ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΜΕΤΑΦΡΑΣΗ ΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΕΙ
By Nick Stamatakis
A few days or weeks before he is no longer Archbishop of America, AB Elpidophoros took an unannounced trip to Greece and proceeded to legitimize gay marriage by baptizing the children of a famous gay couple (born by surrogate mother)!! I am truly incredulous writing these lines as this initiative by the Archbishop is something that should never have happened in Orthodoxy, where all such serious decisions are made democratically – synodically. Yet, for one more time, AB Elpidophoros chooses to shove down our throats whatever novelty pleases his globalist masters…
But let’s take things one at a time… You can read the full story in the posts added below but in a few words here it is: On Saturday (yesterday) night AB Elpidophoros baptized the children of famous fashion designer Peter Dundas (of Norwegian descent) and Evangelo Bousis, an actor, son of billionaire Jim Bousis and Eleni Bousis of Chicago. The gay couple is married and live in Los Angeles and some years ago started this intense effort to “create a family” by a form of adoption that is used by straight or gay couples in recent years, using a surrogate mother. And in that method, they had two children, Alexios (born last year) and Eleni (newborn). California laws facilitated the whole process as they have declared in their posts and interviews (at the end of this post).
First, let me get out of the way one thing that I have heard several times from multiple people in Chicago: The Bousis Family has a heart of gold and they have helped numerous people in their philanthropic causes. And the two married men made their choices according to the laws of the State where they live, California. This post is not about the – proven – great heart of the Bousis family or their billions. And this not about the legal choices of the two gay men. It is about the principles of Orthodoxy and – by extension – Christianity. And it is essentially about the unfortunate leadership choices of a novelist, ecumenist and globalist Archbishop, Elpidophoros. And his relentless pursuit of transforming – with his less than mediocre theological stature – the most traditionalist Christian Church…
Since he was enthroned (and even before he was), Elpidophoros made a conscious choice to depart from most traditions even some very sacred traditions of our Church. But let’s examine the theological issues one by one.
- Neither the Catholic nor the Orthodox Church recognizes gay marriage – and there are statements by the Pope and by the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops in America.
- For the kids to be baptized in an Orthodox Church the parents must be both Orthodox and if married, they must be married in the Church (please link here for a typical sample of prerequisites for baptism from one of our Churches).
- On this serious issue, the Catholic Church and Orthodoxy usually recognize that “guilt or sin is not inherited” and so they usually proceed to baptize all children regardless of the status of their parents.
- A serious prerequisite seems (for the particular case of surrogate mother) to be that the presence of the natural (surrogate) mother is required for a valid baptism; in most other respects it is considered equivalent to adoption. And so in our photos, you will notice that next to the gay couple, the kids, Elpidophoros, the godparents the surrogate mother was there in Athens.
- As you will read (here is the link) about such experiences in the Catholic Church, pastors have been struggling with the decision. A basic requirement from the point of view of the Church is that the parents would raise the child according to the teachings of the Church. This is a very thorny issue for Orthodoxy and Catholicism: If gay marriage is not allowed, would the parents teach that to the baptized child? Furthermore, in our case, you will see that the two gay parents, Peter Dundas and Ev Bousis, are openly against the teachings of the Church and are considering their choices a matter of progress. Says Peter Dundas in the interview with Vogue (below): “What I don’t get about the Supreme Court ruling [that a Catholic social services agency in Philadelphia could refuse to work with same-sex couples who apply to take in foster children], what is the purpose? Do they really think in 10 years from now that’s gonna fly? I don’t think so for a minute. It becomes this holding off on the inevitable, and progress in our society.”
- The requirement about raising the child (children) according to the baptismal faith became important because if the baptized child is not to be raised according to the faith then what is the meaning of baptism? Additionally, in the link w provided, many Catholic pastors were worried that if such a requirement was not there then the baptism would become a vehicle for the (indirect) recognition of gay marriage.
- The case of an illegitimate child is very clarifying here: The Church does not support abortion and the mother in such a case is considered able to raise the child according to faith. But in the case of the gay couple, this is simply not possible…
- In our case were the godparents, supermodel Bianca Brandolini and Eugenia Niarchos, Orthodox? Very doubtful in the first case… How can an orthodox baptism take place without Orthodox godparents?
As you can see these are very complicated, thorny issues, that do not pertain to the individual will of ANY ONE church leader, especially in the synodical, democratically organized Orthodoxy. Things become even more complicated as Eleni Bousis, mother of Evagelo Bousis, is a member of the Archdiocesan Council of GOARCH…
Elpidophoros did not simply take a risk but he created a hole out of which he will never rise… He alienated the overwhelming majority of the followers of the faith… Yes, of course, as an Archbishop he had the right to perform the baptism – and this is why he needed to be there – BUT ONLY IN HIS JURISDICTION. If a priest was in his place, the baptism would not happen in the Church… Elpidophoros certainly needed the permission of the local Metropolitan… this Metropolitan and the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece will have to explain themselves…
The other question is, how much money was he (Elpidophoros) paid to perform such a ceremony against the rules and traditions of the Church? We are receiving some information that this was not the first case of an Archbishop making such heretic ceremonies… And again, he acted outside the rules and principles of the Church. In Orthodoxy, such decisions are made democratically in Synods…
This event is certain to rock GOARCH to its foundations. We have reported recently that AB Elpidophoros is on his way out – to possibly be replaced by someone else (the name of AB Nikitas of Thyateira is being discussed). His recent actions, such as the consecration of an unfinished Saint Nicholas prove that he is actually on the way out. And now this ceremony is the cherry on top of his departure…
For we do not see any way on Earth that he can come back to New York and keep pretending to be the Archbishop of this Church that is craving for traditionalism and spirituality…
July 10, 2022, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
PS. Even the gays are seething against AB Elpidophoros as they respect the laws of the Church. Many among them may prefer the laws to change but they want it done in the right way. Many others want to keep their preferences private.
