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Submitted
February 21, 2005
Scandals and Orthodoxy |
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"
and you shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free." (Gospel of John 8:32 )
The present scandal within the Orthodox Church of
Greece is disturbing. At
the same time, the scandal needs to be placed
within the proper religious and
historical context. It should be remembered that
Jesus was betrayed by Judas
who had been among the twelve disciples. In light
of the fact that the traitor
Judas had been a disciple, it is not surprising
that there have been priests and
hierarchs who have strayed and that have betrayed
the sacred mission
and teachings of the Orthodox Church.
The Orthodox Church has within its sacred and
revealed traditions the authority of Canon Law
which was composed by the Holy Fathers. The Eighty
five Canons of the Holy Apostles declare that,
"Any Bishop, or Presbyter, or Deacon that is taken
in the act of committing fornication, or perjury,
or theft, shall be deposed from office, but shall
not be excommunicated. For scripture says: "Thou
shalt not exact revenge twice for the same
offense." The same rule applies also to the rest
of clergymen." The Holy Canons further address a
number of issues pertaining to rules of which
clerics must adhere to, or they must be expelled
from the priesthood. This signifies that
misbehavior in the clerical ranks is not a modern
problem since the Holy Fathers and the Church
Councils saw fit to address these problems in
their own day.
One of the most interesting Icons in the Orthodox
Church is that of the "Ladder of Divine Ascent" by
Saint John Climacos. A group of Monks are
ascending a ladder into heaven. Some of the Monks
are received by Jesus who welcomes them. Other
Monks are pulled off the ladder by demons and are
taken to hell.
The Orthodox Church will emerge from the present
scandal unscathed. Jesus Christ is the leader and
founder of the Orthodox Church, and as such the
Church is indestructible. The Orthodox Churches of
Russia and Eastern Europe have recovered from the
scandals which ensued in the aftermath of the
collapse of Communism in which the links between
various hierarchs and the Communists were exposed.
During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, the
Ecumenical Patriarchate was a center of intrigue
as various Bishops schemed and competed to curry
favor with the Sultan in order to ascend the
Patriarchal throne.
One must keep in mind the Saints and Martyrs who
have suffered for the Church of Christ to place
current events in proper context. Recent Saints
added by the Ecumenical Patriarchate include
Mother Maria Skobtskova and Father Dimitri
Klepinin who died in Nazi death camps as a result
of their persistent efforts to assist French Jews
during the German occupation of France. It is
becoming fashionable in the Greek media to attack
the Orthodox Church of Greece. The Church of
Greece has traditionally been the moral authority
in Greek society, and has earned international
respect and prestige as a result of the actions of
clerics such as Archbishop Damaskinos and
Metropolitan Chrysostom of Zakynthos, along with
numerous other clerics who risked their lives to
protect Greek Jews from the Germans. The
Archbishop and the Metropolitan have been
recognized as righteous gentiles in the state of
Israel.
There is a sudden push for a complete separation
of Church and State by some anti-clerical elements
in Greece. It should be remembered that the Greek
War of Independence began with the standard of
revolt by Archbishop Germanos of Patras in 1821.
The Archbishop of Cyprus was executed for his open
support of the Greek Revolution. In 1922,
Metropolitan Chrysostom of blessed memory was
slaughtered on the orders of a Kemalist General as
a result of his outspoken condemnation of
Turkish-sponsored Genocide during the previous
decade, and for enthusiastically embracing the
Greek liberation of Smyrna in 1919.
During the Bolshevik Revolution, millions of
Russian Priests, Bishops, Nuns, Monks,
and
faithful were slaughtered by the Communists. Among
the martyrs
was Patriarch Tikhon who died for Christ in the
wake of being tortured and
beaten by Leninist thugs. The reemergence of the
Russian Orthodox Church
after having been completely eradicated under the
rule of Stalin proves that
Orthodoxy will triumph over any crisis. In our own
day, Serbian Orthodox Christians are being
slaughtered in Kosovo. Among the martyrs are brave
and faithful priests such as Father Chariton Lukic
and Father Stefan Puric
who were murdered by American-backed Muslim
extremists.
Both the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of
Greece, and the Greek Courts are conducting
investigations into what has transpired within the
Church. Those clerics guilty of inappropriate
behavior should be expelled as Church law
demands. Simultaneously, Greek media should be
very careful not to tarnish the reputations of
Greek Clerics who are innocent of any wrongdoing.
Most importantly, anti-clerical elements in Greece
should not use the problems in the Church to
silence the Archbishop and other hierarchs who
have been outspoken on behalf of human rights and
religious freedom in Cyprus and Kosovo.
Theodoros
Georgiou Karakostas
BYZANTINE CULTURAL PROJECT
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