The Faithful Steward - HOMT · 2011. 8. 18. · A N e w s l e t t e r o f t h e H o l y O r t h o d ox C h u r c h i n N o r t h A m e r i c a The Faithful Steward The soldiers and

A N e w s l e t t e r o f t h e H o l y O r t h o d o x C h u r c h i n N o r t h A m e r i c a

The Faithful Steward

The soldiers and the Christians ofthe city went forth against theidols. And desiring first to overthrowthe Marneion [the great pagan tem-ple], they were set back; for thepriests of that idol, having heard be-forehand, barred the doors of the in-ner temple within with great stones;and taking down into the place calledthe sanctuary whatsoever preciousvessels were in the temple, and more-over the very images of the godsthemselves, they hid them there, andescaped through the same sanctuaryby other ways up; for it was said thatfrom the aforementioned sanctuarythere were many passages going upinto divers places.

Being set back, as I said before,the Christians turned against the oth-er places of idols, and some they over-threw, and others they gave unto thefire, having seized all the preciousvessels that were therein. But SaintPorphyry had laid a curse in thechurch upon every Christian citizen

From the Life of Saint Porphyry, Bishop of Gaza (+450)by Mark the Deacon

Slightly edited from www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/porphyry.html (Chapters 65-69)

C O N T E N T SSaint Porphyry, Bishop of Gaza. . . . . 1The New Saint Philaret House. . . . . . . 4The Repose of Mother Irene . . . . . . . . 5Panayia of the Mountains Monastery . 6Photos from St. Seraphim’s Church . . . 8Ordination in Toronto . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Deacon to Serve at CML. . . . . . . . . . . 10Announcement of the Holy Synod . . 11A Canonical and Legal Entity . . . . . . 12Our Mother Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Issue 39, 2011

Saint Porphyriosfrom The Synaxarion, Vol. 3, by Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra

T h e F a i t h f u l S t e w a r d

Issue 39, 2011 2

that should take anything from the places of the idolsunto his own profit; no man, therefore, of the citizensthat believed took anything, save only the soldiers, andsuch strangers as were sojourning there. Thereforethere went about with the lay-folk devout men of theclergy and the holy bishop Porphyry himself, restrain-ing them that they should take nothing for themselves.

So they spent ten days overthrowing the temples ofthe idols, and after the said days they took counsel con-cerning the Marneion also, how they should deal withit. For some said that it should be digged down, andothers said that it should be burned down, and othersthat the place should be purified and consecrated untoa church of God, and there was much deliberation ofthis matter. And at the last the holy bishop proclaimetha fast to the people, and a prayer, that the Lord may re-veal unto them what they must do. And having fastedon that day and prayed unto God concerning this mat-ter, in the evening they celebrated the Holy Commun-ion. But during the celebration of the Communion, achild of about seven years, which was standing with hismother, cried out suddenly, saying: ‘Burn ye the innertemple unto the foundation; for many terrible thingshave been done in it, especially the sacrifices of humanbeings. And after this manner burn ye it: bring liquidpitch and sulphur and fat of swine, and mingle thethree and anoint the brazen doors and set fire to them,and so shall all the temple be burned; for otherwise isit not possible. But leave ye the outer temple with thecourt. And after the burning, having purified the place,establish there a holy church.’ And he said also this: ‘Iswear unto you before God, otherwise may it not bedone; for neither is it I that speak, but Christ who iswithin me.’ These words did he speak in the languageof the Syrians. But when they heard they all marvelledand glorified God.

And this marvel came also unto the hearing of theholy bishop, and stretching forth his hands to Heavenhe glorified God and said, ‘Glory be unto Thee, HolyFather, that Thou hast hid these things from the wiseand understanding and hast revealed them unto babes.’[Matt 11:25] And he commanded that the child and hismother, after the people had been dismissed from thechurch, should be present in the bishop’s house; andhaving put the child apart, he said to the woman: ‘I ad-jure thee by the Son of the living God to say whether itwas thou or some other, thou knowing him, who didput it into the mind of thy child to utter those wordswhich he said concerning the Marneion.’ And the

woman said: ‘I yield myself up unto the terrible anddreadful judgement seat of Christ, if I foreknew any-thing of the things which my son did utter this day. But,if it seem good unto thee, lo! take the child and exam-ine him with threats, and if any one hath put it into hismind to speak these words, he will be afraid and con-fess, but if he will say nothing else, it is manifest thathe was filled with the Holy Spirit.’ And the bishop hav-ing heard the speech of the woman and thought itgood, said that she should be taken apart for a little,and the child be brought in; and the boy being set therehe said unto him: ‘Who put it into thy mind to utter inthe church those things which thou spakest concerningthe Marneion?’ And the child was silent. Then the mostholy bishop commanded that a scourge should bebrought, and the child be stretched out, that he mightbe made afraid. And he that held the scourge lifted uphis voice and cried out, saying: ‘Who told thee tospeak? Say, lest thou be smitten with the scourge.’ Butthe boy stood dumb, uttering no word. Then we thatstood around him said the same to him with threats;but he was not moved.

