By Nick Stamatakis
Today’s announcement from the Phanar regarding the “Grand Archimandrite” Agathangelos Siskos (who was caught on camera stealing an expensive watch from an antique/jewelry store) was short: “After an exchange of views and taking into account the defamation of the institution of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, it was decided to put an end to the ministry of the senior cleric in Phanar.”
It was a necessary step so that Patriarch Bartholomew save face and pretend that he is “taking action” against those who violated rules, laws, and morality. But Pat. Bartholomew’s recent acts are not convincing. He is under tremendous pressure as his tenure has proven disastrous. His heretic policies, his failing (primarily gay) Archbishops, his even more disastrous Ukraine policies… Did anyone notice that neither the Patriarch nor any Archbishop mentioned Ukraine in their Easter messages this year? The stark realities of their mistakes and the strong position of the faithful against the war and the Schism in Orthodoxy FORCED all of them to take back their political proclamations of last year’s Easter…
Please allow me to close by comparing the current scandal with the Metropolis of Paris scandal four years ago. I reported the scandal of Emmanuel and his assistant Maximos allowing Bulgarian gay escorts to enter the Metropolis building. Then the scandal was not on camera, but the proof was even more potent: The police had taken a deposition by Maximos, who explained the whole story!! There was a police report on the scandal!! I repeatedly wrote on this issue, asking Pat. Bartholomew to call the Paris Police and request the written report – and then to send both Emmanuel and Maximos to Mt.Athos for repentance for a few years… To no avail… Instead, he thought that he would cover the scandal by promoting them!!!
Yes, my friends, this is the quality of the leader of the “Ecumenical” Patriarchate of Istanbul…Pitiful…
Yep…being “sent away” ONLY because he was stupid enough to get caught on camera…ONLY due to the defamation…notice how they sidestep quoting the Canons that apply when clergy get convicted by secular courts?
By the way, what does “put an end to the ministry” mean? Did they actually defrock him, or just send him to another jurisdiction to keep extending his long arms into other coffers?
They put an end to his ministry in the Phanar – emphasis on “in the Phanar”… They can send him back to Kastoria in Greece… Or to Switzerland to handle their bank accounts…
Steals watch -> Ends ministry
Gay Bulgarian escorts -> Gets promoted to to Metropolitan of Chalcedon
Seems like the more grievous the sin the EP the more you get promoted 🤔
Perhaps Agathangelos should have ordered some Bulgarians so he could become Metropolitan of some empty See
One stole a watch – on tv.
The others’ watches were stolen – also on tv.
The first lost his place.
The others gained more face.
A most curious case…
I do hope Bartholomew is aware that
Helleniscope and Monomakhos as well as so many faithful are disgusted and know all his endless mistakes?
Karma plus the poison of Alex Karloutsos
will tarnish his legacy in the end.
Bartholomew has been in selfish self-preservation mode for years, ignoring the Biblical phrase “you cannot serve two masters”. If he actually cared about not causing the faithful to be scandalized, he would have stepped down within a year or two of becoming Patriarch. For example, do you recall when he stopped commemorating Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens (over “jurisdictional bickering”), and officially removed his name from the Diptychs (which is exactly what Moscow did to him now with the Ukrainian “Tomos”)? That was a massive headline in Greece back in the day…
Well said Marcos –
talk about selfish self-preservation mode?Remember Bartholomew’s big visit to NY
St. Nicholas Shrine?
Police with rifles were installed all over ground zero blocking the faithful from coming near & only
millionaire donors allowed near Shrine?
Of course, it was Rasputin Karloutsos doing!
Where is the report regarding the scandal of Emmanuel and his assistant Maximos?
It was published in Kalami.us in Greek and translated and reposted very widely. You can look it up on Google.