PHOTO: The protagonists of this week’s events…
Elpidophoros, knowing he would not be welcome at Athos, wrote a letter to Pat. Bartholomew to “ask his permission”. After giving his “blessing,” Bartholomew wrote a letter to Mt.Athos asking to accommodate the Archbishop and his pilgrims. And Athos answered with the scathing letter of rejection we all read yesterday!
By Nick Stamatakis
Many in Helleniscope’s audience questioned “the title of the day” yesterday, basically summarized as “Elpidophoros Unwelcome At Mt. Athos”. It was not only our title but the title of many other news media – including some in Greece who came out with frontpage glaring headlines such as:
I could post several other videos and headlines from TV news and websites. But I think you get the picture: It was presented universally as a decision from the Mt.Athos Council (“Epistasia”) that “showed the door” to the Archbishop. And it was all over the news in Greece yesterday and today. A grand PR disaster for the Archbishop here and in Greece – well deserved, I must add!…
Many of you noted that the letter itself to Pat. Bartholomew just expressed concern and not rejection. Yes, this could be true if you disregarded the context of the last eighteen months since the infamous “Gay Baptism” of July 2022. You would have to ignore that Mt.Athos reacted immediately (within a couple of weeks) in the same month of July 2022, rejecting Elpidophoros’ acts. And you would have to ignore other instances where the same Mt.Athos loudly reaffirmed the Faith on the same issue.
But yesterday, we learned many other facts that complete the picture. Elpidophoros knew all along, as he had been planning this trip for months, that he was not welcome in Mt. Athos. I am sure he was told so verbally – and rumors had reached some of us in New York. That’s why you saw several of our posts about Athos including the word “rejection” in the last months. Then, the conniving Phanariot Elpidophoros decided to “pull rank.” On December 5, 2023, he wrote a formal letter to the Patriarch “asking his permission to visit Athos.” The Patriarch answered on December 7, permitting him (that’s unheard of!! You do not need permission from the Patriarch to visit Athos if you are a leader of any Orthodox Church!!) You do not need such permission even as a priest or a layman! It’s all done verbally… And we all know Elpidophoros has been visiting Athos regularly – until the “Gay Baptism” of July 2022. Where are the letters of permission before his previous visits?
On the same day, December 7, the Patriarch wrote a short letter to Mt. Athos, posted yesterday by the website “Anamniseis”:
The central part of the letter says:
“… Ο Ιερώτατος Αρχιεπίσκοπος Αμερικής και αγαπητός ημίν εν Χριστώ αδελφός Ελπιδοφόρος, συνοδευόμενος υπό ομίλου προσκυνητών, αδεία ημών, έρχονται εις τον Ιερόν Τόπον δια λόγους προσκυνηματικούς.
Συνιστώντες τούτους θερμώς τη αγαπητή υμίν Οσιότητι υμών, προτρεπόμεθα όπως, μερίμνη υμών πρόφρονι, παρασχεθή αυτοίς πάσα ευκολία προς πραγματοποίησιν του δι’ όν έρχονται αυτόσε σκοπού, και αμα γνωρίζομεν ότι η αυτοπύ Ιερότης, κατά την αυτόθι παραμονή αυτής, έχει την κανονικήν άδειαν όπως ιερουργή εν τω ιερώ τόπω, συμφώνως μέντοι γε προς τα θέσμια και την τάξιν αυτού…”
This archaic Greek letter translates as:
“… The Most Holy Archbishop of America and our dear Brother in Christ, Elpidophoros, accompanied by a group of pilgrims, with our permission, are coming to the Holy Land for pilgrimage reasons.
