“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


Wednesday, April 23, 2008



23 April 2008

IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY!
We wish to thank the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland. See Deseret News story, dated April 19, 2008, above.

Our forefathers, looking into the future, correctly and wisely decided to keep and maintain our real properties in the community’s name. They refused to pass title of the Community’s properties to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in 1964. In 1974 this Community reiterated that wise resolve to continue its long-standing policy. The 1974 bylaws state:
This Association, however, specifically reserves unto its members, in good standing, as defined by the By-Laws, all of its property and assets, giving no control whatsoever of the said property and assets to any priest, bishop,archbishop, or any spiritual head of said Church."
Well done! Let us make sure that we remain ever-vigilant in protecting our properties. We must be protected from any potential risk such as the Katinas sexual abuse scandal and what is sure to be its disastrous aftermath. We should not be forced to pay for the Katinas defendants’ liability.

The Portland Catholic Archdiocese has wisely chosen and has acted to preserve its assets. This Community is and always has been well ahead of the game.

Let’s make sure we stay that way.

Attend the next general assembly and vote against the change for quorum requirements. The Community’s institutional history mandates that we do not change the rules for purposes of expediency.

Best regards,

{SIGNATURE}

Nick J. Colessides

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Some years ago I was lamenting the emerging state of affairs in the Greek Orthodox Church by complaining to my boss, now a Catholic deacon, that the GOA hierarchy was claiming OUR properties (in Houston at the time) as THEIRS. His response was, "so, this isn't normal?" How strangely the "worm has turned"! And how odd that the Catholic Hierarchy would come to the realization that it is to THEIR BENEFIT, after the monstrous mess they created, that the laity control the real assets of each church property. After all, priests come and go, the LAITY stays and the church edifice remains.
- Barbara Colessides

Anonymous said...

THIS COMMENT BEARS REPEATING!
- TOCB MODERATORS

P. Peropoulos of Houston said...
There is a danger in the amassing of the Church property under one control. As the Catholic Church learned (the hard way) in sexual abuse cases that the the entire property holding will be subjected to payment of a lawsuit. Much better to de-centralize!

This is a well-known business practice where corporations incorporate separate facilities so if one has poor results it can be dissolved without damaging the entire corporation. A single store could become bankrupt but not the whole.

Peter C. Peropoulos - Houston, Texas