By Nick Stamatakis
It is about four years since we decided to start Helleniscope, and I must admit, it was quite a journey! Looking back at this decision, it was based on the recognition that most of the problems of our Church and community – and our ethnicity here and in Greece – had to do with the lack of truthful reporting. For the last fifty years, our media had abandoned their constitutional duty and were in bed with the corrupt leaders of various organizations, parishes, and the Archdiocese itself…
Helleniscope is proven to be something of a “novelty” for our community: an objective and truthful reporter of the news, an informed opinion-maker for events local, national, and global, an educated, in-depth analyzer of historical facts and their effects on the present, and, above all a fearless platform to investigate and report wrongdoings and the actors behind them. I am very proud of what Helleniscope has achieved with the help of all of you!
In the process, we annoyed a lot of people in power positions!! We were attacked with lies! They tried to minimize, openly threatened, and sued us, with one goal, to silence us!! As I am writing these lines to you, I know that soon I may have, once again, to file legal documents and, possibly, appear in court in the “Defamation” lawsuit filed against me by a GOA employee. Yes, the Court has so far protected Helleniscope’s rights to free speech, but it was not an easy ride: I had against me a “white glove” Park Avenue lawyer… Someone who, as I found out, is working as a lawyer for John Catsimatidis and has appeared in his radio program!!
How would you feel about fighting “pro se” in Court against a billionaire’s lawyer? A billionaire (Catsimatidis) who is the #2 in the Archdiocese’s hierarchy (VP of the Archdiocesan Council)? Someone who, three years ago, standing next to his ex-FBI chief of staff, had also threatened the “bloggers” who write their opinion on GOA? This is what Helleniscope has been dealing with as we also tried to perform our best to keep up with the news.
We were not alone in this fight. We have a lot of friends in this community and made even more friends during this journey… First of all, the small circle that started Helleniscope stayed together through thick and thin with one common purpose in mind: to shed light on all the darkness around us, to help a new generation of leaders correct the wrongs at every parish, every organization, every setting, to help the community as a whole rise to a better place.
From Astoria to Manhattan, from Long Island to West Palm Beach, from Boston to Washington DC, and from Chicago to California, we did our best to help all of you have a voice when you needed it the most!!
And in return, we got your love, support, friendship, and commitment. I will mention one example of how Helleniscope works: the majority of our posts are directly suggested by you; it is you who brought our attention to these issues; it is you who gave us the information; it is you who keep constantly feeding us with your ideas and opinions, your questions, your desires, your dreams…
Helleniscope is your voice, your public forum. Helleniscope is you!
But now, the time has come for us all to move to a higher level. We saw the need to be organized more professionally when the website abruptly “fell off the grid” a few months ago… Yes, a more professional organization is the way to achieve our goals. We will ask you to make this news and opinion website the best place to advertise in our community – this is the traditional role of the news media! This is not going to be an easy road: Those who are against the truth (in this case, it was an “Archon” – please don’t doubt me, I have the proof in my hands as always) have threatened to boycott our advertiser in our beginning year!! And as a result, I decided to take down the ad…
In this new beginning, we expect our community businesses and all of you to reject this blackmail and to support the truth, against the powers of darkness… The numbers are surprisingly good for a young website, and they are on our side... So many in our community are turning to Helleniscope for information, valuable opinions, and exchange of ideas in our comments section…
In the coming months, you will also see Helleniscope’s expansion in “History-Language-Culture”. It will not be only in the special section of Helleniscope (the one I hold closest at heart), but also in a real venture to suggest and put together cultural events that will help all of us – and the American society around us – come closer to our Hellenic roots… We are confident that the only way out of the recent failures of Western Civilization would be to be re-baptized in Hellenic Peaceful Cosmopolitanism!!
Helleniscope has a dream: to become the meeting place, for information and entertainment, for all of us in the Greek American community!! And to be a reference point for ideas beneficial to the broader society around us!!
In this process, we will never forget our main task – bringing the truth to light. But as determined as we all are in Helleniscope to achieve our goals, we all know that the growth of any venture, no matter how noble, requires financial support.
