Patriarch’s Move On Paisios, Vikentios

Met. Pasios of TyanaIt’s like the Keystone Cops.

Source: The National Herald

By Theodore Kalmoukas

BOSTON. – Patriarch Bartholomew has moved to change the administration of the scandal-scarred Monastery of St. Irene Chrysovalantou in Astoria, permanently ousting Metropolitan Paisios of Tyana, charged with sex abuses, and also Bishop Vikentios, who has no involvement in sex allegations. There has been a snag though because of technicalities in the structure and state laws governing such institutions, as well as the charter given by the Patriarchate. A meeting was scheduled for Jan. 21 at which the changes were to be made. The National Herald learned that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew directed a meeting be held in New York on Jan. 21 under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Theoliptos of Ikonion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the only one who can convene the meeting as Chairman of the Legal Corporation of the Stavropegial Patriarchal Monastery of Saint Irene, and to reclassify its members.

TNH has learned that Metropolitan Paisios, who was the Abbot, through the recommendation by the Patriarchate, sent a proxy to acting Abbot Bishop Elias of Philomelion authorizing him to represent him at the meeting. Legal problems arose, however, as to the validity of Paisios’ proxy since he has resigned from his positions of Abbot, and the Monastic Brotherhood of the Monastery. The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate accepted his resignations and issued an official communique.

The Chairman of the Corporation is Metropolitan Theoliptos of Ikonion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the members are Metropolitan Paisios and Bishop Vikentios, who is still the secretary of the Corporation. It was not clear if Metropolitan Theoliptos will come to the United States or will send a representative. TNH has learned that Metropolitan Nikitas of Dardanelia may stand in his place. Metropolitan Nikitas was the head of the three-persons Patriarchal Exarchy team, which came to New York to investigate charges of sexual abuse against Paisios raised by a number of individuals of both sexes.

TNH has learned that the Patriarch has instructed that Paisios be replaced by Bishop Elias of Philomelion and that the Corporation, through the two hierarchs, Theoliptos or his representative and Elias, will remove Bishop Vikentios and then extend the composition of the Legal Entity (Corporation) of the Monastery. The nominees of the Patriarchate are: Commander of the Order of St. Andrew Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Dr. Anthony Limberakis, a Greek-American lawyer from Texas and a Greek-American from New York.

The intentions of Bishop Vikentios of Apameia, who continues to reside at the church of St. Nektarios in Brooklyn, are unknown. Asked by TNH if he was planning to attend the meeting, he said: “I know nothing about any such meeting.”

The properties of the Monastery, namely the church of Saint Irene at 36 -07 23rd Street in Astoria, and an office opposite the church, the Monastery building at 42-11 Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria, are registered on the legal Corporation which consists of the Stavropegic and Patriarchal Monastery of Saint Irene under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate under New York law. The same applies for the other nine Dependencies across America, each of which is a separate legal entity registered in the state where the physical location of the churches dwells. The Dependency of the Ascension in Florida, for instance, is registered as a legal entity there. Metropolitan Paisios and Bishop Vikentios are both officers of the Legal Corporations of the Dependencies. The administrative restructuring under way in the Monastery will also change the Constitution granted by the Patriarchate. There will no longer be the Abbot’s Committee as is the case with Monasteries, but a sort of Board of Directors and its members will be appointed and dismissed by the Patriarch. A similar structure has been established at the Monastery of St. Anastasia, which is located just outside Thessaloniki and belongs to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

A LOT OF CASH

The new administrative rules will prohibit the blessing of the sacraments in the church of St. Irene in Astoria, and the membership dues that financially sustain the Monastery. Sources told TNH that if the blessing of sacraments and the membership dues will not be permitted at the Dependencies, they will not be able to survive economically.

