“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


Friday, April 23, 2010

April 22, 2010

Via fax: 303/333-7796

His Excellency Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver

A follow up on Jim Kastanis’ most recent letter (4/22/10):


Dear Jim,

Thank for your very thoughtful letter and your courageous call to action. Your example must be emulated by many of us who think like you.

Both Proistamenoi have lost their ability to lead the Community. They worked very hard to earn the right to become irrelevant to our spiritual lives; and all in such a short time.

They teach hate, not love. They involve themselves in Byzantine machinations. This community is tired of persons with Napoleonic complexes. There is only one way to put an end to this conundrum. Both Proistamenoi must be relocated; they need to go where they can atone for their sins.

During the 60's our collective motto then is just as appropriate now: We shall overcome.

The Clergy cannot force us back to 15th century style of Roman Catholicism. Orthodoxy is The Faith of Love and Forgiveness. The Spanish Inquisition does not need to be resurrected in our community. Threats of ecclesiastical sanctions do not work against those who have Faith. There is no room here for the methods used by the Holy Inquisition.

We should stay united in purpose; no amount of threats concerning “ecclesiastical sanctions” must dissuade us from reaching our goal.

Everyone should write a letter to the Metropolitan in Denver, with a copy to the Archdiocese in New York, and a copy to the Patriarch in Constantinople; we need to let His Holiness know that his flock in Utah is suffering its own Golgotha under the Metropolitan He appointed.

T P M G.

Christos Anesti

/s/

Nick J. Colessides

P.S. Borrowing a page from John Saltas’ book, please distribute this message as you deem fit; we have to make sure that the “work of devil” is not perpetuated.

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