Friday, July 21, 2017

More on vacant see in Metropolis of Chicago

BOSTON (National Herald) – The Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America defied the Synodical decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to revise the List of Candidates for the elevation to Episcopacy.

Instead in a unprecedented move they decided that the Archbishop with a representation of hierarchs travel to Constantinople to try to convince Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to reverse the initial Synodical decision that canceled the election of Bishop Sevastianos of Zela as Metropolitan of Chicago.

The decision was taken on Thursday July 20 in a special session of the Eparchial Synod convened by its president His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America. All the Synodical hierarchs were present except Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver.

Archbishop Demetrios will send a letter to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew requesting an audience at the Phanar.

The above decision could ignite ecclesiastical developments of historic magnitude.

14 comments:

  1. "unprecedented" for "unpresented," I assume.

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    1. I fixed it. Got more than one message on their typo. :)

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  2. If the well-loved Abp Demetrios became the third consecutive GOA chief hierarch to be removed by the EP, let's just say that it wouldn't sit well with many people.

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    1. Maybe they should write a letter to the Diyanet (the Turkish Ministry of Religion) asking for the removal of the EP.

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    2. Better to pray for unity in the Church, I think.

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    3. The fact that the Turks have been completely quiet about his longstanding ties to the Gulen movement means that they've decided just to wait out his natural lifespan before intervening in the patriarchate's affairs.

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  3. Abp Demetrios will stand up to the EP about a personnel decision but not about the travesty of the "Ecumenism" Council?

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  4. I am glad the Greeks are standing up to this pretentious wanna-be Pope in Istanbul. If he tries to play hard-ball with them, they should cut off the supply of Gelt which flows copiously from the USA to Bart's little Banana-Boat Fiefdom on the Bosphorus.

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    1. As I've said before, there are good reasons for regarding his see as vacant. The Russians will probably wait for the incumbent to die before taking such a position, though.

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  5. https://youtu.be/CprG4HYS_vI This link gives a very clear witness to the depths of faith of this fine hierarch of our church. I am confident that all the candidates that were proposed are greatly worthy to serve the Church. May God guide the election of the next Metropolitan of Chicago and may God grant eternal repose to Metropolitan Iakovos of blessed memory.

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    1. Thank you for that link. That does not sound to me like someone who would struggle with his English, as some seem to have claimed according to a different article linked here earlier.
      +Fr. Peter

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    2. I liked the video, especially at about 4:25. He addresses something that has grated on me for decades, the nonsense of saying children are "the future" of the Church. Hogwash. He says rather, the Church is the future of the children. Good. Further, he mentions the idea that other people (!) may be attracted to the Church(!). Hmmm. Maybe now one sees why this fellow makes "Constantinople" anxious. It isn't that he speaks English badly, he speaks far too well. He is presently bishop of nothing, nowhere and nobody, but that's just how they want him. Otherwise he might get Americans to be Orthodox or something. And THAT is known to have made modern occupants of the "Ecumenical Throne" actually run in fear. Not figuratively, literally.

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    3. Dear Bob, in my years of serving under the Ecumenical Patriarchate, over 25 years, I never had anyone try to discourage me from bringing in converts. It was never once discouraged. In all the parishes I ever served the "new" and the "old" all worked together. Bishop Antonios was serving in a mission parish out of a store front as he says in the video. Lots to be thankful for here in his humility and missionary zeal.

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