“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

Monday, October 22, 2012

Thoughts on the Metropolitan's Actions

“If you love the Church, if you love your community, as I believe you do, you will step forward with faith at the special general assembly and declare that your community is under our Ecumenical Patriarchate and our holy Archdiocese. Moreover, you will declare that your community will no longer be a secular "association" controlled by a select few temporal humans, but rather by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has promised that His Church will continue to be in the world, even to the great day of His Second Coming.” +Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver, November 15, 2011

Who does Metropolitan Isaiah favor? Does he side with his fellow priests or with our community? Who did Metropolitan Isaiah side with when news of child sexual abuse came to light about Rev. Nicholas Katinas? Did the Metropolitan have concern about the victims in this case or was he more concerned about his clergyman? Did the Metropolitan think about his flock in Salt Lake when he decided to split our community, or did he side with Fr. Michael again and again? Did the Metropolitan listen to the advice of Archbishop Demetrios on the subject?

The Metropolitan tells us above that if we love our community that we must agree to the amended and restated articles of incorporation. This way, we will not be controlled by a select few temporal humans, but rather by our Lord and Savior. Time and time again, the Metropolitan places himself and his clergy above their flock. We are a strong community and we are a good community. To think how this man and his puppets have tried to disgrace the most honorable people among us causes great anger and pain. Our Church leaders have stepped on the names of Bapis, Sargetakis, Skedros and others that have earned the highest respect among us. The Metropolitan does not place his flock above himself. We have no problem with our community being controlled by our Lord and Savior and our community deserves a Metropolitan and Clergy that follow the Lord's teachings.

Perhaps someday we will have a Metropolitan who has earned the respect of our community like the people he now tries to step on. Perhaps when that day comes, this community will favor the adoption of the amended and restated article of incorporation. But for now we will remain a good community, strong in our faith and without the need of false miracles.

- Jim Sefandonakis

Posted by TOCB Moderator at 9:17 PM

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