“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


Sunday, January 29, 2012

Thank you!

We would like to thank the 309 people that took part in the Special General Assembly.
A message that was read at Prophet Elias urging the people not to attend this meeting, it fell
on deaf ears as quite a few members from PE were in attendance.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

COURAGE!! ΚΟΥΡΑΓΙΟ!!

“Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

The Metropolitan’s latest missive announces yet another rump parish council – appointed, not elected – and filled by persons who have not been nominated in a general assembly. To no one’s surprise, he has appointed several persons who have presided under a system of failed governance and improper accounting as detailed in the 2009 Audit Report. No further audits have been conducted, it might be added; nor have any of the problems detailed by the last report been addressed.

The makeup of this council (and the two extras!) is further appalling. The Metropolitan is asking for unity, yet he takes six or seven persons who have all along been in favor of maintaining this community’s unity, and adds to them ELEVEN people who have been consistent in their efforts to split and divide this community and its assets. No one is surprised that the Metropolitan and the clergy continue to thwart free elections. And, typically, he and his proistamenoi, along with their lay minions, care nothing for fairness; care nothing for at least appointing a council that represents the community more equitably. Those who were assigned from Holy Trinity indicated that this is what they were guaranteed. So much for the truthfulness of Christ’s Apostolic successors.

Two months ago, this community had a “gun” held to its head and was told to vote, by two-thirds margin, to unconditionally accept the Charter and UPRs, and to foreswear the community’s historical CONTRACTUAL exception to such in terms of independently owning its properties. As it turned out, nearly two-thirds voted NO. Isn't it ironic that this latest selected board's make-up is approximately the same proportion as that of the assembly in November - in reverse ?!!

Adding insult to injury, the Metropolitan “generously” allows that “since the last affirmation of office was given at the Prophet Elias parish” (a “parish” that does not exist, by the way), the affirmation to this selected board will be conducted at Holy Trinity Cathedral. To rub the noses of the majority in yet one more outrage?

Finally, having witnessed, yet again, our hierarch’s contempt for his own rules, for fairness, for justice, for the love that Christ showed his flock, that he, first among us, should exemplify, he throws out the notion that the majority in this community caused embarrassment and “unintentionally brought scandal upon Christ’s Church.”

The embarrassment belongs to him and his minions who have:

  • indulged in lies, deceits, libels, unethical and incompetent governance;
  • thumbed their noses at the even-handed “way forward” provided by the Archdiocese;
  • invited law enforcement to be present at our last assembly;
  • excluded parishioners of long-standing and attempted to intimidate parishioners to vote their way.
As for “unintentionally scandalous”, we would remind the Metropolitan and the local clergy that those who oppose their notion of governance and their spiritually bankrupt methods in leading their flock, that the scandals are theirs. Many of us choose, intentionally, to expose the scandals for what they are.

It is truly sad that the Metropolitan and the clergy continue to indulge in these tactics that are designed to cause despair, hopelessness and resignation. The truth and God's own justice will prevail. We must persevere. It is now more important than ever that we attend this Sunday's Special General Assembly right after the "affirmation" of yet another SELECTED and UNREPRESENTATIVE Parish Council. Courage! Κουρἀγιο!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

DOUBLING DOWN? AND THEN THERE WERE SEVENTEEN! ?

Moderator's Note: the original of this document may be viewed here.

GREEK ORTHODOX METROPOLIS of DENVER




January 25, 2012
Saint Gregory the Theologian

Reverend Michael Kouremetis
Reverend Matthew Gilbert
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral
Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Salt Lake
c/o 5335 S. Highland Drive
Holladay, UT 84117

Beloved in the Lord,

After consultation with the representatives of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, His Grace Bishop Andonios, and His Grace Bishop Sebastian, who visited me last week, and in conformity to the Uniform Parish Regulations of the Archdiocese, I hereby appoint the new Parish Council for the year 2012 who will continue the work of the current parish council.

