God;
                  [He is God and He makes us gods!]
                  Fire proceeding from Fire,
                  Speaking, acting, distributing gifts.
                  By the Spirit, the prophets, divine apostles, and martyrs are crowned.
                  Strange is the report!
                  Strange is the sight!
                  Fire is divided for the granting of gifts!

                  We find that the Spirit, the Comforterer, has been “poured out on all flesh,” through Him [the Spirit], “all people proclaim one power, one ranking, one worship of the Holy Trinity!” and as all members of the Trinity are revealed as “Light,” through Him [the Spirit] “the world is enlightened and adores the Holy Trinity!”

                  The full text from Isaiah concludes in such an astonishing manner that it too is worth pursuing on its own: rather than promote a division or disparity among the people of God, in fact, the Prophet proclaims that “He [the Lord] shall lift up a standard for the nations, and He shall gather the lost ones of Israel, and he shall gather the dispersed of Juda from the four corners of the earth.” (ibid., v.12) This does not provoke anger, annoyance, nor “boredome to tears” in our God! Quite to the contrary,

                  He shall not judge according to appearance, nor reprove according to report: but he shall judge the cause of the lowly, and shall reprove the lowly of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the word of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he destroy the ungodly one. And he shall have his loins girt with righteousness, and his sides clothed with truth. (Ibid., v.3-5)

                  And for the record, the context of St. Paul’s comment to “desire spiritual gifts,” especially prophecy, must be seen in his distinguishing prophecy from speaking in tongues, not spiritual gifts in general. St. Paul is very clear that “prophecies will be done away with [καταργηθήσονται], tongues will be ceased [παύσονται], and knowledge will pass away [καταργηθήσεται] (1Cor. 13:8). “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing…” (1Cor. 13:2) “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest [μείζων] of these is love.” (v. 13)

                  Finally, without pejorative intended, if you have not “come across another Orthodox person in daily life in about 6 years [and] probably less than 10 [in your] whole life,” I reasonably conclude you will never come across what you are not open to discover or are available to receive, for whatever reason. It happens to all of us. Nevertheless, I have put my head down and walked away from situations only to recall:

                  For whoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels (Lk. 9:26)

                  and felt ashamed. I make concerted efforts to avoid these errors. I can’t remember where I left my keys, but I can vividly remember this.

                  • Billy Jack Sunday says

                    Dr. S

                    Who knows – perhaps you have a point

                    Not sure if it was necessary for you to say that to me

                    I don’t believe I’ve ever claimed spiritual greatness here

                    I do have to point out that you don’t live in my shoes either

                    However, if I am surrounded by other Orthodox people, I’m also going to go ahead and reasonably conclude that they must be wearing a cloaking device of some type

                    • M. Stankovich says

                      Obviously, only the final comment addressed you. I was not singling you out, dude. You just happened to toss a hanging fastball high and over the plate. But more importantly, it reminded me of a discussion I had with my grandmother, the dialog for which I believe was written by Samuel Beckett.

                      She had reached the end-stage of an aggressive, genetically-influenced, familial form of colorectal cancer and was a few weeks into palliative care/hospice. I could be out of town working for as many as 8-10 days at a time, but I could also enter the facility at any hour. I could see that she was isolated & withdrawn, and the nurses told me she was taking meals in her room alone. When I tried to talk to her, she said she would mix in the community when she was ready. Then I was told she had a “stress episode,” blah, blah, blah… I was sitting in the lobby of the facility when two women residents approached me – one Bulgarian, one Greek – approached me and introduced themselves as Orthodox. They said they had been told about my grandmother, and they offered to go visit her. I told them I would speak with her, thanked them profusely, and promised to call them. I told my mother about them, but she immediately said, “You know I don’t speak Greek, and while I can speak some Serbian because your grandfather was Serbian, I wouldn’t be comfortable. I never returned their calls.” At this point, anyone who made it through English Lit hears the horrible, mocking laughter of Beckett’s Estragon from Waiting for Godot, but… we don’t. How could a woman who is feeling desperately out of control, desperately afraid, and desperately alone reach such a conclusion? And then it hits you: existential absurdity. Who knew? “Grandma, think about what you’re saying! Regardless, all three of you speak English, and certainly well enough to carry on a normal conversation! Please call them.” She did, and for at least 4-5 months she had the additional support she wanted. It seems to me we benefit from occasionally checking how we might be blocking our own progress. It wasn’t about you.

              • Constantinos says

                Mr. Bauman,
                I think your issue is not with me, but the Apostles. You know those people who evangelized the whole world. As much as I respect you, I must say that evangelism is important.
                I’d also like to say that Max Scherzer is the best pitcher in baseball. He is on pace to win his third Cy Young Award in a row and fourth overall. Can you at least say Hall of Fame with me?

                • Michael Bauman says

                  Evangelize yes, but that does not mean copying Protestant nonesense. There is a lot going on all over the place actually.

                  • Constantinos says

                    Mr. Bauman,
                    You talk about copying protestants, What about incorporating the protestant practice of tithing? I’ll tell you how stupid it is. I literally cannot tithe to my local parish because if I did, I would literally rule and reign in my church. If I tithed off my personal income, I would literally be giving my local church two million dollars a year. No one else would give a dime to the church. The priest would give me first place of honor in our parish. Regardless of my personal faith life, I would be the boss, and the priest would be at my beck and call. This is what this pernicious heresy can do to a local church. I would be a very bad steward of all God has helped to accomplish.

                    • Constantinos, your reasoning is ridiculous. One tithes because God requires it. If we are not tithing, we are robbing God. Please read the last chapter of Malachi.
                      To assume that if you tithed no one else would give and that you would be the boss is absurd. One should give quietly without letting the left hand know what the right hand is doing. A faithful priest would treat you as he does everyone else.
                      Can you imagine the potential for mission and outreach if you tithed and others tithed as well.

                    • Antiochene Son says

                      You are welcome to donate anonymously to my parish anytime.

                    • Michael Bauman says

                      Tithing is a Biblical practice and in my parish it is encouraged. I cannot imagine why it would even be a question.

                      Evangelization should be on the Paul Harvey method. You care for people both emotionally and physically. You demonstrate Christ and then ask them if they want to know the rest of the story.

                    • Tim R. Mortiss says

                      In our church, the priest does not know what people give financially. This knowledge is confined to the heads of stewardship and finance committees. Thus the priest is not influenced by the issue in any way.

                      While our church does not specifically urge tithing, we have a very strong and well-organized stewardship program (I’d call it “Protestant style” based on my background) which put the operating funds of the church on a solid basis within two years of its adoption just a very few years ago. Festival earnings are now all surplus to operating expenses and can go to capital improvements.

                    • Constantinos says

                      It’s not worth the energy to discuss tithing. Did my personal hero, the late Christian businessman Sam Walton. ever tithe to his local church? Well, then neither will I!!!

                    • Jane Rachel says

                      Constantinos, makes sense to me. After all, how much is 1/10th of $100 billion? There would be no local church in South Dakota if Sam Walton had tithed there.

                  • Billy Jack Sunday says

                    MB

                    Have you read those excellent Bible tracts by Frs. Peter Gillquist, Jack Sparks and James Bernstein?

                    They are probably located in your church somewhere?

                    Oops – crap! Did I say Bible tracts? I meant religious pamphlets – no scratch that

                    Hey have you read their religious booklets?

                    “Booklets” is okay, right?

                    Seriously – no one is advocating poor methods

                    Maybe most of those methods are nonsense

                    But how about those tracts?

                    (to be fair, the ones from Fr. Jack Sparks have less cartoons than Jack Chick)

                    But not all methods are bad

                    I would argue that perhaps the Orthodox Church needs to develop its own type of Alpha Course

                    No one wants to turn the Orthodox Church into some type of ecu uni hybrid freak show

                    Certainly not me, so please make no mistake

                    I literally had a nightmare about that

                    • Jane Rachel says

                      Hey, Billy Jack Sunday, I have a signed copy of Jack Sparks’ “Letters to Street Christians”! That was a while ago. I was a Jesus Freak in Berkeley in the way back days and knew those guys, kinda.

                    • Constantinos, apparently you assign greater credibilty and authority to Sam Walton than you do the scriptures. Is that a teaching of the Charismatic Movement.

                    • Constantinos says

                      Johnkal,
                      I have neither the time nor the energy to debate with you. Believe whatever you want. I have more important things on my mind.

        • Gail Sheppard says

          At the end of the day, being Orthodox is an individual sport. We can’t worry about numbers and we can’t make people stay.

          We had a man in our parish in CA who brought in his three daughters to Church every Sunday. His wife wouldn’t or couldn’t attend. The girls were small. One was an infant. He’d take them up there to light the candles and on more than one occasion, hand me the baby. Interestingly, he and I didn’t know each other. If he needed an extra pair of arms, I guess he thought mine would do. The kids were like that, too. They would just come up and take your hand if they needed help with anything. I cherished these moments. I remember thinking it must have taken an extraordinary amount of effort for him to show up every week. All those bows to tie, buckles to buckle and hair to braid. But he was willing to do the work. What a legacy he was creating for those girls! They’ll never forget that their dad loved them enough to take them to Church. He was willing to do the work. So many aren’t.