Metropolitan Paisios, in a letter, claimed that the $280,000 in cash which former nun Christonymphi, took to the 114th Police Station in Astoria on Nov. 6, 2010 was left to him by his mother, although he earlier said it was to be used to rebuild the third floor of the Monastery. Paisios’ lawyers reportedly are trying to get the money back. Bishop Vikentios, in an interview with TNH on Dec. 18 and 19, 2010, said that “This money is not his own; it belongs to the Monastery which can clam it from the Police based upon the Charter given to the Monastery by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”

Initially, the Patriarchate allowed Paisios to resign and offered him “ecclesiastical leniency,” and then he was suspended, but TNH has learned Metropolitan Nikitas of Dardanellia sent a letter to a meeting of the Patriarchal Synod of January 11, recommending punishment for Metropolitan Paisios, stating that people were asking: “What kind of a punishment was that to Paisios?” Nikitas suggested that the Patriarchate should take “a more serious decision about Paisios,” who sent a letter to Patriarch Bartholomew wishing him Happy Holidays and requesting permission to receive Holy Communion on Christmas and also to be granted an audience. The Patriarchate told Paisios that he is prohibited from receiving Holy Communion and would not be received for now. The Synod referred the issue of the Chrysovalantou Monastery to the Canonical Committee “for study and recommendation.” The issue will be discussed again in the Feb. 10 session of the Synod.

The suggestion was made by Metropolitan Panteleimon of Tyrolois and Selention Professor Emeritus of the Canon Law of the Theological School of the University of Thessaloniki. The Canonical Committee consists of Metropolitan Panteleimon and Serention Chairman, Metropolitan Iakovos of Prigipos, Metropolitan Meliton of Philadelphia, Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima and Archimandrite Elpidophoros as Secretary.

Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey, who served as Acting Abbot for a brief period of time, sent two letters to the Ecumenical Patriarchate about Bishop Vikentios. In the last letter dated Jan. 7, 2011. Evangelos wrote that Vikentios stirs up people, that he delivers sermons against the Patriarchate, won’t obey the order of the Synod to leave the United States, froze the accounts of the Monastery and behaved in an irreverent manner when he arrived at St. Nectarios Church in Brooklyn on Dec. 6, 2010. Bishop Vikentios also had sent a letter to Patriarch Bartholomew and the Synod, complaining that when he arrived at St. Nectarios Church, Evangelos had brought a locksmith to change the locks to his room and that the police nearly arrested Evangelos for trespassing. Vikentios requested permission to sue Paisios, but the Synod decided to send him a letter telling him that would not be allowed. Some members of the Synod said that Vikentios should leave the U.S. but Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit intervened and said, “Where is he going to go?” and the issue remained unresolved. Complaints were expressed about Bishop Elias of Philomelion that he has not written any report as yet about the situation at the Monastery.

Comments

  1. Great reporting. Thanks for keeping us in the loop on this important issue.

  2. Harry Coin says

    I’m really wondering whether all the financial real-estate vs. misdoing liability vs. risk of being discovered math wasn’t done a long time ago.

    The underling bishop is the most upset because he sees the long ago thought through plan revealed: to sell off what he worked to build even though he’s accused of no misconduct — the real estate of all the parishes and regional parcels to pay off the bills and to have someone else keep the rest. Where does that leave him? Formally accused of nothing, tarred by association of collasal grotesque misdoing and so with a cloudy future and without assets to make a go of it. No wonder he’s upset. He’s been had and how.

    • Ashley Nevins says

      Hello Harry,

      Long time no talk too. I hope you are well. Your unending fight against GOA corruption by bishops and elder is appreciated. There are few voices like yours in your church. Fasten your seat belts. Get ready another GOA bishop is going to be exposed soon. I know of more coming and that is obvious to see the bishop I am speaking about that no one seems to see. Another bishop will soon be exposed and he will not be connected to Astoria. It is only a matter of time now that it comes out and time has run out for the GOA.