AND THIS SUPPORT DEPENDS MOSTLY ON YOU, OUR READERS!! PLEASE LINK TO OUR DONATIONS PAGE AND SHOW YOUR COMMITMENT TO HELLENISCOPE!! OR EMAIL US AND ADVERTISE WITH US. OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO ALL!!
PS. Many of you, our readers, are on a fixed income – I completely understand that. Helleniscope needs help in other ways also: we are looking for expert translators (English/Greek), and we are looking for researchers and news “reporters/collectors” from local communities in the US. If you think you can help, please get in touch with us.
I attest to the fact that by reading Helleniscope articles, I learned that the GOA has many wicked shepherds doing corrupt agendas. I have healed from what I bore witness to on my Orthodox Christian journey.
Important Psalm
Psalm 103
King James Version
103
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
19 The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21 Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.
Nick,
It was very sad to read your message. Unfortunately, we as Orthodox Christians have to deal with such ignorant people in our society. When money can’t buy them everything they run to court!
The big wigs in the GOA have nothing better to do with their time then to sue and to look around and to see what they can take from others only to fill their egos and pockets. Christianity? I believe not!! They foster this mentality of “look at me I’m from the Archdiocese “ when in reality it is stolen money from the Yiayia and Papou have suffered to build our church only for them to destroy and disgrace it!
Our Parishes need to wake up, they are a non profit organization with their own 501c3, they pay their priests salary, not the GOA, stop paying the GOA and filling their pockets with money, and see how fast they will sink.
You and this site have been very informative and have your right to do so as do all of us! We have the right to express our concerns for it is all of our constitutional rights!!
As it states:
Constitution of the United States:
First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
They can’t take that away, as they have taken our traditions and have made us turn to other Orthodox Churches for sanity!!!
Keep the faith, pray for the evil to be destroyed and sent back, pray for the eyes and ears of those who have sent him here to return him to a destination where he can do no more harm, along with his pasi!!
The Lord will come again to Judge the Living and the Dead for He shall have No End!! For this is the Kingdom, the Power and The Glory, of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Dear all , we all know that the bad….. and the ugly……. are against the Good and in order the
GOOD ( HELLENISCOPE) to be able to survive
and continue to fight the Ugly cosmos …..needs
blood and unfortunately this kind of blood it’s
name is dollars .
This article is not a beggary but a request to
participate and fight altogether the common
enemy who wants to destroy the word ethos and
promote the filthy new policy.
This article talks about fundraising to support no
individuals but values . HELLENISCOPE is our
voice let’s keep it alive and make it strong.
On my behalf I pledge $100.00 hoping to a large
and fruitful participation.
Nick Stamatakis, I empathize with those law suits that you have to endlessly endure to bring us the truth. May God give you strength and enough support, financially and otherwise, to keep bringing us the truth. Unfortunately, law suits seems to be a major weapon used by the powerful and wealthy woke wolves to silence anyone who opposes them because they are not rich or influential enough to do so effectively.
I’ve had personal experiences with this that I have not yet gone public with until now. After I vocally opposed the multiple spoons at St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church in July 2020, I received anonymous hate mail. This was quickly followed by a complaint to my regulating body (College) by someone who is a retired professor of Engineering living in Ottawa. He launched a complaint against me, using as evidence, the church livestream video that went viral, and my open letter to Archbishop Sotirios which I published on Orthodox Reflections and in the local Toronto Greek Newspapers in 2020. In this letter, I called out Sotirios on his Ecumenist agenda behind the multiple spoons. The complainant’s angle was that I was not fulfilling my professional medical duty because I failed to warn the public of the “dangers of the virus” when I defended the Orthodox practice of the single Communion Spoon.
I had to defend my position to my College, which, decided against me, and wrote in their decision that “the assertion that the single Communion spoon does not transmit disease is misinformation,” and that I had spread this “misinformation” using social media, even though I have absolutely no social media and used a blog someone else set up and local newspapers. The College internet researched and poured over everything I have ever published on Orthodox Reflections, and wanted to caution me, which basically means shaming on the Public Register.
Thankfully, I have an excellent insurance policy that has covered me for all these legal expenses, including the appeal of this decision. Not surprisingly, I lost the appeal and thank goodness, my insurance is paying for a judicial review, which I will use to defend Christ (not that He needs it, but it is my Christian duty). What saddens me is not what might happen to me, but that Jesus Christ, is going on trial all over again, as if once wasn’t enough! That saddens me a great deal. Of note, the complainant and I have never met and are total strangers, so why he would want to complain to my college, or who may have put him up to it, is anybody’s educated guess.
Furthermore, in 2022, I was again investigated by my college, for three-in-a -row anonymous complaints against me alleging that I had published articles on Orthodox Reflections against the Covid-19 vaccines. The author of those articles was another Irene who the “three” complainants said they knew was me. It was not me, and thankfully, i was able to prove it, and the investigation was dropped. I was later told by the college that they did not know who the anonymous complainants were, and because of that, they were not able to contact them to let them know the results of their investigation. This struck me and my lawyer as very odd. It was also very odd that the way the complaints were written sounded like the same person, the way an educated Greek immigrant would write. It was also odd that they were the exact same complaint worded differently, each submitted exactly one week apart. I persoanlly believe it was the same person pretending to be three different people because it is too much of a coincidence to be random luck. I am certain that my college is also aware of this oddness.
What saddens and dismays me is that my college called our Faith, our religion, “misinformation.” If anyone dared call the Jewish or Muslim faiths “misinformation” they would be slammed as anti-semites or Islamophobes. It is not OK to criticize or those religions, or any other for that matter except Christianity for some reason. If one wonders what that reason might be, one can only come to one conclusion, which we all know what that is. I have not heard of any other faith enduring the same extent of spiritual hardship during the lock downs as the Orthodox Christian Faith and I doubt that that was a coincidence.
So, Nick, you are not alone. We are all in the same boat. Christ said to expect the world to hate us because it hated Him first. We can all expect more law suits, including lies and slanders because the woke wolves hate the Light and the Truth which is what Christianity is, especially Orthodox Christianity.
I have decided to post this comment here knowing that I am being monitored, watched and followed by these woke wolves, and I have a message for them: There are many of you, I know, because I have experienced it. You know who you are. You have infiltrated many organizations, and also the Greek Orthodox Church. Some of you I have known personally and you think that I hate you, but you are wrong. I have forgiven you time after time , year after year, for all the times you have given me hate and evil, to me and to my family, because I love you with all my being. I pray for you daily, for your repentance. I fear for you, for the demise of your soul, if you do not repent. Some of you may have had abusive parents, who may have been “religious” but not loving and you have turned against God as a result. i understand. You are broken because your parents were. God can, and wants to heal you. Repent while there is still time.
But if you will not repent, because you think you are too smart and you know better, know this: the God that you despise because you think that only a “weakling” can submit to death on a cross, and those who believe in Him are just as “lame,” that same God, whose name is Jesus, will surprise you very soon, and when He does, it will be far too late. May God bless you and be merciful to you, and to me, a sinner.
There are thousands of people voicing their opinion regarding the bioweapon vaccine.
How can a case be fought against you and win? There were many who cried out against multiple spoons.
Here: I cried out against both
Fact!
Irene, the day will come that our struggle to remain true to our faith and true to basic human rights will be rewarded. It’s not very far when the evil actors will have to pay for their crimes…
Thank you Nick, I believe that as well, but I would like to clarify that I did not post my comment above out of any ill will. I will derive no pleasure or satisfaction if my enemies are punished, only if they repent. Everyone should be saved. I forgive them for all the harm they have tried to inflict on me because I truly care for them. I hope they will change, not for my benefit, but their own. This does not mean, however, that I will stop supporting the Truth. That I will continue to do as best I can.
Irene,
You are not alone in this fight, in fact, are the multiple spoons also one of the acts that caused the down fall of two Metropolitan’s? According to the papers, they went against this egotistical, so called Archbishop and he in turn got Boston/Methodios suspended and got rid of and they gave a new title to NewJersey/ Evangelos, and all this for believing as you do in Christ, our faith and the church.
