MAIN PHOTO: At the meeting with Sec. Blinken Karloutsos is sitting silently at the end of the table, probably thinking, I arranged for the WH meeting and these useless Turks are now talking foreign policy? Better not open my mouth – let them show to Blinken how clueless they are… Elpidoktonos and Co. are planning next to go to Ground Zero to do what? Open a half-finished Church? So Old Bart can put his name on a plaque before he resigns “the Throne”? I couldn’t go yesterday to the Turkish Embassy because I could be arrested by the “Ottomans” – and these Janissaries will tell me what to do? I will make sure they will go back to Turkey for good…
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AB Elpidoktonos and his “circles” spread rumors blaming the Saturday night dinner at the Greek Ambassador’s House for the Patriarch’s hospitalization!! Without Karloutsos last-minute intervention there would be no WH meeting with Biden… AB Elpidoktonos, totally clueless, was trying to arrange the meeting making 50 Senators and about 200 congressmen send a letter – to no avail!! A short meeting with Blinken and a photo-op at the WH with senile Biden resulted in the same old, same old: reopening of Halki, religious freedom (without mentioning Hagia Sophia lest the Turks are irritated), and …climate change – but we forgot this is the end of a hurricane season with no hurricanes!! Absolutely pathetic!… What happened to John Catsimatidis? He was nowhere to be seen!!
By Nick Stamatakis
As the Patriarch was resting at the hospital on Sunday AB Elpidoktonos and his “circles” were very busy spreading rumors about what had caused his sudden illness: It was the dinner in the garden of the Greek ambassador’s residence that did it!! Yes, they blamed the Greek Embassy for moving the event from the initial planning at the St.Regis Hotel, and also having the dinner outside, ignoring the fact that the Embassy had to follow DC rules! Not only did they have the event outside, Elpidoktonos’s people said, but also the heating furnaces were not functioning!! They were trying to freeze our Patriarch to death those bad Greeks!! And on top of everything else, the menu at the dinner was “subpar” (stuffed grape leaves, greek salad, and lamb – those “provincial” Greeks – they learned nothing of Ottoman glamour during 400 years of slavery!!)… And finally, the dessert was served very late extending the fatigue of his All-Holiness!!…
Above and below: At the Greek Ambassador’s House, AB Elpidoktonos seems very happy sitting next to his friend, Ambassador Murat Mercan of Turkey, while Greek Ambassador Mrs. Papadopoulou is sitting next to the Patriarch.
The rumors appeared on a popular Athens paper “Protothema.gr” on Monday and caused quite a reaction… On the other side of the Atlantic, Hellasjournal.com came out swinging early Tuesday with a piece titled: “Byzantine” ghosts with damaged stoves in Washington! The miserable attack of Mr. Elpidophoros against the Ambassador of Greece”... The author, M.Ignatiou, the main Greek correspondent in DC, who for years and years was warned by some – including Helleniscope – for his very soft approach to the Archbishop and the “Holy” Archdiocese (he always insisted to put the “Holy” on the title…) kept attacking Elpidoktonos accusing him – and his circles – of lying: The heating system was working perfectly, the Embassy had to follow DC covid rules and he squarely put the blame on AB Elpidophoros for bad planning all along… As for the “Holy” in the GOA title – it was nowhere to be found… The Archbishop had started the week with one of his usual – almost weekly – flops: Creating an issue where there was none and accusing others of his own mistakes… 
Monday started with breakfast at the Turkish Embassy where all seemed to be fine – but Karloutsos was, once again, absent… What had happened? Turkish Embassy – and every Embassy – is considered to be foreign sovereign grounds and Karloutsos is not simply “persona non-grata” (unwanted person) in Turkey but is not allowed to enter the country under the threat of being arrested, because of his participation (along with Fethullah Gulen) in the 2016 coup against President Erdogan…) Obviously, the food was delightful at the Turkish Embassy and the Patriarch felt “at home”… The Turks know how to offer hospitality…
