ΕΑΝ ΠΡΟΤΙΜΑΤΕ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΤΗ ΣΗΜΑΙΑ ΣΤΟ ΚΑΤΩ ΜΕΡΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΟΘΟΝΗΣ
Discrepancies in budget presentations, pension projections, payroll allocations, and vendor selection warrant closer examination before any further financial commitments are approved. The whole process of preparing the budget, presenting it to the Clergy-Laity, and voting for it REEKS of a lack of transparency and misrepresentation of facts… And on top of everything else, the Archbishop and the Metropolitans are threatening priests and delegates in every little disagreement they might express!! Do you call this a lawful process? This is a shameful theater and has to end!! Helleniscope challenges every priest and every delegate FOR ONCE to vote on conscience!!
Clergy-Laity conventions have always been “entertaining” for years, especially when it comes down to “the same old discussions” surrounding GOARCH Finances… For decades, we have been witnessing a hypocritical cycle, an unexplained Paradox of sorts:
On the one hand, we know that the overwhelming majority of parishes “complaining” about revenues, budgets, and “mandatory commitments” to the Archdiocese.
On the other hand (the paradox), it is the representatives of all the parishes in aggregate that seem to raise their hands during each Clergy-Laity “budget voting session” when the speaker asks “ALL IN FAVOR”!!!
How is this possible? How has the Clergy-Laity Congress turned exactly into a microcosm of the US Congress (or Greek Parliament), where the “chosen representatives” of each parish seem to be voting for the exact opposite outcome that the parishes demand every year…INCREASED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE METROPOLIS AND GOARCH IN GENERAL, vs. REDUCED CONTRIBUTIONS!!!
For anyone that has ever attended these sessions, the reason for the paradox is clear…the organizers are “wise”…after a few days of “wining and dining”, they strategically set the “big vote” a couple hours before people need to catch their flights, and because nobody wants the discussion to “drag on” as a debate (with only a few exceptions who stand up and yell in protest), the majority just wants to “get it over with” and catch an Uber to the airport…so they vote “YES” for the budget…(Note: It has been observed at this critical vote that EVEN THE MAJORITY OF PRIESTS BACKSTAB THEIR OWN PARISHES WITH THEIR VOTING HANDS, BY THE WAY)…
And to add insult to injury, the same Priests and representatives return to their parish and claim with “crocodile tears” that “despite valiant efforts to the contrary, unfortunately the budget proposal vote passed, and we now have to pay even more” Sad, but very true to anyone who has observed what happens. So, it won’t be any different again this year, will it? Well, we will show some elements of the current budget proposal, with some very specific questions that need to be answered, and pray for the best…
Here is the first link of interest…the “pre-clergy laity” report, containing some revealing slides:
The pie chart labels “National Church Operations” at 4.5 million…the itemized list below seems to allocate 8.3 million. Can someone please explain why the two links differ so much? (Even the other pie chart in the report that “includes restricted funds” only goes up to 5.7 million)
QUESTION #2)
Where can we get an itemized breakdown of “why exactly” the Metropolis payrolls consume over 25% of “Total Contributions” to the budget?
QUESTION 3)
Whose salaries are covered by “Ecumenical” and “Office of the Archbishop”?
Why aren’t they itemized for further public discussion?
QUESTION 4) THE HOT TOPIC OF PRIESTS’ PENSIONS.…
The stock market has really gone up a lot since COVID-19… yet funding remained quite flat during those years compared with growth in the S&P index.
So the question remains, what kind of “calculations and assumptions” are they using to claim that with the “additional 1.5 million in pension contributions,” the pension fund would be funded at 67 percent about 10 years from now? The “gap” in funding at the time Elpidophoros took over was supposedly somewhere around 20 million in contributions that were NEVER given, plus the lost growth over 20 years that presumably these contributions would have gained during that time…Conservatively, if we assume a 50% gain over 20 years, that means there was a $30 million hole to fill…how much is an additional 1.5 million per year going to do realistically when the S&P grows between 5-8% per year (fluctuations on average)? 5% of $30 million is precisely $1.5 million.. so that’s “replacement population” at that point (just the annual growth that the $30 million would have added in gains…it’s not really the Principal that is missing)…it’s not really “additional growth”…maybe I’m missing something in the math, but if anyone has deeper details that shed light here, please share…
AND THIS INSURANCE GIG…MIGHT BE INTERESTING IF IT”S TRUE, but we probably need more information…I’m not sure many parish councils have discussed this with their Assemblies…
HOWEVER….
