Fosters

Submitted November 3, 2004

Regarding “Ignorance Fosters Confusion”

The comments by the writer are totally absurd. He tries to demonstrate in his words that he is the defender of Hellenic culture while he is in fact doing a great harm to it. And in an apparent reference to me he writes the following:

"It seems to me that the confusion becomes more vivid when some individuals, though not necessarily qualified, attempt to demonstrate expertise outside their fields, especially in Theology, and more specifically in Ecclesiology, even though their theological knowledge probably does not exceed even that of third grade Sunday School. Thus, they dare to write about issues and subjects through which ignorance, along with a measure of perplexing inferiority complex, becomes a jumbled mixture of misunderstandings."

My specialty is Ecclesiology and I am about to start writing a masters thesis about one of the subjects of ecclesiology that will benefit the Holy Orthodox Church of Christ not the worldly Hellenic orthodox church. And I have graduate degrees in public administration another in political science, and, good knowledge in various fields of engineering and computers. He would be shocked to know that I am an iconographer too and doing frescoes for a Greek Church, and know some tricks of his field of journalism and unorthodox psychological tactics. And by the way, I wish I had the simplicity of third grade Sunday School students because it is these people that are beloved by the Lord and not the arrogant who place themselves above others without the valid excuse of being servants of them. I have no such inferiority complex as the writer attempts to accuse nor I am angry at him because he is a slave to certain passions, but afraid that this kind of people who transgress against the Church by trying to enslave it to a certain worldly culture, something that might lead adherents of other cultures to distant themselves from the faith knowing that their nationality is inferior, will eventually cause harm to the Greek culture itself. I have Greek speaking friends who agree with me that such an outspoken arrogance in the name of the Greeks will lead to a negative outcome that is contrary to the labours of the right reverend bishops and archbishops in our continent, specially at a time when they are trying to bring spiritual perfection to the Orthodox flock of Christ. It is absolutely right to enjoy and be proud of the language and culture that God has characterised us with (not to mention the arrogant tower of Babylon,) but, it is absolutely wrong and I call it a crime, to try to claim that the Church belongs to one culture and its perfect character is due to the labours of that particular culture. The Lord is neither Greek nor any other nationality. Likewise His Holy Church. He is above all nationalities, and He is the Son and Word of God. In Greek the Word of God means Logos and no one objects to that. And I have to repeat again what I said in a previous article: the Greeks are well respected by all other Orthodox Christians so there there is no need by very few Greek patriots to stir unwise discussions that will create enmity and hard feelings in the one body of Christ, unfortunately, I am not sure that every Orthodox Christian is an honest member of the Church.



Volume 6 Number 45 - Tuesday, November 9th, 2004	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY