Steps

Published by The National Herald, July 22, 2005

Archdiocese: More Steps Required Before Forgiveness Can Be Granted

BOSTON - The Archdiocese-ousted parish council of the Transfiguration Church in Corona made efforts to reconcile with the Archdiocese this past Holy Week, but correspondence between the members of the former council and Archbishop Demetrios indicates that the problem remains unresolved.

Letters which recently came to the National Herald’s possession show that one member of the dissolved parish council asked for His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America’s forgiveness, and requested that the Archbishop lift their recent excommunication in order to participate in Easter Services and receive Holy Communion. This past February, the Archdiocese Spiritual Court of the First Instance had determined that the members of the former parish council be prohibited from participating in any Church Sacraments until they repent.

The Archbishop pointed out that asking for forgiveness is the first step toward true repentance, but that forgiveness could only be granted when the Church has determined that a genuine level of repentance has been demonstrated. On Holy Monday, April 25, Demetrios Spanos, vice president of the dissolved council wrote the following on behalf of all the members:

“Your Eminence, we kiss your right hand. I am writing on behalf of all of us who have been imposed with a penance (from the Archdiocese), as well as on behalf of all those who are suffering from this tragic situation which has befallen our community, school and parish. With great joy of spirit, as well as truth, humility and love, we report to you that we are prepared to meet with you, whenever and wherever your busy schedule makes it possible due to this coming Holy Week, and as soon as possible (if possible before this Holy Thursday) in order to publicly embrace you again as your spiritual children, a fact we never denied, and in order for you to embrace us - even though you have been embittered, too - like a father welcomes and hugs his children in his arms and always accepts them without terms and conditions,” Mr. Spanos writes.

“We on our part, sending back to oblivion those moments which embittered us, (will) embrace you with true love and humility. (We will) accept your blessing, so that with repentance, thought and love, we can all unite together in experiencing the Passion of Christ, participate in the Holy Sacraments and, primarily, experience the joyful message of our Lord’s Resurrection, Who defeated sin, decay and death, and with true joy chant together, “Christos Anesti (Christ is Risen),” Mr. Spanos’ letter says.

“(We will) return to our Church, which we love so much and which many of us have served for decades through our community and school with self-denial and personal sacrifice, often depositing our surplus and sometimes even our shortage,” the letter adds.

In response, Archbishop Demetrios wrote a letter dated Holy Wednesday, April 27 (marked, “strictly personal”) that he was pleased with Mr. Spanos’ letter, which the Archbishop said he had read “very carefully,” pointing out that further steps were needed before the penance of minor excommunication could be lifted.

“With pleasure, I see that your letter marks a first step on your behalf, indicative of your intentions to reconcile with the Church,” the Archbishop writes, adding that “this will be followed by more steps, (which are) necessary in order for you to be reinstated on an ecclesiastical standpoint.”

“a) Your clear, humble and courageous expression of apology in front of God and men for the polemics which you exercised against the Church; your plain and direct apology and admittance of your serious mistakes and anti-ecclesiastical actions, which you made either through misunderstanding or human weakness, or carried out (due to wrong counsel) from bad advisors.

“b) The second necessary step is your clear assurance that you will accept and follow faithfully and firmly the instructions and decisions of the Church in regards to the Holy church of the Transfiguration of Corona.”

In his letter, the Archbishop stated that the imposition of the penance to the Transfiguration community members was meant as a temporary therapeutic measure, not as a permanent one: “I would like to add that your penance, which is solely a spiritual therapeutic measure, is not an excommunication, as is falsely claimed because excommunication, in ecclesiastical terms, means a permanent interruption of one’s relationship with the Church and loss of one’s identity as an Orthodox Christian, which is not your case.”

In response to the Archbishop’s letter on May 2, Mr. Spanos, after thanking His Eminence for responding so quickly, and in the midst of Holy Week, assured the Archbishop that “I will do anything humanly possible in order to pacify the situation, always in the spirit of humility and love for our Church, towards which I personally never felt nor acted with hostility as, I believe, neither did my brothers and sisters, whom I am representing. On the contrary, we have served the Church, our community and school in any way we could for decades, each one in his own way, and with his own talents and unique gifts.”

Mr. Spanos clarified that the ousted parish did not doubt the Archdiocesan Uniform Parish Regulations nor the Archbishop himself, writing that “we always respected and trusted that you are our Archbishop, our father and shepherd,” Mr. Spanos wrote.
At press time, Mr. Spanos told the Herald he had not received a response from the Archbishop to his last letter. The case is now in the hands of Civil Courts, for which the Archdiocese has already incurred a substantial amount in legal fees. His Grace Bishop Savas of Troas, Archdiocesan Chancellor, would not disclose the amount, but said that it was considerably less than the $400,000 which has been previously reported.

Meanwhile, the Archdiocese is planning on releasing many of its employees in order to deal with its escalating debt, which is currently estimated at $10 million and expected to soon reach $11-12 million.

In an interview with the Herald by telephone, Mr. Spanos confirmed the authenticity of the letters, saying that they were sent after the members of the ousted council “agreed to apologize and reconcile without setting any terms.”

Asked if the council would still be willing to accept the Archbishop’s forgiveness, Mr. Spanos said that, “if the Archbishop offers any sign to us that he is willing to see us, rest assured that, tomorrow morning, all of us, except one (an elder member of the ousted council who has not agreed to repent), will go to Archdiocesan headquarters immediately. We ask for no terms at this point,” he said.

The solution is not so simple, however. In an interview with Bishop Savas this past Tuesday, July 19, the Archdiocesan Chancellor told the Herald that Mr. Spanos can not request forgiveness on behalf of the other members of the dissolved council, and that the others would have to request forgiveness on an individual basis.

Bishop Savas also said Mr. Spanos’ letter was disingenuous, in that it does not fully request forgiveness. “If you read the letter carefully, all it says is that they’re willing to let bygones be bygones. They want to exchange the kiss of peace, but they’re not really asking for forgiveness. They’re saying we should all forgive each other, but unfortunately, that’s not an acknowledgement that they’ve done something wrong, and they need to be willing to acknowledge that,” His Grace said.

“It’s really more of an attempt to circumvent the determinations of the Spiritual Court,” the Bishop added. “They’ve been told what they need to do, and they need to be willing to do it.”

When the members of the former parish council in Corona were - each on an individual basis - before the Spiritual Court this past February, Bishop Savas explained, they were each read the section of the UPR which they violated, and they were each instructed on what steps they need to take in order to demonstrate penitence.

“But they haven’t done that yet,” he said, nor did they acknowledge their violations of the UPR, which all parish council members across the land are sworn to uphold.

“They just said they took the actions that they took (e.g., to hold an ecclesiastically illegal and invalid parish council election and swearing-in ceremony) because they were following the dictates of their conscience. They’ve caused their own community, and the Church in general, a great deal of heartache and pain. But they haven’t followed through, and until they do, the penance remains prescribed.”

Moreover, Bishop Savas pointed out, when the Spiritual Court advised that the members of the Corona community’s former parish council can not go to church, “they were told they can not presently attend the parish in Corona. But they were also told they are free to go to church in any other parish, and we encourage that - without receiving Holy Communion at this time, of course.”



Volume 7 Number 30 - Tuesday, July 26th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY