By Jackie Morfesis
We are led by an earthly shepherd, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros whose understanding of the spiritual needs of his flock misses the mark again and again. As per the posting by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of his remark in response to the tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas:
“The massacre of so many innocent today in Uvalde, TX, must challenge our Nation to finally address gun violence. This bloody sacrifice of children enabled by the death-culture of guns cannot be justified by appeals to “rights.” What of the right to their lives?”
Of course, these children and every life taken by the hand of wrongdoers deserves to be protected. Yet, the deeper root of “gun violence” from a spiritual and Christian perspective, an Orthodox Christian perspective is not “the death culture of guns” but human evil. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10).”
Not only are we dealing with a “culture” of human evil, but we are also battling spiritual wickedness in the high and heavenly places. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12).”
Yet, to speak God’s Holy Word, to anchor our faith in scriptural truth instead of political correctness would not be in alignment with the culture that Archbishop Elpidophoros glorifies. Let me be perfectly clear, I see no earthly reason why anyone should have access to automatic weapons. I see no reason why we should not have thorough background checks. I see no reason why there should not be an age limit on the purchase of weapons.
Yet, this is not what we are addressing. We are addressing framing the problem of human evil, hatred, and wickedness as solely a gun issue. The hand that pulls the trigger is no longer the primary offender. This is no longer an issue of human violence against innocents, it is an issue of gun violence, again and again.
Language matters. Words matter. The voices of our religious and clerical leaders matter. Yet, what really matters in a culture that celebrates the worldly and not the eternal, are sound bites, Twitter feeds, and political pandering.
Our nation deserves better. Our Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church deserves better. Our faithful who seek guidance and spiritual nourishment in a cultural desert deserve better.
No, Archbishop Elpidophoros, we do not live in a “death culture of guns.” We live in a broken, fallen world that deserves the chance to be made whole. The wholeness found on the life-giving cross that we recently celebrated in the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Yes, we all have the “right to our lives.” We are a “child of God.” As such, we deserve to live in a world that supports our lives not just when it is politically correct to do so. But at all times. We deserve to be protected from violence, destruction, assault, arson, and rioting. We deserve to be given the opportunity to go to school without the threat of being harmed and not returning home to our loved ones. Our loved ones deserve the assurance that their children will be safe in their schools, neighborhoods, public spaces, and houses of worship.
Our spiritual leaders must remember that we serve a Savior who defeated “death with death.” So, the next time we think it is appropriate as Orthodox Christians to tweet that what we are really fighting is a “death culture of guns”, let us have the courage and bold faith to dive deeper into the truth of who we are and who we are meant to be in God’s kingdom. We are fighting something much larger, profound, and impactful than a culture of guns. We are fighting a culture that does not value human life.
Let us be truly radical and stand for justice for all. For every innocent harmed. In every moment and in every circumstance. Only then will we be fulfilling the call to be a disciple of Christ, an Ambassador in His Kingdom, and most intensely and intimately, His child.
Elpi’s statement is wrong in many ways, especially for an alleged spiritual leader. He’s up to his neck in the political swamp but his feet are dry in spiritual waters. No surprises here; he’s pro-BLM, pro-choice on abortion, pro-gay, pro-ecumenism. He repeatedly blabs nonsense on these topics. Now he’s waded into the Second Amendment with no facts, just Leftist political views. I wonder why he stated that a woman should be free to choose between giving birth to her baby or killing it, but an American citizen should not be able to choose to be legally armed or not, as guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights? The Second Amendment rights are not in quotes Elpi. Give your head a shake pal.
He is nothing more than an intellectual mediocrity. He wallows in cultural relativism and his views are more in accordance with those in the world of the secular establishment than in Christian beliefs. He cannot even think logically as his statements show… he is a superficial hollow man.
It is a shame that he occupies this position, where a real spiritual leader is most needed. Lord have mercy on us all.
Very superficial!
Archbishop Elpidoforos is NOT an intellectual mediocrity… but rather an intellectual willful slave to bogus and debunked elitist rhetoric (which curiously has been peddled by the so called “Left” intelligentsia). What is really bothersome is NOT that Archbishop Elpidoforos holds these antiDemocratic views on guns (obviously he is ignorant of the American Constitution it’s amendments but also the legal history of the 2nd amendment)… which can very easily be dealt with. What really bothers me is that he abuses the Pulpit to give hateful, divisive sermons demonizing those that hold opposing views (yesterday for example he parallelized those opposing limitations to the 2nd amendment with the Blind man cured by Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ) and is mixing the Church in politics which is a cardinal mistake (pun both intentional and unintentional) that the Roman Church of the Pope (wrongly called “Catholic”) has been commuting for millenia. Our Archbishop out of ignorance (I hope) or out of superficial half-Knowledge of American political issues is making a big mistake getting mixed up in these battles (including Baby-Killing, 2nd amendment, BLM… etc let alone Russia, COVID, Holy Communion…) with half-baked ignorant views, and adopting positions which are Anti-Democratic, Anti-Church and Anti-Christian… and he is siding with the enemies of Christianity (by Christianity I mean Orthodoxy) cresting schisms snd rifts within our ranks instead of spreading the word and meaning of the gospels outwards.
