A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 21 - Tuesday, May 25th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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The Orthodox Christian News Service |
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Pandora’s Box opened in Corona, QueensThose who accuse our Church’s leadership of not being strong enough should think twice, after the coup d’etat against the leadership of New York’s Corona community. What the Archdiocese considers strong leadership can more accurately be described as dictatorial power, justified by the weakest of excuses after months of inaction. Moreover, it was used in the wrong place, for the wrong reasons. In a letter addressed to the president of the Corona parish, Bishop Savas of Troas states that “At the direction of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America,” he is “relieved of his position as president of the Parish Council...effective immediately,” barring him from all church activities until 2006. Bishop Savas appointed a new president and directed the controversial priest of the community to change all the locks on the doors. We fail to understand these actions or even the tone of the letter. Perhaps in some extreme cases, where the evidence against a parish president is proven beyond any reasonable doubt, such harsh measures are warranted. But what are the accusations against this particular parish president? That he fired and hired the Church secretaries? That he held “irregular” meetings? That he withheld the priest’s salary, in spite of church directives that he had no authority to do so? Do these actions constitute, as Bishop Savas states, proof that the president’s leadership is no longer effective, in light of the accusations flying around in that particular community? Our Church is built upon the principle that laypeople play a significant part in it and that the priest is in charge of spiritual matters. What we are seeing now is the removal of a parish president primarily because he was unpleasant to the priest.
Does the
Archdiocese understand the chilling effect this
type of action might have upon this entire
community? Does it realize that those who tried to
run it in the Papal tradition face the wrath of
the community? |
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