      You may not remember this, but years ago you told me this is a systemic corruption of church. If that is true then a system comes out of a structure and both the system and structure come out of a theology that creates them. I believe this is church corruption on a massive scale by theology and its resulting structure and system of church. In any systemic corruption there is a cause and you trace symptoms back to cause to see the cause and its solution.

      I told Louis and the entire Greek church five years ago that the elder would come into parishes and destroy them. No one listened. In Chicago they did not deal with the homosexual bishops first. They waited for the elder to come destroy those parishes and then appealed to the corrupt bishops for help. Again, the bishops and EP are exposed for who that they truly are and the church again relies on them to bring them solution to its corruption. NY is Gods expose’ of the EP made clear for all to see. This is nothing more than a organized religious crime organization defending itself in court and the church victims of this corruption are the coerced who pay the religious mafia legal bills by extortion of their money.

      Spiritual abuse of the church pays the church legal tab for its spiritual abuse. Church monies defend the corrupt and the church lines up to give them the money to self protect themselves in court. Sin gets your monies to protect its sin. Evil gets church monies to protect its evil. That is spiritual abuse paying to be spiritually abused. That is like paying someone to break your ribs and knock you out. That is insane church gone mad by corruption. It is circular without solution church and maddness has no solution to its insanity. The only solution insanity has for itself is its insanity.

      If the 60 victims of NY get a half mil each that is a $30 million pay out. That is the math. George has told us the Archdiose is right now is paying out $250K a month over Katinas. That math works out to how much? There is no way the GOA can survive this kind of religious organized crime. The GOA was warned and it did not listen. It really only listens to its alone right and one true self.

      The GOA did not listen to what David Smith and I when we told them about the elder and like it did listen to what Katinas was telling them about the church hierarchy and the laity itself. What happened to David? In the near future you will find out. You people are clueless about what GOA corruption he and some others are going to expose. David is an outcast and the last person the GOA wants exposing them are outcasts. No, they are not going to expose the Bishop or elder I bring into this conversation. It will be far more interesting than that. I promise and all of my promises to the Orthodox come true. All of them.

      Is the GOA listening now?

      Ashley Nevins

      • Harry Coin says

        Ashley,

        Did you know most Orthodox who come to church on Sunday have little awareness of anything much beyond their local parish? They have their own problems, they come for a little peace and community and prayer. They don’t read about church things online, they barely have the energy necesary to manage their own day. If all the misdoing in high places drains the money then the people who are in it for the money will fade away. The ones who will do well will be those who have jobs outside the parish and have active people in the parish who volunteer to do small parts each.

        It seems pretty clear that the money is going to be taken away. Sometimes I think the people should have listened earlier when they had a chance. Now I think maybe they did listen and they are okay with the money being taken away. They aren’t in it for the money.

        The church is not alone confusing maintaining the rules with maintaining what the rule was adopted to accomplish. For example, look at our state boundaries in the USA. Little eastern states with fewer people and two Senators, vast western states with vast population and two Senators. What rules made sense when the folk were living and working one way start to look a little distorted 200 years later.

        As the years pass by I am getting less angry and feeling less betrayed as I sense what happened here is not a matter of an agenda, it is a matter of worshipping the rules instead of preserving what the rule was adopted to accomplish long ago. Thats why we are seeing senior leadership being thought of more and more as administrators and less and less as fathers. The people have changed, 850,000 of 1,000,000 women died in Cesarian operations and folk lived to 25 or so until recently. Now folk live into the 70’s and 20 of 1,000,000 who have Cesarians die. So, no more widowers and the ‘not presently married’ leadership changes character to ordained young never married as we see. Does that make them bad people necessarily? Of course not. But why can’t the leadership see this and change the rules? I think, in the end, it is because they are afraid of opening Pandora’s box.

        • Ashley Nevins says

          Yes, Harry, if you worship a theology and its resulting structure and system as your God and salvation that will lead to an idolatry end result. An idolatry end result is a corrupt, failed, irrelevant and dying church that is circular without solution by the idolatry being applied as the solution.