After the Affirmation of Office is given by the new Parish Council, the current parish council will turn over all of its responsibilities, as laid out in the UPRs.

The members of the new Parish Council have been augmented to seventeen total for this year, on the basis that each of them wishes to work as one body for the good of the community, and also to continue all of the ministries of the parish as fulltime ministries.

The newly-appointed members are:

1. Mr. Randy Bathemas
2. Dr. Charles Beck
3. Mr. Philip Floor
4, Mr, Harry Hillas
5. Mr. John Johnson
6. Mrs. Margaret Kireiev
7. Mrs. Nicole Mouskondis
8. Mr. Jim Mylonakis
9. Mr. George Pappas
10. Mr. Jim Priskos
11. Mr. Ted Sargetakis
12. Mr. Joe Sasich
13. Mr. Pete Sefakis
14. Mr. Bruce Shand
15. Dr. Demetrios Skedros
16. Mr. Harry Souvall
17. Ms. Elaine Zambos

I am instructing the clergy to give the Affirmation of Office to all the above parishioners at the end of the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Trinity Cathedral on January 29, 2012, since the last affirmation of office was given at the Prophet Elias parish.

For the sake of the unity and the wellbeing of the Greek Orthodox community of Greater Salt Lake and its suburbs, I urge all of the seventeen council members to work together as one body under the Lord Jesus Christ, Who established His Church almost two thousand years ago, in order to continue, together with the assigned clergy, as the stewards of the Lord in our generation, the work of salvation for His people in your region.

According to the regulations of the Archdiocese, and immediately after the Divine Liturgy, the first meeting of the new parish council will be presided over by Father Michael Kouremetis or Father Matthew Gilbert for the election of the officers of the council, after which the new parish council will be under the new president.

I pray that all of the members of the new parish council will demonstrate true unity and Christian fellowship, in order to erase the embarrassment of our people before the non-Orthodox Christians of your region, which was brought about by individuals who unintentionally brought scandal upon Christ's Church.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Members and Supporters of GOCGSL Unity Respond to the Metropolitan

A scan of the Metropolitan's January 19, 2012 letter may be viewed here.
Additionally, the Metropolitan's follow-up letter, dated January 20, 2012 may be viewed here.
This letter is an appropriate response to both.

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

You are recently in receipt of two letters regarding the upcoming Special General Assembly to be held Sunday, January 29, 2012 in the Memorial Hall at Holy Trinity Cathedral. The first letter was sent announcing the meeting and its sole purpose: To nominate candidates to run for the Parish Council of the Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Salt Lake.

The second letter, dated January 19, 2012 from Metropolitan Isaiah, cites four different UPR Articles to make a case against the January 29 assembly. The letter is either wrong or deceptive on all four counts.
  1. Article 31, Section 2 does indeed say an “agenda shall be prepared by the Priest and Parish Council.” However, we do not have a legal Parish Council to prepare them.
  2. Article 31, Section 6 says that we are to convene in Regular Parish Assemblies at least twice a year. We have not had such an assembly since 2010, thus our clergy and leaders are already out of compliance of the very UPR's they are citing.
  3. Article 31, Section 7 specifies that the Priest and Parish council can call a “Special General Assembly” when they deem it necessary. One would think that a financially suffering parish with no accountability for two years is reason enough to “deem it necessary” to conduct a Special General Assembly. The meeting on the 29th is a “Special General Assembly” – legally called for by our membership in the exact manner called for in the UPR's.
  4. Article 31, Sections 2 and 7 describe how 10% of the members of the Parish can submit a petition requesting a “Special Assembly” to the Priests and Parish Council. The request was made with over 20% of our members signing the petition. But nothing happened. Why? For the same reason cited in number one, above.     
Exactly, who then, respects and honors the UPR's of our Church?