Haters will always be haters. There is no need to listen to them! You be you and believe in your faith! There will always be people and unfortunately even so called Archbishop, and priests who will follow non cononical, non Christian , non Orthodox ways.
They have forgotten what our Lord and Savior teaches us. They drink His Body and Blood every Sunday but yet they forget the symbolism. And why, because evil will always be evil.
Evil wears a mask, and doesn’t believe that without Holy Communion there is no Christianity! They don’t believe that Holy Communion is the medicine of immortality!!
Take, eat for this is my Body, drink for this is my Blood. …
(Λάβετε, φάγετε , τούτο εστί το Σώμα μου τούτο εστί το Αίμα μου)
(Μαθ. 26,27.28)
The miracle of Christ.
With the fear of God and faith come near
(Μετά φόβου Θεού και πίστεως προσέλθετε)
Do you honestly believe they deserve to wear their vestments and receive communion!!! They all need to be sent to a deserted destination for repentance, they need to go through the passions of Christ to believe again! ( or will they??)
As Holy communion symbolizes Christs last supper, I pray that soon it will be yours as well in our Church! For you have destroyed Our Church and faith!!
Dear Disappointed Greek, I agree with you. St Paul warns in his epistles that wolves will arise even among the clergy, not just among the faithful, to (spiritually) ravage the sheep.
I once thought those times were just limited to the past, the era of Arius, but at least back then, there were other hierarchs who fought him tooth and nail and with God’s grace destroyed that heresy and others that followed. I never thought I would live to see the day when most of our hierarchs would succumb and be silenced due to fear or to mammon and we would be shepherd-less with no one to fight other than lay people and the odd newspaper or blog.
I want to believe that there are good shepherds still, waiting in the wings to make their move as soon as this 2025 false union occurs with the public sharing of the common cup and the creation of a new harlot church. It grieves me tremendously to think of how many people will be seduced by the wide and easy path of adulterated Ecumenism.
On the other hand, I know that no one loves humanity more than our Creator, and will give everyone every opportunity to come to the Truth, provided they don’t love wealth or power more. Hard choices will have to be made.
This hierarchy that is selling out Orthodoxy for power, glory, and kickbacks, are the modern-day Pharisees who murdered their Messiah so they wouldn’t have to give up their comfortable positions. They chose temporal benefits instead of eternal glory, choosing to disregard the evidence in front of their own eyes – wilful blindness. They have not admitted it yet, but they are doing this to create one global religion that will pave the way for a new world leader.
Those who consider themselves to be “illuminated”, do not believe in a crucified Christ. They believe in a worldly Messiah, who will be a secular leader that will create heaven on earth. This, to an Orthodox Christian, will be the Antichrist. This is a gnostic heresy, for there will never be a worldly paradise, only a heavenly Kingdom. Christ made it clear that He is not of this world and neither is Hiz Kingdom.
Many of these “illuminated” ones have already made a deal with the devil, and many others will figure it out later on and will fight back. These will be the new martyrs.
Right now, there are few who are outspoken, such as Helleniscope and OR, who have not been bought, and are fighting principalities in a spiritual warfare. It is essential that we support them, that we carry the torch of the Truth, and God will take care of the rest.
The real question for the every reader to ask themselves in private is this…
“…Back in the days when there was only printed newspaper, how much would a Helleniscope equivalent be worth to me personally per week? …”
Multiply that number by 52, and each reader can independently determine an annual “fair valuation”…
Markos, thank you… This is exactly the point.. But the way we experience it is much worse: we at Helleniscope do all the hard work for the community and we are being attacked and sued, while our businesses advertise with the media who for decades did everything to cover the corruption and were part of the problem… But I do not regret one moment I spent for this cause. It is all worth it… and it will be very rewarding if we achieve some of our goals.
sometimes, Helleniscope is like
John the Baptist crying in the wilderness
It may feel that way, but I know that what we write here has an impact.