          If every priest and every bishop walked a straight and narrow line, the same people would still leave because it requires effort and not everyone wants to make the effort. Other churches are about making connections, having BBQs, taking classes and having fun. We have all that, too, but in comparison, we’re like a boot camp for the life to come. Most people don’t want to be all that serious about everything. They’re thinking short term. Hopefully, when life slows down, they’ll be back. What we should be doing is canvassing the area to look for seniors who might want to come back to Church and go pick them up. Several families did that at our parish.

          I’m sure there are some who leave because they are scandalized. I almost did, but it occurred to me I had nowhere to go! I can’t tell you the number of people who said, “Why can’t you just go to another Church?” There IS no other Church! Not for me, anyway. I understand that others see it differently but I cannot NOT be Orthodox.

          I also suspect that many leave because they marry outside the Faith. I have seen this happen. The other spouse just can’t relate so they don’t go.

          There are probably as many reasons as there are people leaving. One thing is certain. They have free will. If they want to leave we should wish them well, say a prayer and hold the door open for them to exit.

      • Orthodoxy in USA is in crisis but I would remind u that crisis comes from the greek very Να κρίνω,to judge, so a ‘crisis’ is an opportunity. A calling to take stock.
        I do not go along with yr ‘ judgement’ although agree that most greek parishes have a bastardised pseudo western worship that not much different from Pre- vatican 11 Catholic worship so as long as it could be in greek, i see no problems. The minority seem to be gravitating to Ephraim’ s cultivating sect. So problem solved except, where do the ones who wish to be Orthodox Christians go.?

        • Ps. Who will own the National eye sore on ground Zero.??? .Makes an ideal synagogue or Mosque. At least that way we would know the money is there to finish it. A lasting Monument to official greek american attention to empty symbols. Hope they managed to order the Organ t for it. AS WE KNOW NO ORTHODOX CHURCH COMPLETE WITHOUT ONE. AH yes says worship with cymbals etc!! As saying we back to the synagogue. Perhaps Kushner could…… ???????

  27. Greatly Saddened says

    I noticed in The National Herald below the article titled “Preliminary Findings about St. Nicholas Announced at Archdiocessan Council,” a commentator by the name of “anonymous” on May 8th at 5:52pm stated the following:

    “The bottom line is this is the exact information the Executive Board led by the treasurer had a year ago. Nothing illegal, no misappropriation of funds; just his spin to make people think he is important and the only one who knows what he is doing. A worst Greek tragedy ever! People should read the letter being circulated by concerned finance committee members from across the country which gives facts that the GOA continues to spin. Ask your archdiocesan Metropolis board representatives. They all have it and should be thankful people are finally speaking out. This is what must be discussed in Boston. Don’t continue to insult our intelligence with false number and worthless accusations. All these horrific attempts to discredit others have failed. We are intelligent people who will not stand for this fake news by the Executive board.”

    • Greatly Saddened says

      An article in the Ethnikos Kyrix this past Thursday, May 3rd, confirms an e-mail was sent anonymously and unsigned by concerned members of the finance committee, to members of the Archdiocesan Council, priests and many communities on the night of Wednesday, May 2nd.

  28. Greatly Saddened says

    Below please find an article from Tuesday on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America website.

    Archdiocesan Council Spring Meeting 2018
    Stavros Papagermanos/Press Office
    pressoffice@goarch.org

    https://www.goarch.org/-/archdiocesan-council-spring-meeting-2018

  29. Greatly Saddened says

    Below please find an article in today’s The National Herald.

    Archdiocesan Meeting Focuses on Finances, St. Nicholas, Theology School, Pensions
    By Theodoros Kalmoukos – May 11, 2018

    https://www.thenationalherald.com/200349/archdiocesan-meeting-focuses-on-finances-st-nicholas-theology-school-pensions/

  30. Greatly Saddened says

    Below please find an article in today’s The National Herald.

    Father Alex, Presbytera Xanthi Karloutsos to Receive 2018 Athenagoras Human Rights Award
    By TNH Staff – May 11, 2018

    https://www.thenationalherald.com/200592/father-alex-presbytera-xanthi-karloutsos-recipients-of-2018-athenagoras-human-rights-award/

  31. Monk James says

    That new St Nicholas church/shrine is one hell of an ugly building.

    It reminds me of nothing so much as a marble attempt to represent the robot R2D2 from the ‘Star Wars’ movies, and I think that the joke’s on us. We Orthodox Christians are being played for fools here by everyone, including the insane architect. Not just the Greek Americans — all of us.

    Given the current financial chaos in the GOA, this building might end up being a mosque, anyway.

    And (as we Irish say) may the devil take them all.

    • Alitheia1875 says

      Nuclear power plant.

    • Billy Jack Sunday says

      Monk James

      So with this, the Greeks look like R2D2

      And Antiochian converts all sound like C3PO

      I believe you said you are OCA

      Let me guess

      Those aren’t the droids you’re looking for?

      [Rimshot]

      Also

      That R2 unit definitely has a bad motivator

      • Antiochene Son says

        He carries a message in his busty innards but can’t remember what it is.

  32. Alitheia1875 says

    Who says Alitheia is a woman? Rigid Orthodox fundamentalism? Either you are Orthodox or you are not. Besides, some of us just happen to be better informed about certain subjects pertaining to the faith.

  33. Michael Bauman says

    Jane Rachel, to which Michael are you offering baloney? If it is to me, I’d like Mayo and sourdough bread plus leaf lettuce and tomato as well. Thank you for the kind offer. If it is to Michael S, I am sure he has other preferences. His comments are a bit more gormet than baloney though. Sometimes I don’t appreciate his palate but it is always fine dining.

    • Jane Rachel says

      Hello Michael Baumann,

      Sorry for the confusion, but your comment to me led me to reread your post. You wrote:
      “Whatever monasticism is, it will not be liked in this country. Monastics will be seen as kooks, bizarre and dangerous. Of course that does not mean that all Kooks, bizarre and dangerous people are really monastics.”

      I LOVED visiting Holy Dormition Monastery in Rives Junction, Michigan! Let’s remember Father Roman Braga, who spent the remaining years of his life there. Father Roman was truly a living saint when he was alive, and is a Saint in the Kingdom of Heaven for sure. He was a wonderful man and spiritual father. He is also a martyr in the sense that he was imprisoned and tortured in Romania for many years. He glowed with the love of Christ. I had the privilege of meeting with him a few years back. He said he did not even have a pencil to write with for eleven years! I love that story and have read so much about him. “The Universe Within” was a life changer… warmth and light, wisdom and gentleness floods the soul when I think about Father Roman Braga.

      What do you think of the Antiochian, OCA, Romanian, Serbian, ROCOR, and Bulgarian Orthodox monasteries across the country? Would anyone like to comment negatively about them? Why are they not “in the news”? Where lies the controversy? With the Ephraimite monasteries, that’s where. “Aye. There lies the rub,” saith Hamlet.

      • Michael Bauman says

        Jane Rachel, I know St. Silouan’s here in Wichita. I know the few monks there personally and love and respect them all. But they also have pastoral responsibilities outside the monastary that make them very unlike my conceptions of monastic life. Still, they pray and I have been the beneficiary of that prayer. The fact that there are any monasteries in the Antiochian Archdiocese at all is a miracle given Met Philip’s attitude that they were unnecessary. By God’s grace one of his last acts was to bless the founding of St. Silouan’s. I have known Nun Katherine of St. Xenia’s in Indy for decades. She is a sober, wise and faithful woman. Mother Victoria of St. Barbara’s in CA is much the same.

        The monastaries of Fr. Ephriam I do not know but they come highly recommended by people quite close to me from several different jurisdictions.

        The source of much of the early criticism of the Ephramite monastaries came from sources that I do not trust.

        I am biased in their favor despite the fact they are Greek and I am quite biased against the Greek expression of the Church in this country. The disconnect I see is the lack of monastic foundation for the GOA bishops. How can they oversee monastics?

        Discernment is always required though.

        My son has been told by his confessor not to visit monastaries, any of them, because being there would likely exacerbate some of his spiritual struggles and not help him at all.

        I think for monasticism to be strong in the US requires more repentance and obedience on all our parts and more sobriety and patience plus acknowledging that I do not control the outcome.

        The stories of the successful desert father’s come down to us not the ones who went totally bonkers out there. Monasticism is risky.

      • Michael Bauman says

        Jane Rachel, the Ephramite monasteries are big, they challenge the status quo. They are not obscure sketes.

        • Billy Jack Sunday says

          Big?

          I thought numbers didn’t matter

          Challenging the status quo?

          I thought I was told that to do so was nonsense as well and that I should just mind my own business

          • Michael Bauman says

            BJS. You are intentionally confusing two different things. Bigger things draw more attention. That means more objection possibilities.

            Perhaps they ate two big. They certainly go against the grain of the GOA. The smaller monastaries I know are all founded by converts with the full blessings of their bishops from the beginning. Each organic to the jurisdiction. One is OCA, one Serbian, one Antiochian.