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
BELOW IS THE GREEK TRANSLATION ALONG WITH TWO VIDEOS AND SOME INTERESTING LINKS…
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Νομιμοποίησε Ο Αρχ. Ελπιδοφόρος τους γάμους ομοφυλόφιλων μέσω βάπτισης;
Του Νίκου Σταματάκη
Λίγες μέρες ή εβδομάδες πριν πάψει να είναι Αρχιεπίσκοπος Αμερικής, ο ΑΒ Ελπιδοφόρος έκανε ένα απροειδοποίητο ταξίδι στην Ελλάδα και προχώρησε στη νομιμοποίηση των γάμων ομοφυλοφίλων βαφτίζοντας τα παιδιά ενός διάσημου γκέι ζευγαριού (που γεννήθηκε από παρένθετη μητέρα)!! Είναι πραγματικά δύσκολο να πιστέψω ότι γράφω αυτές τις γραμμές καθώς αυτή η πρωτοβουλία του Αρχιεπισκόπου είναι κάτι που δεν έπρεπε ποτέ να συμβεί στην Ορθοδοξία, όπου όλες οι τόσο σοβαρές αποφάσεις λαμβάνονται δημοκρατικά – συνοδικά. Ωστόσο, για άλλη μια φορά, ο ΑΒ Ελπιδοφόρος επιλέγει να μας επιβάλλει εκβιαστικά ό,τι καινοτομία ευχαριστεί τους παγκοσμιοποιητές αφέντες του…
Αλλά ας πάρουμε τα πράγματα ένα-ένα… Μπορείτε να διαβάσετε ολόκληρη την ιστορία στις αναρτήσεις που προστέθηκαν παρακάτω, αλλά με λίγα λόγια εδώ τα γεγονότα: Το Σάββατο (χθες) το βράδυ ο Αρχ. Ελπιδοφόρος βάφτισε τα παιδιά του διάσημου σχεδιαστή μόδας Peter Dundas (Νορβηγικής καταγωγής) και του Ευάγγελου Μπούση, ηθοποιός, γιού του δισεκατομμυριούχου Τζιμ Μπούση και της Ελένης Μπούση από το Σικάγο. Το ομοφυλόφιλο ζευγάρι είναι παντρεμένο και ζει στο Λος Άντζελες και πριν από μερικά χρόνια ξεκίνησε αυτή την έντονη προσπάθεια «δημιουργίας οικογένειας» με μια μορφή υιοθεσίας που χρησιμοποιείται από στρέιτ ή ομοφυλόφιλα ζευγάρια τα τελευταία χρόνια, χρησιμοποιώντας παρένθετη μητέρα. Με αυτή τη μέθοδο απέκτησαν δύο παιδιά, τον Αλέξιο (γεννήθηκε πέρυσι) και την Ελένη (νεογέννητο). Οι νόμοι της Καλιφόρνιας διευκόλυναν την όλη διαδικασία όπως έχουν δηλώσει στις αναρτήσεις και τις συνεντεύξεις τους (στο τέλος αυτής της ανάρτησης).
Πρώτον, επιτρέψτε μου να ξεκινήσω με ένα στοιχείο που έχω ακούσει πολλές φορές από πολλούς ανθρώπους στο Σικάγο: Η οικογένεια Μπούση έχει χρυσή καρδιά και έχει βοηθήσει πολλούς ανθρώπους στους φιλανθρωπικούς τους σκοπούς. Και οι δύο παντρεμένοι έκαναν τις επιλογές τους σύμφωνα με τους νόμους της Πολιτείας όπου ζουν, της Καλιφόρνια. Αυτή η ανάρτηση δεν αφορά την – αποδεδειγμένα – μεγάλη καρδιά της οικογένειας Μπούση ή τα δισεκατομμύρια της. Και ούτε τις νομικές επιλογές των δύο ομοφυλόφιλων ανδρών. Πρόκειται για τις αρχές της Ορθοδοξίας και – κατ’ επέκταση – του Χριστιανισμού. Και πρόκειται ουσιαστικά για τις ατυχείς ηγετικές επιλογές ενός νεωτεριστή, οικουμενιστή και παγκοσμιοποιητή Αρχιεπισκόπου Ελπιδοφόρου και την αδυσώπητη επιδίωξή του να μεταμορφώσει – με το κάτω του μετρίου θεολογικό του ανάστημα- την πιο παραδοσιακή Χριστιανική Εκκλησία, την Ορθοδοξία…
Από τότε που ενθρονίστηκε (και πριν ακόμα ενθρονιστεί), ο Ελπιδοφόρος έκανε συνειδητή επιλογή να απομακρυνθεί από τις περισσότερες παραδόσεις ακόμα και από κάποιες πολύ ιερές παραδόσεις της Εκκλησίας μας. Ας εξετάσουμε όμως ένα προς ένα τα θεολογικά ζητήματα.
- Ούτε η Καθολική ούτε η Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία αναγνωρίζουν τους γάμους ομοφυλοφίλων – και υπάρχουν δηλώσεις του Πάπα και της Συνέλευσης των Ορθοδόξων Επισκόπων στην Αμερική.
- Για να βαφτιστούν τα παιδιά σε Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία, οι γονείς πρέπει να είναι και οι δύο Ορθόδοξοι και αν είναι παντρεμένοι, πρέπει να έχουν παντρευτεί στην Εκκλησία. (Εδώ ένας τυπικός κατάλογος προϋποθέσεων για τη βάπτιση)
- Σε αυτό το σοβαρό θέμα, η Καθολική Εκκλησία και η Ορθοδοξία συνήθως αναγνωρίζουν ότι «η ενοχή ή η αμαρτία δεν κληρονομείται» και έτσι συνήθως προχωρούν στη βάπτιση όλων των παιδιών ανεξάρτητα από την κατάσταση των γονιών τους.
