Ο ΚΥΒΟΣ ΕΡPΙΦΘΗ (The Die Is Cast)

Alea jacta est - Julius Caesar

=========================================================================================

Moderators' Note: It is with deep sadness, but also a sense of abiding justice that we post the following note, with a link to the complaint outlined below in Mr. Colessides' e-mail. We should all thank those who had the courage and fortitude to do what must be done to protect the legacy of our forefathers. Further, we should join and assist them in the difficult days to come. That this tragic situation needed to come to this pass is a failure, not of those who tried every avenue to forestall such a now-necessary action, but of those who seek to use the church to dominate and to destroy our once-thriving community by any means possible. 

The situation did not have to come to this: our Archbishop in America, Demetrios, along with the Holy Synod, set forth a reasonable way forward, acknowledging the prerogatives of all sides. It is sad that our Metropolitan, our local clergy, and our appointed Parish Council chose to further divide this community and snub the directives of His Eminence and the Holy Synod. In doing so they have ignored the UPRs, the bylaws of our blessed community, and the civil laws of the State of Utah. Time and again we have sought compromise based on the holy principles of Our Lord's Church, on the UPRs, flawed as they are, and on our Lord's own example of simple honor, fairness and ethics - again sadly, to no avail.

=========================================================================================

October 26, 2011 

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

This is the complaint filed earlier this afternoon by the law firm hired to protect our interests.

Best regards,

Nick

Nick J. Colessides

Attorney at Law

466 South 400 East, Suite 100

Salt Lake City, Utah, 84111-3325

Tele: 801-521-4441

Fax: 801-521-4452

Email: nick@nickjcolessides.com

WHY WE NEED TO FILE A LAWSUIT

Below are the reasons that I think we need to file a lawsuit. 

You may have your own reasons. 

Please let us know what they are (click here to respond), so that your views may be considered by our lawyers.

My reasons for the need to file a lawsuit.

Starting in the year 2002, slowly and systematically, there has been cultivated an era of mistrust and turmoil in our community.

There has been a new wave of a rogue and secessionist movement supported by the two clergy and a distinct minority of parishioners.  They are all outside our Greek Orthodox Church.  They all refuse to follow the direction of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.

This path will only lead us into fiscal and moral bankruptcy.  We must change immediately if Greek Orthodoxy is to survive.  We must change immediately if we are to survive.  We must change immediately if there is something to be left for the next generations to enjoy and build upon.

The purpose of the lawsuit is NOT to ask for money damages. 

We need new governance.  We need to return to:

• the days that we held not less than 2 General Assemblies per year;
• the days of free elections;
• the days of presenting budgets for expenditures to the stewards of our community; 
• the days that our faithful stewards determined how the Parish’s funds were expended; 
• the days that we had audits;
• the days that the faithful stewards determined in the holding of regular General Assemblies; 
• the days that we ALL collectively moved forward; 
• the days that ALL faithful stewards voted for our destiny;
• the days of NO MORE secrecy;
• the days of total transparency;
• the days of accountability. 

Those are my reasons.  If you agree please join all of us; we need to be moving forward.

- Nick J. Colessides

Letter to the Clergy and Parish Council - October 14, 2011

Moderator's Note: The original of this document may be viewed by clicking here.

LAW OFFICES
ANDERSON & KARRENBERG
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION

RICHARD A. KAPLAN
rkaplan®aklawfirm.com

50 WEST BROADWAY SUITE 700
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84101-2035

TELEPHONE (801) 534-1700
FACSIMILE (801) 364-7697
www.aklawfirm.com

October 14, 2011

DELIVERED BY U.S. MAIL and BY EMAIL or BY HAND

Rev. Fr. Michael A. Kouremetis
5335 South Highland Drive
Salt Lake City, Utah 84117
Frmichaelk@gocslc.org

Phillip Floor
1487 South 1600 East
Salt Lake City, Utah 84105
Phill@MapConMapping.com

Rev. Fr. Matthew Gilbert · Holy Trinity Cathedral
279 South 300 West
Salt Lake City, Utah 84101
fr.matthewg@gocslc.org

James Mellos
40 North State #4b
Salt Lake City, Utah 84103
jim@ki-tech.com

Jim Mylonakis
3848 South 1860 East
Salt Lake City, Utah 84106
jmylonakis@hotmail.com

Ron Steele
4196 Abinadi Road
Salt Lake City, Utah 84124
Ron.steele@rossignol.com

Jim Priskos
1898 Fall View Drive
Sandy, Utah 84093

Joe Sasich
2918 Kennedy Drive
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Jesasich@aol.com

Elaine Zambos
P.O. Box 57953
Salt Lake City, Utah 84157
ezambos@yahoo.com

Jim Derby
sage9253@msn.com

=====================================================

Dear Reverend Fathers and Members of the Parish Council:

Re: Demand to Inspect Books and Records in Order to Have a General Assembly

This law firm represents a group of your parishioners who are stewards in good standing and members of the Church, acting through its nonprofit corporate entity, Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Salt Lake. They share a single and straightforward goal. That is to ensure that a General Assembly of all stewards eligible to participate takes place as soon as possible to facilitate elections that, as you know, are long overdue. Put differently, they are committed to reinstating the democratic processes that are a hallmark of the Church's proud tradition and are required by the laws of Utah as well as the organic documents of the nonprofit corporation and the Church itself.