          Thank you, Harry, for all of your expose’ of ephraim. He has quite literally emotionally and spiritually destroyeded Scott and what destroyed him is destroying the GOA. Our son is now a hard core ultra fundamentalist ephraimite cultist. He is now insane. We had such great hopes for Scott and now the GOA hope is as destroyed as he is. We saw our son literally destroyed right before our eyes. Everything I speak too is what I speak to what destroyed Scott. He is the micro exposing the macro destruction of the GOA.

          I warned the GOA what they did to Scott would do the same to them. No one listened.

          The GOA still refuses to listen and that is their self destruction.

          God is exposing what destroyed Scott and the GOA deny that it did destroy him and not look at their destroyed state in their denial of what destroyed Scott.

          The GOA is OVER. Its best outcome is a dead surival existence state of corruption, failure, irrelevancy and demise that is circular without solution to its dead state. The GOA is as dead as it killed Scott dead. And, now that death comes to kill the GOA dead. I in public warned the GOA and predicted all of this. The prediction has now come true. The GOA is over.

          Ashley Nevins

          • Harry Coin says

            I am so very sorry for the pain your family is experiencing. If I had a good answer I’d have written it already.

            • Ashley Nevins says

              Harry,

              There is much pain by many families as a result of the spiritual abuse of the GOA.

              I know exactly how the hierarchy treats people who come forward over abuses.

              You back up your empathy words with actions that few take. You speak out and when 99.99% of the rest do not.

              The GOA is not going to survive its incompetent EP, corrupt bishops, guru cult leader elder, powerless priests and apathetic and indifferent laity. This is the PERFECT set up for a church to become a Christian cult and it will never sees it coming. Idolatry of your Gods only alone right and one true church leads to religious addiction and religious codependency that render the church corrupt, failed, powerless, irrelevant and dying.

              There are five things the irrational totalism church hates:

              1. Modernity that threatens its archaic closed, isolated and subjective thinking.
              2. Rationalism that objectively exposes the church failure and its cause of failure.
              3. Freedom of religion that exposes totalism theological dictatorship.
              4. Rule of law that has more power than rule of church/state totalism church.
              5. Bottom up and open system freedom in Christ church that is relevancy that reveals the irrelevancy of the top down and closed EOC.

              You mentioned in a previous post that you felt the rules are worshipped over Christ in the church. That the pandora’s box would be opened and all could see in. The rules of a top down authoritarian church theology, structure and system are designed to keep the church under the power and control of bondage that thinks for you.

              The rules are:

              1. Don’t think.
              2. Don’t feel.
              3. Don’t talk.
              4. Don’t look.
              5. Don’t hear.
              6. Don’t change.
              7. Don’t question.

              The more power centered the church the more deeply ingrained and the more the rules are seen and enforced to make sure power has absolute control. The rules are the unseen corrupt indoctrination of a highly dsyfunctional church that is shame based. The rules shame the church into submission to corruption as its accepted norm by how they mind control the church in unseen ways.

              The rules are the result of POWER trying to CONTROL thinking in the church. The rules are the subtle power of spiritual abuse that are the subtle power of mind control not seen. Idolatry of a theology and its resulting structure and system results in the idol mind controlling all who right worship and right believe in the idol. The idol is always alone right and one true truth that is your only salvation. The idol mind controls to close out solution or way of escape. The idol is all about his power to mind control YOU into religious codependency upon the religious addict idol.

              The salvation of the GOA is its solution or the cause of its corrupt, failed, irrelevant, powerless and dying state. GOA salvation is being God only alone right and one true church on the planet. I see how right and true the salvation solution to the corrupt, failed, irrelevant, powerless and dying church is. The GOA rules disagree with my thinking for myself outside of the rules that stop your from thinking for yourselves. I see right through the GOA. I see the cause of it corrupt church failure and it does like it that I expose it. It does not like what it cannot by its power mind control through its rules.

              The GOA has never experienced a Christian outside of them that thinks for himself like I do. I know why God has me speaking into the GOA through my identity in Christ and spiritual gifts. I expose the failed Orthodox Mind by the Lordship mind of Christ.

              I am an outcast radical revolutionary for the Lordship of Christ at the center of church authority and that holds ALL in the church transparent and accountable to Christ first. I am a Christian realist who conceptually thinks for himself outside of the closed box of Orthodoxy. I stand against man in his own power in authority power in the church and that corrupts the church by the mind control of theological totalism rules. In other words, I am not winning any religious codependent popularity contests in the top down power and control religious dictatorship of the GOA.

              I am a Christian therefore I think for myself.

              I think for myself therefore I am a Christian.

              That is radical Christianity outside of the closed box of Orthodox church death that thinks for all under its power and control. I just exposed the pandora’s closed box of Orthodox rules by thinking for myself and now look at the corrupt failure of a church in the now open Orthodox box.

              Ashley Nevins

              • Harry Coin says

                There was an Orthodox priest, Fr. Eusebius Papastephanou, in Destin Florida I think. He was pretty well marginalized years ago, but for years he was going all around the country speaking about ‘The Lordship of Christ’ much as in the above. He was all about evangelism. I think he was in Indiana for a while before his Florida years.

                He’s the only one I can remember in the GOA that used that phrase often. (Now, I hardly can say I know them all…)

        • Ashley Nevins says

          Harry, one last thought. Power is the motivation. Money gives them power. God is taking away their power by taking away their money. Money is what makes their power work. The structure of the church from its theology that creates the structure is a structure of top down POWER in authoritarian control. Christ in Philippians chapter two came to us as an open and bottom up system of HUMILITY that confronted a top down closed system of POWER.

          The GOA understands ONLY one thing and that is POWER. The GOA is Gods only alone right and one true church and salvation. That is its POWER that creates the structure and system of POWER from the theology of POWER.

          This theology and its resulting structure and system of POWER only understands the POWER of the FBI, Justice Dept and Courts when they hold a gun to their heads. The courts have the POWER to take away their POWER by taking $30 mil from them. Law enforcement can put them in prison. The GO hierarchy is right now literally TERRIFIED of losing its power by losing its money. They are terrified of freedom of religion and the rule of law in individual inalienable rights that can sue them to the ruin of their power. Freedom is their greatest fear and because freedom is greater than their POWER. Freedom of religion and freedom in Christ is what their POWER fears most. Freedom exposes their POWER for what it truly is and that terrifies them to no end.

          Orthodox power does not control FREEDOM and that terrifies the hierarchy that they can’t. Church and state theology no longer has absolute control over outcomes or image. Now the terror of freedoms power comes to them like never before and their power is found powerless to stop freedom. The GOA is over by its power being over. It’s best outcome is a carnal corrupt powerless state of dead church as its power. Bondage and not freedom is their best outcome by their power.

          Freedom is the power of humility to expose the power of pride. That terrifies the GO hierarchy in their pride of power in the top down rule power structure and system of their POWER. The GO do not understand freedom in Christ humility power. They only understand their own power structure of their own power in power. That is dead church that has become a corrupt failure by its own power.

          BTW, did I mention to you that the POWER of the ATF called me in the fall of 2009 to discuss the followers of the elder and the monastery itself? We talked for almost an hour. I was not expecting their call. Any Greek reading this could call Gerasimos and ask him what he knows about it since he is the bishop authority over the elder in Az. I mean, if the ATF was looking at my church I would want to know why, wouldn’t you too? Wouldn’t you want to know why the FBI was looking at your church if you found out that they were???

          What does the POWER of the ATF stand for? ‘A’ stands for alcohol. ‘T’ stands for tobacco. ‘F’ stands for firearms. Now if you wanted to protect a guru cult leader and his cult which one would you use? Which one is the most cult scary to you? The Orthodox do not understand the POWER in the humility of freedom of religion and the rule of law. They do not understand the power of the FBI, ATF, IRS, Courts, D.A., etc. that holds a loaded gun to their heads. They know they will pull the trigger if forced too and like the GOA in its grandiose pride and arrogance in their POWER is not forcing them to pull the trigger. The GO ONLY understand their OWN POWER and they only understand that because they are Gods ultimate POWER on the planet by being Gods only alone right and one true church on the planet.

          Ashley Nevins

  3. Ashley Nevins says

    George,

    I was thinking for myself and out of the closed Orthodox box today after reading your last two posts. My conclusion is that the GOC has nothing to worry about in the destruction of at least 60 people in NY. The Trinity is with the GOA. The FBI, Dept. of Justice and courts are the GOA TRINITY that is going to solve this issue. Adults now rule over the GOA where immaturity once did. So GOA your prayers are answered. The rule of your church is now under new rule, the rule of law. You have accomplished your church/state theological goal of being one with the state in rule over you all. Your relevancy is now seen in the media for the evangelistic revival event that your church is. You now, finally, get the media attention your salvation relevancy deserves as Gods only alone right and one true salvation come to America to role model that truth to us all as our only alone right and one true salvation. After 200 years here you finally get the recognition your salvation deserves.

    The evil ones trinity of EP, bishops and church attorneys is now going to go head to head with Gods trinity of FBI, Dept. of Justice and the courts. The evil one will self protect his rule power and control over your church by placing his rule power and control over the interest of the greater church whole. Satan will expose himself in the wide open and because he has NOTHING to fear from the GOA. I expect at least $20 mil to be the lawsuit payout outcome of the evils one self protection defense of evil in the church. Orthodox, it takes spiritual warfare VIOLENCE to throw the evil one out. Powerless religious codependeny is not spiritual warfare violence that has the power to throw evil out. Satans rule over the church renders the church religious codependent powerless to his religious addiction rule over the church. He has the GOA right where he wants it and all of enabled him in that. I promise.

    Welcome, GOA, to America where freedom from church and state theological rule and the rule of law are not your rule over us all by church and state theological rule power and control. You no longer make the laws and rule over them with totalism. You are not above the rule of law and your church thinks that it is. You do not control your outcome or image any longer. Your props holding you up are now gone and you have to stand up on your own two feet now by your salvation holding you up all by itself. Your religious codependency that is codependent upon top down rule power and control in religious addiction is your salvation as your solution and it cannot stand up on its own two feet and walk in holiness.

    I speak to you in the terms of modernity because moderity is our generation and your church is not relevant to our generation. It is only really relevant to its corrupt and dying self. You church is anti modernity and I know why. Modernity exposes your church for museum keeper failure that it is. This is 2011 and not 1011. You might consider getting over yourselves as the truth of salvation come to us as the truth of corrupt church failure that is no ones salvation. The evil one is the maturity and chacter of GOA salvation and not Christ and so an evil outcome of church results.

    The sick dance between the religious codependents and the religious addiction is your church rule seen going circular without solution on the dance floor freedom of religion real world relevancy competition with the Gospels. It shows how you dance in the real world of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ of the Gospel. This is better than any Greek dancing at a food festival money raising event and where anything other than the salvation of the Christ in the Gospels is the priority center of focus. The dance exposed is the difference between individual salvation IN CHRIST and collective salvation IN EOC. How and why you really think is being exposed for the thinking that it always has been. Objectivity is freedom that exposes the subjective bondage of the GOA and it does not work the other way around. Freedom is exposing how free Christ is in your church to set you free. It is obvious how free your salvation is to set you all free of a corrupt, failed, irrelevant and dying church that you all believe is Gods only one true salvation and freedom in Christ salvation.