- Σοβαρή προϋπόθεση φαίνεται (για τη συγκεκριμένη περίπτωση παρένθετης μητέρας) να είναι η παρουσία της φυσικής (παρένθετης) μητέρας για έγκυρη βάπτιση – και κατά τα άλλα θεωρείται ισοδύναμη με υιοθεσία. Και έτσι στις φωτογραφίες μας θα παρατηρήσετε ότι δίπλα στο γκέι ζευγάρι, τα παιδιά, τον Ελπιδοφόρο, τους νονούς ήταν εκεί στην Αθήνα η παρένθετη μητέρα.
- Όπως θα διαβάσετε (εδώ είναι ο σύνδεσμος) για τέτοιες εμπειρίες στην Καθολική Εκκλησία, οι πάστορες δυσκολεύονται με την απόφαση. Βασική απαίτηση από την πλευρά της Εκκλησίας είναι οι γονείς να αναθρέψουν το παιδί σύμφωνα με τις διδασκαλίες της Εκκλησίας. Αυτό είναι ένα πολύ ακανθώδες ζήτημα για την Ορθοδοξία και τον Καθολικισμό: Εάν δεν επιτραπεί ο γάμος ομοφυλοφίλων, θα το διδάσκουν οι γονείς στο βαφτισμένο παιδί; Επιπλέον, στην περίπτωσή μας, θα δείτε ότι οι δύο ομοφυλόφιλοι γονείς, ο Peter Dundas και ο Ev Bousis, είναι ανοιχτά ενάντια στις διδασκαλίες της Εκκλησίας και θεωρούν εκεί τις επιλογές θέμα προόδου. Εδώ είναι ο Peter Dundas στη συνέντευξη στη Vogue (παρακάτω): «Τι δεν καταλαβαίνω για την απόφαση του Ανωτάτου Δικαστηρίου [ότι μια καθολική υπηρεσία κοινωνικών υπηρεσιών στη Φιλαδέλφεια θα μπορούσε να αρνηθεί να συνεργαστεί με ομόφυλα ζευγάρια που υποβάλλουν αίτηση για ανάδοχα παιδιά ], ποιος είναι ο σκοπός; Σκέφτονται πραγματικά σε 10 χρόνια από τώρα αυτό θα πετάξει; Δεν το νομίζω ούτε ένα λεπτό. Γίνεται αυτή η συγκράτηση του αναπόφευκτου και η πρόοδος στην κοινωνία μας.”
- Η απαίτηση σχετικά με την ανατροφή του παιδιού (ή παιδιών) σύμφωνα με τη βαπτιστική πίστη έγινε σημαντική γιατί αν το βαφτισμένο παιδί δεν πρέπει να ανατραφεί σύμφωνα με την πίστη, τότε ποιο είναι το νόημα του βαπτίσματος; Επιπλέον, στον σύνδεσμο που παρέχεται, πολλοί Καθολικοί πάστορες ανησυχούσαν ότι εάν δεν υπήρχε τέτοια απαίτηση, τότε το βάπτισμα θα γινόταν όχημα για την (έμμεση) αναγνώριση του γάμου ομοφυλοφίλων.
- Η περίπτωση του εξώγαμου παιδιού είναι εδώ πολύ ξεκαθαρισμένη: Η Εκκλησία δεν υποστηρίζει την έκτρωση και η μητέρα σε μια τέτοια περίπτωση θεωρείται ικανή να αναθρέψει το παιδί σύμφωνα με την πίστη. Στην περίπτωση όμως του γκέι ζευγαριού αυτό απλά δεν γίνεται…
- Στην περίπτωσή μας ήταν οι νονοί, το supermodel Bianca Brandolini και η Ευγενία Νιάρχος, Ορθόδοξοι; Πολύ αμφίβολο στην πρώτη περίπτωση… Πώς μπορεί να γίνει μια ορθόδοξη βάπτιση χωρίς ορθόδοξους νονούς;Όπως μπορείτε να δείτε αυτά είναι πολύ περίπλοκα, ακανθώδη ζητήματα, που δεν αφορούν την ατομική βούληση ΚΑΝΕΝΟΣ εκκλησιαστικού ηγέτη, ειδικά στη συνοδική, δημοκρατικά οργανωμένη Ορθοδοξία. Τα πράγματα γίνονται ακόμη πιο περίπλοκα καθώς η Ελένη Μπούση, μητέρα του Ευάγγελου Μπούση, είναι μέλος του Αρχιεπισκοπικού Συμβουλίου της Αρχιεπισκοπής Αμερικής…
Ο Ελπιδοφόρος δεν ρίσκαρε απλά αλλά δημιούργησε μια τρύπα από την οποία δεν θα βγεί ποτέ… Αποξένωσε τη συντριπτική πλειοψηφία των πιστών… Ναι, φυσικά, ως Αρχιεπίσκοπος είχε το δικαίωμα να εκτελέσει τη βάπτιση – και γι’ αυτό χρειαζόταν να είναι εκεί – ΑΛΛΑ ΜΟΝΟ ΣΤΗ ΧΩΡΑ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΔΟΣΙΑΣ ΤΟΥ. Αν ήταν ένας ιερέας στη θέση του, η βάπτιση δεν θα γινόταν στην Εκκλησία… Στην περίπτωσή μας χρειαζόταν την άδεια του τοπικού Μητροπολίτη. Αυτός ο Μητροπολίτης, όπως και η Ιερά Σύνοδος της Εκκλησίας της Ελλάδας οφείλουν εξηγήσεις…
Το άλλο ερώτημα που προκύπτει είναι πόσα χρήματα πληρώθηκαν στον Ελπιδοφόρο για να κάνει μια τέτοια τελετή ενάντια στους κανόνες και τις παραδόσεις της Εκκλησίας; Λαμβάνουμε κάποιες πληροφορίες ότι δεν ήταν η πρώτη περίπτωση Αρχιεπίσκοπου να κάνει τέτοιες τελετές… Και πάλι ενήργησε εκτός κανόνων και αρχών της Εκκλησίας. Στην Ορθοδοξία τέτοιες αποφάσεις λαμβάνονται δημοκρατικά στις Συνόδους…
Αυτό το γεγονός είναι βέβαιο ότι θα συγκλονίσει την Αρχιεπισκοπή Αμερικής στα θεμέλιά του. Πρόσφατα αναφέραμε ότι ο ΑΒ Ελπιδοφόρος βρίσκεται σε έξοδο – για να τον αντικαταστήσει ενδεχομένως κάποιος άλλος (συζητείται το όνομα του ΑΒ Νικήτα των Θυατείρων). Οι πρόσφατες ενέργειές του, όπως ο αγιασμός ενός ημιτελούς Αγίου Νικολάου, αποδεικνύουν ότι στην πραγματικότητα βρίσκεται στην έξοδο. Και τώρα αυτή η τελετή είναι το κεράσι στην κορυφή της αναχώρησής του…
Γιατί δεν βλέπουμε κανέναν τρόπο να μπορεί να επιστρέψει στη Νέα Υόρκη και να συνεχίσει να προσποιείται ότι είναι ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος αυτής της Εκκλησίας που λαχταρά την παραδοσιακότητα και την πνευματικότητα…