Recommending them warmly to your beloved Holiness, we urge you to provide care of them and see that they are provided with every facility for the realization of this purpose since they come for this purpose; at the same time, we inform you that His Holiness during Ηis visit has the canonical permit to act as a priest in the Holy Land, in agreement with the institutions and his order…”
The Mt. Athos Council gave their answer to this Letter by Pat. Bartholomew on December 28, and you read it yesterday… (link here). And they told the Patriarch that Elpidophoros projects “a message contrary to the doctrines and teachings of the Orthodox Church. This fact, contrary to the evangelical teaching, provokes the intense reflection of our Holy Community.” And they asked Bartholomew to “…lend a listening ear to our concern on the sensible subject, which concerns the integrity of our faith and Orthodox traditions…”
We can all agree now that this was a straightforward rejection. Will Elpidophoros still visit Mt.Athos? He will likely go to one or two monasteries, most loyal to the Phanar (Xenofontos and Philotheou), but he cannot expect “open arms”: All twenty monasteries signed the letter!! His trip failed before it started. He planned to take plenty of photos in Athos and “sell them” back home in America as the equivalent of Holy Mountain’s approval of his heretic teachings. This will not play out after the Athos rejection and the PR disaster. Quite the opposite, the raised awareness of the Greek-American community will make his “modernizing” plans even more complex, and he will be viewed as the heretic that he is! And the life of the “Fordhamites” will be miserable as they will try to convince people that the “LGBTQ ministries” they are pushing have anything to do with Orthodoxy… George Demacopulos and Aristotle Papanicolaou have lost this round of the battle for the Orthodox faith…
In the next few days, we will attempt to answer the many questions regarding the relationship between Athos and the Phanar: After the scathing letter, the ball is now at Bartholomew’s court. What will he do? Will he dismiss Elpidophoros? Will he finally take a position on gay marriage?
January 5, 2024, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
Actually, every Orthodox Hierarch technically needs permission to enter another Bishops jurisdiction (if intending to preside at a service). It is a very common practice, and one that is highly enforced. Ask a priest how many times they need permission to travel across the United States, even to just visit family or go on vacation. The common practice within the United States is for hierarchs to offer a friendly phone call to the Metropolitan to inform him of his expected plans, the Metropolitan offering his hospitality, and the visiting hierarch to publicly acknowledge the Metropolitans hospitality within the parish he is serving.
Hierarchs need the Patriarchs blessing to visit Mt. Athos, the canons are clear about this matter. Don’t be fooled.
We understand the concept of territorial boundaries between bishops in America and everywhere. But how come it never became an issue between Athos and the archbishop of America until now?
Because now you’re LOOKING to stir up trouble! That’s the simple answer, Nick. Sorry…
Ellhnas please stop trolling. I don’t hate Elpi – I was just the one who studied well his profile before he was elected and called him what he actually proved to be before he even came here: Elpidoktonos. It is all the rest of you who need to look in the mirror and ask questions to yourselves. I don’t hate anyone I am always open to change my mind. But he goes from bad to worse. I have at least ten people who had positive views after the first meeting with him and then a month later came to me and told me the same thing: that he did the opposite of what he assured them – with his big smile – he would do. He is a classic case of a Phanariot.
ELLHNAS it’s Elpidoforos who’s endlessly stirring up trouble!
Helleniscope just reports it.
If former AB Spyridon was deposed who did far less,
why is Elpidoforos still around??
Wowza! Awesome journalism Helleniscope. The war is on.
I’ve a hunch Elpi is on his way out?
Like by next Summer he might just fly back to Istanbul like his fairy Vassily Drossos did for good?
I think you got at least one the “loyal monasteries” wrong. Philotheou is anything but “loyal”. They were among the 13 monasteries that did not sign to send a delegation to Epiphanios’ “enthronement”. They have informed other monasteries that any priestmonks who ‘concelebrate’ with Epiphanios’ Uniates would not be allowed to celebrate at Philotheou monastery as priests.
If Elpidophoros tries to show up at Philotheou, it is likely that the monks would even use a bulldozer or chainsaws (upon trees) to cut off road access to the monastery, if not other measures.