    This is the Orthodox century for America. It is the century where freedom of religion and the rule of law expose your church like never before for what it truly always has been as Gods only alone right and one true church and salvation. The Orthodox salvation of its theology and resulting structure and system of church as salvation are being exposed for the salvation they are and in their ability to bring the GOA solution by its salvation. If you cannot see how God is exposing your salvation you don’t have the salvation to see how that He is exposing it for what it truly has resulted in and how powerless it is to change this end result of corrupt church failure.

    I came to these conclusions by thinking for myself in Christ centered reason that is a bottom up and open system of Christian thinking that sees your GOA future conceptually. In other words, I think outside the closed Orthodox box that is limited by the walls of its box to think for itself. Your salvation is either the salvation solution to this evil or it is the evil itself that destroys your church. A powerless salvation is powerless to transform your church to solution. You might consider re-thinking for yourselves what that salvation truly is that cannot provide your corrupt, failed, irrelevant and dying church with solution by its salvation. Yes, I know, Orthodox salvation disagrees. That’s a given that its denial in its corrupt failure would disagree. It is not free to agree to see its failure by its salvation that is not free to set the Orthodox free to see the truthful end result of their salvation.

    Ashley Nevins

    • Michael Bauman says

      Ashley, as much compassion as I have for your pain, it does not excuse outright lies such as when you say:

      “This is the Orthodox century for America. It is the century where freedom of religion and the rule of law expose your church like never before for what it truly always has been as Gods only alone right and one true church and salvation…. If you cannot see how God is exposing your salvation you don’t have ”

      When you say such things you are denying the validity of the entire corpus of Christian doctrine. Whether the Orthodox Church is now what she should be (and she is not), all that our world understands as Christian and much that it does not understand as Christian was revealed through the Orthdox Church. That is an historical truth. You are also judging the salvation of others. Dangerous ground to walk on brother!

      Protestantism and the iconoclastic revolution it represents arose long after the foundational doctrines of the faith, the canon of Holy Scripture and a life of spiritual practice were transmitted through the Orthodox Church. The doctrines, the Scripture and the practice are still foundational to any body which can lay any claim to being Christian. Whatever we may be now, the Christian faith was delivered through the Orthdox Church. If we are not living up to our calling, God will judge us with great serverity, but that is not your determination to make.

      If I were George, I would block your comments, not because I disagree with them, but because they are driving a stake into your own soul with their venom. You are torturing yourself. I fear your grief has lapsed into unhealthy obsession which if not addessed will lead you away from the God you claim to serve. That would be the greatest grief, the greatest loss of all. Love the Truth and follow Him as you say you are called to do. If that means you cannot be associated with the Orthodox Church, then cut all ties including the ties of judgement and condemnation. You will only be free of what you hate and loath by forgiving and surrendering us into God’s hands. His judgement will be sure and perfect even if we have earned His wrath.

  4. Kalmoukes must have good sources. The contents of three letters were revealed to him. This indicates a source inside the Patriarchal Palace in Istanbul.

    But look at what they say. Evangelos squealing on Vikentios that he is making Bartholomew look bad. Vikentios wants to sue Pasios. Nicholas defends Vikentios freezing all decision. Way to go boys.

    Meanwhile no official statement at all. It seems like the only qualification for Bishop is that you get degree from a seminary and are heterosexually-challenged.

    Who is going to pay the settlements? How about starting with liquidating the bishop’s stock portfolios and land holdings? These guys have money. Some own property and have second homes in Greece.They are responsible for this mess. Let them pay instead of the people.

    If Vikentios knew about Pasios and did nothing, he’s culpable. If Bartholomew knew (and how could he not?), he’s culpable. It’s their job to know. If real accountability mattered, all the bishops would be fired.

    Now there is some kind of reorganization taking place. They blew Astoria, now they want even more control? The first thing we should demand is background checks and full disclosure of finances. Otherwise, stay away.

    What about the kids that were abused, boys? When do we hear about that?

  5. Chryssi, then you are going to be surprised.