            That is another thing though —

        • Jane Rachel says

          Michael Bauman, Holy Dormition Monastery in Rives Junction, MI is far from obscure. It is a big, holy monastery. When negative things about the Ephraimite monasteries are being discussed here, we are talking about real issues that cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand that says, “I don’t trust the source.” I have provided links several times to evidence, not opinions, of only the tip of the iceberg concerning what is going on with these Ephraimite monasteries, including tax forms, deposition testimonies, and first hand witnesses. There are too many questions, and no answers. Again, these posts get buried in conversations, and the monasteries keep rolling along, with millions of dollars flowing in. Hundreds of thousands of dollars going to “indigent people,” and millions to non-profits. Where are these “indigent people”? Where is the money going and where does the money come from?

          • George Michalopulos says

            Jane, I’m glad to see that you’re not anti-monastic. I appreciate that. What I can say in defense of the Athonite monasteries is that much of the criticism is second and third-hand. And it gets repeated and augmented by those who have no first-hand experience of them.

            • Constantinos says

              George,
              The only Athonite monasteries are on Mt. Athos. Actually, Elder Ephraim doesn’t even belong in the US. He got here through chicanery. Do some more research. The holy monks of Mt. Athos never leave the mountain. Where do you think all the sculls came from?

              • Jane Rachel says

                (Having trouble getting this to post. Hope it posts here.)

                George,
                I’ll leave out the first-hand testimonies of those who had “first-hand experiences of them” but have been vilified and disregarded, and provide facts presented to the best of my ability (since all I have is dumb ol’ Google).
                Emmanuel Mamalakis lived in Milwaukee but visited Saint Anthony’s Monastery in Arizona 2-3 times a month, according to his own testimony. There is a “John Mamalakis” listed online as being a relative of Emmanuel Mamalakis, with both Florence AZ and Pleasant Prairie, WI addresses. We have no reason to doubt that Immanuel Mamalakis was in some capacity working for the monastery as legal counsel. We have little reason to doubt that Saint Anthony’s Monastery was a silent partner. As you know, George, Emmanuel Mamalakis and Godlevsky met at the monastery, and the company they formed is SXP Analytics.
                Mamalakis was in charge of several “non-profits.” The IRS tax forms for those non-profits claim the millions that came in went to “indigent individuals” and other 501 (C) (3) organizations.
                It’s not rocket science. Mamalakis is connected to Saint Anthony’s Monastery. Mamalakis is connected to money laundering. Therefore, why are we afraid to ask whether Saint Anthony’s Monastery is connected to money laundering?
                “SXP and Mamalakis have succeeded in obscuring, apparently running through, I don’t know, 20 or $30 million.” Mr. Lee Kaplan Page 19 & 20 of Court Transcript.
                As for Linda Johnson (Mamalakis’ sister-in-law and bookkeeper): “When Johnson was asked about these entries during her deposition, she originally testified that she made the entries in SXP’s general ledger as donations to INPAF at Godlevsky’s direction in 2010. After she was shown the audit trail for these transactions, however, she revised her testimony to state that she was ”really busy”‘ in 2010 and did not get around to modifying these transactions until months after Godlevsky left SXP in May 2011. Nevertheless, she acknowledges that she modified the transactions according to Mamalakis’ instructions.”
                Connecting INPAF (Mamalakis’ “ non-profit” to Saint Anthony’s Monastery, we have this: “But in perhaps the most telling ‘connecting of the dots’, the person listed as being in charge of the ‘books and records’ of the International Non-Profit Assistance Foundation (INPAF), is listed with a Florence, AZ address, which happens to be the location of St. Anthony’s Monastery, the world headquarters of Ephraim and his followers. This same person is listed askeeper of the books for the World Assistance Foundation. Is this just coincidence? Mamalakis is listed as an officer of both foundations. The purpose of the INPAF is to “assist other 501 (C) (3) organizations and indigent individuals”, and that approximately 90 organizations and individuals have St.Anthony’s Monastery of Arizona and St. John’s Monastery of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, are listed as recipients of INPAF funds, and both have claimed that as religious organizations they are exempt from filing the Form 990. ” https://www.thenationalherald.com/32686/american-monastery-money-intrigue/
                FROM THE STATE OF WISCONSIN CIRCUIT COURT DOCUMENT https://newsfraudalert.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/complaint-00619024.pdf
                “SXP will withdraw funds from its trading account and use such funds to repay a loan it received from INPAF. INPAF will then donate such funds to Foundation, which will subsequently contribute those funds to its Cayman Islands subsidiary, May 1st Financial Ltd. (“Financial”). Financial will then deposit its funds into sxp’s trading account pursuant to the management agreement. In essence, the funds complete a ·’circle” and eventually end up back in SXP’s trading account (although the funds are owned by Financial rather than SXP when the transfers are complete). 46. The bank and tax records reveal that Mamalakis and his entities followed through with the plan concocted by SXP’ s counsel- with further additional steps taken to attempt to hide the transaction.”
                “Jerry Dimitriou on April 13, 2017 7:27 pm
                Dear All,
                Thank you Bill Stotis for your comments! Greetings to Mr. Carris who I have known for over 35 years!
                For the record, I never reviewed financial statements provided by the Monasteries and said they were in “good order”. As Bill Stotis knows, the members of the Monastery Review Committee MRC (of which I was a participant) requested financial statements from ALL of the monasteries but NEVER received most of them. The ones we did receive were insufficient and incomplete. The MRC obtained financial statements of the Monasteries that were filed with their state or filed when they were purchasing properties and not directly from the Monasteries. The financials that we found, were significantly different and showed substantially more assets than those provided by the Monasteries to their Metropolitans or the MRC.
                The Monasteries in the United States are NOT following the regulations set forth by the Synod nor are they complying with the direction of their Metropolitans. They are functioning independent and do not follow the rules or the direction of their Metropolitans in most cases.
                I hope this clarifies some of the statements made above. Bill Stotis’ comments are exactly on point. Thanks and have a Kali Anastasi and Blessed Pascha!
                Jerry Dimitriou Executive Director
                Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America”
                From Michael Jaharis’ 2012 speech: “The monasteries fall within the scope of the Charter of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and have certain obligations not unlike those of each Metropolis and each Parish. In fact, there was a special set of “General Regulations” for the establishment and operation of all monasteries in the Archdiocese of America issued almost a decade ago by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. However, over the years, it has become regrettably noticed that with respect to several monasteries, the tendency has been to “flout” their obligations under the Charter and to go beyond the traditional role of the “monastic ideal.” Sometime ago, a Committee was formed to review and examine several such matters and rumors of transgressions. However, in spite of suspicions of irregularities and improprieties, the lack of cooperation made it almost impossible for the Committee to further act beyond initial observations.”

            • Constantinos says

              George,
              The only Athonite monasteries are on Mt. Athos. Actually, Elder Ephraim doesn’t even belong in the US. He got here through chicanery. Do some more research. The holy monks of Mt. Athos never leave the mountain. Where do you think all the skulls came from?

              • Gail Sheppard says

                Talk about a full court press! You guys are all over this. Let me guess. Soon all the GOA’s problems are going to be blamed on the monasteries. Is that where you’re going with this?

            • Jane Rachel says

              I’ve posted this before, but here ’tis again.

              “Jerry Dimitriou on April 13, 2017 7:27 pm
              Dear All,
              Thank you Bill Stotis for your comments! Greetings to Mr. Carris who I have known for over 35 years!
              For the record, I never reviewed financial statements provided by the Monasteries and said they were in “good order”. As Bill Stotis knows, the members of the Monastery Review Committee MRC (of which I was a participant) requested financial statements from ALL of the monasteries but NEVER received most of them. The ones we did receive were insufficient and incomplete. The MRC obtained financial statements of the Monasteries that were filed with their state or filed when they were purchasing properties and not directly from the Monasteries. The financials that we found, were significantly different and showed substantially more assets than those provided by the Monasteries to their Metropolitans or the MRC.
              The Monasteries in the United States are NOT following the regulations set forth by the Synod nor are they complying with the direction of their Metropolitans. They are functioning independent and do not follow the rules or the direction of their Metropolitans in most cases.
              I hope this clarifies some of the statements made above. Bill Stotis’ comments are exactly on point. Thanks and have a Kali Anastasi and Blessed Pascha!
              Jerry Dimitriou Executive Director
              Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America”

              From Michael Jaharis’ 2012 speech: “The monasteries fall within the scope of the Charter of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and have certain obligations not unlike those of each Metropolis and each Parish. In fact, there was a special set of “General Regulations” for the establishment and operation of all monasteries in the Archdiocese of America issued almost a decade ago by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. However, over the years, it has become regrettably noticed that with respect to several monasteries, the tendency has been to “flout” their obligations under the Charter and to go beyond the traditional role of the “monastic ideal.” Sometime ago, a Committee was formed to review and examine several such matters and rumors of transgressions. However, in spite of suspicions of irregularities and improprieties, the lack of cooperation made it almost impossible for the Committee to further act beyond initial observations.”

              • Gail Sheppard says

                The irony of the Executive Director of the GOA saying, “The Monasteries in the United States are NOT following the regulations set forth by the Synod nor are they complying with the direction of their Metropolitans. They are functioning independent and do not follow the rules or the direction of their Metropolitans in most cases” is rich given what we now know.

