A Response to Michael Psaros: Where is Transparency and Accountability?

When will we grow up and leave the so-called “Mother” Church? Mr.Psaros was not the one who reported the financial troubles to the authorities – it was the whistleblower…  Does Mr.Psaros think he is offering good services to AB Elpidophoros by praising him in the same way he did praise AB Demetrios? GOA is still under investigation – why does Mr.Psaros forget to mention it? AB Elpidophoros has lost much of his credibility, leaving him with very few choices.

By Nick Stamatakis

In one more incidence of “fake news” in our community, Michael Psaros’ interview to TNH, offers an example of what our Church and its leaders should not be. The so-called “Archon” Mr. Psaros pretends that the Church of Christ should revolve around him and the other “Archons”, whose only job is to “protect” the “Mother Church” and support it with money forever…  Even if one was to take this “fakery” at face value, then the main question should be: When does a child grow up enough to move away from the “mother” Church? According to Psaros the answer is NEVER… We are supposed to be slaves to the “Mother” Church, who at the same time is a slave to the Turks (and others) forever.  Is this the future anyone in our community would subscribe to? Certainly not… At the same time, this is the greatest dilemma AB Elpidophoros is faced with one year after his enthronement… He is acting against the most natural of all social instincts, the craving for independence…

But let’s go down the list of misleading statements and outright lies by Michael Psaros:

• What exactly was his success regarding the finances of GOA? He is not telling the truth when he insists that he was the one who reported the financial problems to the authorities. This person was the WHISTLEBLOWER – who started reporting to the authorities in December 2017 – AND NOT PSAROS. And did he do anything to establish transparency and accountability? He did absolutely nothing, a big ZERO, and we challenge him to go ahead and mention specifically what steps did he take towards achieving this goal. GOA is still under investigation – why does Mr.Psaros forget to mention it?
• When will Mr.Psaros stop offering ridiculous praises to the Archbishop? Does he think that he is helping Mr. Elpidophoros? Psaros offered the same praises to AB Demetrios a few years back, using the exact same words. One of the biggest mistakes of AB Elpidophoros was that he surrounded himself with people of reduced abilities and questionable character.  With the exceptions of Fr. Andreas Vythoulkas and Fr. Nikiforos Fakinos, very few in his immediate environment escape the category of “flatterer” and “brown-noser” to use the least offensive adjectives… By offering fake flattery he is undermining Elpidophoros much faster than any of his opponents would do…
• Psaros remembers Elpidophoros’ pledge during his enthronement that he will be here “for the people”.  Meanwhile he is getting further and further away from the people, with each and every move. And he has surrounded himself with 10-20 rich donors – all related to Karloutsos.  How long will they keep pretending that this country club can pass for the Church of Christ?
• He keeps mentioning the effort to rebuild St.Nicholas and he is talking about the “miracle” of fundraising. What miracle? The 20 “fat cats” put in a few million, with a great part of the money coming from Leadership-100 and Faith, with both non-profits violating their charters. Question to Psaros and Karloutsos: Why didn’t you do the same 3-4 years ago, so the Church and the community avoid the embarrassment? Silence… The only miracle to be witnessed by all shortly will by St.Nicholas himself – who will not allow this desecration of his memory! St.Nicholas was all about humility and selflessness, while the Archons are all about money, pride and self-gratification…
• The Theological Seminary is ranked at the bottom of all Colleges in the US, facing a myriad financial and other problems, being still under investigation and probation. If you do not recognize this reality you will never be able to fix anything – assuming that “fixing” is the right avenue, as opposed to cooperating with another, well established, Theological School.
• Mr. Psaros, you should not be proud of your intervention, along with Mr. Catsimatidis, on the issue of the delivery of the Holy Communion. None of you two have any theological credentials, and those who did and supported the Archbishop in his inappropriate “novelty” (Fr.Kalyvas) were demolished by the Hierarchs (especially Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta) and the people themselves, who refused to move away from Faith and tradition.
• Furthermore, AB Elpidophoros’ participation in the Black Lives Matter event in Brooklyn, and his complete abandonment of “social distancing” negated his own directives to the Parishes for dealing with COVID-19.  He lost much of his credibility on the issue. After the Brooklyn event, he has no moral authority to enforce ANY social distancing policy in the Churches… For one more time he moved away from the people and accepted since day one that our Churches do not offer an “essential service”… This was a very grave and pricey mistake: there is no money in the world to buy lost credibility, as his “friend” Diamataris, the disgraced publisher of TNH, has discovered belatedly… 

With vanishing credibility after a series of mistakes on practical and faith issues throughout his first year, AB Elpidophoros is left with one main choice – if his true goal is to stay in his position: Identify a route to offer autonomy to the Church of America.  He should keep in mind that his predecessor, AB Demetrios had promised the faithful that, after establishing peace within his first 2-3 years, he would lead the Church to a new era, to the election of its own leadership.  He broke his promise.  The people did not forget. The Church and the faithful have excellent memory, not affected by the “puff” pieces of TNH which very few read….  This time they will not follow Elpidophoros on his path to destruction. The Church of America WILL NOT stay under Turkish rule – and will celebrate the 200 years of Greek Independence in the appropriate way!!

June 20, 2020, n.stamatakis@aol.com   www.helleniscope.com