QUESTION #5) There is a reference in this documentation to an Insurance provider called “APOZIMONIOS”… sounds like a Greek-owned company…Can GOARCH provide the evidence that due diligence for a proper RFP (Request for Proposals) was conducted with multiple vendors, so as to remove any possibilities of “conflict of interest”? We have seen plenty of scandals in the past involving improper contract awards by parishes, etc., and we certainly don’t want to see something like that happen again…
ADDENDUM TO THE ARTICLE (further details to explore):
The GOARCH website advertises 64 individuals as “Archdiocese Staff”… What does the word “staff” mean “on the books”?
And by the looks of it, the “Office of the Archbishop” is apparently seeking approval for $1.1 MILLION to fund 8 individuals (whose job descriptions and supporting explanation of “Return on Investment” are “quite vague” at this time). It is strange that some appear to be “double-serving” while assigned as a priest in a parish… Are some individuals “double-dipping” into both Parish and “extra” GOARCH funds on the backs of parishioners? We need to see the detailed line items to know the answer to that question, for sure:
How many of the remaining 64 individuals “roll up to” that grand sub-total of $8.3 million under “National Church Operations” that will be voted on in a few days?
How many are merely volunteers who we can honestly and honorably “thank for their service”?
GOARCH “staff” should clarify and explain the value and need for each expenditure BEFORE parish representatives vote for this budget…
Another repulsive Elaine Allen special! Have many questions ready GIVE HER HELL! Make her explain! Demand explanation for every line and every thing that don’t make sense . The Epstein millionaires who use the Greek church lie. Dont believe them. No honesty and integrity comes from the woman archbishop (Elaine Allen) who controls the archdiocese and babysits elpodophors and the metropolitans and the priests. She keeps them all leashed and muzzled. They know if they try to get her out she will expose them. How do you think she stays. When they ask they are destroyed. Where do you think Karloutsos went? Gone from the archdiocese when she came. And look at what happened also to another very popular priest crysostomos. They know all they will be next. Send her home and let her cook for her family and not cook the books of the archdiocese
For too long Karloutsos used to control these things. Whoever this new gal is it looks like she outsmarted him and found the closet with the skeletons and removed him from the goarch this explains his sudden retirement that no body saw coming. Now he keeps a low profile and is rarely seen. Obvious what is happening here. Same story for years. I took George michalopoulos advise long ago when he wrote all this on monomakos and got the hell out of the Greek archdiocese. Sad and no hard feelings was hard but better for my soul
Very incisive and detailed report and relevant questions Markos. I applaud your hard work. You describe the budget vote so precisely, which is naked corruption and self-interest. I attended a clergy laity about twenty years ago, in Nashville. The atmosphere is just as you describe it. And I’m sure it hasn’t changed at all. All the talk about the church, which really means the parasites that feed on the church, makes people think that they need more and more money. No one questions where that money really goes and how much each parasite bleeds the parishioners’ earnings.
Until we know how much each clergyman and lay worker is compensated, we should not pay a dime in stewardship. Give the money to charity. It really takes nerve to ask parishioners to pay them, without telling us how much they’re getting paid.
Bob, Your comment is correct…unfortunately nothing changed…
It is totally illogical that anyone would have to ask “why” would “representatives” not “accurately represent” the will of the parishioners on this topic? And that brings up another question…why don’t parish general assemblies convene 30 days ahead of the Clergy-Laity Congress to decide the vote that their representatives (and priest) are instructed to cast on this budget matter? (GOARCH will likely tell you that this budget was drafted and proposed at the Metropolis level, by a mysterious “Metropolis-level budget committee” that nobody seems to know about, and supposedly represents the “will of the Metropolis and its parishes”…)
The other problem here is that priests seem to be allowed to vote as well at these gatherings, IN PLAIN SIGHT OF THEIR BISHOPS who are perched high up on a panel and “watching” if any priests vote “against” the budget….We all know what happens when a priest dares to vote “against the will of his bishop”… Why isn’t the ballot a “secret ballot”, but it is in the open, susceptible to the possibility of “voter intimidation”?