                The phrase, “Please put on your oxygen mask before assisting others” comes to mind.

                • George Michalopulos says

                  Now THAT’S funny!

                  Seriously though, can they not see the irony involved in making such a statement?

                  • Billy Jack Sunday says

                    Regarding both:

                    There’s . . . something on the wing . . . Some “thing!!”

                • Jane Rachel says

                  Some must be thinking that it’s probably good the GOA hierarchs are refusing to publish the MRC reports (why are they refusing?). Surely we can surmise, based on the unwavering support the monasteries have from people with first-hand experience, that we need not question the monasteries. Indeed, we must not question the monasteries. We must therefore assume that the reports would reveal nothing untoward on the part of the monasteries given how holy those doggone monasteries really are. Which is why the hierarchs refuse to publish them. Right?

                  “If you really want to know the truth demand the Hierarchs publish the MRC reports. Yes, I said reports, as in multiple reports.” -Bill Stotis

          • Michael Bauman says

            Correction in previous post of mine: “Perhaps they are too big.” not “ate” to big.

            BJS, the monasteries of Elder Ephraim’s biggest problem that I see is the lack of a real organic connection to the GOA or their bishops. They became magnets for jealousy and infighting.

            The way I remember it, probably incorrectly, he came and started building monasteries. I always wondered where the money came from and under whose authority they were being built. I have never known that. Does anyone here?

            • Jane Rachel says

              Michael and George, I am trying to get this to post somewhere, so will try here. Where is the money coming from? 18 X 18= 324. If each monastery cost $18 million dollars to build… it does boggle the mind considering what poverty there is in this old world. Anyways…

              George,
              I’ll leave out the first-hand testimonies of those who had “first-hand experiences of them” and provide facts presented to the best of my ability (since all I have is dumb ol’ Google).
              Emmanuel Mamalakis lived in Milwaukee but visited Saint Anthony’s Monastery in Arizona 2-3 times a month, according to his own testimony. There is a “John Mamalakis” listed online as being a relative of Emmanuel Mamalakis, with both Florence AZ and Pleasant Prairie, WI addresses. We have no reason to doubt that Emmanuel Mamalakis was in some capacity working for the monastery as legal counsel. We have little reason to doubt that Saint Anthony’s Monastery was a silent partner. Emmanuel Mamalakis and Godlevsky met at the monastery, and the company they formed is SXP Analytics.
              Mamalakis was in charge of several “non-profits.” The IRS tax forms for those non-profits claim the millions that came in went to “indigent individuals” and other 501 (C) (3) organizations.
              It’s not rocket science. Mamalakis is connected to Saint Anthony’s Monastery. Mamalakis is connected to money laundering. Therefore, why are we afraid to ask whether Saint Anthony’s Monastery is connected to money laundering?
              “SXP and Mamalakis have succeeded in obscuring, apparently running through, I don’t know, 20 or $30 million.” Mr. Lee Kaplan Page 19 & 20 of Court Transcript.
              As for Linda Johnson (Mamalakis’ sister-in-law and bookkeeper): “When Johnson was asked about these entries during her deposition, she originally testified that she made the entries in SXP’s general ledger as donations to INPAF at Godlevsky’s direction in 2010. After she was shown the audit trail for these transactions, however, she revised her testimony to state that she was ”really busy”‘ in 2010 and did not get around to modifying these transactions until months after Godlevsky left SXP in May 2011. Nevertheless, she acknowledges that she modified the transactions according to Mamalakis’ instructions.”
              Connecting INPAF (Mamalakis’ “ non-profit” to Saint Anthony’s Monastery, we have this: “But in perhaps the most telling ‘connecting of the dots’, the person listed as being in charge of the ‘books and records’ of the International Non-Profit Assistance Foundation (INPAF), is listed with a Florence, AZ address, which happens to be the location of St. Anthony’s Monastery, the world headquarters of Ephraim and his followers. This same person is listed askeeper of the books for the World Assistance Foundation. Is this just coincidence? Mamalakis is listed as an officer of both foundations. The purpose of the INPAF is to “assist other 501 (C) (3) organizations and indigent individuals”, and that approximately 90 organizations and individuals have St.Anthony’s Monastery of Arizona and St. John’s Monastery of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, are listed as recipients of INPAF funds, and both have claimed that as religious organizations they are exempt from filing the Form 990. ” https://www.thenationalherald.com/32686/american-monastery-money-intrigue/
              FROM THE STATE OF WISCONSIN CIRCUIT COURT DOCUMENT https://newsfraudalert.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/complaint-00619024.pdf
              “SXP will withdraw funds from its trading account and use such funds to repay a loan it received from INPAF. INPAF will then donate such funds to Foundation, which will subsequently contribute those funds to its Cayman Islands subsidiary, May 1st Financial Ltd. (“Financial”). Financial will then deposit its funds into sxp’s trading account pursuant to the management agreement. In essence, the funds complete a ·’circle” and eventually end up back in SXP’s trading account (although the funds are owned by Financial rather than SXP when the transfers are complete). 46. The bank and tax records reveal that Mamalakis and his entities followed through with the plan concocted by SXP’ s counsel- with further additional steps taken to attempt to hide the transaction.”
              “Jerry Dimitriou on April 13, 2017 7:27 pm
              Dear All,
              Thank you Bill Stotis for your comments! Greetings to Mr. Carris who I have known for over 35 years!
              For the record, I never reviewed financial statements provided by the Monasteries and said they were in “good order”. As Bill Stotis knows, the members of the Monastery Review Committee MRC (of which I was a participant) requested financial statements from ALL of the monasteries but NEVER received most of them. The ones we did receive were insufficient and incomplete. The MRC obtained financial statements of the Monasteries that were filed with their state or filed when they were purchasing properties and not directly from the Monasteries. The financials that we found, were significantly different and showed substantially more assets than those provided by the Monasteries to their Metropolitans or the MRC.
              The Monasteries in the United States are NOT following the regulations set forth by the Synod nor are they complying with the direction of their Metropolitans. They are functioning independent and do not follow the rules or the direction of their Metropolitans in most cases.
              I hope this clarifies some of the statements made above. Bill Stotis’ comments are exactly on point. Thanks and have a Kali Anastasi and Blessed Pascha!
              Jerry Dimitriou Executive Director
              Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America”
              From Michael Jaharis’ 2012 speech: “The monasteries fall within the scope of the Charter of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and have certain obligations not unlike those of each Metropolis and each Parish. In fact, there was a special set of “General Regulations” for the establishment and operation of all monasteries in the Archdiocese of America issued almost a decade ago by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. However, over the years, it has become regrettably noticed that with respect to several monasteries, the tendency has been to “flout” their obligations under the Charter and to go beyond the traditional role of the “monastic ideal.” Sometime ago, a Committee was formed to review and examine several such matters and rumors of transgressions. However, in spite of suspicions of irregularities and improprieties, the lack of cooperation made it almost impossible for the Committee to further act beyond initial observations.”

            • Greatly Saddened says

              Michael,

              I don’t know whether you have seen my post under: “Breaking: Demetrios to Take the Fall!” Dated: May 9th, at 7:52pm.

              The article appeared in The National Herald back on Monday, June 5th, 1989, and is in reference to Father Ephraim.

              He Was Going to Create an Organization Not in Accordance with the Church
              Theodore Kalmoukos
              June 5, 1989

              • Gail Sheppard says

                May I ask you where you got this article? I can’t find it in National Herald on that date. Perhaps the information came from this source (see link). It’s worth looking at how it was written because not all of it appears to be what it seems. It was posted in 2014 on the memorial page of a man who passed in 2007. I’m sorry, but posting a trash piece on someone’s memorial page is beyond tasteless. I don’t know who you are, Greatly Saddened, but you’ve always been aboveboard and straightforward. If you had the link you would have posted it. Whoever sent this to you is setting you up.

                https://scottnevinssuicide.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/he-was-going-to-create-an-organization-not-in-accordance-with-the-church-theodore-kalmoukos-1989/

                • Greatly Saddened says

                  Gail,

                  If this isn’t a legit article, then please accept my apology. That goes to you and anyone else who may have read it. I guess we have no real way of knowing. Unless, we check with the supposed reporter, Mr. Theodore Kalmoukos for its validity. Only he would know for sure.

                  • Gail Sheppard says

                    Of course, GS. Just be careful because unless you see something for yourself, you don’t know where it’s coming from and I think it’s awfully strange that with GOA being in such peril so many of these really old stories are resurfacing. The exact same stories were discussed on multiple blogs and lists and at the end of the day, nothing came of them.

                    • George Michalopulos says

                      I like what you said the other day, Gail: “a full-court press”.

                      While I do not doubt that there are honest people who have their concerns and/or criticisms about these monasteries, I also know that the spirit behind some of this criticism is a worldly spirit, one that wishes American Orthodoxy be more like generic, mainstream Protestantism as it was practiced during the heyday of American churchianity a la Father Knows Best, Bishop Fulton Sheen’s program, etc.

                      The irony of course is that this “sensible”, mainstream Protestant spirituality died a lingering death sometime in the 1980s. It’s now an anarchic free-for-all, even in the Bible Belt.