ΥΓ. Ακόμη και οι ομοφυλόφιλοι εξανίστανται κατά του Αρχ. Ελπιδοφόρου καθώς σέβονται τους νόμους της Εκκλησίας. Πολλοί από αυτούς μπορεί να προτιμούν να αλλάξουν οι νόμοι, αλλά θέλουν να γίνει με τον σωστό τρόπο. Πολλοί άλλοι θέλουν να κρατήσουν τις προτιμήσεις τους ιδιωτικές.
July 10, 2022, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
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BELOW TWO SHORT VIDEOS FROM THE CEREMONY
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You can learn more about the couple by linking here for a presentation of their story in out.com
AND BELOW THEIR INTERVIEW IN VOGUE REFERRED TO ABOVE
On His First Father’s Day, Peter Dundas Shares a Message of Love for All Parents
Peter: Alexios was born on Monday morning at like 2:45, so I guess he’s going on five days now, which is crazy. He’s amazing and it’s an amazing experience, but it was a little bit daunting at first: You’re kind of afraid to go to sleep. Is he breathing? Is he alright? Is he too warm? Is he too hot? Every day he’s changing, and his eyes are opening a little bit more. He’s a real observer.
We started talking about parenthood quite soon after we met. EV brought it up to me and I was all for it. I didn’t think that it was anything we needed to rush, but it’s been quite a long journey. You kind of think that because you have the aid of science that it’s going to be, you know, something easy or something quick, but emotionally and in terms of your involvement in it, it isn’t at all.
From an emotional point of view, making the leap into parenthood, it makes a big change. I used to say, when people asked, ‘what’s your favorite look?’ in a collection, I was like, ‘how do you pick your favorite child?’ I’m not going to be saying that anymore, obviously. It’s really special because he decided to come on my mother’s birthday and, as you know, I lost my mother when I was three years old, so it was really, really special that he came on that day.
EV: Having friends [who’ve had a baby via surrogacy] kind of helped us prepare ourselves a little bit for what the experience would be. And being in LA made everything easier: It’s normal here to have a family the way we’ve created our family. No one kind of looks at you or asks you weird questions. You’d be surprised, people don’t know that much about it or how two men can have a baby, even when we’re living in 2021. We still get questions about it.
Peter: People are on so many different levels on certain things in society, and it changes from city to city, or from your friends even, and it’s not ill meant or anything like that, but it’s just how they’ve been conditioned, and it just slips out of them. They don’t even really think about it. I know people that have moved to LA for that reason. Here their child can go to school where there are other couples like ours. So they’re not like, you know, the strange one out; they’re not the only one there that has two dads or two moms. You think about those things now. Also to try to set an example.
EV: Peter and I spoke about this a lot during the whole process. You’d be surprised how many people don’t talk about it because they want privacy, but then what’s the point of having a voice, if you don’t actually talk to people about the situation to kind of make it better, for younger people to see that it is normal. I remember when Peter and I went to the first doctor’s appointment together, he was kind of silent. He said, ‘I didn’t think this would be possible when I was younger, that I could have a baby and we could have a family.’ We owe a lot to our surrogate and all the surrogates out there.
Peter: My family hasn’t been able to travel from Norway, but they’re sending handmade bonnets, good Norwegian style, and books on child raising. It’s been really amazing having my in-laws here. EV’s parents and his sisters are here, as well. The baby’s very, very loved. Very loved.
EV: Today we’re taking the baby for his first church outing, so he can get blessed by the priest. My mom’s like, we have to take the baby to get blessed by a priest before anybody sees him, so we’re excited about that. We have a nurse here but we take turns feeding and changing the diaper. We also had to start working the day after we came back from the hospital. In our wishful thinking we thought we were going to have a break, but that never happens. My parents did a very true LA welcoming; there were crazy balloons everywhere and the house was filled with flowers. It’s really nice to see all the support from your friends that you have and all the love you feel.
