MATH IS THE LANGUAGE OF GOD'S UNIVERSE

I am sorry to say that even the makeup of the current parish council which I ratified demonstrates a clear division between those who identify with the Holy Trinity Cathedral and those who identify with Prophet Elias Church. Some responsibility regarding this sad reality also rests with our Archdiocese in New York.

- Metropolitan Isaiah, Letter to the Greek Orthodox Community of Greater Salt Lake, dated September 4, 2012 

His Eminence is "sorry" about a misconception he has concerning the current elected parish council. However, his sorrow does not make his observation accurate.


It is a really funny thing about free elections: their outcomes tend to reflect accurately the wishes and aspirations of those voting. As opposed to appointed parish councils, where appointees and clergy sought constantly to stack the deck against the vast majority, this parish council quite accurately reflects the will of the parishioners in this community.

To illustrate, let us return - once again - to the original 2007 survey which showed just 13% of respondents in favor of splitting this community.  At present there is only one vocal parish council member who favors splitting the community. There may be one or two more who might favor splitting, depending on the circumstances surrounding such an action.

Stephen Hawking, the renowned astrophysicist once famously said, "Mathematics is the language of God's universe."

So, let's do the math.

If only one parish council member favors a split, that amounts to 7% of the council. If we're being generous and consider that three parish council members might favor a split, that would be 20%. And, if we take the average, and consider two members favor this split and we come up with, lo and behold, THIRTEEN percent!

Math is, indeed, the language of God's universe!