“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


Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Fiddling While Rome Burns

Now that we have fulfilled our moral obligation in offering assistance to those poor lost souls in New York who, like us, are functioning "uncanonically", practicing "un-Christian polygamy", it is time to look at our dysfunctional situation and the antics of our regime.

A parish council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday July 11. One wonders what, in light of the recently received correspondence and all the other shenanigans, the parish council will discuss at their meeting. Not that this has been announced, but two members of our parish council and our Proistameno were in Denver meeting with the metropolitan on Monday July 9. It will be interesting to see whether any mention will be made regarding the issues discussed at this meeting. Considering the track record of this Proistameno and this regime, our bet is no. Come to think of it, even if they say something, how can we believe what they say in light of the recent deceptive correspondence we have received? Rome burns and our regime fiddles.

Our appointed "split committee" will meet today, July 10. Undoubtedly, the make-up of the members of the committee will be made public soon thereafter. Interesting to note that four members of the committee, appointed from Prophet Elias, are related and two members from the same appointment are spearheading the effort to split. Still unclear is what exactly this committee will be doing. Depending on whether we believe our Proistameno or the metropolitan, they will either be gathering information or facilitating a split. Also unclear is the role our assigned clergy will play on this committee, which will function outside the purview of our parish council. Maybe clearer direction was given from the metropolitan at the recent meeting. Who's to know what to believe? Can we say confidentiality agreement? Oh well, Rome burns and our regime fiddles.

Over the past several months reference has been made to correspondence involving the metropolitan, Archdiocese and our community. Members of our community have requested that this referenced correspondence be made public for our edification. Their requests have fallen on deaf ears. One of two options are in play here: it is easier to control us if we remain in the dark, or no letters exist and we've just been told they exist. Both options are plausible given this regime's past behavior. Recently, requests have been made yet again to make this correspondence public. We'll see what happens. Rome burns and our regime fiddles.

The days to come could be edifying. On the other hand, experience tells us that we would be better served not to hold our breath. A golden opportunity to make a good faith effort to bring the community up to speed will be lost. As the saying goes, hope springs eternal. In the meantime, Rome burns and our regime fiddles.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would also ask why there is no one in the 16-30 demographic? Or why no women from Prophet Elias?

Not a very diverse sampling of our community.

I'm not sure the list I heard was accurate, so correct me if I am misinformed...

TOCB Moderator said...

No Elpitha you are not misinformed. Your assessment is accurate.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe (or maybe I can) that Father Michael feels the individuals selected to this "special committee" from Prophet Elias is a "fair" cross-section representing the views of those parishioners attending Prophet Elias. I'm a PE parishioner and MY views ARE NOT being represented NOR the views, I'm sure, of many other PE parishioners. It's time for PE Parishioners to stand their ground and speak up!!! There's been rumor about this "secret committee" trying to split the churches for some time. Now that this is out in the open, we can no longer remain idle and silent. NOW'S THE TIME TO ACT!! We can't afford to be passive any longer. This is YOUR community. If you CARE, we need YOUR voice to be heard. You must review the facts and take a stance. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!! This is ONE PARISH and it needs to remain this way!