ΕΑΝ ΠΡΟΤΙΜΑΤΕ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΤΗ ΣΗΜΑΙΑ ΣΤΟ ΚΑΤΩ ΜΕΡΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΟΘΟΝΗΣ
By Helleniscope’s Editorial Team
For years, Helleniscope has done its duty.
We have investigated. We have documented. We have asked the questions others refused to ask. We have exposed what we believe to be a culture of secrecy, the absence of transparency and accountability, the selective application of justice, the disregard for the Church’s own constitutional order, and what we have described as a corrupt style of leadership both in the Archdiocese and at the Phanar.
For doing our job, we were met not with answers but with lawsuits. Rather than responding to legitimate questions, those we criticized sought to silence us through defamation litigation. They failed. We prevailed, reaffirming a principle at the heart of the American constitutional order: the First Amendment protects a free press and journalists’ right to investigate matters of public concern without intimidation.
We have published the evidence. We have sounded the alarm. We have fulfilled our responsibility as journalists.
We have worked hard to give you all the facts here, here, and here. And in countless other reports in Helleniscope during the last seven years.
Now it is your turn.
You, the delegates to the 2026 GOARCH Clergy–Laity Congress, were not elected to sit silently, applaud speeches, or ratify predetermined decisions. You are the representatives of the faithful. Your duty is not to the hierarchy but to Christ, His Church, and the Orthodox people you represent.
Yes, we all understand that you are under the pressure of the “hierarchical” organization that GOARCH managed to apply and, recently, to strengthen with legislation (but only in the State of New York – in other states, you are protected by the local and federal Constitution and the Laws).
It is now time to show the courage and ask the questions that those in power hope you will avoid.
Demand transparency in finances. Demand accountability from those entrusted with the stewardship of the Church. Demand answers about governance, conflicts of interest, and the absence of meaningful oversight.
Ask whether the policies of the Ecumenical Patriarchate have contributed to division within World Orthodoxy. Ask whether political considerations have been allowed to overshadow the spiritual mission of the Church. Ask whether our communities have been weakened rather than strengthened by the present course of leadership – especially by allowing the Turkish Ministry and the Turkish Embassies / Consulates to have a say in our affairs. When, before the advent of this dismal Archbishop (who rightfully Helleniscope nicknamed “Elpidoktonos” – “Hope-killer” – the day after his election), did we in America have to cooperate with the Turks in various issues, including the visit of the Patriarch? NEVER.
Remember that our main short- and long-term strategies as Orthodox Christians in America should be focused on achieving the dream of Archbishop Iakovos, who walked (alone among all the Christian leaders of his time, alongside Martin Luther King), the unification of ALL Orthodox Churches in America under one roof, under One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. To achieve this goal, we cannot afford the mediocre, non-transparent, secretive/unaccountable, and heavily political leadership of today, who act as agents of various interests for their own personal benefit.
History will not remember how loudly you applauded.
History will remember whether you had the courage to stand.
The faithful are watching.
Future generations will ask what happened in Cleveland.
May your answer be simple: We did not remain silent. We demanded accountability. We defended the Church of Christ.
June 27, 2026, www.helleniscope.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
This is a strong call to action. Thank you, Nick and Markos, for your hard work. You are not profiting from your advocacy; you are giving voice to concerns that need to be heard. For those who feel they have already done enough for the church by serving on the board or working at the Greek festival, as many of us have, the work is not finished—it has only begun. The church belongs to you, not to the priest, bishop, archbishop, or patriarch. They serve the liturgy, but the church and its buildings belong to the parishioners. Do not let anyone convince you otherwise.
Your contributions pay their salaries, yet when we ask where our money goes, they refuse to disclose it. No responsible business owner would pay employees without knowing how much they are being paid; doing so would lead to financial ruin.
Why do you think they do not disclose their salaries? I can assure you it is not because the salaries are too low and they fear we might feel sorry for them. While we want our clergy to maintain a decent standard of living, the situation has gotten out of control. Their total compensation, including benefits and gratuities, is being paid—even to local priests—at roughly five times the average salary. This level of excess risks attracting career-minded individuals to the priesthood who are motivated less by a calling from the Lord than by the promise of money.
By comparison, Catholic priests earn an average of about $60,000 per year, while Protestant pastors earn about $100,000. Orthodox priests in the GOA may start at similar salaries, but they can exceed $200,000 per year because of a pay scale that increases compensation annually.
Archdiocese employees seem to operate by their own rules, undermining Christian brotherhood and the Greek ideal of philoxenia. If you call the office to offer money, they will speak with you. But if you ask legitimate questions as a contributing member, they may mislead you, hang up, or refuse to answer follow-up calls. I have personally experienced this kind of unacceptable behavior.
Helleniscope lays out the very important issue of the threats of lawsuits against parishioners. These threats, not only constitute treason to our nation’s constitution, but it also signifies their desperation at the un-Christian ways they’re operating. The ultimate injury to the church is the parasitic lawyer. He gets paid $420,000 a year and we don’t know why he is needed, other than to harass parishioners. Let us know how many lawsuits the church is defending against, that would justify Tsougarakis’s compensation. How many sexual complaints against clergy is the church being sued for? Demand to know.
