EDITOR’S NOTE (Nick Stamatakis): As someone who saw the Archbishop’s flaws and explained them very early (before he was enthroned), I truly appreciated this 30-minute video. Over the last five years, we have chronicled all the errors this video describes. But to do a summary in just 30 minutes is quite a feat. It is done in an orderly and comprehensive manner. Please use it as needed for your enlightenment and to inform others. The time approaches when we, the faithful, will have to rise up and take the Church back from the heretics. Our priests and hierarchs are useless and will not do it for us.
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A must-watch video for all who are concerned about the Orthodox faith worldwide. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is indeed compromised as is the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Archons need to step up but unfortunately, that won’t happen.
This video is phenomenal. Every Greek Orthodox Christian must watch it. Elpidophoros works for the intel community. It’s so obvious.
It is a sad video, we shouldn’t celebrate it. You seem excited about it
Where did you see the excitement? Do I need to remind the readers this website that I count myself among the very few who suffered the practical results of these errors and vices of the “Ottoman” Archbishop? Everyone is talking about a lawsuit that Elpidophoros recently filed against a journalist (Sotiris Tzoumas, of exapsalmos.gr) in Greece, but I have been dealing with Catsimatidies’s lawyer in court for a few years now. Let me also remind you that Catsimatides is #2 of GOARCH- you don;t think he act alone, do you?. So please do not accuse me “excitement” – shw some sensitivity and common sense. I am living the real results of his flawed personality, because I exposed the same things the video described – which are all true, very early – before he was enthroned. Most of you are simply contemplating whether we should rise up and take him down or not – FIVE FULL YEARS AFTER HE WAS ENTRHONED.
Look, all of you fail to see the grand strategy here. Elpi and the hard core Gs don’t want a healthy American Greek Orthodox Church with a high fidelity to enduring Orthodox, US Constitutional, and capitalist principles with many “white” converts.
They want a Super-Greek, Marxist-socialist EuroTrash centric (infanticide, nanny state, queer everything ), Greek-speaking and Hellenic Republic issue-oriented church only.
Better yet, if they had their way, they’d collapse it to within a 200-mile radius of their special Greek island of Manhattan. And they want to be able to make “deals” with the Turks to line their pockets.
They will collapse 300 plus GOA parishes to 100 parishes with that new description and send the Vicar Bagman on unending cash calls. See it all for what it is and quit agonizing over this and that. All of it is unholy.
The Church should be Greek speaking… because it is Christian. The Greek language IS THE LANGUAGE of Christianity… And no… the last thing Schismatophoros want is “Greek centered” GOA! Can you imagine our ancestors built these Churches and parishes with blood, sweat and tears and enshrined in their Constituiton to PRESERVE THE GREEK language… I don’t see any serious efforts NOR fundraising by the Billionaires of the so called leadership 100, by AHEPA, By Catsimatidis… Psaros and all the rest of the pseudoGreeks in promoting the Greek language… Your mind is in the right direction but you sound VERY ignorant and confused. The Greek language is the gem of our Church and of our communities…
Excited? Effie, are you excited what voting for corrupt Joe Biden did to America?
Very sobering!
No wonder so many Anglican priests who converted to Orthodoxy ran from the Greek Church… it’s a mess!
A bishop can be brought up on spiritual charges by lay people, too. That is allowed. This video would have likely been considered sufficient evidence of Canonical Violations to convict and defrock a bishop during the days when saintly Church Fathers were in the Episcopal office and Synod. However, nowadays, we sadly only expect to see more of a kangaroo court, the majority of which would be comprised of “obedient”, knee-bending, “career minded”, and even perhaps corrupt/compromised “judges” that wouldn’t dare go against their “first without equals’s” emissary to the USA.
Since that obviously won’t work, the next option for the faithful is for the “Spyridon ‘leverage’ model” to be applied. That tested model proved to us that the Patriarchate removes archbishops very quickly when the flow of funds to its coffers is threatened to slow down or stop. Failure to raise sufficient revenue is the “gravest sin” a hierarch can commit these days, apparently…a noticeable exodus of faithful to other jurisdictions has already occurred under Elpidophoros, but it hasn’t translated to a sufficient enough drop in revenue to warrant “relief from duties”…and since the remaining parishioners and “rich donors” continue to “float the boat” after 5 years of this kind of history for whatever reason, let’s not hold our breath on this hope for too long, either…
The only real silver lining here is that signed letter regarding “Belya”…it was the first open threat that the majority of the Assembly of Bishops would cease ties with Elpidophoros…it was the first sign ever that finally, “there actually are some limits of tolerance”…However, given that the letter has been largely ignored by GOARCH and repentant behavior isn’t visible on the horizon, “how much more will it take” for the Assembly of Bishops to fully sever ties, like Moscow did with Constantinople? While the answer to that question remains scary, that’s the cliff that the schism-loving wolf is leading the sheep to, folks…
Sobering indeed, we must reach Elpidophoros and ask him to give an account for these things. I believe these attacks are from anti-Greek Americans and others who are trying to destroy the Greeks in America by infiltrating the church through conversion. They want to divide and drive out the Greeks from their own communities.