Peter: I think of us more as a family now. Of course I thought about it: You know, how are we going to raise him? What are the best ways? But I didn’t think about us as this unit until now, which is really wonderful. We want to treasure this moment as much as we can. It’s so great when you have him just laying on your stomach and he’s just in diapers and he falls asleep—it’s magic. It’s magic and your emotions keep getting stronger every day, so you kind of want more of them. So I think Father’s Day is probably going to be focused very much about that.
EV: You want all these things that you think are important, but then at some point you’re just like, I just want my baby to come out healthy and be okay. There’s this saying in Greek, your soul is in your throat. I wanted all these things: I wanted a baby that looks like Peter and this and that. And then you’re just like, hold on, I just want a healthy baby.
Peter: You want them to be healthy and happy, and hopefully have a good heart, and grow up in a world that is good to live in as well. I think about that now more than ever. You want your children to grow up in a good world.
EV: Hopefully things will change, the way gay couples are looked at having a family. I think the more people talk about it, the better I think it is just to normalize it all because it should be something normal. We always wanted to have a family and now we can, and everyone should be able to.
Peter: What I don’t get about the Supreme Court ruling [that a Catholic social services agency in Philadelphia could refuse to work with same-sex couples who apply to take in foster children], what is the purpose? Do they really think in 10 years from now that’s gonna fly? I don’t think so for a minute. It becomes this holding off on the inevitable, and progress in our society. Why on earth hold off on that? Don’t you want all children to grow up feeling comfortable with who they are and that they can have a future, that they can have a family, that they can have everything that everyone thinks are their rights? Don’t you want that?
SATANIC…
“If a Priest was in his place, this baptism would not have happened”
Archbishop Nikitas of England cannot get here soon enough to replace this humongous failure Elpidoforos!
God help our orthodox church!
At best, he’s arrogant and ignorant which I doubt.
He’s SATANIC.
What are we going to do about it? Start and sign a Petition on Change.org.
Ah yes. That’s from Canon XVI.V of the First-Second Synod. “If a Bishop engages in heretical perversion, start a petition on change.org.”
Just admit you’re mad you invested so much in GOARCH but let it go. It’s just donations. Save your soul.
Yes start a Petition !
Stand up and defend our Orthodox Christian Faith 🙏
The only thing that would top this off would be Karloutsos as the Nouno.
Apollo 11’s Armstrong, Aldren and Collins received Medals of Freedom —oh, and Alex, because he’s in their league, right?
Look, big checks buy anything in the world-wide Greek Orthodox Criminal Conspiracy. Billionaires do as they wish with patriarchs and archbishops because the hierarchs are mostly religious prostitutes. There’s a long history of this, including Prince Charles’s (the future head of the Church of England) being the Nouno to King Constantine’s kid—baptized by the patriarch.
Why do you seem so amazed and indignant at the church’s corruption? It’s as plain as the nose on your face and happens hourly. Get over it, it’s the new normal.
“Rules for thee but not for me”
#justwalkout – Nouno?
Please explain but, think I get your drift…
Oh yea, Rasputin Karloutsos will Sell Out anything and even prostitute his own corpse as I’ve heard from Archons and assorted credible people if it means millions$$$
Psychiatrists long declared homosexuality is mental illness {before PC} and this disorder suffers a certain trait: intense hostility – so here we notice how hypocritical and greedy they truly are. Yes? {Especially the rich ones}
First when gay marriage got legal the Queer
Mafia cried they didn’t want to bother Church or Temple but now they do! And the rich monied gays know they can push this dark agenda over easy by showing off their generosity on public and especially on fellow queer idiot Elpidophoros so they can destroy Orthodoxy which they know is against their mega sin; but this egregious sinfulness is against the Holy Spirit – it’s a desecration of the divine sexual sphere and AIDS is no accident, it began with sodomites and attacks mostly sodomites. From Genesis in
the Garden of Eden we know it was Adam & Eve – a male & female, not Adam & Steve! Notice GOA propaganda is giving awards called Human Rights Award and it’s clearly invented to delete canons of Orthodoxy and blow apart gospel of Jesus Christ as leftist gays resent throughout Holy Bible there’s never a positive mention of any homosexuals, there’s no gay weddings; Jesus only went to wedding of a man and woman and even the great golden mouth, Saint John Chrysostom mentions that no
homosexuals were allowed even on steps of ecclesia but today they’re glorified by sicko Archbishops?
A N A X I O S
I don’t see a problem with it Steven. I never heard anything like that from psychiatrists, I think you are making stuff up.. I have plenty of friends in Greece who are in the LGBT community. There are also many who suffer in silence as well, out of fear. What is your problem if they want to live their life that way? Also I don’t see anything wrong with what the priest did, it’s people like you who destroy the religion. Why do you care how they choose to live their life? and what they do with their children? Be happy the priest is trying to spread love, and show that we all belong in the world, instead of not baptizing their child, and spreading hatred.
I am sure Steve Lincoln will give the proper answer to this intellectually deprived response, but from our point of view, here it is:
1) We love all people Christians, and all are invited to save their souls in the Orthodox Church – regardless of their particular identities.
2) The moment you enter the Church, your identity stays outside, and Saint Paul’s message takes over.
3) We do follow the Bible and the writings of the Holy Fathers, and we disapprove of sexual choices that go against nature.
4) The Church has rules, and we will not let a tiny minority apply their rules to the rest of us. They are welcome to save their souls, but the rules were made hundreds and thousands of years ago…
If you are so convinced, why don’t you try this bs on the Orthodox Jewish community and see what they say? Better yet, why don’t you invite Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer – who visits regularly Orthodox synagogues in Brooklyn and elsewhere – to accept gay marriage within these synagogues?…
This is where your bravery and your “conviction” will stop…
Lord Jesus Christ the son of God have mercy on us❗
Omg! Queen A, concentrate on the children…. although a long shot, by some holy intervention, these beautiful babies might grow up to become leaders of Orthodoxy; teaching and spreading the traditional values of our church. One never knows, God only knows….let us pray for them.
