A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 39 - Tuesday, September 28th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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The Orthodox Christian News Service |
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It has being five years already this past week since Demetrios was enthroned as the New Archbishop of the Greek Church of America. The question then that arises is, are we better off now than we were five years ago? The answer to this question is a most definite yes. Five years ago, under the leadership of Spyridon, the Church was divided and the community was divided. Not since the dixasmo—division—between those who supported King Constantine and those who supported Venizelos had the community faced such tension. Archbishop Demetrios managed to heal that, for the most part. And we say for the most part because there are still the diehards, those who still believe in Spyridon and his program. And he deserves credit for that. Now if one were to ask if we are better off now than when Iakovos was still in power, well there is no comparison there. Iakovos—along with Athenagoras—stands as the undisputed leader of our Church. But that is not the question. The question really is if five years later Archbishop Demetrios has proven to be the right clergyman for the Church of America. The jury on this most important question is still out. Only as time passes will a clearer picture, and an obvious answer, to this question emerge. What can be said so far is that, after five years, we know so little of Archbishop Demetrios. Even his place of residence is a closely guarded secret. Much less his positions on issues and what he stands for. The tactic of not displeasing anyone at any time is simply wrong, and plainly, does not work. It is not effective leadership. Life is full of choices. Up to now, we see no strategy and no action. We see problems growing all around us. Problems that stagnate, grow. We see a handful of laymen trying to help, devoting their valuable time and resources to the Church. But we see no conductor of the orchestra. At times, we hear of big events to anticipate, only to forget about them later. As we stated here at the end of July: His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, contrary to the practice followed by all his predecessors, has done away with holding periodic press conferences and granting exclusive interviews to the Greek-American media. This is doubly harmful: first, because the people who care about Church issues cannot be informed directly from the Archbishop about them; second, because not holding press conferences deprives him of the opportunity to get through to people; and third, independent parties provide feedback for the situation in the Church.
So, with no grand
strategy and no press conferences, what we are
left with is not much to go by. And that worries
us a lot. |
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