                    • Tim R. Mortiss says

                      That’s how I was raised, George, the mainline Protestantism of the 1950s; Presbyterian division.

                      Western Civ Christianity, I call it, after my mom, who was not a believer at all, but insisted on church membership and Sunday school attendance. In her opinion, you couldn’t consider yourself an educated and civilized person without a basic Christian education.

                      There is actually much to be said for it, but it lacked staying power. I did not find it too easy to leave, even when it was long gone.

            • Billy Jack Sunday says

              MB

              Speaking of big and the monasteries

              Of all the questions I have, I’d like to have this question answered first

              Is it okay for him to be in charge of more than 1 monastery?

              Unless I am mistaken (and maybe I am), it’s my understanding that he has charge over 15 or so monasteries that he oversaw the development of.

              Supposedly, the area bishop would be the final authority, but I never hear about bishops being involved hardly ever

              It sounds like everyone at every one of these monasteries are under some type of authority of his?

              First, is this true?

              Second, is this normal/permissible for many monasteries to be under one monastic head/geronda at this same time?

              This doesn’t seem like a monastery but rather a chain of monasteries under a single founder.

              I would imagine a founder/elder being over multiple monasteries at the same time would work against the very heart/idea/principle of monasticism

          • Jane Rachel says

            George,
            I’ll leave out the first-hand testimonies of those who had “first-hand experiences of them”and provide facts presented to the best of my ability (since all I have is dumb ol’ Google).

            Emmanuel Mamalakis lived in Milwaukee but visited Saint Anthony’s Monastery in Arizona 2-3 times a month, according to his own testimony.

            We have no reason to doubt that Emmanuel Mamalakis was in some capacity working for the monastery as legal counsel. We have little reason to doubt that Saint Anthony’s Monastery was a silent partner. Emmanuel Mamalakis and Godlevsky met at the monastery, and the company they formed is SXP Analytics.

            Mamalakis was in charge of several “non-profits.” The IRS tax forms for those non-profits claim the millions that came in went to “indigent individuals” and other 501 (C) (3) organizations.

            It’s not rocket science. Mamalakis is connected to Saint Anthony’s Monastery. Mamalakis is connected to money laundering. Therefore, why are we afraid to ask whether Saint Anthony’s Monastery is connected to money laundering?

            “SXP and Mamalakis have succeeded in obscuring, apparently running through, I don’t know, 20 or $30 million.” Mr. Lee Kaplan Page 19 & 20 of Court Transcript.

            As for Linda Johnson (Mamalakis’ sister-in-law and bookkeeper): “When Johnson was asked about these entries during her deposition, she originally testified that she made the entries in SXP’s general ledger as donations to INPAF at Godlevsky’s direction in 2010. After she was shown the audit trail for these transactions, however, she revised her testimony to state that she was ”really busy”‘ in 2010 and did not get around to modifying these transactions until months after Godlevsky left SXP in May 2011. Nevertheless, she acknowledges that she modified the transactions according to Mamalakis’ instructions.”

            Connecting INPAF (Mamalakis’ “ non-profit” to Saint Anthony’s Monastery, we have this: “But in perhaps the most telling ‘connecting of the dots’, the person listed as being in charge of the ‘books and records’ of the International Non-Profit Assistance Foundation (INPAF), is listed with a Florence, AZ address, which happens to be the location of St. Anthony’s Monastery, the world headquarters of Ephraim and his followers. This same person is listed as keeper of the books for the World Assistance Foundation. Is this just coincidence? Mamalakis is listed as an officer of both foundations. The purpose of the INPAF is to “assist other 501 (C) (3) organizations and indigent individuals”, and that approximately 90 organizations and individuals have St.Anthony’s Monastery of Arizona and St. John’s Monastery of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, are listed as recipients of INPAF funds, and both have claimed that as religious organizations they are exempt from filing the Form 990. ” https://www.thenationalherald.com/32686/american-monastery-money-intrigue/

            FROM THE STATE OF WISCONSIN CIRCUIT COURT DOCUMENT https://newsfraudalert.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/complaint-00619024.pdf
            “SXP will withdraw funds from its trading account and use such funds to repay a loan it received from INPAF. INPAF will then donate such funds to Foundation, which will subsequently contribute those funds to its Cayman Islands subsidiary, May 1st Financial Ltd. (“Financial”). Financial will then deposit its funds into sxp’s trading account pursuant to the management agreement. In essence, the funds complete a ·’circle” and eventually end up back in SXP’s trading account (although the funds are owned by Financial rather than SXP when the transfers are complete). 46. The bank and tax records reveal that Mamalakis and his entities followed through with the plan concocted by SXP’ s counsel- with further additional steps taken to attempt to hide the transaction.”

  34. Jane Rachel says

    Michael, The baloney sandwich has been offered to, and refused, by Mr. Stankovich, who probably prefers liverwurst and Potage Saint Germain. I’ll take grilled cheese on rye. And Campbell’s Tomato soup.

    • George Michalopulos says

      Mozzarella, prosciutto, mayo…

      • Wayne Matthew Syvinski says

        Corned beef on the darkest, heaviest rye available; swiss cheese so pungent you can smell it in Detroit (I live in Indianapolis); mustard applied from a gallon can with a paint brush.

        • Billy Jack Sunday says

          Is Subway the best sandwich?

          No

          But sometimes I’m in the mood for their sandwich

          I’m certainly not alone. Subway is the #1 franchised restaurant. There are more Subways in America than McDonalds

          However, despite the mass mass productions of these sandwiches, and their vast empire of locations

          Subway makes their sandwiches in a fundamentally flawed way?

          Have you noticed? Maybe not consciously. But your taste buds and subconscious scream at you

          Ever notice that you bite into the sandwich and it begins dry, and then ends with what feels like eating a spoonful of mayonnaise? Everything else between beginning and end is crunch green, and you best taste the meat by burping it up for the next hour later?

          Again this is because they have all the desired ingredients, but in the wrong order

          The problem? They put the condiments on almost last, and squirt them all over the top!! Only to potentially be followed by oil, vinegar, salt and pepper

          All the right ingredients, but wrong order so they don’t properly fulfill their purpose

          The purpose of mayonnaise is to provide a moisturizing spread to otherwise dry bread

          The cheese is then added, bonding to the mayonnaise then providing the bread with a barrier to the liquids that could come off of the meat and vegetables, making the bread not moisturized, but soggy

          Instead, the cheese just reinforces the fact that you will have dry bread

          Ever eat a salad where the dressing is not properly mixed in? Combined with the oil and vinegar, this is the squirting glob mess in your mouth you are getting

          The purpose of the oil and vinegar is to provide light moisture and flavor to the vegetables. Instead, it both mixes with and also repels off of the condiments, splashing onto the edges of the bread making the edges soggy, yet the bread still dry

          So if you eat the sandwich immediately, it’s always kinda okay , but not outstanding

          Your brain doesn’t get it, because all the great key ingredients are there

          Leave that sandwich alone for a little bit and that sandwich practically self-destructs like it carries a secret code

          All the right ingredients – in the wrong order – to the sabotaging of purpose and proper function – resulting in mediocrity at best – ending in self-destruction

          Subway

          And GOA

          I applaud this man who stood up at the commencement at Holy Cross and spoke the truth

          The mayonnaise of American Autocephaly needs to be spread, not authority squirted all over the place like diarrhea

          Instead, we have leaders who are not concerned about proper order and function, but rather who buttered THEIR bread

          • Greatly Saddened says

            BJS,
            So true and to your point, I enjoy Subway’s BMT sandwich, which happens to be featured on Thursdays. Before they do anything else, I ask for oil and vinegar to be put on both sides of the bread, followed by the meats, cheese and finally the various toppings!

            • Billy Jack Sunday says

              Greatly Saddened

              Indeed, oil and vinegar directly applied first thing to the bread solves the moisture issue and is a great healthy alternative to the mayonnaise

              That is, of course, if you eat the sandwich immediately. Otherwise, it won’t hold up near as well as mayonnaise

              I decided last time I went there to request mayonnaise first thing.

              The guy acted as if I asked him to stomp on a bunch of grapes for a length of time to make some wine, or make a souffle, but he reluctantly did it anyway.

              It was as simple as 2 steps over and a reach 2×

              It made the sandwich so much better!

              • Jane Rachel says

                “Billy Jack Sunday,”

                I take it back. That sounds DISGUSTING and not INSPIRED at ALL. What are you talking about?

          • Jane Rachel says

            Billy Jack Sunday,

            This is INSPIRED! I have only this to offer in return (for those who understand the finer side of Church Suppers): “You know it’s a sign of good eating when the Jello melts into the baked beans and makes the bottom of the rolls soggy.”