From the first meeting of the Unity Group in 2010 to current—including the petition to the Eparchial Synod—the Unity Group has religiously followed Church protocol and procedure. The meeting this Sunday represents just one more time we will gather to assert and to affirm our very basic intent: To hold a fair and honest Assembly and to elect, not appoint, to the Parish Council 15 persons who will help us return to the core values of Orthodox Christianity that has vacated our community under the current leadership.

At the same time we are meeting to consider candidates who want to serve on the Parish Council, Metropolitan Isaiah has also directed our priests to assemble a slate of names, for his approval, to comprise an interim Parish Council. This newly appointed Parish Council, essentially of short term, will be used to call for an assembly to nominate persons to run for the Parish Council, when the community is ready for elections. We feel that there is no reason to wait. Our community is ready for immediate elections.

With so much tension and distrust, persons from both churches have told the priests they will not participate. And why are they asking people specifically that regularly attend one Church or the other? We are still one community. It should not matter which Church one goes to if they are serving to represent our entire community. If they cannot find willing participants, they are back to square one. Therefore, it’s of double importance to attend on Sunday to assure that our members are not denied their rights and their voice. One way or another we will have a new and productive Parish Council.

Finally, a word to the persons who are yet to align with the Unity Group and have said they will not come to the Assembly: You should attend because you could be next to take a fall.

Among the reasons the Unity Group remains strong is that we cannot abide by the non-Christian slander that has fallen on some of our communities finest families, and which continues, apparently with the aide or blessing of certain past and present community leaders or clergy. Witness what happened when the UPR salesman from Houston used his Power Point message to attack Nick Bapis and others—that information was fed to him. If it can happen to families like Bapis or Skedros or Sargetakis or Kastanis, to name only a few, it is not wise to think it will not happen to your family too.

As many of us have already found out, it’s only a matter of time.

The sooner we elect a new Parish Council, the sooner our community can start healing; and the sooner we can know our financial situation, the sooner we can reach out to our community for funds to make sure we can pay all of our obligations.

We encourage all of you to attend the Special General Assembly on January 29, 2012

Holy Trinity Cathedral Memorial Building
279 West 300 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84101
2:00 o’clock p.m.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

In need of a life jacket...

"Ηλί Ηλί Λαμά Σαβαχθανί" ("Θεε μου γιατι με εγκατελειψες;")
 ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me ?’ " 

This is what our community has been shouting to Denver, New York and Constantinople for the past two years in trying to get out of our mess.  Deafening silence everywhere. 

Why?  Do they listen? Don't they care?  Maybe they do not.

They send a "captain" to steer the ship.  The crew members, realizing that the captain is incapable of his duties, one by one are jumping off the ship.  In the last few days, many letters have been sent from Denver asking individuals to serve on an appointed parish council FOR ONE YEAR!?  Many to their credit have turned it DOWN. 

Who is the Metropolitan trying to save? His captain is looking for a life boat like his counterpart on the Costa Concordia.  Maybe his eight chosen will trip him in to a life boat?  The captain is not my concern, but this community is.  We have no idea how this community is operating (no budget, elections, free General Assemblies), I am afraid we will have a rude awakening when this is done and over with.

See you all  January 29,  2012 at the General Assembly.

"God helps those that help themselves".

- Yannis Armaou

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Special General Assembly.

Special General Assembly
January 29, 2012
Holy Trinity Cathedral Memorial Building
279 West 300 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84101
2:00 o’clock pm
(Proceedings shall be governed by Roberts Rules of Order) 
AGENDA

1.   Call to Order

2.   Opening Prayer

3.   Selection of Chairperson and Parliamentarian for the Assembly

4.   Consideration of the following Resolutions:

a.         BE IT RESOLVED that the a Special General Assembly to be called to take place, on Sunday January 29, 2012, at the Holy Trinity Cathedral Campus, 279
South 300 West, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101, the same to be called in accordance with the applicable Bylaws and UPRs.

b.         BE IT RESOLVED that the Assembly nominates not less than fifteen (15) persons to stand for election as and for members of the Board of Directors/Parish Council, without manipulation of the selection process, and settle on a sustainable equitable standard of participation absent of personal bias from the Clergy That the election shall take place on Sunday February 12, 2011, at both Church Campuses, and shall be supervised by the current Elections Committee.

