A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 14 - Tuesday, April 6th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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A Vision of the Church I Want to See - “Diogenes Jones” Revisited By Paul Cromidas In trying to understand where our Greek Orthodox Archdiocese is today, I re-read the article, “Miscellaneous Reflections on the Time of Troubles”, which was written in 1997, and which remains very meaningful for me and, I think, for our times. This article was published anonymously during the difficult years of Archbishop Spyridon’s administration, under the pseudonym, “Diogenes Jones”. Subsequently, it became known that the author was Father Theodore Stylianopoulos, the tenured professor who was among those dismissed from Hellenic College/ Holy Cross Seminary by the archbishop that year. The following year, the essentials of this article were published under Fr. Stylianopoulos’ name in Greek-American newspapers. The title was “The Nature of Christian Leadership: Some Reflections from an Orthodox Theological Perspective.” He wrote on authority and church leadership, analyzed the cultural factors behind that time of difficulty, and held that his views were grounded in Orthodox theology, including the writings of other Orthodox scholars, such as John Karmiris, Alexander Schmemann and Bishop Kallistos Ware. This article was meaningful for me because it presented an open approach to church governance in our democratic society, in harmony with the true teaching and spirit of the Orthodox tradition. That approach is what I, and I believe many others, want to see. It is pertinent to talk about this article today, because we still have a “time of troubles”, and there is an ongoing discussion and disagreement about our charter and the governance issue. Terming it “a clash of cultures”, Fr. Stylianopoulos wrote that Archbishop Spyridon and his advisers had a view of “Orthodoxy and Episcopacy, in particular the issue of the use of canonical power, that stems from the authoritarian culture of Byzantium and Ottoman Turkey. This view consents to unqualified use of power by those in authority without regard for spiritual discernment, moral values, human rights, and communal process, that is to say, authoritarianism thinly disguised with the robes of hierarchical status, legalistic language, and distorted spirituality (‘blind obedience’).” However, he observed that “…most have a renewed view of Orthodoxy and Episcopacy within the cultural experience of contemporary America which spontaneously affirms the dignity of persons, freedom of speech, fairness in disputed matters, procedures in studying and resolving issues, wider input and participation in decision making, and public accountability on the part of those involved, especially the decision makers.” Fr. Stylianopoulos asserted that this view is “…actually closer in spirit to authentic Orthodoxy. After all, nothing is deeper in the spirit of Orthodoxy than such values as profound respect for all persons, love for all things in creation and including enemies, freedom of the soul to speak forthrightly, consulting the conscience of the Church, rejection of the use of arbitrary and raw power, humility in the exercise of authority, sober judgment, courage of truth, standing up against wrong, defending the oppressed, and the like.” While defending the authority of bishops, Fr. Stylianopoulos questioned the way that authority may be implemented: “…the manner and spirit of the exercise of it which should be done in the light of the example of Christ, the Chief Hierarch of the Church, and Orthodox ecclesiology. The conciliarity of the Church plainly teaches that bishops, priests, lay people as well, all have an organic and active part to play in the life and decision making of the Church expressing the fullness of the conscience of the Church, certainly under the supervision of bishops. However, the leadership of bishops is one of love and service, always mindful of the needs and cries of the people…. The time has come, at least in America, to reject aspects of episcopal authoritarianism and autocracy, remnants of our Byzantine and Turkish past, which intimidate and even terrorize priests and faithful who might otherwise speak the truth in love and give prayerful expression to the voice of the conscience of the Church.” His words were prophetic in light of current concerns about how the Patriarchal charter was arrived at. “In modern times, at least in America, the Church and its institutions have appropriate by-laws, policies and procedures. All these help guide the community of faith and serve as checks against those who would act arbitrarily and short-circuit the proper functioning of the Church…”. He asked: “How can otherwise intelligent lawyers and businessmen go along with such actions and preserve their own self-respect is almost beyond comprehension. It is as if they live in two worlds, American culture and Church culture. Upon entering the latter, each time, they put on their ‘Church hat’ out of superficial deference or cynical consent. Those who do not and ask hard questions are systematically eliminated from the Boards as evidenced by the August 16th [1997] meeting of the Board of Trustees [of Hellenic College/Holy Cross Seminary – HC/HC]…But we must insist on truth, accountability, and dialogue…Why the camouflage of the real issues, the winking at sexual misconduct, the heavy-handed control of institutional structures…, and the one-sided presentation of news in the Orthodox Observer?” “Where is the spirit of Christ?”, he asked. “Where is moral integrity? Where is common courtesy, civilized behavior, and reasoned discourse?” He reminded us that “an easy way of authoritarianism to shut off dialogue and protect itself in its wrongful decisions and acts, is to appeal to Church unity, harmony, and well-being. While the latter are immensely important, they must not be used to browbeat legitimate questions and to avoid appropriate accountability before God. In fact, the well-being of the Church is best served when the truth is allowed to be spoken and is spoken in love, including diversity of views, which bring out the richness of the mind of the Church…Every baptized person is a vehicle of the Holy Spirit and has the right to voice his or her view in good faith. ‘Foni Laou, Foni Theou = The voice of the people is the voice of God’, holds a Greek Orthodox proverb.”