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
The children here are victims and are being used by the “couple”. They are likely to be taught about an anti Christian lifestyle growing up and will be pushed away from God. Everything about this from the gay guys to the surrogate mother is morally reprehensible.
Adding to the blasphemy are the pro homosexual comments from the various people involved in this affair. These people have no idea about Orthodoxy.
The greater sin in all this lies with the Archbishop who has betrayed his office and the holy gospel. We must all demand his expulsion from the holy priesthood.
It’s not that Elpidoforos is ignorant, all of his actions are done by design. The people who are his handlers and who give him his instructions, (because he’s not this clever), specifically tell him to do these things in order to target and hurt Greece and Orthodoxy. If you look at his previous actions involving the incident with the Turks at the UN, then with the Turks in Komotini-that was to embarrass the Greek-American community as well as the Greek government-and now this incident with the baptism was done to undermine the church of Greece’s position on gay marriage. Elpidoforos-who’s name by the way was specifically chosen to try to fool people that he will bring hope-just like Obama’s slogan-“hope” was specifically chosen, is not a Greek, in fact his mother is Syrian. He may say things such as he supports Greece and the Greek language but he is a Turk at heart and he despises Greece and especially the Greek people. Remember how he didn’t want to allow clergy to write letters of exemption for the vaccine? that was to hurt Greek-Americans by forcing them to either take a vaccine they were against or to lose their jobs. Unlike the archbishop of Athens who took a stand against the nazis during WW2 and refused to give the names of Jews to be sent to concentration camps, he did the opposite and refused to help the Greeks he represents. In the case of this baptism, he specifically flew down to Greece to do this baptism in order to create a chaotic situation and undermine Orthodoxy and the Church of Greece because no bishop or priest in Greece would have done this, so they needed to bring in an outsider to do this. He is trying to create a precedent and a scandal. He must have been paid very, very well for this act of insolence and I’ll bet that the gay couple were in on it too for the same reasons. I highly doubt they did this because they believe in Orthodoxy and wanted an Orthodox baptism for the baby. In America he is creating chaos within the church by bringing in all of his buddies from Istanbul-most of whom are uneducated and who don’t even speak basic English, and he is installing them in various communities without even the input of any church council members in those communities. Most priests that he’s brought in would not even be considered 3rd rate tier in Greece, yet he is bringing in as many as he can to create a support base to cement his position as archbishop. One thing however he does not understand is that God is in control and has the final say. He may make his little plans and do whatever he wants thinking he’s clever, but God has the last word and at the end of the day Elpidoforos is nothing but a little foolish man who is only fooling himself.
Elpi is not an archbishop. Stop calling him that. Elpi is swine. Elpi is destroying all of you. Do not call him Archbishop!!
Could these two creeps that use the last organ of the digestive system as a sexual tunnel be pedophiles, too? That baby is in grave danger. Your going to have to walk away from 5013C churches. Admit it to yourself. The GOA is chained to Hell. Yes. Hell. Stop denying what action you need to take. Your silence is your consent. The entire structure of the GOA is infected with Marxist ideology.
The real goal at the top of the Cultural Marxist food chain is to prove in the minds of as many people as possible that “God was wrong.”
https://www.orthodoxytoday.org/blog/2022/06/three-strategies-to-stop-the-lgbtqia-supremacy-agenda/
“Not only for every idle word must man give an account, but for every idle silence.” ~ St. Ambrose
Stop trying to figure out how to apply Orthodox teaching to Elpi’s actions. Orthodox teaching is clear about sodomites.
Straight from the Devil’s Cauldron!
& I agree it’s by design.
Let’s pray rumors are true Elpidoktonos is on the way out –
Question: does Bartholomew know about this trash?
Even flaky Pope Francis is against blessing gay stuff.
Elpidoforos may be on his way out but what if on his way out of the GOARCH becomes the Ecumenical Patriarch? What then?
The baptism could have been performed in Elpidoforos jurisdiction of LA California and few would have been scandalized !
Where is the HUMILITY that all clergy should have?
No. The Baptism should not have been performed. Evildoers swept into the church – including the surrogate mother to create chaos.
The devil uses chaos to destroy God’s church.
Which of the two roommates is the biological father? Was the surrogate th biological mother or simply carried the embryo in Her womb which was created externally? This shows that child trafficking, reproductive slavery is what’s behind the LGBT movement which starts of course with the child trafficking and the tax abatement that childless heterosexual couple get illicitly. So we need to ban child trade and trafficking (that’s what Ukraine has been used for nice Russia put a stop in that) from heterosexual couples (euphemized as adoption) and cancel tax breaks for childless couples which technically fraud. Childless couples are no different than roommates regardless of the biological sex of the roomates. Solve this injustice and then lots of progress will have been made. But if we allow heterosexual to traffick and trade children then homosexual will demand the same rights… solve the initial problem and the rest will naturally fall in its rightful place.
It became known that one of the two roommates provided sperm for each of the two children… Beyond this I was not able to figure out other details…
The ethics of the surrogacy should really be evaluated, not in a worldly way but through the lens of the faith. Not to scrutinize these people in particular, but to expose this issue and any possible incompatibility with the faith and to expose any danger to children ie trafficking. Unless maybe surrogacy has been discussed in synods or councils?
Each one of them should do his job: lose the prom dress, toss the disco ball, and get to saving some souls
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Many legacy donors have given up on the Archdiocese which is why they feel they are better off trying their luck regardless or how unorthodox this is. It’s all about the money!!