The church has been turned into a private club. It features weddings, baptisms, liturgies and funerals. It has lost its reason for being. To spread the Evangelion, the good news of our faith. We want our clergy to emulate Christ, because that’s what their oath calls for. We don’t want them to be our “ethnnarchs”. The Greek American community produces many worthy people that we would be proud to represent us.
The archbishop needs to stop wearing silly baseball jerseys and throwing the first pitch. He needs to serve at a food kitchen, visit the sick, look after the homeless. That’s what Christ commands.
And he needs to smile less. Yes, smile less. He’s even smiling on Great Friday. Why do you think he’s wearing black cassock? Because he is in mourning, until Christ comes again in His glory. So, STOP with your smiles. You are not a teenage influencer, who shows her teeth at every opportunity. Act according to your station. Stop embarrassing us.
Wow, thank you for mentioning the smiles! I’m serious. I never trust anyone who smiles all the time, and the Archbishop’s smile is so phony, it’s embarrassing.
2+2 does not equal 5!
The faithful find themselves in a pivotal moment.
The Truth is at stake here. Has Truth become so enfeebled that it fears honest and open examination? We hope not. Accountability serves as a reminder that we are called to live in community, helping each other grow in faith and integrity.
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“Remember that our main short- and long-term strategies as Orthodox Christians in America should be focused on achieving the dream of Archbishop Iakovos, who walked (alone among all the Christian leaders of his time, alongside Martin Luther King), the unification of ALL Orthodox Churches in America under one roof, under One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.” There’s a problem with this: I distinctly recall hearing that Elpidoktonos was sent to America with the express directive to unite all the Orthodox Churches in America under the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Do we really want that? More to the point, do they really want that? I don’t see Antioch or the OCA jumping for joy at the prospect, and as for ROCOR, they’ll never agree to it. With the collapse of the Ligonier agreement, the prospect of Orthodox unity became almost impossible to fulfill, and I certainly don’t see it happening under Elpidoktonos.
What we want is a Unified Autocephalous Church in America. It sounds as an “idealism” considering that we already have OCA which is autocephalous, but this is the goal. As long as we are not dependent on corrupt “centers” and homelands…
Church leadership accountability is about maintaining trust between the GOA and its members. Unethical officials and those that fail to listen, break the trust of the church community. The clergy is required to abide by a Code of Ethics. Hierarchs need to work hard to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Even the unethical action of ONE clergy member can taint the reputation of the GOA.
Call to Action: Dual Roles Email Templates Suggestion
In addition to creating a petition to sign, I am suggesting a writing campaign to address the paid dual roles of the clergy. This arrangement raises ethical concerns, potential conflicts of interest, and risks of misappropriation of church resources.
Nick, this is an interesting article:
https://www.thenationalherald.com/side-notes-from-the-recent-meeting-of-patriarch-bartholomew-with-tayyip-erdogan-in-ankara/
Specifically this part:
“Exclusive information from The National Herald indicates that among them is a hierarch whom Patriarch Bartholomew may potentially designate as his successor, thereby completely bypassing the Turkish-born hierarchs—that is, those who were actually born in Turkey.”
You have to wonder who his preferred successor is? If it’s not Met. Emanuel of Chalcedon, who undoubtedly has a Turkish passport, then who would it be?
Honestly, I don’t know why the mass of Greek-Americans aren’t bolting to other jurisdictions. It’s not going to change until the Phanar feels the pinch.
George many have left already esp. in the Northeast. There are not many converts in the Northeast. But in the South and mid-west it is a different story. We are dealing with a “story of two churches”: the Church of political action in New York and the Northeast and the Greek Orthodox Church in much of the rest of the country.
You bring up a good point Nick
There’s the shrinking “Northeast GOARCH” that seems to be focused on politics, not Orthodoxy
Then there is the (relatively) rapidly growing GOARCH in the rest of the U.S. Most notably in the Metropolis of Denver, Atlanta, San Francisco, and parts of Chicago and Detroit.
I am very familiar with parishes in Texas, Florida and Georgia and ALL of them are growing rapidly.
Which GOARCH is going to win out? Obviously it will be the non-Northeast GOARCH.
The main question is: Will it win out before its too late?
It would be interesting to see you do an article on this phenomenon and the VAST disconnect between Elpi/Northeast GOARCH and the rest of the Archdiocese.
The NE GOA is shrinking because it is more ethnic than the rest of the country. For theGOA to retain and expand membership it must use a language people u.
What do you mean why?
Because we are Greeks and we will not abandon the churches that we built with our bare hands, to be the pawns of the Slavs or anyone else.
That’s why…
Then we need to rise up and chase the Turks out of GOA.
Understand. It continues to confound me that the GOA avoids discussion about one of the critical issues confronting the church-language. There should at this least be a workshop addressing liturgical language in the church. Both perspectives should be presented.