At the last, after we had all ceased, the boy openedhis mouth and said in the Greek tongue: ‘Burn ye theinner temple unto the foundation; for many terriblethings have been done in it, especially the sacrifices ofhuman beings. And after this manner burn ye it: bringliquid pitch and sulphur and fat of swine, and minglethe three and anoint the brazen doors and set fire tothem, and so shall all the temple be burned; for other-wise is it not possible. But leave ye the outer templewith the court. And after the burning, having purifiedthe place, establish there a holy church. I swear untoyou again before God, otherwise may it not be done.For it is not I that speak, but Christ who is within me.’And the most holy bishop Porphyry marvelled, and allthey that were with him, when they heard the bold say-ing of the boy, and how plainly he spake; and callinghis mother, the bishop asked her whether she or her sonknew the Greek tongue; but she affirmed with oathsthat neither she nor her child knew Greek. And whenhe heard it, again the most holy Porphyry glorifiedGod, and bringing three coins gave them to thewoman. But the boy beholding the coins in the hand ofhis mother cried out, saying in the Syriac tongue: ‘Takethem not, Mother, lest thou also sell the gift of God forgold.’ And we, hearing it, marvelled again exceedingly.But the woman gave back the three coins saying to the

bishop, ‘Pray for me and my child and commend us un-to God.’ And the holy bishop sent them away in peace.

But at dawn he called together the God-fearingclergy and the Christ-loving lay-folk, and likewise theadmirable Cynegius and the governors, and told themwhat the boy had said concerning the Marneion. Andwhen they heard they were astonied and with one mindsaid that according to the saying of the boy, even so itshould be burned. Taking, therefore, the liquid pitchand the sulphur and the swine’s fat and mingling thethree they anointed the inner doors, and having madea prayer they kindled the fire, and straightway all thetemple took fire and was burned. And as many of thesoldiers and of the strangers as were able seized out ofthe fire whatsoever they found, whether it was gold orsilver or iron or lead.

Dismissal Hymn of Saint PorphyriusFourth Tone

The truth of things hath revealed thee to thy flock asa rule of faith, an icon of meekness, and a teacherof temperance; for this cause, thou hast achieved theheights by humility, riches by poverty. O Father andHierarch Porphyrius, intercede with Christ God thatour souls be saved.

Kontakion. Second Tone

Arrayed with a most sacred life, thou wast adornedwith the priestly vestment, O all-blessed and god-ly-minded Porphyrius; and thou art conspicuous formiracles of healing, interceding unceasingly for us all.

Dismissal Hymn and Kontakion© Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA


3 Issue 39, 2011

St. Xenia Camp 2011August 14-20 (n.s.)

You may visit

www.homb.org/stxeniacamp

or contact

Catrin Thorp (617) [email protected]

registrar

Kostas Kontogiannis (508) [email protected] volunteer recruitment

Fr. Demetrios (781) [email protected]

other volunteerand counselor recruitment

Registrations will not be acceptedafter June 30

Please register early


4Issue 39, 2011

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son,and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My beloved Orthodox Christians:

At Saint Philaret House, the diocese center of the Holy Metropolis of Boston, we are faced with a very goodproblem. We are outgrowing the facilities. What was an ample home for the headquarters of our Metropoliseleven years ago (January 30, 2000), when we purchased Saint Philaret House, has, to all appearances, shrunkin size to cramped quarters, as our work load and activities have increased.

When we first began working here, there were three of us who shared the chores. Now there are many ofus competing for space to do the work that has to be done. Saint Philaret House is where your diocese period-icals, The True Vine, and The Faithful Steward, pamphlets, pocket calendars, wall calendars are printed andstored; where all the Metropolis’ archives are stored; where the Metropolis official baptismal, nuptial, divorce,chrismation and ordination certificates are kept on file; where our correspondence is written, where book-keeping is done; where meetings of the Diocese Board, St. Xenia Camp meetings, and clergy lectures are held;where your bishops conduct their business, and send out information and articles to our faithful; where all theprinting, packing, and mailing of our publications is done; and where the sacred rites of the Church are per-formed on special occasions.

Essentially, we are in need of a home that has at least fifteen ample rooms for the Front Office, the Metro-politan’s Office, the Auxiliary Bishop’s Office and Residence, the Chapel, the Meeting Room, the Treasurer’sRoom, the Printing Room, the Packing Room, the Storage Rooms, the Classroom(s)—if we are to have a placefor our Saint Symeon the New Theologian’s Academy—plus four or five bedrooms, at least, for the residentsand occasional guests.

Can we afford this? Thanks to the generosity of some of our faithful, we are now in the process of pur-chasing such a structure. But additional funds will be needed for the necessary renovations, plus the formationof a library for our Academy, the computers, facilities, and the furnishings needed to accommodate the stu-dents. Our treasurer, Father John Fleser, estimates that we will need about $700,000 to accomplish these tasks.

This is why we are turning to you at this time. Every little bit, even the widow’s mite, will help us reach thisgoal, so needed for the growing obligations of our Metropolis.

If you are in a position to help us, please consider this appeal. We trust that God will help us in this en-deavor, and may He bless also every endeavor of yours that is unto salvation. Amen.

In Christ,�Ephraim, metropolitan

The New Saint Philaret House

Please send donations to:

Saint Philaret House1476 Center Street,

Roslindlae, MA02131-1417


Issue 39, 20115

In the three and a half years that we’ve known Ephraimand Irene—which actually seems much longer—we sawthem go through battle after battle with her health difficul-ties. In just the last few years it was one thing after another.They wanted to amputate her foot. She refused that and pa-tiently dragged her painful foot sideways. Her spine was sodeteriorated it barely showed up on x-rays, and the slightestwrong movement caused her to have to be immobile fordays. Many times she was hospitalized for bleeding and be-came very weak, but the cause wasn’t found. Between theLupus, the diverticulitis, the side effects of the medications,the osteoporosis and countless other things, Mother Irenewas a living martyr. And yet a sweeter smile and humblerdisposition was not to be found.