🙏A licensed gun owner saves children.
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article261819625.html
Send to Elpi! The news kept this hush hush.
Elpi should direct his chatter to the military contractors selling American bombs and weapons. Millions of law abiding Americans have guns and do not go around shooting others. The American government glorifies violence. What else does America produce beside weapons of mass destruction?
Great point Jane. Why does he not protest the supplying of much more deadly weaponry to Zelenskyy? Weaponry used to kill other Orthodox Christians? Oh, I forgot, his bosses in DC and Istanbul sent him the memo.
Good question. I just heard that US will send long range missiles to Ukraine. Hope this is false news.
Unfortunately it’s not fake news. The perrenial ZionistoPuppeteered Anglosaxon warmongers have already started a war against Russia using Ukraine and its people as canon fodder.
When Cain killed Abel, God did not get rid of the rocks. America is experiencing a societal breakdown due to the leftist neocons. We are in a civil war. It’s been a long time coming. We will know soon if it turns into a revolution. America was republic founded on the Ten Commandments, Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Elpi supports perversion and speaks against against the Constitution. Go home Elpi. Go back to Turkey. We do not need your voice here.
Totally agree, Jackie!
However….. we need to protect ourselves bc the heavily armed right wing in the USA is what this evil force fears. We cannot comply, we cannot go down without a fight!
Someone needs to tell Elpi, in America, we have
Second Amendment Right to Bear Arms. Passed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified December 15, 1791. The first 10 amendments form the Bill of Rights. A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed!!!
He should talk to his home boys who actually fund and give away these assault weapons of mass shootings, conveniently placed in poor, urban locations. All planned and executed the way of the globalist swine.
The fish smells from the head…George Soros!
“You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.” Winston Churchill
“When any nation mistrusts it’s citizens with guns, it’s sending a clear message, it no longer trusts its citizens bc such a government has evil plans. “
George Washington
My heart bleeds for the children and adults who have perished. May God carry them home and alleviate the pain and suffering of the families…
A summing up of Elpi’s legacy to date.
https://orthodoxreflections.com/orthodox-episcopal-aloofness-with-a-side-of-cake/
Truth be known! On point article.
There were no mass shootings in the fifties as I recall. There were very few in the sixties. As the social fabric was destroyed, false flag mass shootings took hold.
People had guns back then and plenty of them. Disarm this nation and cry because the totalitarian government will be in full bloom. Look what happened during the Covid debacle in Australia.
Uvalde massacre was a PLANNED STAND DOWN operation – law enforcement saved their own children while parents were pepper-sprayed, tackled, and handcuffed!!!
NRA NRA NRA NRA NRA 🇺🇸
Calling out all militias!
Once again, Abp. Elpidophorous shows himself to be a superficial thinker and lukewarm teacher when he blames the “culture of guns” and our Constitutional rights, rather than the evildoers themselves, the immorality in our society, the culture of violence, the entertainment and video gaming industries that glorify gratuitous violence and constantly promote the irresponsible use of guns, the refusal of politicians to effectively punish criminals and protect innocence, and the abandonment of GOD and rejection of moral principles by most schools and institutions in America driven by leftist and progressive academics.
As I warned in 2019, America faces a moral crisis, not a gun control problem. As God and morality are purged from all our institutions, darkness, chaos, evil, and violence grow to fill in the gap.
There is no political solution or regulation that will stop these evildoers. Only more armed law-abiding citizens and a true spiritual and moral revival will help reduce these atrocities and protect innocent lives.
America Has a Moral Crisis, Not a Gun Control Problem
https://orthodoxnet.com/blog/2019/08/america-has-a-moral-crisis-not-a-gun-control-problem/
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Bravo Chris!
Thanks for posting a powerful article.
Chris Banescu – Excellent post.
Send it to Elpi’s office!
Two summers ago- maiming, killing, rioting was going on—- who bailed them out and let them loose—? the liberal pro-antifa- pro-blm, pro-abortion ones –until he, and others denounce the “summer of hate and violence” of 2020– their credibility with certain members of his and everyone else’s “flock” is a big Zero!
Well said Larissa… the shallow feckless AB
Elpidoforos – aka- “ElpiNotForUs” will never denounce summer of 2020 – bc he’s GOA’s
& Joe Biden ‘s puppet & together they worship woke