More Fallout From “Baptism Show Kardashian Style”…

PHOTO: Jim Boussis, Eleni Boussis, Peter Palivos AB Elpidophoros, Mrs. Palivos

UPDATE (Wed. July 27, 11 am):  According to legal documents that were brought to our attention (link here – please look at the second footnote) George Palivos, Eleni Goussis’ other brother, is a “fugitive, believed to be living in Greece.”  Well, at least he is not in the photos (or is he in some other photos)?

By Nick Stamatakis

As the days go by, it becomes all the more clearer that AB Elpidophoros will not be able to hide behind his finger regarding the scandal of the baptism he performed in Greece… He has tried everything – all Phanariot tricks came out of the bag:

• While still in Greece, he visited Amb. Tsunis and they shared many fake smiles pretending all was “fine and dandy”…  He also visited the Ionian village campgrounds for more useless photo-ops…
• On Friday, July 15th, Elpidophoros had a surprise visit with Archbishop of Greece Ieronymos in the headquarters of the Church – in a rather “cool” atmosphere – obviously trying to avoid the worse.  The following Monday (July 18th), the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece proceeded to the known decision and sent letters both to the Phanar and to Elpidophoros – much harsher than expected, according to some sources.  But it stopped short of publicizing its discontent, something many metropolitans did individually, declaring that AB Elpidophoros is not welcome in their jurisdictions.

• In the meantime, the Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos, in a TNH interview also criticized Elpidophoros: “I think he went wrong when he did it; he shouldn’t have gone. He may have been his friend and so on, but he could have done it somewhat quietly so as not to cause a scene. How are the children to blame? The fact that he baptized them, he did well, but what kind of children will two homosexuals raise and give to society? Tomorrow when they go to school, won’t they be asked who their father is, who their mother is? What will these children answer—that is, they’ll be the ones paying the price. No matter how friendly he was, he could have had a priest go to a chapel and do the Baptism quietly, and no one would have noticed and told them that what they’re doing isn’t right. We love people, we don’t hate them, but this thing is outside the Tradition of Christianity.”
• Back in the States, Elpidophoros offered more fake smiles at the AHEPA convention and tried to make believe that nothing happened, while the overwhelming majority of the Greek-American media and the faithful were openly against him and asking for his removal…

Meanwhile, some more photos have surfaced and more news that put the event in new perspective:

• This was a pre-planned P.R. event by the two “husbands,” professionals in the P.R. business.  They demanded an “Orthodox” baptism (as if they were practicing Orthodox themselves and it would be so important), then they were denied the sacrament in Los Angeles, and, since they had the money, they purchased a much bigger event in Greece, apparently costing them millions. This was evident in the professional photos of the gay couple with the kids in this post! The main point here is that the gay couple did not care about faith but EXPLICITLY, in their interviews, wanted this baptism to be a “progressive” step to “the future” as they see it… They did not care AT ALL how the Church and the rest of the Orthodox faithful saw it… They had the choice (since their main issue was not faith but “progress”) to baptize the kids in a protestant Church.  BUT NO, THEY WANTED TO DAMAGE THE ORTHODOX FAITH. AND AB ELPIDOKTONOS OBLIGED.
• As an Orthodox sacrament, the performance has so many flaws it could have been annulled (not sure about the legal terminology here) by the Church of Greece with the proper procedures: fraudulent request for a permit by the local Metropolis, non-Orthodox godparents, a show that legitimized an “unorthodox” marriage, etc. The annulment may still be possible, and we hear that some faithful are ready to ask for legal advice (In Greece, “ecclesiastical courts” operate – when I was a student at the Law School in Athens in the early 1980s, all students had to take one course of “Ecclesiastical Law”…) A major hurdle in such a process would be the Holy Synod’s recent decision (July 18)  to reject a proposal for a “Trial” for the baptism by former Metropolitan Amvrosios.
• In summary, most opinions agree that the children should have been baptized, BUT: 1) It should have been done respectfully and quietly for many reasons – above all, not to lend legitimacy to the “parents'” gay marriage. 2) The godparents should be verifiably Orthodox, so to ensure the children are raised in the faith, and 3)  AB Elpidohporos should not have lied to the local Metropolitan.

Photo: Eleni Boussis, Peter Palivos AB Elpidophoros, Mrs. Palivos

ALSO, it turns out that the “Baptism Show Kardashian Style” brought up some other issues regarding who else was “whitewashed” by Elpidophoros’s presence.  One of them was the man standing next to the Archbishop, lawyer (?) Peter Palivos, brother of Eleni Boussis.  The question mark is there to question his status as a lawyer, because he has already served a year in jail according to ProPublica (here is the link):  “…Last year, the company began a dramatic national expansion. In Nevada, it contracted with Greg and Angelo Palivos, brothers with deep ties to both Chicago and Las Vegas, to build clientele and manage operations. Their father, Peter Palivos, is a prolific contributor to Nevada political campaigns and close enough with Gov. Steve Sisolak that the two met regularly in the early days of the governor’s administration. (Peter Palivos also served time in prison on an obstruction of justice charge related to a fraud case in Chicago, though he maintained he was set up by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for not helping prosecutors build a case against former Illinois Gov. George Ryan.)…”

The Palivos family has more legal troubles than you see here, we have learned… Also, there is a shady connection between the Saudis and the Boussis gay couple, but not clear enough, at least yet… One thing is for sure, though: Most of those in the photos – and certainly the gay couple and Elpidoktonos – firmly believe that money buys anything in life…  Their “disease” is called arrogance, which uniformly ends with a rude awakening…

Finally, today an essay that surpasses all previous definitions of theological “muddling of the waters” appeared by Fordahmite John Chryssavgis, titled “A tempest over a baptism in Greece raises questions about what we’re trying to protect.”  Among other things, Chryssavgis compares the gay couple’s kids’ baptism with a single mother’s kid baptism… This fact alone should give the true picture of someone writing on theology not to protect the faith but to protect the faithless (AB Elpidophoros)…

July 26, 2022, n.stamatakis@aol.com   www.helleniscope.com

DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.