A few weeks ago Mother Irene washeartbroken to be in the hospital duringHoly Week. We never heard her com-plain about the surgery to remove herentire colon, but what bothered her wasthat she wouldn’t be able to attend theservices. As many times as we could, ather fervent request, we had the phone atthe chanting stand so that she wouldn’tmiss the Holy Week services, for whichshe was so, so grateful. When we met theBridegroom, she was there. When wehad Holy Unction, she was with us.(And then Fr. Ignatius brought her HolyCommunion and Unction in person).When we read the Twelve PassionGospels on Holy Thursday evening, shewas there for the entire service with ourSaviour on the Cross. When we chantedthe Lamentations at our Saviour’s burial,she was among the myrrhbearers. All ofthese services last many hours and it washer great delight to be able to hear them.On Holy Saturday she called—and in-sisted, in a way we had never heardher—that she wanted to hear the entireMidnight Paschal service and not miss athing. At our Saviour’s Holy Resurrec-tion, Irene was there.

We would like to share a little aboutMother Irene’s last earthly days and hertonsure into the Holy Schema. Last Friday evening Ephraimcame here very distraught and told us that the doctors hadcalled saying that Mother Irene had taken a turn for theworse in a matter of hours and her body was shutting down.The Doctor told him that very serious decisions would needto be made the following day. When we arrived we all en-

countered something unexpected—she was intubated. Thatmeant that Father couldn’t give her Holy Communion. Thatalso meant that she could no longer speak.

Remembering the true story of the man who wrote abook by blinking one eye as the alphabet was read to him,we wrote out the alphabet and indicated to Mother Irene topoint. It was slow work. She was on kidney dialysis, painmedications, sedation, blood pressure medications, abreathing tube, and her organs were failing. Her hands werestrapped down due to the tube that anyone would want toremove, and she had little strength or mobility in her hands.It didn’t seem her head could turn or her body change posi-tion and yet, as all who were there will say, it was one of themost beautiful and memorable nights of our lives.

After we received the necessaryblessings from her and our spiritual fa-thers, we asked Ephraim if we shouldoffer Mother Irene the tonsure. Hereadily and immediately said, “Yes,whatever she wants, whatever is bestfor her.” “And if she lives after the ton-sure?” (They would then be brotherand sister..) And he again said, “Yes!”Then we asked Irene who many timesnodded her head in assent.

The tonsure went beautifully, thenursing staff was supportive and keep-ing a close eye on all her monitoringdevices while also not giving her anymore sedatives than necessary. MotherIrene maintained consciousness andparticipation through the entire longservice, giving all the appropriate an-swers. Whenever she would try tomove her restricted hand to make theSign of the Cross, someone presentwould make it over her for her.

The next morning [Saturday] thetube was removed and she received theHoly Mysteries. At around 7:00 p.m.she peacefuly gave her soul into thehands of our Saviour.

If a person reposes during BrightWeek the gates of heaven are wideopen, as symbolized by the open doors

on the iconostasis. And the Church has always taught thatthe tonsure, as in Holy Baptism, makes a person new andclean again. Our blessed Sister, Mother Irene, was given allthese gifts from our Saviour. Our Saviour’s victory overdeath became Mother Irene’s victory over death.

The Repose of Mother Irene, Bright Saturday, 2011Excerpts from the Eulogy given at the funeral on Wednesday of Thomas Week, April 21/May 4

6


Issue 39, 2011

On September 8/21, 1992, with the blessing of ElderSchemamonk Nicodim of Karoulia, a monk fromthe Skete of Prophet Elias brought two holy icons of theMother of God—the Iveron “Portaïtissa” (of the Portal)and the “Tricherousa” (of the Three Hands)—fromMount Athos in Greece to the Catskill Mountains inNew York State. This is how the Panayia of the Moun-tains Monastery began.

It is in a beautiful setting between two higher moun-tains, “Mount Athos” and “Mount Tabor,” which risestraight up to the sky—like two arms raised straight upin prayer to God. The “Jordan River” runs between themountains, flows to the ocean, and gives life to themany springs.

In the springtime, all the mountains blossom with afragrant aroma, which continues to the end of fall. Re-vivifying summer breezes from the mountains flowdown into the valleys, bringing much desired fresh air toeveryone who wants to breathe it in again and again—especially those just returning from the cities. In au-tumn, the mountains are covered in a beautiful multi-colored carpet of leaves (green, orange, yellow, gold,red, and brown). Winter sunlight reflects off the mil-lions of “diamonds” in the snow-covered carpets of themountains.

Whoever visits these mountains, and gazes skywardin the pure mountain air at night, will see the gorgeous,unforgettable sight of billions of stars, like the sky ofMount Sinai. Seeing this lighted sky, one is awestruck,and gives glory to God Who fills the heavens with suchbeauty.

Sometimes, at sunrise, the clouds descend onto themountains, like they did on Mount Tabor in the HolyLand; and you are ”baptized” in the cloud, with itsthousands of shimmering, glistening droplets of water.The clouds are so thick that you can actually move themwith your hands as they surround you. When youemerge from them, you are covered with moist dew.

On the lower mountainside, just above a valley, wellhidden in a forest, one discovers a beautiful, smallchurch—a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary—calledthe Holy Dormition of the Mother of God. Here onewill find perpetually burning oil lamps, lit by the HolyFire brought from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre inJerusalem, to bring “Peace on Earth” to all mankind.

