HAND-PICKED TO "ANNOY THE MET"?

It has been "suggested" that the current Parish Council, and the latest PC nominees and electees, are "hand-picked" to annoy the Metropolitan of Denver. The assertion is nonsense!

The elected Parish Council has tried mightily to work with the Metropolitan and the local clergy since its election, despite the Metropolitan's going back on his word countless times, his nearly constant provocative correspondence, and his obvious encouragement to the local clergy and their former anointed appointed to remain imperious and uncooperative. 

No group of people has been more patient, or has tried harder. Sadly, to little avail. Despite proper elections and general assemblies, despite a now open and transparent governance, the Metropolitan's heart - like the Pharaoh's - remains hardened.

Let's talk about the Met and his local toadies' actions in this community for oh, say, the past half-dozen-plus years.

These are the scheming minority who, in collusion with an unloving Metropolitan:

- condoned an action by the Proistamenos who "tattled" to the Metropolitan and managed to remove a respected elder from the Parish Council. Not being enough, that led to that elder's sacramental sanctioning - albeit temporarily. After the fact, the Met claimed that he had been "misled", and though he lifted the sanctions, having been "misled", he did NOT reinstate said gentleman to the Parish Council. In the meantime, of course, as with all provocateurs and snitches, the Proistamenos raised his hands and claimed to "know nothing" and threw his own superior under the bus! (He of course, has a good example in that the Metropolitan has thrown his brother bishop, Archbishop Demetrios, under said bus numerous times as well.)

- condoned and remained SILENT, following clergy and hierarchy directives, during Parish Council nomination "culls", betraying their own brothers and sisters in the community. 

- condoned the suspension of elections and General Assemblies, in direct violation of the UPR. 

- condoned and congratulated themselves upon serving as "anointed appointed", lording it over the "less holier-than-thou" VAST MAJORITY of this community, who were left VOICELESS and UNREPRESENTED while the anointed appointed "led", and led badly. 

- engaged in utterly dishonorable and despicable actions designed to impugn the integrity and destroy the reputation of a community elder who has given vast amounts of time, talent and treasure both to this community and to Greek Orthodoxy throughout the nation and the world. In fact, the anointed appointed still - shamefully - refer to this highly respected professional as a "robber"!  Our Metropolitan has not discouraged such shameful behavior!

- condemned the majority when they resorted to the only "voice" they had left, the withholding of funds to their beloved community, and then being FORCED to resort to civil courts when the anointed appointed would not, in violation of both the UPR and civil law, provide a mailing list upon a proper request. (This community paid for both its own lawyers and their counsel as well in that fiasco!) 

- condoned a winter meeting that essentially held a gun to the community's head, with a carpetbagging "hired gun" from Houston who castigated elders forced to remain outside their own church - in sub-freezing temperatures - and STILL won't admit that this community has the fortitude that our forefathers would be PROUD of, to tell them and all their ilk - whether they be hierarch, clergy, archon, "anointed appointed", "NO! OXI!"

- condemns the majority and still demands a split of this community - still holding it HOSTAGE! - despite numerous surveys and votes indicating that the community is not in favor of such action. Unbelievably, the splitters claim that those who object to their ongoing hard-headedness are not "unifiers" and are "spewing hate". 

- condemn still, those who correctly identify the clergy, particularly the Proistamenos-of-Prophet-Elias-only, as an ongoing instigator of dissension and disunity. His and his toadies' continuing EFFORTS in encouraging a split are directly responsible for sluggish stewardship. No one will give generously while this poisonous situation continues!

When pointing to past and ongoing outrages, the majority is blamed for the dissension in the community, blamed for the community-at-large laughing at us, blamed for trashing a tradition lasting 2,000 years. That these situations exist, is not because of the majority of good Orthodox Christians in this valley, but because of flawed apostolic successors and a benighted minority who think themselves holier-than-anyone-who-disagrees with them!

In truth, it is the minority dissenters, who have ignored their minority status - and the FACTS on the ground - along with an egotistical and compassionless clergy, who are entirely responsible for the ills troubling our beloved community.

Merry Christmas! Καλα Χριστουγεννα! Και ο Θεος βοηθος!

PS - Those who are tired of these antics have in past years, to avoid the hassle, have avoided Prophet Elias and mainly attend services at Holy Trinity. As such, the former "anointed appointed" have continued to lay false claim, improperly, to this COMMUNITY'S church in Holladay! We encourage all members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Salt Lake to attend BOTH churches, as was the intent of our wise forebears!