A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 36 - Tuesday, September 7th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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The
37th Clergy - Laity Congress: by Katherine G. Valone Refusing the credentials of OCL members who were elected by their parish councils is ludicrous and the wrong way to go. When the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (GOA) has a selective, prejudiced policy of whose credentials it will approve on the basis of shutting out those who differ from the policies of the Archdiocese, then it breaks every rule of democratic process. This kind of "stacking" the Clergy-Laity Congress only with people who in many cases were not elected either by their parish council or parish assembly but selected by the priest of the parish for his reasons or because he has received pressure from higher sources is suspect. Most of the delegates are not experienced in the procedures and are at a loss. If a delegate is selected by a priest because he will foster the Archdiocese's point of view, this smacks of actions that are unbecoming an organization such as the GOA. The Archdiocese represents the Orthodox Church and must command the respect and manifest an unquestionable reputation for honesty, fair-mindedness, and openness to all the people of God and their viewpoints. What the GOA has done instead, is replace love and respect of its spiritual children with a charade meant to deceive. We can all say how wonderful His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios is, but he cannot use his kind demeanor to allow actions unbecoming the ultimate Shepherd of the Faithful. In the end the delegates, who had not finished examining the Uniform Parish Regulations, had to give carte blanche approval because the end of the CLC was near and the Archbishop appealed to them to approve of them. What a wonderful ploy; send the UPR document just before the CLC; have all other matters in committees; and finally approve of the UPR's 42 pages of rules, regulations affecting the very life of the parishes approved without discussion. Discussion of the Patriarch's Charter with the 30 Amendments voted and approved in 2002 was ruled out of order! Hear Ye, Hear Ye - the Charter from Patriarch Bartholomew is a done deal. It is his "gift" to us! Shame on the Archbishop for not stopping these street gang - like tactics. The intrigue, obsessive secrecy, tactics of rush or delay, "out-of-order" decisions of the opposition, reminds me of the old union bosses during labor strikes. Keep vital information from the delegates until the last minute when they do not have enough time to even discuss the UPR Committee's hard 20 hours work that they could not finish; or the denial of the right to give a minority report of some delegates, shows you how adept the Archdiocese is to get things through and never be accountable for the consequences of their actions. But with time these hasty actions will come home to roost and we are to blame - and all this in the voice of "peace" and compliance. Shame on you, Your Eminence. This is unbecoming "a world renown leader of Orthodoxy "who has no grip on reality. How long will you depend on your reputation for being a kind, sweet man, which I do not doubt. You are being used. We need you to be an honest, up-front Archbishop who will protect all his children and not just those whose ideas are often neither Christian, nor moral, nor decent. We need an Archbishop who will say to his Metropolitans - "Enough! You will not use scare tactics, intimidation, threats and sneaky tricks to get the faithful to do what you want." Some Metropolitans have overstepped their bounds. We need an Archbishop who will not be manipulated. Why do you ignore the voices of your faithful who are, trying to do their best for the Church. How dare you (and others) who have demonized the very children you should embrace. Why can you not communicate with them? Instead you listen to the whispers of those who do not have the Church in their heart, but their own SYMPHERON, their lust for power, their greed; men who are living in the past and who think the Church is their private oyster. You are surrounded by sycophants, parasites who live on the sweat of others and bask in their misplaced love. Surround yourself with the common, unpretentious Orthodox believer and listen to him. You hear only those who have a "holy" facade; men and clergymen who play the game well and laugh at those who speak up because they know they have you in the palm of their hand. Beware, your Eminence, for the Lord knows what's in everyone's heart. Do not be a Pharisee. Be like the Apostles whom you succeed. You are not called to be a Vicar of Christ; you are a successor to the Apostles. Christ tells you well in the Gospel that an apostle must be a servant and not be served; he must be a follower of Christ, obedient to Him first and not become the tool of ambitious men. Do not betray the Faithful. You must not give up Christ for Caesar who is none other than the Patriarch who expects your blind obedience and blind loyalty in order to progress his agenda. Wake up and bring the Church back on track. Do not be seduced by this stream of honors. Seek only God's approval. We had such great hopes for you - a man versed in the Gospel. Ask yourself, are you rightly dividing the word? Do not try to please everyone. Please whomever your spiritual eye can discern. Release yourself from your advisers who have a different agenda. Take charge and do what is right for all your flock. Your actions do not match your words. Neither the OCL nor the 33 defendants of the case in the Supreme Court of New York nor any ordinary member of the Church; neither the wealthy, or the poor; no one is to be blamed more than you and those who speak in your ear just as the tempter of Christ Satan did high in the mountain. Only you can undo this attempt to bring about a complete change of the Archdiocese which is full of men's greed, lust for power, and lives of comfort, so unbecoming hierarchies most of whom do not live like monks. If this charade continues in 2006 what new thing will you spring on us? The seeds you sow today will come up and we will all reap the whirlwind, maybe not today, but surely tomorrow.
Some
will think all went well at the CLC because things
were quiet - but do not think all went well. The
undercurrents of dissent are there. My prayers are
that you will consider ten years down the way,
where will the GOA be? Will it be well and
thriving? Sincerely, a MEMBER of the Church of
Christ. God be with you, Your Eminence. |
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