You have to explain yourself: fo you see the errors by Elpidophoros or not?
Thank you for your kind response. I see the errors. I very much enjoy the news you provide.
Do they still make the newspaper for the church? I don’t get it to my house anymore. How can you order it?
Steve, a church is for all people. Apparently, you seek to preserve or create a Greek club. Have you ever read the New Testament? Do you ever worship at the Divine Liturgy? Finally, and most importantly, do you believe in Jesus Christ?
Hello Jk!
I agree with you that a church is for all people. Did I offend you? It is not necessary to be hostile in your comments, asking if I read the Bible and go to the liturgy.
The truth is that our churches are built by and funded by Greeks. The hard work of many people! This is well known and we are resented for our success and for important history and contributions to the whole world by many! Like a family we must protect ourselves from those who mean to harm us. I will protect you and all my Greek family in anyway I can—it’s our duty and to care for our inheritance. It doesn’t belong to us, we are simply caring for it for the next generation!
We are an extended family (and we act like a real family, fighting like siblings often. It’s out great strength and great weakness). We are not exclusive people. Famously, our arms and tables are open to all decent people! Our national treasure of Philoxenia and Philotimo are Christian Orthodox principles, we must always remember.
Steve, your passion is in the wrong place. A Christians passion and inheritance is for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The church does not belong to us it belongs to Christ. Please introduce yourself to the Scriptures.
Hello again Jk!
I am a simple working class person and I am sorry I do not have your high level of literacy and religious education.
I learned my Orthodox faith mostly from my mother and grandmother. They taught me to love our church, family, and country. I never heard that it is a sin to live your country. But I learned it is a sin to look down on people with superiority and judge.
Think how the other person reads you when you say “please introduce yourself with to the Scriptures”.
If there is something me and the people like me can learn, write us a nice article to teach us and to explain, not make the comments to ridicule us for not having high education. That’s nasty and it hurts us. We come this place to read the articles to learn. But you want to make the people feel bad. You make the people your enemy.
Be nice!
JK,
That’s very easy to say absent of historical context, if you want to dismiss the plight of our ancestors, of those who refused to convert to islam after 400 years of slavery under the turks. There wouldn’t have been a Greek Archdiocese or even a Greek modern state if those ancestors didn’t have the will power (or “misplaced passion” as you call it) to pass on a tradition exactly as they received it, including the language of their ancestors. {Let’s see how long you’d last in Saudi Arabia by simply wearing a cross when you land at the airport, let alone trying to live there and teach your kids Orthodoxy…}
Steve, and every Steve in here is a descendent of those individuals that had nothing else but the faith and “misplaced passion”. This “misplaced passion” as you call it was their way of following the Commandment of honoring their “forefathers and foremothers” who endured oppression, torture and martyrdom so that future generations can enjoy what they couldn’t. These ancestors were illiterate because they weren’t allowed under islamic rule to learn how to read and write. Yet, they had stronger faith than the “educated ones”, as the relics of multiple martyrs attest. They paid more taxes because they refused to abandon their faith and traditions. They watched their sons and daughters get abducted by the islamic state to be brought up as Janissaries or harem girls respectively. They were forced to change their names to islamic ones, etc, etc, etc…Their defiance and stubbornness to speak and teach their surviving children the faith and the Greek language that you so much detest is the only reason we have Greek Orthodox churches these days…that can be interpreted as a “fruit” of spiritual labor, too, my friend, if we want to start quoting scripture…raw FAITH and stubbornness got them through adversity.
