“Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them,

and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

But it shall not be so among you:

but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto,

but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28, KJV)


The word the Athenians used for their Assembly was Ekklesia, the same word used in the New Testament for Church
(and it is the greatest philological irony in all of Western history that this word,
which connoted equal participation in all deliberation by all members,
came to designate a kind of self-perpetuating, self-protective Spartan gerousia -
which would have seemed patent nonsense to Greek-speaking Christians of New Testament times,
who believed themselves to be equal members of their Assembly.)

- Thomas Cahill, Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter




ΦΙΛΟΤΙΜΟ: THE GREEK SECRET


Thursday, June 21, 2007

Not Only a Place to Complain

It has been circulated that only complaints and criticisms are circulated on this site and for the most part, that is correct. Until now, the issues at hand and the actions taken or not taken have necessitated only those type of responses. Today, an action occurred that calls for at least partial thanks and praise. His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah, in a letter dated June 19, 2007 to Mr. Nick Colessides, lifted the ecclesiastical sanctions imposed several months ago. His Eminence writes in part, "On this basis, I lift all suspensions imposed on you in regard to the sacraments and services of the Church." While the ecclesiastical sanctions have been removed, the Metropolitan also states, "However I reserve the privilege of not recognizing your candidacy for the parish council for the next three years because of your statement against the Archdiocese."

Thank you and well done praises are due the Metropolitan for finally removing the ecclesiastical sanctions. Speaking the truth and standing up for one's beliefs are not reasons for one to be removed from the parish council and excommunicated. Posing a threat to the agenda and challenging the heavy handed tactics of the Proistameno are also not reasons for one to be removed from the parish council and excommunicated but it apparently was threatening enough in this instance to convince the Metropolitan to impose those sanctions. Be that as it may, the ecclesiastical sanctions have been lifted and for that, thank you Your Eminence.

Let us not forget though how we got to this point. The UPR's are clear in how one is removed from the parish council and those issues have been outlined in a previous article. There is no doubt that soon enough we will be hearing our Proistameno taking credit for having the sanctions lifted. Quick to take credit, never to take blame. Note to our Proistameno: Please spare us the theatrics and heroics. You publicly announced that this issue was between the Metropolitan and Nick and that you had nothing to do with it. We know better than to believe you had nothing to do with it. Don't jump in now and play Superman - we don't buy it.

Welcome home Nick, and thank you Your Eminence.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Metropolitan Isaiah failed to mention in his letter to Nick that Father Michael likely called Metropolitan Isaiah and told him that donations have dried up here and that his salary may be at risk (in addition to the financial stability of the church)


It’s interesting that Nick is re-admitted right after our church made a specific and sincere request for donations last week via U.S. Mail.