5.     Open Forum for discussion of items of concern to the attendees of the Assembly.

6. Benediction

IT IS THE GOAL OF THIS ASSEMBLY THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE DISCUSSED IN A FULLY TRANSPARENT MANNER GIVING AN OPPORTUNITY TO EVERY PERSON TO EXPRESS THEIR POINT OF VIEW.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Commentary by Nick Colessides on the Metropolis' "Return to Sender"

Dear Parishioners,


In following the UPRs not less than 10% of parishioners in good standing filed [with a transmittal letter from my office] the original of the petition and signatures with the main corporate office of the Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Salt Lake at Holy Trinity Cathedral; copies of the entire package were mailed to the Denver Metropolitan and to Archbishop Demetrios in New York.


The envelope addressed to the Denver Metropolitan was returned unopened today. A copy is attached.

Mr. Peter Maroudas in his excellent treatise about the apostolic successors in the United States, wrote that by and large the majority of the Bishops and Metropolitans are:


1. "Arrogant, intellectually and theologically mediocre";
2. "Administratively incompetent", and,
3. Most importantly - "spiritually deficient."




Where do you think the Metropolitan’s acts fit in Mr. Maroudas’ description ?

Best Regards,

Nick J. Colessides

P.S. I. NO matter what he thinks, back in the sixties [when our city was his first assignment] our motto was: WE SHALL OVERCOME, AND WE SHALL.

WE NEED AND WE DESERVE REPLACEMENTS
OF ALL OF OUR CLERGY STARTING WITH
THE DENVER METROPOLITAN

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

WOE UNTO YOU PHARISEES, HYPOCRITES!!!

TO: Mssrs. Johns, Zavitsanos and Roussalis as vassals of our POIMENARCHOI, Isaiah et al.
FROM: The PEOPLE of the LORD in the SALT LAKE CITY GREEK ORTHODOX COMMUNITY (living and asleep in the Lord)

Once again we have properly followed YOUR procedures in requesting a General Assembly, which is OUR RIGHT.

It is now quite clear that your much-vaunted Uniform Parish Regulations are nothing more than a manifesto of tyranny to be followed to the letter by the laity, but to be cast aside as it suits our "leaders" (see Mr. Diamataras' commentary in the previous blog). You yourselves won't even follow them! Yet you demand we adopt them? (We remind you of the single word uttered by Metaxas in 1941 - OXI! The response of General Anthony McAuliffe at the Battle of Bastogne is further instructive!)

A picture is, after all, worth a thousand words.


- The Moderators

Commentary: The Difference Between Figureheads and Leaders

From The National Herald by A.H. Diamataris

When Andreas Papandreou died, Constantine Karamanlis asked one of his aides to write a statement on his behalf.

The aide hailed the contribution made by the former head of the PASOK party. "Don't write head, write leader," Karamanlis said, correcting him. "No one can deny him that."

I cite this true story to stress a point that it is by now common knowledge to most of us: that our Church has a head, but not a leader. And because this situation has been carrying on for many years now and causing major negative consequences for all of us, I believe the time has come to separate the interests of one man from the general interest of our community.

The late Archbishop Iakovos had made more than a decade ago, a prophetic prediction regarding the situation that was forming, noting that we had come to a standstill.

The situation has frozen since then, the leadership vacuum has grown, and it is becoming painfully obvious that the clergy in charge are unsuitable to meet the challenges.

Do you want me to give you examples? You do not have to look too far to find them. Just look at what is happening in Lynn and Salt Lake City, where the local bishops brought havoc to wonderful communities on a mere whim. Take the big community of Astoria, where the former presiding priest escaped- “the city will follow” no matter where you might go, said the great poet Cavafis - and his position has remained vacant since November 1. Or just look at what is happening at the Archdiocesan Cathedral, which is under the direct personal supervision of the Archbishop.