Later on the same day, the visit to the Secretary of State Antony Blinken took place, a completely unremarkable event – except for Karloutsos “bored to death” and obviously disgusted attitude in our main photo – where he is sitting at the end of a table: Everybody is talking except the only one who knows a few things about foreign policy, Karloutsos. Halki Seminary, blah, blah… The plight of Christians in the Middle East and Africa (God forbid we mention Turkey’s human rights abuses, blah.,..blah… blah… and (what else?) … climate change… The official GOA press release (by John Chrysavgis) is more boring than the meeting… “The Ecumenical Patriarch and the Secretary of State held an extended and productive discussion on a number of issues. His All-Holiness raised concerns about the plight of Christians in the Middle East and Northern Africa, addressed the urgent need for appropriate political action in response to the climate crisis, and emphasized the role of inter-religious dialogue for mutual tolerance and peaceful coexistence.” Apparently, Karloutsos is letting the others self-destruct by displaying their ignorance… And he is getting ready for the next phase of the intra-GOA feud…
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Helleniscope calls on each and every one of you, clergy and laity, to follow this link to change.org and sign the declaration of Independence of our Church from the Patriarchate
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Later on Monday night, the meeting at the Oval Office with Biden took place, arranged simply upon the intervention by Karloutsos. Clueless AB Elpidoktonos thought he would achieve it by emailing “sample letters” to the Archons and others, to be submitted to their members of Congress… Finally, a formal letter was sent to the White House by about 50 Senators and 200 Congressmen asking for a private meeting with Biden along with all the other honors to be given to Pat. Bartholomew – to no avail. Karloutsos had to fly to DC late last week to personally intervene for the meeting to happen. The feud between him and AB Elpidoktonos continues and the heat is rising as Karloutsos does not miss an opportunity to express his disgust about “the Janissaries of E. 79th Street” to all… As for the results of the meeting – even more boring than the above with Blinken: pandemic, blah…blah…blah… Climate change, blah…blah…blah… Halki Seminary, blah…blah…blah… But the photos were taken and that’s what counts right? Of course… Nobody expected anything of substance to come out of the meeting with senile Biden.
Finally, what happened to John Catsimatides? He is nowhere to be seen so far… Yes, we know he is busy building a tower in South Florida but this disappearance is not normal for him… Initially, it was heard that he had offered to pay for a 60-seat jet to carry Pat. Bartholomew to DC but then he backed down. Did it happen because he was instructed by his “koumbaro” Karloutsos – who wanted the patriarchal visit to happen next Spring or Summer? Was he disenchanted – like all of us – by AB Elpidoktonos’ visit to the Turkish House inauguration in NYC? Whatever the case, his disappearance, while he is the VP of the Archdiocesan Council, does not bode well for the future of Elpidoktonos in America... But it might be good news for all of us who have demanded independence of our Church from the Turkish rule.
It is about time for Catsimatides and Karloutsos to realize that this is the end of the road. Karloutsos bears the biggest responsibility for the demise of this Church, as he was the one who backstabbed AB Iakovos and started a “friendship” with Bartholomew in the early 1990s, at a time when Iakovos was consolidating his power and was getting ready to unite all Orthodox of the U.S. under his leadership. Karloutsos chose byzantine machinations instead of American independence. Why? On the surface, he will certainly justify it as his commitment to entrenched Greek dreams about the lost “Constantinople”, who will be again “ours” at some future point… But in essence, it was his drive for money and power. A man with such a drive would be more successful if he quit the priesthood and entered politics…
But he made the mistake to stay and he knows it, better than any one of us. His many grandchildren have as little a chance to be part of this Church as mine and yours… And this is a very stark reality. He still carries the title of Vicar General and he still has plenty of actual power behind the scenes. But he also has plenty of legal problems, as Mike’s legal case with the Greek Marihuana is going from bad to worse, while he himself may face serious questioning in the federal investigation of GOA. Above all, a man at the last phase of his life, he is now more concerned about his posthumous reputation than anything else… And so far, the “Prince of Darkness”, as we call him, the “Rasputin” of GOA does not have a chance to leave behind a positive legacy.