I find it’s quite fascinating that membership increased emphatically when Geron Spyridon was made Archbishop! Since his departure… that’s what I would love to figure out, which powers pushed for his replacement? Since Spyridon’s departure GOARCH has been relying more and more on big donors and they scoff at small donors… one pamphlet by our Holy Trinity Cathedral said to the attendees: “Don’t be members of the 1$ club” frowning at the 1$ donations that usually attendees at service put at the circulating basket at the end of service.
STOP GIVING YOUR MONEY!
Let GOA crash & burn along with these despicable actors Elpidoktonos, Karloutsos crime family & the rich who support their agenda.
I sent this pathetic story to a Greek friend & she wept saying she cannot enter an American Greek church as long as Elpidoforos is in power.
I agree on the divestment, I disagree on leaving the Church or switching churches. That strengthens the enemies of the Church… and disempowered us. We have to stay within and raise our voice.
Defrock the εβραιομασονασατανα.
This is disgusting. Just when I thought the Greek Archdiocese could not get any worse,
This happens. He must be deposed and defrocked. Where is the fury of the laity?
In 1439, the people of God took to the streets of Constantinople to denounce the Union of Florence.
We must likewise denounce The Archbishop and the Patriarch who are defiling Orthodoxy.
They must go!
I agree with Theodore! Now or never! We should not accept this!! We need to protest and the time is now!!! Where is the OMOSPONDIA to gather all the Syllogous and protest in front of the archdiocese. The time is now!
Back then all the Church delegates except ONE had to decide to succumb to the heretic Patriarch of Rome. That ONE was Markos Evgenikos. Our Clergy needs to start standing up, wearing the Rasso in public, conducting communion properly, preserving the original language of the Bible and the liturgical life of our Church, banning musical instruments from our rites rituals… there is a lot! We have been going backwards in America… and unity is desirable but what’s going to be the common denominator? To add two fractions you need their denominator to be the same!
The sacred traditions of the Greek Orthodox Church aren’t worth two cents to El’pedo’. Maybe 2 million though.
This is truly wonderful news. Are you really sincerely saying that such vital and positive markers of love family and live needs to wait for a synod! I applaud the archbishops humanity in spite of the archaic structures and man made tenants of the Orthodox Church.
Christina, I will let Helleniscope’s audience respond to you… So far you are the only one who accepted positively his heretic actions…
Orthodox Christian’s do not consider their faith and it’s dogma to be man made. It is fine for people not to share our faith as we believe in free will. It is not right for various well organized groups with a pagan agenda to impose themselves on the Church headed by Christ. This entire affair is a disgrace. The baptism which is a sacred mystery has been overshadowed by two men and their guests who rather than celebrate the baptisms are celebrating an insidious effort to impose lgbt ideology on the Church of Christ.
The pagan Romans and communists persecuted the Church and they have disappeared because the cross of Christ is always triumphant. It is clear the new pagans seek to wage war against the Church. They will not succeed.
And the bishops who betray the faith will subsequently be deposed.
Christina Zarcadoodle:
hey, forgot 14 year olds comment here too!
Think: your entire theological education is from daily propaganda from CNN & Woke .
But seriously, let the adults in the room talk
Christina – Miss Snowflake –
what part of:
these children will be deprived of
a MOTHER?!!!
what part of:
the kids will ultimately witness
2 Sodomites acting out abominations?!!!
SHAME on you lady
The Orthodox Church is not man made, it was made by Christ himself. Its explained in the book of Acts. The Holy Spirit has been active in the Holy Orthodox Church from the beginning and still is.
People who sense a departure from the truth of the faith become hurt and outraged and want to defend Christ.
Elpidophoros, with his deception and false motives spit in the face of our Lord. (knowing the consequence wouldnt just be the baptism of two sweet innocent children, but a “social justice” statement with serious implications, that is contrary to what is right in Gods eyes)
He plotted and planned, wrote letters, bought tickets, made arrangements, traveled, prepared, all the while knowing what he would do would have far greater implications than just the baptism of the children.
Christina, please reconsider this situation. Once we lose the ability to discern good from evil, we will be lost. Like the scripture says, “even the elect will be deceived” Dont be deceived by this wolf in sheeps clothing.
“Man made tenants of the Orthodox Church”??? Too easy to make fun of this term.
I’m not sure what you are trying to say in your statement but it seems that your understanding of Holy Orthodoxy is confused.
Lavish partying that included the performance of a popular recording artist, statements made about the oppression of the poor homosexuals who just want to be loved and accepted like normal people, ridiculous platitudes of how the Church needs to accept everyone (including their unrepentant and ongoing sinning), the vision of Elpi the great leader, blah blah blah. No mention of bringing the two innocent children into the life of the Orthodox Church, no mention of how they will dedicate their lives to Christ, no mention of battling earthly passions, of attaining humility. Nope, none of that. Just all about themselves and their celebration of sin. The children and the altar are just props for pushing the acceptance of homosexuality in the Church. How would the two daddies dressed in white respond if one day the children tell them “today we learned how homosexuality is a sin”. Somehow I don’t think this is in the agenda of the two daddies. Lord protect these two innocent children and have mercy on us all.
https://orthochristian.com/147132.html
ὁ ἐλπιδοκτώνος και πάλι πρῶτος στήν προδοσία.
This is not “humanity,” this is a defilement of the worst kind. If people on this thread advocate gay unions, they should become Episcopalian. The Archbishop is aiming to transform the Church with devious work-arounds. He needs to go. The Archdiocesan Council, Order of St. Andrew, and the Canonical Synod of Bishops need to call him out and bring someone else who understands and respects that the One, Holy, and Apostolic Church is built on the blood and sacrifice of saints, martyrs, and Christ Himself. Lord have mercy.