And finally, the “representatives” from each parish actually “see” their priest raise his hand during the “ALL IN FAVOR”…so what do they do? They get influenced by the “pack mentality”, and they vote “IN FAVOR”,
The corrupt consigliere tsoungarakis will be there to protect her from our questions and she won’t answer don’t you worry. No one will be permitted to question her. He is in cahoots with her and gives her the legal cover she needs. They will serve words salads to confuse you with legal and accounting terms that mean nothing. He hides all the wrongdoing and makes it “legal”. They are coming for our church property in Astoria to be rented and sold, the blood and sweat of our ancestors
Tsougarakis personifies the “Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites”, that Christ called them. They haven’t changed a bit since 2,000 years ago. Christ rebelled against the religious hypocrites of His day. They crucified Him. It was not the Romans or the Jews. It was the establishment, that didnt want to lose its privileges. If Christ came to earth today, He’ll be crucified again by these selfish, sinful hierarchs and scribes.
ADDENDUM TO THE ARTICLE (further details to explore): The GOARCH website advertises 64 individuals as “Archdiocese Staff”…Does the word “staff” mean “on the books”?
And by the looks of it, the “Office of the Archbishop” is apparently seeking approval for $1.1 MILLION to fund 8 individuals, (whose job descriptions and supporting explanation of “Return on Investment” are “quite vague” at this time). It is strange that some appear to be “double-serving” while being assigned as a priest in a parish…are some individuals “double-dipping” into both Parish and “extra” GOARCH funds on the backs of parishioners? We need to see the detailed line items to know the answer to that question, for sure:
How many of the remainder of the 64 individuals “roll up to” that grand sub-total of $8.3 million under “National Church Operations” that will be voted on in a few days?
How many are merely volunteers who we can honestly and honorably “thank for their service”?
GOARCH “staff” should clarify and explain the value and need for each expenditure BEFORE parish representatives vote for this budget…
This GOARCH “budget” reminds us of one of those “scratch & sniff” cards, but in this case, the more you scratch, the less you want to sniff…
The Addendum above is a result of the 2nd attempt to “scratch the surface” of this “vague, high-level” budget proposal…who knows what else is lurking even deeper to ask about…the mere semblance / appearance of “double-dipping” (especially by clergy) is a moral and ethical scandal of great magnitude that disgusts the faithful, and which needs to be investigated further…
All Parish representatives who are going to vote in a few days really need to “wake up” and DEMAND THE DETAILS for each line item before they cast a vote…and the parishioners should start calling their representatives to assist with this process of “waking up”, by voicing their concerns.
So, not just one but two elephants in the room and one kitty: the Process elephant, the Accountability elephant, and whose Kitty the money ends up in. It seems like GOARCH’s politics are as dirty as the Greek government’s and both are as tangled up as the Gordian knot. Marcos, May your articles be the sword that unravels them.
The “Orthodox Observer” is funded by $1 million. What for, in the name of God? They produce a blog that is much less readable and contains zero useful information. The Observer would put to shame the Izvestia of Soviet times and the current North Korean publications in their praise of “dear leader”. Most of the space is consumed by all the honorific titles, such as “his eminence”. “his grace”, plus all the other titles that they don’t deserve and soil by their use.
The “producer” of the Observer is an import from Greece, named Safioleas. Supposedly, he has a doctorate in something. He is currently laying low, since he is the one who came up with the idea to “copyright” images and charge for them. Only the corrupt clergy would come up with the idea to charge $2.000 per picture, which pictures are the property of the parishioners, because they pay for their production. How much does he get paid? How much is his “assistant”, Marissa Costidis paid? Why do we not know their salaries?