Let’s not even talk about what the “friendly ‘Christian’ Latins” did after 1204 A.D., spreading with “criminal actions” and unspeakable atrocities their version of “Papal Scriptures” in the Greek speaking Lands…(another discussion for another day)…It’s probably the case that the historical betrayal of the 4th Crusade (and many subsequent historical examples) is the root cause for the skepticism that folks like Steve Maditou still carry to this day…The fate of the Papal-Uniate assimilation of Orthodox populations that fled Byzantium to Southern Italy, and on the islands of Syros and Tinos in Greece is well-known today…therefore, we can’t automatically blame someone for being skeptical about what they are observing and perceiving. It requires a discussion to understand the facts (and that’s the elaboration Helleniscope asked for in the response to Steve)…Skepticism is ok… Even in the modern-day United States, the State of Missouri is called the “show me” state for a reason…
Keep history in mind before trying to arrogantly shame people into defending against a gross misinterpretation of the facts here (accusing people of forming “Greek clubs” etc). It would be preferable for you to study the exact course of historical developments, and to learn how to respect the Greek people, culture, and “temperament” for having survived what they did. Once you understand, only then will you stop “misunderstanding” … Once you understand what the root causes are behind a given statement, only then would it be easier to sit down and have a civilized conversation with every “Steve” out there, even in the event that they make an exaggerated statement that needs correction.
In the meantime, I’ll ask you again…which single English version of New Testament Scripture or even of our Liturgical services is an exact 100% accurate translation of the original Greek? Feel free to introduce us to it when you find it…it simply doesn’t exist. Until then, feel free to indulge in inaccurate translations in whatever language you choose, but you should really try and tone down that hostile attitude of yours against Greek culture and language if you feel like continuing to play “online preacher”…The two don’t mix two well, and the Scriptures do talk a lot about humility, too…
Right… And in what language have the scriptures been given to us? IN GREEK! Both for the Old Testament and the New Testament in addition to the Holy Canons and the Holy Tradition! In other words you CANNOT BE a Bona fide Christian without being fluent in the Greek language… All those that tried to do it by translation for fooled and biggest of them all… The Pope and his pseudo Christian Vatican Church falsely and misleadingly called “Catholic” cult. Stop being servile stop being a Turko/Anglo servile and cherish the true treasure that you got. English is for us as good as Turkish was good for us during the Ottoman Occupation… It’s a GENOCIDAL tool… So please stop talking about degrading the scriptures to a language the… Ignorants and lazies want to degrade it to because they are lazy or imbeciles and can’t learn Greek… How does every Greek speaking person learn it? That’s how the Christians everywhere in the world will learn it!
“Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, gallows humor, black humor, or dark humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discuss.”
Black comedy – Wikipedia
“Little Nicky is a 2000 American action-comedy film directed by Steven Brill, written by Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler, and Brill, and starring Sandler in the title role.”
Little Nicky – Wikipedia
Meanwhile, 19 years later …
“On 11 May 2019, he was elected by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople as next Archbishop of America to succeed Archbishop Demetrios. He was enthroned on 22 June 2019.”
Elpidophoros of America – Wikipedia
“In 1889, Oscar Wilde asserted boldly that “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life”. He argued that rather than merely copy, life imitates art because life craves a kind of expression found in great art. This life-affirming quality is at the heart of art’s value.”
Comment – this movie is not an example of great art, but of a great blasphemy masked as a form of comedic entertainment.
Although there won’t be a Little Nicky 2 release date with Elpidophoros playing the cameo role of a Greek Orthodox Bishop, one can’t help but notice the striking similarities between the Cardinal in the original film and dear ol’ Elpi.
[VIDEO] Let the Sin Begin – HD – video Dailymotion
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ui107
Markos, I apologize for offending you. My wish is to bring proper glory and honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As an Orthodox Christian I hope you have the same passion.
Marcos, my father and grandparents are products of the persecutions in Asia Minor. I understand the suffering many Greeks have endured.I do not detest the Greek language as you erroneously state, rather I believe Liturgy should be celebrated in a language people understand. I honor and respect my Greek heritage but also believe my faith in Christ, as expressed through the Orthodox faith comes first. For me, a faulty translation that can be understood is far better than a language that most do not understand. As mentioned previously, though my Greek is fairly good, I can not even pray through lords prayer in Greek. Additionally, it is my firm conviction that many GOA parishes express themselves more as Greek clubs rather than as the Body of Christ.
Then get off your servile lazy bum and learn it! That’s the job of the Church to teach to the congregation the language of the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Tradition and the Holy Canons… You talk like you are in the Ottoman years and you are like let’s switch from Greek to Turkish because in the everyday life of the Ottoman Empire we have to use Turkish for our everyday transactions! NO, NO, NO. If our ancestors were able to preserve the Greek language during the brutal, and genocidal and oppressive yoke of the Ottoman Turks why can’t we in the USA the land of Freedom? Please… Our ancestors didn’t come to this God forsaken country in order to get genocided! Anglo servility is worse than Turko servility…