If this is the type of apostacy Elpidophoros does in public, I dont want to know what he does when he thinks no one is looking. If he openly desecrates the faith in front of cameras with a smile on his face, it stands to reason that its much worse than we know. Dear Lord protect your Holy Church.
A baby is a gift like no other. It is a life that needs to be protected and nurtured. Baptism is the acceptance of the tenets of Orthodoxy by the child through his/her godparent. Regardless of the method of conception, Alexios and Eleni are here in our midst and it behooves us to welcome them and to offer our support. Christ has asked us not to judge one another but to be kind and helpful. By the grace of God and the care of their loving family, these two children will grow into honorable and useful members of society.
I applaud His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros for accepting two innocent children into the fold of the Orthodox Church.
Εύχομαι στον μικρούλη Αλέξιο, την αδελφούλα του την Ελένη καθώς και όλη τους την οικογένεια υγεία, χαρά και ευημερία. Είθε ο Κύριος να προστατεύει όλα τα παιδάκια του κόσμου, το μέλλον της ανθρωπότητας.
Will the kids be raised according to Tge Orthodox Faith? The gay parents answered this question with a big NO. Because the Orthodox faith rejects gay marriage Why then Elpidoktonos baptized them? He should have sent them to the Episcopalians… And go there himself and be ordained an Episcopalian bishop… This where he belongs
Stavroula you’re painfully naive~
don’t applaud a betrayer of the Faith
who’s not even living a holy life of chastity
as expected of Archbishop …
instead you should applaud those who tell you the ugly truth ~ the truth not politically correct – start reading the enlightened elders and saints who died for Christendom, for Orthodoxy,
not this feckless failure for a leader Elpi.
ACTS OF ABOMINATIONS
ARE
DEVOID OF HUMANITY
AB ELPS = MUST BE DEFROCKED!
DEFROCK THIS HERETIC AND DEMAND HE REMOVE, HANGING UP HIS ROBE AND KALIMAVKION FOR GOOD. We pray for mercy for the two innocent children whose mother’s were bought and paid for their sexuality to bear an illegitimate child upon which they willingly surrendered. Elpidoktonos is a disgrace who has made a mockery of Christ’s covenants and commandments. Make no mistake, Elpidoktonos IS the anti-christ.
As St. John Chyssostom said, “The streets of hell are paved with the skulls of priests.” Elpidoktonos is certainly no exception. We must pray for his lost soul.
Αυτό που μένει είναι να πέσει Θειάφι και Φωτιά στην Πόρνη Βαβυλώνα.
As a tonsured Small Schema Monastic Nun which I requested, after death of my husband, my spiritual father, a well respected Hierarch made sure I studied + understood Holy New Testament, the Philokalia, the Patristic Fathers, the lives of all Orthodox great Saints and that I live a chaste holy life…
what Elpidophoros has done is the most disrespectful gesture —
homosexuals easily, can go to Episcopal church to baptize, but NO –
they USE this to destroy Orthodoxy!
It is sinful AMARTIA
It’s wonderful that two children will have an opportunity to participate in the Greek Orthodox faith
Nobody disagrees with you in general. Except that these “two” parents did not give ANY sign that they want and they can raise them in the faith. First, they themselves go against the faith. Second, they proved by the “flashy” party after the baptism that this whole thing was a PR stunt…
Mr Mandalakas –
some of you are so easily pulled in by appearances – orchestrated by Elpi,
but homosexual “parents” reject Orthodoxy, it’s a stunt to provoke.
Demons like doing pranks!
Regarding issue 8 above – to everyone’s surprise, Eugenia Niarchos is a person of deep faith (see below YouTube video). I’d bet Elpi was responsible for reading the tarot cards at the baptism after party (dressed in drag, of course).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Muc47SLAxNE
Niarchos even dedicated a section of her website below to her spirituality. Magic mushrooms? Copious amounts of weed?!? Her Godchild is in good hands.
https://unemployedmag.com/category/astrology/
I live in Italy but I am familiar with Greek Orthodoxy and the churches under the homophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. How do I read this? For me, the prevalence of the ethnic vision over the religious vision is evident here! If the church becomes the certifier of an individual’s entry into Greek ethnicity, then it is clear that a cleric cannot refuse to baptise the children of a gay couple. If, on the other hand, baptism is a person’s entry into the mystery of Christ’s life, then it is clear that there must be strict requirements and ethnicity or ethnic demands immediately fall by the wayside.
The Greek Orthodox Church has become very secularised so that a large part of its clergy are like civil servants and have all the mentality. These clergy feel called to serve their ethnicity, before Christ, and this results in a whole series of facts and attitudes that those who are not Greek painfully note. Christian universalism falls away and ethnic parochial localism, very provincial and village-like, progresses. Baptism for the children of a gay couple may well fit into this picture! Ethnicity takes precedence over all other considerations!
Your reasoning for this latest assault on faith matters is clearly stated and the conclusion is very evident. Here in the US where ethnicity (US) most clearly is evident we see support for US meddling in Ukraine, football Sundays, ‘Greek style’ ethnic (not Church) festivals, obeisance to State authorities and their secularization of society, and over indulgence on sensitivity issues (love the sinner not the sin), etc. This downward spiral is increasing speed with Elpi at the helm and Bart at the State Dept…enabling him.
Yes, the children will have two fathers. But who are the mothers whose eggs were fertilized in petri dishes by donated sperm in a doctor’s office before being planted to grow in surrogate mothers wombs? Won’t these children ever wonder from whom half of their genetic makeup came from and whose DNA they possess? Much here is left to ponder aside from religious and societal considerations. As much as the “boys” pride themselves with their “accomplishments,” it must be remembered that a human being is derived from both man and woman. And as adults, these children will have questions to be answered as they contemplate the unknown half of themselves. Most importantly they will say, ” Yes, I have two fathers, but who’s my mother?”