            “Valiotis told The National Herald that ‘the problem of the Church in America is that over the last thirty years it has had two archbishops. One is elected and he is celibate in New York and the other is married and lives somewhere on Long Island’. Valiotis refused to identify the one he labeled the ‘married archbishop.'”
            https://ocl.org/hchc-holds-76th-commencement/

            Hundreds of thousands of records from the computer hard drives were deleted. On page 2 of the report is says that “in an effort to secure relevant records of financial information, we obtained forensic images of three computers that they were located at St. Spyridon. Two of those computers had dual hard drives for a total of five hard drives. Based on our forensic analysis of the hard drives, we determined that most of the user files on all the hard drives, including QuickBooks accounting files, were deleted. We were told by Fr. Evagoras that Steve Papadatos deleted the data on the hard drives. In total, there were only approximately 10,500files on the five hard drives. We were able to restore a significant number of deleted files. In total, we restored approximately 571,000 files that had been deleted giving us a total of 581,000 files. However many of the files were damaged and could not be opened (including the QuickBooks accounting files). Approximately 441,000 of the files were photos, video and internet related which would not be expected to contain financial information. That leaves 140,000 user files.”

            On page 3 it is reported that “we could not locate vendor invoices to verify the validity the disbursements in our analysis. In fact during the course of our investigation, Father Evagoras explained to us that on the day George Passias left St. Spyridon, a local parishioner had seen many boxes removed from St. Spyridon Church and loaded onto a truck…We found very few relevant records at St. Spyridon for 2014 or 2015, the years in our approval scope of work.”

        • Michael Bauman says

          Wayne, do not forget the sour sauerkraut.

  35. Gail Sheppard says

    Jane,

    I have never heard Father Paisios say that saying the Jesus Prayer in Greek brings about theosis. Theosis is the “end game” and if it were that easy, I imagine he would be telling everyone to do it this way.

    You’ve provided some links regarding concerns the Greek laity have had about money going into monasteries and how it’s being spent. To my knowledge, none of their concerns, investigations, etc. have amounted to anything tangible and you have provided no links or names of sources to substantiate your other statements like this last one regarding Father Paisios. You say things like (paraphrasing here), “So and so’s mother said her son, so and so, was X, Y, Z.” To believe that, we have to accept on faith that you are repeating things correctly, that the mother really did tell you that and that her testimony is true regarding her son. That’s crap, Jane.

    In your comment to Michael, you said you have provided first-hand witness statements. A first-hand witness is the one with the story. Since you’ve gone on record saying you wouldn’t touch an Ephraimite monastery “with a 10-foot pole,” you are probably not a first-hand witness to many of your statements nor can you vouch for the veracity of those who are. Aside from the links you’ve posted, which have NOT included deposition statements BTW, what you’re posting is largely unsubstantiated. You keep saying, “there are too many questions and no answers.” Then search for the answers. Don’t assume you know the answers based on the allegations of a handful of people. The easiest way to check them out is to GOOGLE “Ephraimite Monastery” and the word “Lawsuit.” If there is all this bad stuff going on involving millions of dollars, someone, somewhere, is going to file a lawsuit.

    In terms of power, you are missing something important here. Yes, there is Satan and yes there is God, and of course, God is the more powerful (He is ALL powerful), but what you’re forgetting is that there is also free will. If we choose God, we allow God to act. If we choose the devil, we allow him to act. So it’s not a question of who is more powerful. It is a question of whom we choose.

    You mentioned Father Jack Sparks. He wrote a book on “spiritual combat” through prayer called the “Prayer in the Unseen Warfare.” I haven’t read it but I thought I’d mention it to you in case you’d like to.

    https://www.christianbook.com/prayer-in-the-unseen-warfare/jack-sparks/9781888212037/pd/212037#CBD-PD-Publisher-Description

    • Jane Rachel says

      Gail, my apologies. I misinterpreted this statement, taken from one of the monastery web sites: “It is from Elder Joseph that Elder Ephraim himself received the teaching about the practice and theory of the Jesus prayer. According to this teaching, through the constant invocation of the name of Jesus, in the form of “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me,” can someone attain to theosis — the union with God.”

      And again, I also apologize for not providing a link to the site where I read that Elder Ephraim said that the Jesus Prayer is more effective against the demons when it is spoken in Greek. I simply cannot find it now. Perhaps I was mistaken.

      You are also sort of right, in a way, maybe, when you say that “none of the concerns, investigations, etc. the Greek laity have had about money going into monasteries and how it’s being spent have amounted to anything tangible.” According to Jerry Dimitriou Executive Director Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, “the members of the Monastery Review Committee MRC (of which I was a participant) requested financial statements from ALL of the monasteries but NEVER received most of them. The ones we did receive were insufficient and incomplete. The MRC obtained financial statements of the Monasteries that were filed with their state or filed when they were purchasing properties and not directly from the Monasteries. The financials that we found, were significantly different and showed substantially more assets than those provided by the Monasteries to their Metropolitans or the MRC. The Monasteries in the United States are NOT following the regulations set forth by the Synod nor are they complying with the direction of their Metropolitans. They are functioning independent and do not follow the rules or the direction of their Metropolitans in most cases.”

      In addition, this statement from Bill Stotis (please read the entire article, with comments): “My personal background includes the practice of law for over 30 years, as well as being Chairman of the Board of a Bank in Illinois for a decade. I served in many positions my Bank and was educated in the areas of money laundering and other illegal activities. This is necessary in todays banking environment to identify criminal activity. In my law practice, I was retained by defendants charged with a variety of crimes. All of this useful in an investigation. I was picked for the MRC because of my understanding of banking and criminal activity. If you really want to know the truth demand the Hierarchs publish the MRC reports. Yes, I said reports, as in multiple reports.”
      https://www.thenationalherald.com/171780/letter-editor-reader-takes-issue-matsoukas-kalmoukos/

      Well, I have to admit, Gail, that you are kind of completely correct in your criticism of my lack of links and evidence when quoting the parents of the young man who cannot be mentioned, who have first-hand experiences and have testified to their experiences, and whom I have never met. All we have is their sworn statements, and since they must be lying… oh well…. I’m holding on to the statement, “That’s crap, Jane,” with a chuckle. Thanks, Gail!

      OMG, I have NOT included deposition statements? Really? Did you read said deposition statements that I did not provide? I did TOO provide deposition statements, and IRS tax forms, and links to articles. Good grief. “Search for the answers?”

      I’m sorry that you feel I didn’t know there is Satan, and that I don’t know there is free will, and that I am missing something here. Seems to me that what is required of us is that we choose to do good.

      “He hath shown thee, O man, what is good: and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.” Micah 6:8

  36. Greatly Saddened says

    It has been two weeks since McGrath Architectural’s due date for payment of the $2.4 million owed by the archdiocese. I wonder whether any of the materials being stored by them have been disposed of.

    Perhaps the much improved archdiocese will be so kind and give the general laity an update on the status of the Saint Nicholas National Shrine at Ground Zero.

    Or we can wait and read about it in the Ethnikos Kyrix or The National Herald. If I were a betting man, I would think the later is a much better bet.

  37. Gail Sheppard says

    Jane,

    Because you were on the Monastery Review Committee (MRC) that makes you a firsthand witness, which is good.

    Questions:

    1. Did you get what you were entitled to receive under law or was something missing? I suspect you got what you were entitled to receive but it wasn’t what you wanted. Am I characterizing this correctly?

    2. You say, that the information did not come directly from the monasteries. Does the law require it to come from the monasteries? If so, that’s something you could pursue. I suspect there is no such requirement. Am I right?

    3. You say the financials you found were significantly different and show more assets. Where did these financials come from? Did they come from a legitimate source, i.e. someone who is legally authorized to speak on behalf of the monastery regarding their assets? If so, then I would point out the discrepancies and request that they resolve them within 10 business days; however, if the information you received was not from a legitimate source, there is not a whole lot you can do.

    4. How can you know a monastery is not following the regulations of their governing body? Where did this information come from? I’m guessing it didn’t come from the Metropolis. Does your committee have the authority to interfere with the way a metropolis is governed whether or not you think it’s sufficient?

    You cannot defame someone because you failed to get what you wanted when you got what you were entitled to receive. You also cannot make a metropolis govern in a particular way if they are not they’re breaking the law and if the Metropolitan doesn’t feel the need to act, he doesn’t have to. Finally, you cannot present your personal conclusions as fact. You just can’t.

    Now if you want to share what inside information you received regarding their true assets and from whom, and share their financials so we can form our own conclusions (assuming you’re not breaking the law), I’m sure people would be most interested but you’re not doing that.

    You cannot suggest your personal conclusions are fact based on no evidence. Especially not in a public forum. In other words, you can’t say: “The Monasteries in the United States are NOT following the regulations set forth by the Synod nor are they complying with the direction of their Metropolitans. They are functioning independent and do not follow the rules or the direction of their Metropolitans in most cases.” They could go after you for defamation because they depend on donations and the dispersions you’ve cast on them could hurt them.

    BTW, don’t assume that some disgraced lawyer from WI is representing them! Most entities of their status have teams of very high profile attorneys. – You made several errors in that piece, too. You said the, ” . . . International Non-Profit Assistance Foundation (INPAF), is listed with a Florence, AZ address, which happens to be the location of St. Anthony’s Monastery.” If you look in the court document you provided it’s listed as 7800 N. Lake Drive Fox Point, WI 53217. You say Linda Johnson is listed as in Florence and both are the monastery’s address. This is not true either. They have her address as N54W16652 Ravenwood Dr. Menomonee Falls, WI 53051.