As you know, the Church is legally required to maintain and to make available to its members under the statutes of the State of Utah certain documents and records. On behalf of our clients as members of the Church's corporate entity, and in exercise of their statutory rights, we hereby demand the opportunity to inspect and copy certain records of the Church that pertain directly to the convening of a properly constituted General Assembly..

First, pursuant to §16-6a-1602 of the Utah Code, my clients hereby demand the right to inspect and copy, during regular business hours, at the corporation's principal offices, on or before October 21, 2011, the following records which the Church, as a nonprofit corporation, is required to maintain under §16-61-1601 of the Utah Code:

"all resolutions adopted by the [Parish Council in the last three years] relating to the characteristics, qualifications, rights, limitations, and obligations of members or any class or category of members.

Under section 1602 the right of members to inspect and copy such resolutions is absolute and unqualified. Although thus unnecessary to support the request, we note that it should be obvious to you that a review of such resolutions is essential in determining the pool of eligible voters and where legitimate challenges to disqualification may lie.

Second, under Section 16-61-1601(3), the Church as a nonprofit corporation "shall maintain a record of its members in a form that permits preparation of a list of the name and address of all members." Such a record is also subject to inspection and copying by members on five days notice pursuant to section 16-61-1602 (3). Accordingly, my clients hereby demand to receive, inspect and copy, at the above time and place, a list of all parishioners who have been deemed members in good standing at any time during the last three years, together with their addresses. My clients certify that this demand is made in good faith and for a proper purpose­ namely, to enable my clients to determine the entire population of persons entitled to participate as voting members at or after a General Assembly. Such a determination is needed to ascertain the number of such persons necessary to constitute the 10% of the total membership required under the Bylaws to request lawfully an assembly of the parishioners.

Please understand that my clients are fully committed in good faith to participating in and contributing to the Church's governance through a lawfully convened and timely General or Special Assembly, to conduct its affairs in November of this year in time for elections no later than the second Sunday of December 2011, as was always done in years past pursuant to the Church's rules and traditions. Accordingly, you are hereby on notice that a failure or refusal to comply with this demand will leave my clients no alternative but to seek enforcement of their statutory rights and remedies in the courts of the State of Utah.

Please confirm to me no later than Thursday, October 20, at 5:00 p.m. your intentions with respect to complying with this demand. If I do not hear from you or your counsel, if any, by that time, we will assume you are complying and one or more parishioners I represent will appear to copy and inspect the demanded records the following day at 9:00 a.m.

Sincerely yours,
/s/
Richard A. Kaplan

cc: Metropolitan of Denver Isaiah (via fax (303) 333-7796)
      Rev. Fr. Sebastian Skordallos (via fax (646) 519-6514)

Jim Sefandonakis Offers His Thoughts Following Sunday's Meeting

I attended the meeting last night at the University Park Hotel, where many concerned members of our community gathered to discuss how decisions are being made in our church. Let me repeat that last part, "to discuss how decisions are being made in our church".  This community is not moving forward because our decision making process is broken. It's starting to look like our large community does not like to be told what to do by a small handful of people. This small group may have good intentions and feel strongly that they know what's best for everyone else but it's not evident from where we stand today. We have a board that was not elected by our community that meets and makes decisions that affect our entire group. And this same board wonders why stewardship is down? You will not get cooperation from people unless you involve everyone in the decision making process. Until we repair the way our church makes decisions, we as a group will not move forward but fall further behind.

It is time for our community to elect a board that will represent everyone. Now is time to have a general assembly where as a group, we can decide the best path forward for all. There is wisdom in numbers, a large group can better decide the difficult questions that face us much better than a small group. We can no longer operate under one decider in this community. We are the deciders. When we take these actions we will begin to move forward again.

Some think we should just give up our fight and let this small group run the future of our Church. But at what cost? What will our outcome be if this small group makes the wrong decisions? Even if they make the right decisions will they find support because the decisions were not made by all of us? What will the outcome be? Will stewardship continue to drop because no one cares? How will we pay our bills? Where will the money come from? If it does not come from future stewardship, then it will have to come from the many years of past stewardship. And where is this past stewardship you ask? It sits in the equity of our property, in the buildings we call our Church. Watch and see where this goes. When Denver demands that we pay up our dues and Bishop Isaiah says he will take our priests away if he does not get his money then we will have no choice but to take out loans against our property to pay our debt. You can only take out so many loans against your property before you no longer own it. This property belongs to all of us. And the future of this property is the cost we will have to pay by giving up this fight. I think the fight is just.

If we are not allowed to have a general assembly followed by real elections then what choice do we have but to take legal action to get it?