Do you need more examples? Two Greek-American day schools closed down last summer, and one more is on the brink of closing. Meanwhile, the head of the Archdiocese is either in hiding or in denial. How else can one explain his failure to utter a single word about it. Just one, for pride's sake.

Now, presenting you with these examples, you probably understand well what I mean when I point out the difference between heads and leaders.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

AN OPEN LETTER TO LOUIS J. ROUSSALIS, M.D.

4 January 2012

Dear Dr. Roussalis,

YOU HAVE STATED IN YOUR RECENT LETTER: His Eminence asks that we have a 100% attendance from our parishes for this vital meeting. If either the parish priest or the parish council president cannot attend, please make sure a representative is sent in your place.

WE ANSWER:  Sir, we have NO properly elected Parish Council according to the flawed UPRs that the beleaguered Greek Orthodox Church in this country is forced to operate under; hence even though our assigned priests might attend, no elected president from this community exists. This community has been described (by your colleague, John Zavitsanos at our recent Special General Assembly) as a "pillar" of the Metropolis. Therefore, it is shameful that we do not have a properly elected Parish Council, OR, Parish Council President. The majority in this community has followed proper procedure in asking for a general assembly and for elections for nearly two years now, to no avail. Each petition for such has been thwarted by our priests and lay "leaders" or denied by our Metropolitan.

The Parish Pastor and President Meeting has been developed and used in other Metropolises with very constructive and positive out comes. The specific goals of our Meeting in January are:

1. To discuss the vital role of transparency at both the Metropolis and parish level to combat the spread of rumor and misinformation as well as to maintain a culture of respect, peace, love, and unity.

Transparency? We have been subjected to secrecy, lies and threats for nearly a decade! We have seen our beloved community sundered by our "shepherds". We have had our true leaders sanctioned and libeled. We have had no general assemblies, no budgets, NO ELECTIONS; when we did have them we witnessed stewards of long standing culled from the ballot. Our once-vibrant community has been rendered moribund. Our kids are turned away from our own facilities and forced to hold dance practices in warehouse space, while our youth basketball teams are practicing at local Mormon churches. In the meantime our programs and facilities wither and our priests spout platitudes, when they are not delivering threats!

There is no rumor or misinformation here, sir. Our parents and grandparents fought for their community's right to own its church asset properties in its own name. We do not intend to sully their memory by allowing for even the possibility that a capricious "shepherd", now or in the future, might put any part of this legacy at risk. Considering the financial and other misbehaviors we are witnessing from our clergy, monks and "poimenarchoi" in this country and worldwide, we recognize the wisdom our our forefathers.

As for respect, peace, love and unity, sir, we dotted every "i" and crossed every "t" in the UPR dispute resolutions. We went through all the proper channels. We have witnessed where such "respect" has led us. Respect, love, unity, and peace require a true two-way discourse, NOT dictatorial demands or simply sitting on hands and hoping the problem will eventually go away. Face it,  the UPR dispute resolutions are not intended to resolve anything - disputes, sexual misconduct, whatever. They can be easily summarized with the phrase "pay, pray and obey" - and nothing more.

2. To present the Metropolis financial report.

We'd like to see a financial report for our community as well. We haven't had one presented since our last regularly scheduled general assembly in January 2010. Our SELECTED Parish Council doesn't think they have to provide any to the parishioners in this community even though the UPRs require it, to say nothing of the community's 501(c)3 bylaws. Both are ignored. Also ignored is a damning 2009 Audit Report which clearly documents several areas of flawed accounting and governance. We haven't seen any actions to rectify the named problems, nor has a further audit of 2010 been permitted - again ignoring the requirement by both the UPRs and the bylaws. In my parents' and grandparents' day people thus disgraced had the decency to do the honorable thing and RESIGN. Not this group!