    You say, “. . . approximately 90 organizations and individuals have St.Anthony’s Monastery of Arizona and St. John’s Monastery of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, are listed as recipients of INPAF funds, and both have claimed that as religious organizations they are exempt from filing the Form 990. ” Where is THAT said anywhere? It’s disingenuous to suggest it’s in this document by posting it when it isn’t. If you do a search on the word “monastery” it doesn’t appear anywhere.

    Finally, I don’t care who Bill Stotis is. His background is of no interest to me. All of these people mentioned in these ancient articles you post (this one is from 2013) seemingly have an agenda and I have to ask: WHERE WERE THEY WHEN ALL THE MONEY WENT MISSING IN THE GOA and why didn’t they see THAT coming? You’ve got to get your own house in order before you go running around cleaning up someone else’s house. Right now, it’s the GOA that’s of interest.

    Please stop, Jane. You’re not interested in having a dialog. So many people have tried to address you but for the most part, you’ve ignored them. You’re using the blog as a platform and you are going to get in trouble because what you’re doing borders on defamation. If an investigation was done they can track you through your IP address and I don’t want to see that happen to you. I’m being sincere here. Truly.

    • George Michalopulos says

      Lot to chew on there Mrs Sheppard. My take is this: when Mr & Mrs GOA Layman can get an honest answer out of 79th St and their L100/Archon enablers (that is when the Archons aren’t playing Byzantine Dress-up and giving each other meaningless awards) about where all the St Nicholas Shrine money went, then we can start asking the monasteries how they are able to function with whatever resources they got.

      They could also how much each metropolitan gets as salary and why they have to fly first class back and forth between Istanbul and NYC. Why, for example to these bishops who are “monks” make six-figure salaries while most of the parish priests (who are family men) make far less than that? (And why the parish priest’s total compensation package is a known quantity but the bishop’s isn’t?)

      And then they could find out why the priests’ pension fund is insolvent?

      • Six figures salaries? Disgusting. Parasites Makes u want to join the Communist party

        • Constantinos says

          George,
          I’m so disgusted with the situation in the Greek Orthodox Church in America. Our Lord said, ” The Son of Man has no place to lay His head,” and, yet these hierarchs live like kings. They desperately need to learn humility. Why do they need a shrine in the first place? Sam Walton was the richest man in America, and, yet, he drove around in a beat up old pickup truck, lived in a rather modest home, bought his clothes from Walmart, and got his haircut from the local barber.
          All the laity should cease giving one dime to this corrupt church immediately.
          When a company is in financial trouble, they lay off workers, cut salaries, and sell whatever assets they can that are non productive. The Greek Orthodox should do the same. They need to cut their finances to the bone. Imagine flying first class , and paying themselves six figure salaries.
          The priests should not be full time; let them work for a living just like everyone else so they are not a burden to the parishioners. The bishops should also have full time jobs like the Apostle Paul. Stop charging assessments to the parishes. These hierarchs are so spiritually abusive it is pathetic. Get rid of all their housing allowances, pensions, and salaries. Let them work like the rest of us. They act like little tin horn dictators. Also, get rid of all these ridiculous Byzantine costumes and expensive Emperor’s hats.
          The Church needs to be poor like our Lord and the Apostles were. Get rid of all these silly building programs, and embarrassing festivals along with all the expensive icons. I want to see a simple poor church that is a witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ instead of one that is forever browbeating the laity for ever more dollars of their hard earned money. The Church does not have a giving problem; they have a massive spending problem. Freely have they received, and freely they must give. Don’t be suckered by these pimps to give exorbitant amounts of your hard earned money so that they can live lavish lifestyles.
          They remind me of these gold digging whores who try to latch onto a rich man so they can live a pampered life. They weren’t around when the guy was sacrificing and busting his hump to achieve his hard earned wealth, but they come around to help him spend his money on them. The same goes for the hierarchs. Also, let’s stop putting the monks and clergy on pedestals. By the way, what’s with all the fancy titles? The very reverend this; his holiness that, etc. Jesus didn’t even want anyone to call Him Rabbi.
          If I have offended anyone on this blog, that’s tough luck! Stop being suckers. Don’t forget these pompous “princes” defecation stinks just like everyone else’s.
          Let me add to my post. Why is an NFL football player paying for the funerals of those killed in the Texas school massacre? The Greek Orthodox should be doing that. After all, the shooter was active member of his local Greek Orthodox Church. I’m a Greek American, but for the most part, I can’t stand Greek people.

          • Greatly Saddened says

            Constantinos,
            Sadly, I agree with many of your points. It has become a run away train with little hope in sight.

            As I have said before, until the general laity decides they have about had enough, there is little if any chance anything will change. The general laity seems to continue to be apathetic. As long as they have their church to go to for baptisms, weddings and funerals, sadly things will continue to be as is.
            The few and mighty will continue to be at the helm and do what is fitting for themselves. We have allowed these hierarchs and their hierarchal lay appointees to do as they please with little if any oversight. This is why it has gotten to this point.

            There really needs to be a catharsis of this institution, inside and out and from top to bottom. It needs to realize they answer to us and not to themselves. They seeming do not fear “Christ,” so why should they feel any different to the general laity? They seem to feel they are above all this and even perhaps a “God” given right to do as they so please. God help us!

      • Alitheia1875 says

        George, they aren’t monks even if, and I repeat if, they were tonsured. Have any of the bishops, or unmarried clergy for that matter, ever lived for even one day under obedience in a monastery? I think not. Unmarried men continue to be tonsured and then ordained without ever having lived in a monastery. And who does the tonsuring? Bishops who themselves have never lived in a monastery. Here’s a novel thought: if you want to be ordained unmarried you must first spend three years in a monastery, preferably on Mt. Athos and then, if, if, the elder of the monastery deems you worthy and bestows the first tonsure, you can return and be ordained unmarried. But, that will never come to pass. You can, as the saying goes, bet the farm on that!

      • Billy Jack Sunday says

        George

        If the GOA is having money problems

        And the monasteries are a part of the GOA

        Why are we looking at them as two separate entities?

        Like, first we want accountability for everything happening in the GOA administration – especially NY

        Then, once we get all that, maybe we can lightly inquire about the monasteries?

        Why not both at the same time?

        If we need to know exactly what’s going on in the GOA, by leaving out the monasteries – aren’t we leaving out a big piece of the picture?

        It is the burden of the laity to rightly require transparency

        Isn’t it hypocritical and inconsistent of us to demand transparency from the cathedrals but not of the monasteries?

        This isn’t about 1 monastery, but many

        If there are these MRC reports, why can’t they be published? Does this knowledge not belong to us? Are we just as imprtant as any part of the body, or indeed mere subjegated peasants?

        I’m not saying it’s a fact that the monasteries are frauds. Not at all

        Perhaps they are the best thing to happen here in a long time, if not ever

        But what if that’s wrong and we missed what may seem to be many red flags?

        Are we biased because we want and need so desperately to have a real spirituality with substance?

        Don’t we want the truth no matter what?

        If it all checks out then we have all the more reason to really get behind and support the monasteries

        Therefore we really do need to know the answer to:

        Is the elder truly clairvoyant, or does he have ESPN?

        • Greatly Saddened says

          BJS,
          I agree with you. Why haven’t the MRC reports been released and made public?

          One wonders, what could the possible reason be for not releasing these MRC reports, if there is nothing to hide!

          Transparency should be total and complete. Not, what these hierarchs and their hierarchal lay appointees decide it should be.

          It seems we have been and continue to be taken for absolute fools. This group seems to continue to operate under their own ways. In total disregard of the general laity. This my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, must once and for all come to an end. They need to finally come to the realization they are required to answer for their careless and carefree ways of the past. It is high time this group realizes that just like in any other public company or corporation, even though it is a so called religious institution, they, the hierarchs and their hierarchal lay appointees answer to their share holders, which in this case is the general laity, and not to “themselves.” It is the money of the general laity that they so seeming carelessly spend, certainly “NOT” their own, to do what they choose with. And as such, we are owed the total truth!

          I hope and pray the general laity gets to the point where they will no longer continue to take the garbage that is dished out from East 79th Street and its metropolises. Time has come to take back our religion and make it once again “Christ” centered and “NOT” the “self” centered one these hierarchs and their hierarchal lay appointees have allowed it to become. It should “NOT” be a religion of and for the “elite!”

          Perhaps what is needed at this time is another Boston Tea Party uprising and how appropriate would this be with the up coming Clergy-Laity Congress to be held there of all places!

          • George Michalopulos says

            I agree. But first we should start with the bishops. How much do they make? How much does the EP get right off the top? What happened to the $17 million? How come the GOA budget went from $12million to $30 million in no time flat? What caused Nicholas to implode? A 3200 sq ft edifice that should have been completed by now with only $5 mill tops?

            Maybe the MRC report is not being released because people are then going to ask for more transparency?

            • Greatly Saddened says

              GM,
              These and so many other questions are needed to be asked at this Clergy-Laity Congress. The general laity deserves straight and honest answers.

              The question is, who if anyone, will be willing and have the nerve to do so? Would anyone really be willing to put their position on a parish council on the line to ask? And if so, one can only imagine what a commotion, if not worse, this would cause. The person or persons would probably be immediately escorted out of the room by security for being out of order.