To Fr. Stylianopoulos I, for one, say thank you and amen. I believe that what many of us want in our Church in America is what this clergyman and scholar espoused. We want to see an affirmation of the “dignity of persons, freedom of speech, fairness in disputed matters…(and a ) wider input… in decision making”. We do not want to hear that our views are not worthy because we are not “theologians”, or to have dialogue denied because, “this is a hierarchical church”. I also believe that our rich, unique heritage can best be preserved in a Church informed by a democratic ethos, and not in a Church governed by authoritarian ways. After all, it was our heritage that gave us – and the world – the democratic concept, and I think we should honor that above the autocratic (Ottoman) part of our history. In closing, I ask that you contrast Fr. Stylianopoulos’ words with some examples of what we are experiencing in the current administration of the Church: * Bishops and some priests and lay leaders decreeing that we cannot discuss the Charter in our General Assemblies; * A Clergy-Laity Congress (2002) where discussion of the Charter was finally allowed and then the recommendations were ignored. (The lack of honest, substantive news reporting on that Congress by the Orthodox Observer was shameful, in my view). This year, the registration forms for the 2004 Clergy-Laity Congress stipulate that the archdiocese may reject a registrant. (Will a Loyalty Oath be required next?); * No responses, or inadequate responses to questions about: - Sexual misconduct. (The “winking” referred to above is still prevalent, in spite of what was supposedly learned from the recent Catholic scandal. If you want to experience “deafening silence”, try writing to a bishop about this subject. On this issue, the bishops seem to have lost their moral authority). - Church finances. (The faithful were never given a full accounting when Archbishop Spyridon left, and there has been less than transparency since then, including about the amounts paid for settling sexual misconduct cases). - Monasteries in America. (We have been told that bishops and clergy are concerned about the Ephraim monasteries, but no bishop will stand up and tell us why). * A proposal by clergy of the Denver diocese to have priests become presidents of Parish Councils, * Continued one-sided news in the Orthodox Observer and the Archdiocese web-site, * Withholding important information from the faithful about: - The Charter issue, overall – including concerns raised by former Archbishop Spyridon; - Questions about the Patriarch’s recent honoring of Cuban dictator Castro; - The legal action about the Charter filed against the Archdiocese and the Archbishop, and the reasons therefore; - Archons who are signatories to the suit have received intimidating letters from that church organization; - Other signatories have been pressured to withdraw their names; - Metropolitan Maximos has even called for the expulsion from the Church of those who brought this suit. What will the future hold for the laity of the Greek Orthodox Church in America? Will it be unquestioning compliance, or a genuine shared ministry, with mutual respect, freedom of speech and fairness is disputed matters?
(Mr. Cromidas is a retired Family Service
agency executive director and a past Parish
Council president. He has written previously about
some of these issues, and is a board member of
Orthodox Christian Laity. The views expressed are
his own.) |
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