On the subject of the images, I told the parasite, Tsougarakis, that one day they’ll pay us to use the Observer images, because now, we can make our own on AI and make them as ugly as they actually are. Nick had made a picture of Elpidoktonos next to a Turkish flag. Great Idea Nick. I suggest that you use that picture often. They’ll regret their insatiable grab for money
Great question…keep them coming. Didn’t they eventually stop sending physical copies of the O.O., but instead they went fully electronic? At least they used to talk about that possibility…
I only receive mine through the email. I doubt they mail them any longer. Postage costs are no longer a burden. So, where does that million go? Why isn’t there any breakdown of all expenses, including salaries?
Unless the delegates start caring, there will never be a breakdown of “application of funding” shared with the faithful who contribute to the “funding collection trays”….
Another repulsive Elaine Allen special! Have many questions ready GIVE HER HELL! Make her explain! Demand explanation for every line and every thing that don’t make sense . The Epstein millionaires who use the Greek church lie. Dont believe them. No honesty and integrity comes from the woman archbishop (Elaine Allen) who controls the archdiocese and babysits elpodophors and the metropolitans and the priests. She keeps them all leashed and muzzled. They know if they try to get her out she will expose them. How do you think she stays. When they ask they are destroyed. Where do you think Karloutsos went? Gone from the archdiocese when she came. And look at what happened also to another very popular priest crysostomos. They know all they will be next. Send her home and let her cook for her family and not cook the books of the archdiocese
For too long Karloutsos used to control these things. Whoever this new gal is it looks like she outsmarted him and found the closet with the skeletons and removed him from the goarch this explains his sudden retirement that no body saw coming. Now he keeps a low profile and is rarely seen. Obvious what is happening here. Same story for years. I took George michalopoulos advise long ago when he wrote all this on monomakos and got the hell out of the Greek archdiocese. Sad and no hard feelings was hard but better for my soul
Very incisive and detailed report and relevant questions Markos. I applaud your hard work. You describe the budget vote so precisely, which is naked corruption and self-interest. I attended a clergy laity about twenty years ago, in Nashville. The atmosphere is just as you describe it. And I’m sure it hasn’t changed at all. All the talk about the church, which really means the parasites that feed on the church, makes people think that they need more and more money. No one questions where that money really goes and how much each parasite bleeds the parishioners’ earnings.
Until we know how much each clergyman and lay worker is compensated, we should not pay a dime in stewardship. Give the money to charity. It really takes nerve to ask parishioners to pay them, without telling us how much they’re getting paid.
Bob,
Your comment is correct…unfortunately nothing changed…
It is totally illogical that anyone would have to ask “why” would “representatives” not “accurately represent” the will of the parishioners on this topic? And that brings up another question…why don’t parish general assemblies convene 30 days ahead of the Clergy-Laity Congress to decide the vote that their representatives (and priest) are instructed to cast on this budget matter? (GOARCH will likely tell you that this budget was drafted and proposed at the Metropolis level, by a mysterious “Metropolis-level budget committee” that nobody seems to know about, and supposedly represents the “will of the Metropolis and its parishes”…)
The other problem here is that priests seem to be allowed to vote as well at these gatherings, IN PLAIN SIGHT OF THEIR BISHOPS who are perched high up on a panel and “watching” if any priests vote “against” the budget….We all know what happens when a priest dares to vote “against the will of his bishop”…
Why isn’t the ballot a “secret ballot”, but it is in the open, susceptible to the possibility of “voter intimidation”?
And finally, the “representatives” from each parish actually “see” their priest raise his hand during the “ALL IN FAVOR”…so what do they do? They get influenced by the “pack mentality”, and they vote “IN FAVOR”,
I would rather be on a mountain thinking about God.
The corrupt consigliere tsoungarakis will be there to protect her from our questions and she won’t answer don’t you worry. No one will be permitted to question her. He is in cahoots with her and gives her the legal cover she needs. They will serve words salads to confuse you with legal and accounting terms that mean nothing. He hides all the wrongdoing and makes it “legal”. They are coming for our church property in Astoria to be rented and sold, the blood and sweat of our ancestors
Just think wha5 a sour taste the hierarchs and priests have left in the mouth of the flock.
Tsougarakis personifies the “Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites”, that Christ called them. They haven’t changed a bit since 2,000 years ago. Christ rebelled against the religious hypocrites of His day. They crucified Him. It was not the Romans or the Jews. It was the establishment, that didnt want to lose its privileges. If Christ came to earth today, He’ll be crucified again by these selfish, sinful hierarchs and scribes.