He has one and only chance to do so and this is to help rid this Church of all “foreign bodies” and contribute to making it an American Church. AB Iakovos, his mentor and great benefactor, is looking upon him from high above. Without him, Karloutsos, a man with rather mediocre abilities and assets – except for a phonebook with countless VIP’s names that AB Iakovos trusted him with, has to return the favor. He has to help make this Church an American Church as his mentor certainly wanted. “Everything is paid back in this lifetime, both the good and the bad deeds”, a famous Greek saying goes. We are all hoping it will be proven true one more time…
October 26, 2021, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
Helleniscope calls on each and every one of you, clergy and laity, to follow this link to change.org and sign the declaration of Independence of our Church from the Patriarchate
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing, said Albert Einstein. We can avoid responsibility for holding the hierarchy accountable. We can zip our lips and bind our hands and shut our eyes to what has been revealed on this blog. Or we can face the hard ugly truths that we are lazy, that we really do not love God, and do nothing. Soon, the Greek Orthodox Church will disappear into the dustbin of time just like America is.
Look hard at the masked idiots in the photos. It’s insane. They are corrupt Every one of them. Run! Run from them! Save your soul.
Oh so well said Jane and very dismal.
Federation is a total mess and the other corrupt masked ones you mention also. You are right when you say “Run! Run from them! Save your soul.”
This is better than old reruns of “Amos n’ Andy”.
Karloutsos as The Kingfish and ElpiPasha as Andrew H. Brown
With Manatos presiding over the Mystic Knights of the Sea Lodge Hall
Emmanuel as Sapphire and Bart as “Sapphire’s Momma”.
Hahaha. I remember Amos and Andy very well!
Ax, vre Niko…. you talk a good talk but your insistence on “autocephaly” for the Greek Orthodox Church in America is way off base. I said it before and I will say it again (because obviously, you do not know the REAL story): Archbishop Iakovos of blessed memory did not — I repeat, DID NOT — want an autocephalous Church in America. He knew we were not ready for such a thing, and we are STILL not ready for this. The meeting at Ligonier is the key event to focus on and if you really KNEW what happened there, you would know that Iakovos was not pushing for autocephaly. But I will tell you this: IF (and I only say “IF”) the Patriarchate grants autocephaly to the Greek Orthodox Church here in America, you can kiss the Faith goodbye. The first thing they will do is take out the “Greek” and we will simply be an Orthodox Church. Then, they will start cutting-and-pasting the elements of the Faith to their liking, whittling it down to a Protestant-like franchise of what once was. The Greek language will be replaced by English, and the art of Byzantine hymnology will be forced to pasture so that the “mighty” and so-called “choir federation” can have their way of singing Catholic-sounding music with organs and sopranos and four-part harmony (elements that are all foreign to Orthodoxy). Within a generation of autocephaly, your parents and grandparents will be rolling over in their graves because the Orthodox Faith in this country will be unrecognizable. Is THIS what you are supporting?? Although a lot of what you write has some validity to it, you are looking at things through a very cynical and skewed lens. Instead of trying to HELP the situation, you are turning into the National Enquirer of the Hellenic world, and we all know what the National Enquirer is, right? A cheap, satirical, and uncredible “rag” that people buy at a grocery store checkout just so they can get excited over some false “scandal” that is published. Do you really want to go in that direction? You are accomplishing nothing except whipping up the people — the “laos” — the “laoutzikos”, if I may — into a frenzy and turning them away from their Church. And for THAT, my friend, you will have to answer to Someone much higher than you. Think about it…
We can discuss Ligonier all you want but the reality in front of our eyes is that GOA after three decades of Bartholomew’s tenure is a few steps from collapsing – which might in the end be a very good thing, a salvation moment for Orthodoxy in America…
If you believe the preservation of the Greek language is central to the Faith then you do not understand Saint Paul’s message… This is from someone who knows ancient and medieval and modern Greek better than 99.99% of the faithful. Many among the Greek speakers of America have deep regrets for opposing Iakovos on this issue.