In 1997, with the blessing of Elder ArchimandriteMethodius from the Mount of Olives, and Elder Archi-mandrite Anthony of Jordanville, NY, Panayia of the

Mountains Monastery was officially established—withits four-story guesthouse, a three-story building for vis-iting clergy and monastics (and a first-floor chapel, ded-icated to the Holy New Martyrs of Russia), as well astwo, two-story buildings for monastic residences. High-er on the mountain is a skete dedicated to the ProphetElias, with a two-story structure containing monastic“cells” (small rooms) dedicated to “All Saints.” A fewfeet from the skete is a life-giving spring of sweet, pure,clear water which gives sustenance to three pure pondsbelow—filled with fish, a giant turtle, ducks, swans, anda boisterous beaver. Even higher up the mountain,above the skete, are caves for hesychasts.

The daily schedule at the monastery was as follows:at 4:00 p.m. ninth hour, Vespers, Matins, and first hour;a midnight service, third hour, sixth hour, Liturgy, ameal, and then an Akathist to the Theotokos; 10:00a.m. Liturgy on Sundays and major feast days. Work atthe monasery included gardening, beekeeping, paintingicons, carving wooden crosses, making candles, incense,bread, and honey from the bees.

In 1999 and 2000, a series of torrential floodswashed away roads and homes. The rain also floodedthe monastery, forming new rivers of water never seenbefore in the area. The skies opened up and a torrent ofwater, a “Niagara Falls” of damaging proportions, cas-caded down and devastated the whole area. There wasno place left for people to stay at the monastery, so it isnow taken care of by one monk

Attempts at fixing the damage and cleaning up theresults of the flooding were made. Only the DormitionChurch and the Prophet Elias Skete could be repaired;all the other buildings had to be demolished. A con-trolled burning of these badly damaged buildings by thelocal fire department accomplished these demolitionsthis year. Some of the debris from the wreckage is stillbeing removed, and renovations on the DormitionChurch and Prophet Elias Skete are continuing.

We ask your holy prayers and God’s grace for theraising up of the Monastery and its buildings like a“Phoenix” from its ashes.

Whoever wishes to volunteer or contribute finan-cially to the ongoing renovations, please call or write:

Fr. Onuphrius AgioritesPanayia of the Mountains Monastery387 Benton Hollow RoadLivingston Manor, NY 12758(845) 292-0765

A History of the Panayia of the Mountains Monastery

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Issue 39, 2011

Holy Dormition Church

The guesthouse up in flames

Fr. Onuphrius and Fr. Ignatius in front ofHoly New Martyrs of Russia Chapel

Cell of All Saints in Prophet Elias Skete

Fr. Onuphrius at back of the guesthouse


8Issue 39, 2011

Photos from Saint Seraphim’s Church, Glen Allen, VA

9 Issue 39, 2011


Ordination in Toronto

On April 17/30, 2011, George Giantsopoulos wasordained to the Diaconate at Saint NektariosGreek Orthodox Cathedral in Toronto, Ontario, byHis Eminence, Metropolitan Makarios of Toronto. TheDivine Liturgy was concelebrated by His Grace, BishopDemetrius of Carlisle. Visiting clergy included Archi-mandrite Isaac and Hieromonk Menas of Holy Trans-figuration Monastery in Brookline, Massachusetts.This is the first ordination in the Toronto community inabout three decades.

Growing up in the Toronto parish of Saint Nektar-ios Cathedral where he was baptized, married to Dia-conissa Tatiana in 2003, and now ordained Deacon,Father George was always involved in church commu-nity life. He often served as an Altar Server at theCathedral and then at Saint Joseph of Arimithea, where

he and Diaconissa became active members in theparish. Saint Nektarios and Saint Joseph of Arimatheaare very special saints to them and they are both grate-ful for their guidance and protection.

He is the youngest of three children of Gregory andEleni Giantsopoulos, and first-cousin to His Grace,Bishop Demetrius (their mothers are sisters). Throughthe prayers of many, and especially through the prayersof his grandmother, Mother Paraskevi, and his lategrandfather, Pavle, they have welcomed this great bless-ing openly.

Father George will serve as a diocesan deacon inthe Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto. He and Di-aconissa wish to thank everyone for their thoughts andprayers.


10Issue 39, 2011

Iwas born in Scottcity, Kansas in 1965 to Clarenceand Alberta Born. My father was a Lutheran minis-ter. I was the youngest child of four boys. I lived in sev-eral places in Kansas, eventually ending up attendingmy first year of college in Wichita. In 1985, I moved toWashington and continued my education at Seattle Pa-cific University.

It was at the university that I started to encounterOrthodoxy as I studied Russian, and took a trip toRussia as part of my course of study. The beauty of theChurch really impressed me and I felt a real spiritualconnection with its forms of worship that I feltnowhere else. Already in college I had begun to becomevery dissatisfied with many things I found in theProtestant churches. After graduating, I started to in-vestigate the OrthodoxChurch more fully. Ichecked out severalGreek and RussianChurches but ended upat Saint Nectarios. Oneof the reasons was thatthe services were in Eng-lish, but some of the oth-er Orthodox Churchesjust seemed strange,even given my limitedexperience with the Or-thodox faith at the time.My mind still has a clearmemory of how, after at-tending services for awhile, I approached Fr.Neketas and asked himabout the possibility ofbecoming Orthodox. Hetold me that people come to Saint Nectarios from oth-er Christian churches, thinking that this is just anotherdenomination, and that they are already baptized. Butwe say, “No way Jose, you have to get baptized intothe Orthodox Church!” This put me off a little, but Iwas undeterred and soon became a catechumen.