ADDENDUM TO THE ARTICLE (further details to explore):
The GOARCH website advertises 64 individuals as “Archdiocese Staff”…Does the word “staff” mean “on the books”?
https://www.goarch.org/staff
And by the looks of it, the “Office of the Archbishop” is apparently seeking approval for $1.1 MILLION to fund 8 individuals, (whose job descriptions and supporting explanation of “Return on Investment” are “quite vague” at this time). It is strange that some appear to be “double-serving” while being assigned as a priest in a parish…are some individuals “double-dipping” into both Parish and “extra” GOARCH funds on the backs of parishioners? We need to see the detailed line items to know the answer to that question, for sure:
https://www.goarch.org/administration/archbishop
https://stconstantinecathedral.org/about/our-leadership/member-detail/1686626/
The “office of the Chancellor” is seeking 630k to fund these 5 individuals
https://www.goarch.org/administration/archbishop
How many of the remainder of the 64 individuals “roll up to” that grand sub-total of $8.3 million under “National Church Operations” that will be voted on in a few days?
How many are merely volunteers who we can honestly and honorably “thank for their service”?
GOARCH “staff” should clarify and explain the value and need for each expenditure BEFORE parish representatives vote for this budget…
Marcos, I am curious, have ever been to a Clergy Laity Congress?
JK,
St. Ephraim’s prayer asks that we refrain from a “spirit of curiosity” (πνευμα περιεργιας μη μη δος…)
If your spirit of curiosity wants an answer, the answer is that the analysis above has been compiled after witnessing things first-hand.
This GOARCH “budget” reminds us of one of those “scratch & sniff” cards, but in this case, the more you scratch, the less you want to sniff…
The Addendum above is a result of the 2nd attempt to “scratch the surface” of this “vague, high-level” budget proposal…who knows what else is lurking even deeper to ask about…the mere semblance / appearance of “double-dipping” (especially by clergy) is a moral and ethical scandal of great magnitude that disgusts the faithful, and which needs to be investigated further…
All Parish representatives who are going to vote in a few days really need to “wake up” and DEMAND THE DETAILS for each line item before they cast a vote…and the parishioners should start calling their representatives to assist with this process of “waking up”, by voicing their concerns.
So, not just one but two elephants in the room and one kitty: the Process elephant, the Accountability elephant, and whose Kitty the money ends up in. It seems like GOARCH’s politics are as dirty as the Greek government’s and both are as tangled up as the Gordian knot. Marcos, May your articles be the sword that unravels them.
The “Orthodox Observer” is funded by $1 million. What for, in the name of God? They produce a blog that is much less readable and contains zero useful information. The Observer would put to shame the Izvestia of Soviet times and the current North Korean publications in their praise of “dear leader”. Most of the space is consumed by all the honorific titles, such as “his eminence”. “his grace”, plus all the other titles that they don’t deserve and soil by their use.
The “producer” of the Observer is an import from Greece, named Safioleas. Supposedly, he has a doctorate in something. He is currently laying low, since he is the one who came up with the idea to “copyright” images and charge for them. Only the corrupt clergy would come up with the idea to charge $2.000 per picture, which pictures are the property of the parishioners, because they pay for their production. How much does he get paid? How much is his “assistant”, Marissa Costidis paid? Why do we not know their salaries?
On the subject of the images, I told the parasite, Tsougarakis, that one day they’ll pay us to use the Observer images, because now, we can make our own on AI and make them as ugly as they actually are. Nick had made a picture of Elpidoktonos next to a Turkish flag. Great Idea Nick. I suggest that you use that picture often. They’ll regret their insatiable grab for money
Bob,
Great question…keep them coming.
Didn’t they eventually stop sending physical copies of the O.O., but instead they went fully electronic? At least they used to talk about that possibility…
I only receive mine through the email. I doubt they mail them any longer. Postage costs are no longer a burden. So, where does that million go? Why isn’t there any breakdown of all expenses, including salaries?
Unless the delegates start caring, there will never be a breakdown of “application of funding” shared with the faithful who contribute to the “funding collection trays”….