UPDATE Sep 23. 8pm: We just saw that the Archbishop has issued an apology... An apology is always welcome in Christianity – this is the cornerstone of our faith. And it is always welcome. Having said that, I have to note that I have heard the Archbishop issuing apologies very often, to the point that the word “apology” is losing its meaning.  Especially for this issue, “bowing to the Turks”, the apology IS NOT ENOUGH.  Why? Because it has become standard practice for the Archbishop to bow to the Turks. Let me count the ways: 1) Visits by Turkish consuls to his office and Met. Nathanael office. 2) His visit to Erdogan’s hotel in New York. 3) Patriarch Bartholomew’s stay in the Turkish Ambassador’s house in DC FOR DAYS a few years ago. 4) The evident open lines between 79th Street and the Turkish Foreign Ministry. Should I remind all the lengthy visit at Phanar of the new Turkish ambassador to DC a few months ago and the detailed discussion that ensued?  I will stop here… Apologies for this issue are not going to solve the problem – it will take many years to regain trust.  And AB Elpidoktonos does not have that much time left in America – one way or the other…  

By Nick Stamatakis

After both PM Mistotakis and Cyprus President Anastasiades canceled their meetings with AB “Elpidoktonos” at 79th Street, a great effort was made by GOARCH and their allies to schedule a photo-op between the Greek PM and the Archbishop at Ground Zero for a tour of St.Nicholas.  Yet, when the time came to confirm it, Mitsotakis took a look at the rage throughout the Greek-American community and the front page news in Greece and Cyprus and calculated that this one photo with AB Elpidoktonos will cost him dearly, as he is already struggling in the polls. And everything was canceled…

You can read the news below – but here I have to make a few notes that you will not read anywhere else:

1. Few people paid attention to the fact that next to the AB Elpidoktonos an Imam was sitting, the same imam who played a role in the ceremonies following the turning of Hagia Sophia to a mosque, the same Imam who later was caught propagandizing against Israel and the “occupied Jerusalem”…
2. The role of the pro-Israel lobby in the US and internationally – along with the Armenian lobby – was absolutely central for the decisions that followed last Monday’s events.  At a moment when the whole US policy in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East is centered around the tripartite alliance between Greece-Cyprus-Israel to which the US is frequently added as a fourth pole, AB Elpidoktonos’ acts symbolically demolished this alliance, which took many years to form.
3. The same is true with the existing alliances in Washington DC between Greek-Armenian-Israeli lobbyists… Add to that the bipartisan opposition in DC to Turkish President Erdogan… Elpidoktonos’s calculations were totally against the current political trends…
4. It seems that a power struggle is again brewing in GOARCH between Karloutsos and AB Elpidoktonos – this is nothing new as Karloutsos has gotten rid of the former three Archbishops. One more would not be a tremendous problem for him.  Yesterday, as his son Mike (aka “Fredo”) Karloutsos was rumored to have sent a “protest letter” to AB Elpidoktonos, regarding the Turkish House appearance, it was clear that this power struggle is reaching its peak.
5. The upcoming visit by Patriarch Bartholomew is becoming once again very doubtful.  The underlying reason has to do with Phanar’s disapproval by our community.  Thanks to our commentary and to the unbelievable childish acts of the so-called “leadership”, it has become all the more clearer that GOARCH needs to be autonomous for a myriad of reasons, topped by the control of the Turks over the most powerful Greek community in the world.
6. It would be a good idea for the Patriarch – since he is supposedly working on the new Chapter for GOARCH – to voluntarily take the initiative and grant administrative autonomy to our Church, keeping active the spiritual ties and the financial support.  I have said many times that his contrarian personality does not help him at all, but we are still hopeful and there is still time to consider it.  The faithful are absolutely disgusted by the presence of the “Turks” (symbolically and literally) in the headquarters.  I will say it one more time: The Patriarchate is risking losing GOARCH completely unless autonomy is granted.  I have offered many times the example of the autocephalous Church of Crete – but there are other examples… Just pick one…

There are no words to describe the anger I heard, read, and witnessed the last 48 hours… This is definitely a turning point for our Church and community.  I am just hoping it’s not too late to save what can be saved.

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BELOW: Turkish Oil & Gas Exploration Ship: – We need an open-minded man of God to Bless our Exclusive Economic Zone and our “Blue Homeland”…

-Sure, the Archbishop of America….

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SOURCE: GREEKCITYTIMES

SHOCK TURNAROUND: Greek Prime Minister cancels meeting with Archbishop Elpidophoros

In an unsurprising but shock turn around, Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has cancelled his scheduled meeting with Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America Elpidophoros in New York.

The cancellation is being interpreted as both an act of solidarity with Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiadis who also cancelled his meeting with Elpidophoros, and an expression of  dissatisfaction with Elpidophoros after he attended the inauguration of the Turkish Centre in New York in the presence of Erdogan.

Greek government sources have suggested that the reason for the cancellation was a scheduling conflict after the addition of a meeting with the Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal to the Prime Minister’s diary.

However, it is obvious that Mr. Mitsotakis does not want to meet with the Archbishop  due to his presence at the inauguration of the Turkish centre.

In fact, yesterday at noon, during a press briefing government spokesman, Giannis Oikonomou, expressed Athens ‘annoyance with Archbishop’s decision”.

“We were disturbed by the actions of the Archbishop. The Greek government expresses its dissatisfaction ” said Mr Economou.