“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


Saturday, November 17, 2012

"The Oil Did It!"?

This week, many of us attended Con Skedros' Trisagion  and Burial Services. While at the "makaria" luncheon after the funeral, we learned that our erstwhile Proistamenos-of-Prophet-Elias-only had indeed been busy attempting to refute an earlier article from the "Faith" section in the Salt Lake Tribune. The text of the latest article (Paul Rolly, Salt Lake Tribune, "Utah " Section) can be viewed in this Website's sidebar.

Everyone has the right to their opinion. However, historians such as Con knew and know, no one has the right to the facts. The facts just are THE FACTS. Opinions surrounding those facts can be evaluated on their merits in how closely they conform to, or explain, the facts.

Metropolitan Isaiah never said, or even implied, that the "phenomenon" that he accepts as a "miracle" was a sign to keep the two parishes unified as one under the Greek Orthodox Community of Greater Salt Lake. In fact he said, in a letter to the community dated October 20, 2010, the EXACT OPPOSITE! (The original letter may be viewed here.)

It is not usual for an icon of Christ the Lord to exude oil or even tears. I truly believe that our Lord heard our prayers to make His presence known and to resolve the situation of the two parishes.
Now there can be no question in the minds of any of His people. Our Lord recognizes His parishes as monogamous and independent, each with a Proistamenos representing Him through the local bishop. Both parishes can now proceed to grow and to develop for His greater glory and the salvation of His people. [emphasis added]
Using parts of the Metropolitan's letter, Father Kouremetis has subtly misrepresented to Mr. Rolly, and to the Salt Lake Tribune, the intent of that original letter.

There can be no doubt of the intent of Metropolitan Isaiah's letter. He chose to interpret the "miracle" or  now, the "phenomenon" as a "clear sign" to DIVIDE our community and its assets in 2010. Father Michael cannot at this point in time go back and rewrite that history. Nor can he proclaim that either the Metropolitan's words, or the charade that he played in proclaiming a miracle, now points to maintaining unity - not even the type of "unity" he has in mind! He does, however, try, and has apparently convinced Mr. Rolly to write the following:
Here is the rest of the story. The miracle of the oil, which the priest and metropolitan still insist is true and say it has actually healed parishioners, was discovered right at the time church members were vehemently protesting the church’s decision to split the congregations of the Prophet Elias Church in Holladay and the Holy Trinity Church in downtown Salt Lake City into two parishes.
There was even talk of suing the church, and several hundred members stood in protest outside the Prophet Elias Church.
Several hundred members stood in protest outside the Prophet Elias Church? When? The only people who stood outside Prophet Elias Church were five of six faithful stewards last year about this same time (the sixth who was ill and had to remain home in sub-freezing weather, ironically, was CON SKEDROS) that the Metropolitan banned from the church they had helped to build!

The church was sued? When? The only persons sued were appointed Parish Council members, as individuals, who refused to follow the Uniform Parish Regulations that they usually hid behind, and in doing so violated civil law. It was under civil law that they, again as individuals, were sued.

The ultimate outrage of this article is the statement that, "the oil 'settled it'!" The "it" was not the non-existent protest of "hundreds" outside Prophet Elias, nor the potential for the church to be sued. Neither happened.

The "it" was the "vehement" reaction to Metropolitan Isaiah's decision to split this community, and "the oil" did not thwart that decision! In fact, "the oil" was used by the Metropolitan to justify it!

This is sheer sophistry - not history! The omissions are glaring. The "oil" did nothing! It was spilled due to a maintenance accident. If someone chooses to believe that the "phenomenon" of Father Michael's charade, and the Metropolitan's enthusiastic espousal of such, healed them, we have no problem. But let's not claim that this charade "healed" or "settled" the real damage that has been done to this community by the continuation of such deceits and conceits.

1 comment:

TOCB Moderator said...

Paul Rolly's Article:

Paul Rolly, "UTAH" section, The Salt Lake Tribune, November 16, 2012

Perfect timing » The Salt Lake Tribune ran a story in its "Faith" section Saturday about the controversy surrounding the declared miracle at the Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church when an icon of Jesus was found secreting oil two years ago.

The church’s priest, Father Michael Kouremetis, and the Metropolitan Isaiah, based in Denver, declared the discovery a miracle. But a custodian at the church has since come forward and said he spilled oil while filling lamps, which could account for the situation.

Here is the rest of the story. The miracle of the oil, which the priest and metropolitan still insist is true and say it has actually healed parishioners, was discovered right at the time church members were vehemently protesting the church’s decision to split the congregations of the Prophet Elias Church in Holladay and the Holy Trinity Church in downtown Salt Lake City into two parishes.

There was even talk of suing the church, and several hundred members stood in protest outside the Prophet Elias Church.

But the oil settled it.

At the time, Metropolitan Isaiah wrote to Father Kouremetis, "The Lord has answered our prayers asking him to resolve the confusing situation in the Salt Lake City area regarding the two parishes."

He added, "When icons exude tears ... it is a sign of caution and problems. But when an icon exudes oil, this is a sign of healing and blessings."