If you believe that the bunch of thieves around Phanar, this decadent group of faithless, selfish people given to luxurious lives and all kinds of indulgence are preserving the faith, then you refuse to accept reality… Not to mention their ecumenist views which are turning Orthodoxy into Christianity-lite… These “preservers of the faith” are one step away from having a common liturgy with Muslims and you are talking about “faith”? Stop thinking about Ligonier and ask yourself how many times recently Bartholomew visited Abu-Dhabi for the “Abrahamic House” (and how much money the Emir might have given him each time)…
Exposing the truth is essential – as the scandal of Emmanuel(la) of France has shown. Unless we are ready to accept that calling escorts in a metropolis building and having orgies in that building is acceptable. If the populace knew widely about the Borgias scandals the Papacy and Catholicism would be in a much better place… We know them thanks to Niccolo Machiavelli. Unfortunately, when Niccolo wrote most people could not read, they were medieval peasants. What Nick writes everybody can read and our community is at the top of the list educationally in America. This is a big problem for the Borgias of Phanar… And of East 79th Street…
Hey Greek Ellinas, your instincts and predictions are all built around garlic and Yiayia. Village tales. This is America and the Church will thrive when She is liberated from her abusive, corrupt, addicted mother.
You state, ” I said it before and I will say it again (because obviously, you do not know the REAL story): Archbishop Iakovos of blessed memory did not — I repeat, DID NOT — want an autocephalous Church in America. ”
The way I recall it, Archbishop Iakovos (of outsized ego) did not want the American church to leave simply because he wanted to become Patriarch. Although he was certainly more capable than the current crew of misfits, he presided over the GOA in the ‘best of times’ financially; too many peeps choose to lionize him; unjustifiably. He was preoccupied with politics and his place in history. Often, over the best interests of the GOA.
I can fully elaborate on this, but what matters most today is where we are, today.
Correct, they all threw the keys to each jurisdiction on the table at Ligonier and offered Iakovos the Western Patriarch job. He choked and struck out. Last out, bottom of the ninth. A poor boy from a Greek island and an over-admirer of wealth and power, in the end, he was in over his head and feared tribal scorn more than doing the right thing. Big league looks and demeanor, but an empty suit with major decisions. He was the one who brought Karloutsos to New York and all the flawed homosexual hierarchs.
Unbelievable mess.
My family left Anglican Church for Greek church & now we’ve walked out joining Russians.
And re: Alex Karloutsos, I’ve personally heard so many immoral & disgusting things unbecoming a Priest; to be polite,
suffice to say his “family man” image he’s crafted is a lie.
This so called priest should’ve been defrocked long ago –
both on finance corruption but also sexual promiscuity.
Ellhanas, what do you think about the OCA? You must consider it a protestant church. How about all the other Orthodox jurisdictions that don’t use Greek? Are they less Orthodox? Liturgy is meant to be understood. That is why the apostle Paul writes, “it is better to speak 10 words in a known language than 10,000 words in an unknown language.” In my thinking, scripture has greater validity than your thoughts. Truth is not in a language but rather in a person-Jesus Christ.
What’s left of the GOA in a few years—the really good people and priests—will find their way into the OCA, AOCA and ROCOR. God WILL be merciful!
ELLHNAS: Yes, there is a problem and the answer is simple. Too much Greek and not enough Orthodox.
Kupio Antonis– I’m in my 70’s, and have a memory going back to the time Iakovos of blessed memory gave great “ecomomia” to then governor of NY Carey to marry on the most somber holy day of holy week! –He played politics -who was his advisor back then? He lost much support with the community… There were financial scandals as well— but he wanted to soar like the phoenix into the Patriarchate–very much so— you are correct!
TOO FUNNY! Karloutsos looking disgusted & bored hanging with these musketeers, but didn’t he say he retired?
Me thinks Karloutsos finally getting his richly deserved “karmas” via Elpi,
just as he took out Iakavos.
Nikos,
Thanks for all the information. All very sad. What a mess. Who are these people? What are all of these nightly events? I thought Karloutsos worked hard all these years. What is happening now? Why is he being shunned? I don’t understand any of these activities
musketeers— maskarades— ! !
How very “halloweenish”
I don’t understand all these events at the Hilton for the wealthy. I cannot give money to buy me a little round button pin. Who are these English speaking “Archons” who think they are better than poor me? My church is inside of my body. I pray every day at my little icons in the small place I live. I speak to God inside of my head in my thoughts. Oh God please save all the Greek Orthodox people. God you know better than the ones who claim to know.