              The fact remains, this really is not an open meeting, where honest questions can be asked and more importantly, honestly answered. Let’s face reality, this is far from above board. It seems to be “staged” in advance to “hinder” or better yet, “stop” anyone from asking any questions that may be deemed as having in any way a negative reflection towards the archdiocese. This is far from what we would consider open dialogue. I know, I will be told the “Church” is hierarchal and by being so, it is “do as we say!” And I bet you can guess what my response to that is!

        • Vladimiro says

          Are you a monastic, Billy Jack?

  38. Greatly Saddened says

    Below please find an article from today’s The National Herald.

    The Special Report of the St. Nicholas finances
    By Theodoros Kalmoukos – May 17, 2018

    https://www.thenationalherald.com/201210/the-special-report-of-the-st-nicholas-finances/

  39. Greatly Saddened says

    Obviously, the funds that were transferred did not happen on their own. Someone had to have initiated the tranfer. Did we really need anyone else to tell us this?

    Now that it has been confirmed by an impartial outside source, the general laity deserves to know who authorized and or made the transfer of funds. No more passing the buck. It is high time for people to be held accountable for their actions and also lack thereof.

    No more insulting our intelligence. That goes for the hierarchy, along with the hierarchal lay appointees. It’s time to come clean. No more cover ups! Your so called “get out of jail cards,” so to speak, have run out!

  40. Jane Rachel says

    “Gail,”
    Your writing style has certainly changed. You wrote:

    “Because you were on the Monastery Review Committee (MRC) that makes you a firsthand witness, which is good.”

    I am not on the Monastery Review Committee, obviously. Why do you state that I am? I cut-and-paste from articles widely available on the internet. However, I can use my brains to reply, even though I have no idea what is going on behind the scenes. Since I am only cut-and-pasting, I am unconcerned by your threat at the end of your reply. Investigated for “defamation” and track me down using my IP address? “Truly”? Oh, the days are just too short!

    By stating disdainfully that you “don’t care who Bill Stotis is,” you give me the opportunity to quote Mr. Stotis directly from online statements he has made within the past few months. Since he states clearly that he stands by everything he has said and written, and since he knows far more than I do, I will respectfully take the liberty of quoting Mr. Stotis here. I’m not replying for your benefit, “Gail,” but in hopes that people who have ears to hear will listen:

    https://ocl.org/who-lost-chicago/
    “In the case of the Monasteries under the spiritual guidance of Elder Ephraim there was enough evidence of damaging activity that the Synod of America voted unanimously to have an investigation of these Monasteries. That was voted upon in October of 2010. The Archbishop of America appointed 5 people to serve on the Monastery Task Force. I was one of those five people.

    “Later the name of the committee was changed to the Monastery Review Committee (“MRC”). A priest and a Bishop were then added to the MRC. Members of the MRC spent years investigating these issues. Professional investigators were also retained in addition to the members of the MRC. There were numerous reports generated by the MRC. There was an overwhelming amount of evidence that was “unearthed”… In our Church, our Laity should be demanding that the evidence uncovered by the MRC sees the light of day…I stand by my words and acts. The truth will eventually see the light and those who have blindly accepted heresies engineered by those who damage the Church may hopefully see the light one day.

    “When you read Elder Ephraim’s books it is easy to see why this distortion of our Faith is causing damage to the Faithful. There is a ‘cognitive bias’ displayed by Elder Ephraim’s followers. There is a systematic pattern of deviation from the accepted theology for the Laity. It leads those that follow this ‘theology’ to create their own subjective reality about the Church and the Faith…

    “We have a situation where those who are defending their Elder are only proving that his writings [cited above] are now in full force and practice. Regurgitation of the unverifiable and out right false statements is the new normal in our discourse about any problem that point to the Ephraimite movement. As our Parishes continue to empty no one should ask why. These exchanges say it all.”

    Statement by Yianni Pappas (http://www.WeAreOrthodox.com):
    “Mr. Stotis has interviewed me in person. I found him to be extremely professional and all of these comments such as “what’s wrong with you“ are ad hominem attacks upon somebody who’s the messenger. He has never been, and is not the problem. He’s a genuinely good man only trying to solve a problem. All of you who have gone after him should be ashamed of yourselves for using such tactics…To those of you who specialize in attacking the messenger, realize that the problem is grave and has caused serious damage to the Church and it’s Faithful. My interview lasted for many hours. I found him to be extremely knowledgeable and forthright with regard to every question I asked him. We turned over countless emails and contacts of individuals who attested to have been damaged by the Ephraimite problem.”

    • Gail Sheppard says

      Oh for Pete’s sake, Jane! If I saw you headed for a pothole, I’d pull you back then, too. – When someone inserts a comment in the middle of a speech, like you did with Jerry Dimitriou’s, it can mean they’re interjecting a comment. True, it’s supposed to be in brackets, but some people put them in parentheses. I thought you were telling us you were on the committee when you said, “of which I was a participant.” Quote: “As Bill Stotis knows, the members of the Monastery Review Committee MRC (of which I was a participant) requested financial statements from ALL of the monasteries but NEVER received most of them.” Thank you for clearing it up.

      • Jane Rachel says

        Thanks, Gail, for pulling me back from the pothole. I have a feeling that one of these days the Ephraimite monasteries are going to fall into a pothole so big there will be no bottom; big, fat fancy lawyers notwithstanding. It’s going to happen whether it happens on this side or in the world to come. If people simply won’t listen to the truth, and since no one has responded in a way that Judge Judy would approve of (“If it doesn’t make sense it isn’t true”) all we can do is to keep repeating it. Here is a link to an article that addresses the huge financial gap that exists between the parishes and the monasteries. I’m sure there is much more to it than baked goods sold at festivals; nevertheless a person might ask “Why?” One wonders why ALL the blame is placed on the GOA hierarchs and clergy.

        http://weareorthodox.com/ourblog/dangerous-lucrative-trend-of-sick-orthodox-guruism/

        “For many years now we have been doing our best to raise the awareness of the faithful in America about the “cultish-like” phenomenon that seems to follow and even blindly obey Elder Ephraim of Arizona, Abbott Paisios of Arizona, and the like.

        The January 31st edition of The National Herald has an article that raises these exact observations and questions. As a matter of fact, he references it as quite a lucrative industry as well. While the local parishes struggle to pay their assessments and meet their recurring bills, the dozens of multi-million dollar Monasteries of Ephraim in the United States (and also those abroad not included in this tally) have spawned unabashed.

        Monasteries are not assessed like parishes are from the Archdiocese/Metropolis. Yet Parishes are also “guilted” to help the monastery raise money by activities such as selling higher-than-market-prices for candles, icons, and other items. Also many Parishes have reported to have monastics selling their wares at the local parish Greek Festival. In fact, Ephraimite Monasteries have industrial type kitchens (that are the envy of many restaurants) where they prepare their baked goods and delicacies, that are also sold at the local parish, and other venues too. Any revenues from oversees (maybe from the coffers of Vatopedi?) are not included in this tally.

        Yes Mr. Kalmoukos is right – again. It is a lucrative industry. Add to the mix alleged prophecies, miracles, blind obedience, while also disparaging the Hierarchs of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (GOA) it’s no wonder that the financial outlook looks pretty good. Too bad many souls (and communities) may be destroyed in the process.”

        Article from the National Herald by Theodoros Kalmoukos:
        http://www.weareorthodox.com/usersubmissions/Elderism-Futurism-and-Prophetism-The-National-Herald-January-31-2017.pdf

      • Jane Rachel says

        Source: Orthodox Christian Laity

        “Dr. Frances Kostarelos, PhD., is Professor of Anthropology and Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences, Governors State University, University Park, Illinois. She has written on issues related to religion and has served as a program evaluator for the Lilly Endowment grant awarded to Hellenic College for several years.”

        http://ocl.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Frances-Kostarelos_corrected_03112018_FINAL.pdf

        http://ocl.org/video-presentations-given-ocls-30th-annual-conference/

        “Elder Ephraim’s beliefs and rules introduced in parish life by clergy carriers have
        resulted in sweeping changes in parish routines and institutions. Within parishes under the leadership of clergy followers of Elder Ephraim parishioner dispositions and bodily practices have changed, relationships have broken, and long standing parish communities have fragmented. Several in the GOA clergy and lay people have stated that Elder Ephraim is a serious challenge the GOA faces as his beliefs and practices have alienated parishioners while church leaders have ignored the problem and remain indifferent to the voices who oppose him.”

  41. Jane Rachel says

    “The rules that govern our Monasteries require that baptisms only occur there when there is a COMPELLING REASON DEEMED ACCEPTABLE BY THE LOCAL METROPOLITAN. Is it even possible to think of a compelling reason for there to be three different families having their baptisms at the same time and place?”
    http://weareorthodox.com/ourblog/monastery-violates-obedience-of-goa-general-regulations/

  42. Greatly Saddened says

    Below please find an article from today in The National Herald. Unfortunately, the article is locked and doesn’t appear in its entirety. I will continue to be on the lookout for the article in its entirety and if found, I will post.

    Archbishop Demetrios Refused to Resign
    By Theodoros Kalmoukos – May 30, 2018

    https://www.thenationalherald.com/202736/archbishop-demetrios-refused-to-resign/