You may want to substitute Philotheou with Vatopedi, whose abbot Ephraim did sign, and did fly to Kiev for the “enthronement”, even though he then “faked illness” to save face….he even hosted the first delegation and concelebration with Epiphanios’ clan on Mt. Athos to “seal the deal” for Bartholomew….There has been a silent rebellion within Vatopedi too…there are two camps (almost like a schism) over this nasty topic.
You are right about Philotheou except that they have historic ties with America as founders of the monasteries here. It’s Xenophontos and Pantokratoros. I don’t think Vatopedi is eager to welcome him. Vatopedi is very “diplomatic” but currently they have developed and promote a sense of a mission for Athos as an “Ark of Orthodoxy”. They financed “Man of God”, the movie, also “Paisios” the TV series and several other projects that promote the faith globally. All monasteries see Elpidophoros’ acts as against basic tenets of the faith as destructive. Don’t forget the statistic I mentioned before: over 70% of the monks live in outside sketes and among those there is NOT ONE that sees Bartholonew and Elpi favorably. Athos monks – I believe without many exceptions – are antiglobalists and are very disturbed to see the globalist puppets (Mitsotakis, androulakis, Kasselakis etc) trying to turn Greece, this bastion of Orthodoxy and traditional family values, into a globalist disgusting mush. They know that if Greece falls it will be the end of the Faith. They appreciate what the Russian Patriarchate is doing but they do not trust the Russians to take the lead in matters of Faith. They say that “We Greeks have to lead” – and many believe that in saving Orthodoxy, American Orthodox faithful will play a special role.
Vatopedi’s leadership played its role in legitimizing Epiphanios and the Ukranian heretical tomos via concelebrations…that’s disgusting enough, and demonstrates an “inconsistency” in expressing “anti-globalist” opinion. While it’s great that Mt. Athos is finally “united” on a topic as abominable as Elpido-φθορος, it would be better if they all unite on all topics, too…including previous ones…is Vatopedi willing to declare that they don’t recognize Epiphanios and his gang? That’s the test…
Vatopedi was “forced” to do whatever they did on Epiphanios but I am sure we all understand that legitimacy for the schismatics was not and will never be achieved. Right now we are a few steps away (may be months, maybe 1-2 years) of the point where the real title of Epiphanios will be “Epiphanios of NO Ukraine”… I have used this expression a few times before and I will be happy when it achieves its full meaning. So recognizing Epiphanios or not will be meaningless soon.
More power to Philotheou Monastery & their chainsaws on trees. They’re the GOAT
Never has Greek Church heard of any Hierarch as morally bankrupt, as unbelievably corrupt as this pathetic Elpidoforos.
Shame on Bartholomew!
Baptizing children, no matter what their parents do in bed is not against Orthodoxy. The children should not pay for their parents’ sins.
Yes, but we should do it in such a way that does not promote the sin of their “parents” and does not undermine the institution of the family. Taking a million photos and posting them in every social media possible, as Elpidophoros did, is not the way.
I agree with you. It was too showy for a sacrament. and intended to create trouble. I’m sure he was paid handsomely to go to Greece to preside over a baptism. It is annoying that he baptizes children of wealthy people, but I’ve never seen him visit the homeless, or the poor. His whole “ministry” is a whirlwind of dinners, events, and praising people that have not done anything to deserve it. For instance, his lawyer, Tsougarakis, was honored as “Helene of the year”. I have no idea what he did to deserve that. And him and Elpidoforfos couldn’t stop praising each other. Tsougarakis went as far as saying that “Elipdoforos alone will save Hellenism” in Amrica.
Very critical in our case is the role of the godparents who will have to teach the baptised kids that homosexuality is din. Now how this can be accomplished is anyone’s guess. I would assume we are dealing with similar problems when we are trying to teach the kids of an imprisoned thief or killer that what their parents did was wrong. Or the church can decide to just chrismate (you theologians and priests help me out here) the kids or just bless them or perform any ritual short of baptism. And postpone baptism for age 14 or 18.
Those kids are deprived of a MOTHER!! Sinful, selfish gays don’t care what those kids will suffer.
Kyrie Eleison