3. To explain the present Total Commitment system, and to evaluate the implications for our Metropolis income.

Fascinating! The Metropolitan's actions in this community, along with those of his Proistamenoi and our selected leaders, claiming to act under his direction, have had seriously adverse implications with regard to this community's income. Ironically, this has impacted the Metropolis' income. Economics, Psychology and Ethics 101 seem to have been courses lacking in several of our leaders' (spiritual and temporal) coursework selections.


6. To explain the status of the Salt Lake City situation.

Dr. Roussalis, again with all due respect, you surely must have seen the anguish present in our community when you came here as a Metropolis representative during our Special General Assembly, November 20, 2011. If you interpreted the explicit frustration due to several YEARS of appalling misadministration and governance as "disrespect" you are WRONG. If anything, we respect too much and love too deeply! If we did not, we would have given up and accepted the portions of the latest UPRs that our forefathers would have never accepted!

We had SIX of our fellow parishioners (none of whom are youngsters, two of whom are Archons) who have given of themselves to the utmost in TIME, TALENT and TREASURE, sitting outside their own church, five of them in below-freezing weather during a general assembly that they were absolutely entitled to attend. This was especially true since they were vilified without being allowed to be present to defend themselves!  You and Mr. Zavitsanos, along with our SELECTED  leaders, made it very clear that the consequences of a "NO" vote would be dire. And yet, reminiscent of the Greek nation in 1941, the people's answer was, overwhelmingly, NO! - OXI! Φωνή λαοὐ, οργἠ Θεοὐ!  

What is there to "explain"? We will NOT turn our backs on the legacy the founders of this community left to us. If you, or others in other communities, wish to help us, in a forthright, inclusive, honest and open way, to find a fair and reasonable way forward, fine. If your answer is nothing more than asking us to acquiesce to a continuation of the threats, deceit and abysmal governance that our once-vibrant community continues to endure, then, respectfully, leave us to do that which our forebears would expect of us! 

It's simple: you understand, or you do not, or you choose not to do so. There is nothing to "explain".


Best regards,


Barbara Billinis Colessides

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Letter from Dr. Roussalis on Behalf of the Denver Metropolis

Moderators' Note - the letter below contains the text of a letter written by Dr. Louis Roussalis, who was present at our Special General Assembly on Nov. 20, 2011, with regard to our community. The original, written on Metropolis letterhead, may be viewed here.

December 30, 2011

Dear Pastors and Parish Council Presidents,

Happy New Year to all of you!

This letter is being sent to all the parishes in the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Denver to announce that His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah will convene our first Parish Pastor and President Meeting. The meeting will take place at the Metropolis Center in Denver on Saturday January 28, 2011.

His Eminence asks that we have a 100% attendance from our parishes for this vital meeting. If either the parish priest or the parish council president cannot attend, please make sure a representative is sent in your place.

The Parish Pastor and President Meeting has been developed and used in other Metropolises with very constructive and positive out comes. The specific goals of our Meeting in January are:

1. To discuss the vital role of transparency at both the Metropolis and parish level to combat the spread of rumor and misinformation as well as to maintain a culture of respect, peace, love, and unity.

2. To present the Metropolis financial report.

3. To explain the present Total Commitment system, and to evaluate the implications for our Metropolis income.

4. To explain the role of Advocates 1000.

5. To explain the mortgage debt and maintenance needs of the Metropolis Center.

6. To explain the status of the Salt Lake City situation.

7. To afford an open discussion for all the pastors and presidents, so as to foster learning from each other and helping each other.

Members of the Metropolis Council finance committee will also be present at this meeting to answer any questions you may have, and to contribute to the discussions. As we all appreciate, we need to work together and thus grow together - this is the major goal of our meeting.

Faithfully,

/s/

Dr. Louis J. Roussalis, MD