After driving home from my first Pascha I knewthere was no turning back. The words of Vladimir’s en-voys to Greece, when he was searching for the truefaith resonated with me: “the Greeks led us to the edi-fices where they worship their God, and we knew notwhether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth

there is no such splendour or such beauty, and we areat a loss how to describe it. We know only that Goddwells there among men, and their service is fairer thanthe ceremonies of other nations. For we cannot forgetthat beauty. Every man, after tasting something sweet,is afterward unwilling to accept that which is bitter,and therefore we cannot dwell longer here.” Also to meit seemed that the Church “taught as one having au-thority,” and not as multitudinous voices I heard com-ing from the Protestant churches.

A year later I was baptized by Fr. Neketas, takingthe name Anastasios, Anna Malzeff serving as my God-mother. Sometime in 2005, David Ruffner, now Fr.David, who was the ecclesiarch at Saint NectariosCathedral, asked me if I wanted to assisted him, and I

became an ecclesiarch.Later that year I metthe woman whowould become mywife, Noi, who was acatechumen at thattime. She was born inLaos, and as a childwas a refugee from theVietnam war. Shegrew up in the Dallasprojects, and in 1996moved to Seattle onher own. First she be-came a member of anon-denominationalchurch, but laterfound Saint Nectarios.In baptism, she tookthe name Elizabethand goes by the name

Ella, the nickname of her patron, Saint Elizabeth theNew Martyr of Russia. We married in 2007. After ayear of marriage we bought a house and took in myaged parents, who we took care of for three years.They recently moved into an adult care home after ex-periencing some health problems. We are expecting adaughter to arrive in late July.

I plan to serve as deacon at the Convent of theMeeting of the Lord in Stanwood, Washington, whereI was ordained on May 1/14, 2011, by BishopDemetrius of Carlisle.

Deacon to Serve at Convent of the Meeting of the Lord


11 Issue 39, 2011

On Palm Sunday, in church in Portland, Oregon, Met-ropolitan Moses announced publicly that he had petitionedto join and has been tentatively accepted by the Synod un-der Archbishop Kallinikos of Athens. This automatically re-moves him and Bishop Sergios from our Church.

Our bishops have prepared the following announce-ment.

6/19 April, 2011Tuesday of Holy Week

In his “Addendum” (dated December 6/19, 2010), HisEminence, Metropolitan Moses committed a very seriouscrime against his fellow bishops, when he issued a “de factocanonical release” to all the clergy of the Holy OrthodoxChurch of North America in order that he and they mightunite themselves to the Synod of Archbishop Kallinikos ofAthens, Greece “immediately.”

According to the 18th Canon of Ancyra, a bishop whocommits such seditious acts is subject unconditionally to ex-communication and defrockment from the priesthood. In anumber of private letters addressed to him, the Holy Synodhas pleaded with His Eminence to submit an apology for hispublic and inflammatory acts against his fellow bishops andthe flock entrusted to them, but he has refused to do this oreven admit to any wrongdoing, despite his public canonicalviolations. Furthermore, of late, he has taken this issue be-yond the membership of the Holy Synod and made it pub-lic, claiming that he is being denied a canonical trial. How-ever, a canonical trial is necessary only when a person’s guiltis in doubt. In the case of His Eminence, his guilt is evidentand blatant, since his “Addendum” was posted publicly byhim to all and sundry. Members of the Holy Synod receivedemails from Europe, commenting on His Eminence’s “Ad-dendum.”

Below is the text of Canon 18 of Ancyra:

If any who have been constituted bishops, buthave not been received by the parish to which theywere designated, shall invade other parishes andwrong the constituted [bishops] there, stirring upseditions against them, let such persons be sus-pended from office and communion. But if theyare willing to accept a seat among the presbyter-ate, where they formerly were presbyters, let themnot be deprived of that honor. But if they shall actseditiously against the bishops established there,the honor of the presbyterate also shall be takenfrom them and themselves expelled.

Apostolic Canons 14 and 34, as well as Canon 21 and22 of Antioch, the 2nd Canon of the Second EcumenicalCouncil, Canon 5 of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, andCanon 1 of Sardica all call for the censure and punishment

of bishops who intrude into the affairs of another bishop’sdiocese.

His Eminence continued his policy of interference intoanother bishop’s diocese by means of telephone calls, at-tempting to persuade some of our clergy to follow him in hispath, as they themselves have informed us.

In addition, despite his denials, we know that His Emi-nence, together with Bishop Sergios, unilaterally submitteda petition to be received by another Synod.

In spite of the fact that the Holy Canons call uncondi-tionally for defrockment and excommunication in such cas-es, the Holy Synod resolved instead to act with clemencyand ask for a simple apology.

In a previous letter to him and Bishop Sergius (datedMarch 9/22, 2011), we three bishops wrote the following:

We must say that, if this difference and divisionhas progressed to such an extent that His Emi-nence [Moses] can no longer work together withour Holy Synod, or even simply apologize for themistake that he has made, and cannot abide inagreement with his brother bishops, we say withno animosity—although with a heavy heart—Brother, you may go where you will. We wish youno ill. Your intransigency, however, will only gen-erate further discord and turmoil. If the membersof our Synod cannot simply apologize for a mis-take, how, then, can they act in concord andtruth? Such is the true conciliar spirit of the epis-copate.

We see now that his intransigency has finally led him toa break with his fellow bishops. Should he or the clergy withhim begin a campaign of ill-will, slander or misinformationagainst us, we, your hierarchs, beg of you not to respond.Let our response be the silence of prayer, a prayer that Godforgive both them and us for our personal failings. We haveother, more useful, things to do than engage in uselesspolemics which convince no one, and only lead us intotemptation and away from that “which is needful.” If it istruly necessary that there be a response of some sort, let itcome only from your hierarchs. We have received many giftsand benefits from God. Let us then concentrate our effortsin showing our appreciation for these gifts by increasing ourlove for God and the study of the Holy Faith that has beenimparted to us.

Glory be to God for all things!

CMetropolitan Ephraim of BostonPresident of the Holy Synod

CMetropolitan Makarios of TorontoCBishop Demetrius of Carlisle

Secretary of the Holy Synod

Announcement of the Holy Synod


12Issue 39, 2011

A Canonical and Legal EntityBoth, His Beatitude, Archbishop Auxentiusof Athens, of blessed memory, and His Emi-nence, Metropolitan Maximus of Cephaloniaaffirmed that we had the authority to governour affairs in North American and also ofelecting and ordaining our own bishops. Wedid not ask for this privilege; rather, these hi-erarchs simply granted it to us, because, webelieve, they were enlightened by the HolySpirit.

This is what Metropolitan Ephraim, MetropolitanMakarios, and Bishop Demetrius affirmed in a letterwritten on December 10/23, 2010. This statement is adistillation of countless meetings with His Beatitude,Archbishop Auxentius of Athens over the years withour bishops and clergy from North America.

Not once, in all those countless encounters—inone year alone, Metropolitan Ephraim travelled toGreece six times—did Archbishop Auxentius evermention that the Church administration in NorthAmerica should be incorporated as a subsidiary of theChurch of Greece. As has been mentioned many timesbefore, the Archbishop affirmed again and again tomany of our clergy, both here in America and whenthey visited Greece, we were responsible for governingour affairs in North America. This included the privi-lege of electing and ordaining our own bishops.

As for the episcopal ordinations that took placeduring the time when Metropolitan Makarios waslocum tenens of the throne of Athens, this was in a pe-riod when we, the bishops of North America, weretteemmppoorraarriillyy in charge of the affairs of the Church ofGreece!

As we wrote in the article, “Our Mother Church”(see attached document):

For years after Archbishop Auxentius’ re-pose, we said we were de jure the Church ofGreece and therefore maintained the locumtenency of the throne of Athens. But, despiteour efforts to help the situation in Greece, wecould not do so.In retrospect, why, one may ask, would anyclergyman in Greece want to be under a bish-op in North America? Especially when thereare at least 13 old calendar jurisdictions inGreece! A good question.

The locum tenency that we maintained, however,was only a temporary measure. Although we main-tained it “temporarily” for some fourteen years, strict-ly speaking, and according to the Holy Canons, alocum tenency can be maintained only for one year.

Canon 74 of Carthage, for example, is quite clearon this point:

It has been decreed that it is not lawful to alocum tenens (in Greek: topotiritís) to retainthe see to which he has been appointed aslocum tenens, …but let him take care thatwithin a year he provide them with a bishop.But if he fail to do so, when the year is done,another locum tenens shall be appointed.

Our efforts to find a suitable candidate for theepiscopacy in Greece all came to nought, despite thefact that it is clear that we went above and beyondwhat is permitted by the Holy Canons in our efforts tohelp the Church of Greece. But our identity as a de fac-to autonomous Church entity in North America hadbeen confirmed by Archbishop Auxentius again andagain in our meetings with him, and our later efforts inGreece were only a temporary measure

It is one thing to say that our roots are in Greece,and that, because of the locum tenency, we were de ju-re and temporarily acting as bishops of the Church ofGreece in an effort to help there (though far longerthan what the Holy Canons permit). It is quite anoth-er to say that we are permanently and canonically theChurch of Greece, even though the locum tenency nolonger exists. Some claim that the abandonment of thelocum tenency was “uncanonical” (but they cite nocanons to support this claim). To the contrary, the ter-mination of the locum tenency was the return to thecanonical norm, as one can clearly see from the HolyCanons that we have cited below.

Furthermore, there are two very important docu-ments that testify to this legal and canonical entity thatwe possess as the Holy Orthodox Church in NorthAmerica:

Our by-lawsThe Holy Canons

The By-Laws: If we examine the by-laws, both ofthe Holy Orthodox Church in North America and ofthe Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Boston, we will seeno mention whatsoever of the word “Greece.” There is


13 Issue 39, 2011

no mention, for example, of “The True (or Genuine)Orthodox Church of Greece,” or not even of “The TrueOrthodox Church of Greece in Exile,” or of “The TrueOrthodox Church of Greece Abroad” or anything ofthe sort.

If we were legally under the Church of Greece, theby-laws should, at least, have said that we are the“Greek Orthodox Church in North America” or per-haps, “The Holy Orthodox Church in North America –a Subsidiary [or Dependency] of the True OrthodoxChurch of Greece.”

Instead, we find nothing of the sort. In fact, Arch-bishop Auxentius never demanded such a thing, or evenmentioned it at all. To the contrary, he was always en-couraging us to organize ourselves and to look to it togovern our affairs, and to choose our own bishops.

Metropolitan Moses visited Greece as a bishop withour hierarchs only after Archbishop Auxentius’ repose.Consequently, he never had any dealings whatsoeverwith Archbishop Auxentius or Metropolitan Maximos,so how could he know any information of what wassaid and determined all those years prior to his eleva-tion?

The Holy Canons: The Holy Canons are crystalclear concerning this matter also: the Church of one re-gion must not interfere in the affairs of a Church of an-other region, unless invited to do so.

Here are some of those canons:

Apostolic Canon 14: A bishop is not to be allowed toleave his own parish, and pass over into another, al-though he may be pressed by many to do so, unlessthere be some proper cause constraining him, as if hecan confer some greater benefit upon the persons ofthat place in the word of godliness. And this must bedone not of his own accord, but by the judgment ofmany bishops, and at their earnest exhortation.Apostolic Canon 33: If any one of the clergy or laitywho is excommunicated, or not to be received, shall goaway, and be received in another city without com-mendatory letters, let both the receiver and the receivedbe excommunicated. But if he be excommunicated al-ready, let the time of his excommunication be length-ened.Apostolic Canon 34: The bishops of every nation mustacknowledge him who is first among them and accounthim as their head, and do nothing of consequence with-out his consent; but each may do those things onlywhich concern his own parish, and the country placeswhich belong to it. But neither let him (who is the first)

do anything without the consent of all; for so there willbe unanimity, and God will be glorified through theLord in the Holy Spirit.Council of Antioch Canon 21: A Bishop may not betranslated from one parish to another, either intrudinghimself of his own suggestion, or under compulsion bythe people, or by constraint of the bishops; but he shallremain in the Church to which he was allotted by Godfrom the beginning, and shall not be translated from it,according to the decree formerly passed on the subject.Council of Antioch Canon 22: Let not a bishop go to astrange city, which is not subject to himself, nor into adistrict which does not belong to him, either to ordainany one, or to appoint presbyters or deacons to placeswithin the jurisdiction of another bishop, unless withthe consent of the proper bishop of the place. And ifany one shall presume to do any such thing, the ordi-nation shall be void, and he himself shall be punishedby the synod.Council of Sardica Canon 1: Hosius, bishop of the cityof Corduba, said: A prevalent evil, or rather most mis-chievous corruption must be done away with from itsvery foundations. Let no bishop be allowed to removefrom a small city to a different one: as there is an obvi-ous reason for this fault, accounting for such attempts;since no bishop could ever yet be found who endeav-oured to be translated from a larger city to a smallerone. It is therefore evident that such persons are in-flamed with excessive covetousness and are only servingambition in order to have the repute of possessinggreater authority. Is it then the pleasure of all that sograve an abuse be punished with great severity? For Ithink that men of this sort should not be admitted evento lay communion. All the bishops said: It is the pleas-ure of all.Council of Sardica Canon 3: Bishop Hosius said: Thisalso it is necessary to add,—that no bishop pass fromhis own province to another province in which there arebishops, unless indeed he be called by his brethren, thatwe seem not to close the gates of charity. And this caselikewise is to be provided for, that if in any province abishop has some matter against his brother and fellow-bishop, neither of the two should call in as arbitersbishops from another province. But if perchance sen-tence be given against a bishop in any matter and hesupposes his case to be not unsound but good, in orderthat the question may be reopened, let us, if it seemgood to your charity, honour the memory of Peter theApostle, and let those who gave judgment write to

Julius, the bishop of Rome, so that, if necessary, thecase may be retried by the bishops of the neighbouringprovinces and let him appoint arbiters; but if it cannotbe shown that his case is of such a sort as to need a newtrial, let the judgment once given not be annulled, butstand good as before.2nd Ecumenical Council Canon 2: The bishops are notto go beyond their dioceses to churches lying outside oftheir bounds, nor bring confusion on the churches; butlet the Bishop of Alexandria, according to the canons,alone administer the affairs of Egypt; and let the bish-ops of the East manage the East alone, the privileges ofthe Church in Antioch, which are mentioned in thecanons of Nice, being preserved; and let the bishops ofthe Asian Diocese administer the Asian affairs only;and the Pontic bishops only Pontic matters; and theThracian bishops only Thracian affairs. And let notbishops go beyond their dioceses for ordination or anyother ecclesiastical ministrations, unless they be invit-ed. And the aforesaid canon concerning dioceses beingobserved, it is evident that the synod of every provincewill administer the affairs of that particular province aswas decreed at Nice. But the Churches of God in hea-then nations must be governed according to the customwhich has prevailed from the times of the Fathers.4th Ecumenical Council Canon 5: Concerning bishopsor clergymen who go about from city to city, it is de-creed that the Canons enacted by the Holy Fathersshall still retain their force.

So, according to the Holy Canons, we, the bishopsin North America, are strictly forbidden to interfere inthe affairs of the Church of Greece, or any other for-eign region, unless invited to do so; likewise, the bish-ops of other regions are strictly forbidden to interferein our affairs. We may involve ourselves in the ecclesi-astical matters of another local Church only if they in-vite us to do so. The converse of that is true also. Any-thing else violates the Holy Canons.

As the article “Our Mother Church” demonstrates,the Church of Greece under His Beatitude ArchbishopKallinikos of Athens is not, and never was, “our Moth-er Church.” Although we wish to have cordial rela-tions with them, we owe them no canonical obliga-tions.

When His Eminence Metropolitan Makarios ofToronto resigned the locum tenency of the throne ofAthens in October, 2010, we, as a Synod, returned tothe canonical norm. And, as we mentioned many times

before, this act of Metropolitan Makarios was also agesture of goodwill to the Synod under ArchbishopKallinikos of Athens. Any other interpretation of thatgesture is a perversion of its original intent.

February 1/14, 2011St. Trypho

Our Mother Church

One clergyman has accused us of “abandoningArchbishop Auxentius’ legacy and cathedra.” This isnot true. Both Archbishop Auxentius and Metropoli-tan Maximos made us effectively autonomous and weretain that canonical identity. We have no need to sub-mit to any Synod in Russia or Greece, but only to en-ter into mutual relations and communion. For years af-ter Archbishop Auxentius’ repose, we said we were dejure the Church of Greece and therefore maintained thelocum tenency of the throne of Athens. But, despite ourefforts to help the situation in Greece, we could not doso.

In retrospect, why, one may ask, would any clergy-man in Greece want to be under a bishop in NorthAmerica? Especially when there are at least 13 old cal-endar jurisdictions in Greece! A good question.

We are not Matthewites to say that we alone areOrthodox, especially when many in Greece have kept astrong Orthodox confession.

When mutual excommunications were lifted(against Archbishop Auxentius and also against sever-al Kiousis bishops), we observed that the majority ofconfessing, traditional Orthodox Christians were withthe Kiousis Synod. Therefore, we, with our canonicalidentity wished to join our voices to theirs in confes-sion of the Orthodox faith. Both sides knew that thisprocess would need much time and patience.

However, the Church of Greece had already estab-lished our canonical identity (through ArchbishopAuxentius). No one, therefore, can issue “de factocanonical releases,” nor depart from the canonical en-tity of HOCNA without violating the holy canons andthe legacy of Archbishop Auxentius.

We were established by Archbishop Auxentius afterthe departure of the Kiousis bishops, whom we consid-ered at that time to be in schism. For us, ArchbishopAuxentius was the legitimate Primate of the faithful ofthe Church of Greece — not those who departed fromhim.


14Issue 39, 2011

At the time when we petitioned to come underArchbishop Auxentius and were accepted, one of thebishops of the Kiousis Synod wrote to us and invited usto join them instead. We answered him with a long let-ter, demonstrating to him that they were in schismfrom their canonical Archbishop. We pointed out tohim that the reasons for which they left their canonicalSynod and “deposed” their Archbishop were unsup-portable, and, in addition, were not matters of faith.Our letter to this bishop (which was never answered)was originally written in Greek and later translated in-to English.*

However, as we have said, after Archbishop Aux-entius’ repose, most parishes in Greece sought refugeunder the Kiousis Synod. Nevertheless, we had alreadybeen established (by Archbishop Auxentius) as an au-tonomous canonical entity, which, therefore, declaredthat we were his true successors. Yet, in Greece, sinceno hierarchy or parishes remained, we saw and recog-nized the situation there, and concentrated our effortsin tending the flock that was entrusted us by God herein North America.

After the Kiousis Synod repealed the “condemna-tion” of Archbishop Auxentius, we also wished to rec-

ognize this new reality. But the Kiousis Synod and itsbishops are not our progenitors and founders. We havenever been subordinate to them, nor do we have anycanonical dependency from them or owed to them.They are (for us) a newly recognized canonical body towhich we owe no obligations. We desire to be eventu-ally in communion with them as Orthodox Christians,but they have no authority over us. They have our re-spect as the new guardians and successors of an apos-tolic foundation, but they have no canonical preroga-tives over us (see Canon 2 of the 2nd EcumenicalCouncil). For the sake of Church unity, we are willing,as St. Photius the Great says, to “consign to oblivion”the past issues with the Kiousis Synod. But they are notour Mother Church. The Synod of Archbishop Auxen-tius is our Mother Church.

St. Philaret House

This document was prepared by Priestmonk Haralam-pos, with the endorsement of Metropolitan Ephraim ofBoston and Bishop Demetrius of Carlisle.

*Copies of this letter are available both in Greek andEnglish.


15 Issue 39, 2011

Future Trips with St. Paul’s Fellowship of LaborHoly Land Pilgrimage, Jerusalem: June 17–25, 2011Convent of the Meeting of the Lord, Stanwood, WA: July 9–16, 2011Holy Theotokos Convent, Newmarket, ON: July 23–30, 2011New England Tour: August 7–14, 2011

Contact St. Paul’s Fellowship of Labor by calling (814) 386-5254 or by emailing [email protected]

Pilgrimage to Ukraine, October 2–14, 2011Led by Archpriest Rodion Laskowski

With the blessing of Bishop Demetrius of Carlisle

Pilgrimage sights include Kiev, Pochayev, Rivne, and Sevastopol.

Cost: $2,700 — includes $900 Boston to Kiev return airfare. Those meeting us in Kiev will be charged $1,800.

To Register: Please send a $200 deposit to Fr. Isaac, 278 Warren Street, Brookline, MA 02445-5927. The re-mainder is due June 17.

For more information: Contact Matushka Tatiana Kukunov (781) 320-0102 or email [email protected].


16

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The cross on our masthead commemorates the miraculousappearance of the sign of the Cross near Athens on Sept. 14(according to the traditional Orthodox calendar) in 1925.Anti-Orthodox and secularist forces in power in Greece, to-gether with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, had forced thechanging of the traditional church calendar in 1924 as afirst step toward uniting with the heterodox churches of theWest. Shining in the evening sky on the traditional feast dayof the Exaltation of the Cross, this extraordinary appear-ance of the Cross is a divine confirmation of Holy Tradi-tion in the Orthodox Church and of the calendar as onefacet of Holy Tradition.

The Faithful Steward is the official newsletter of the HolyOrthodox Church in North America. Under the editorshipof Metropolitan Ephraim of Boston, The Faithful Stewardappears three times yearly, and is delivered free of charge tothe faithful of the Holy Metropolis of Boston. For others, adonation of $2.00 an issue is requested.

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The Faithful Steward - HOMT · 2011. 8. 18. · A N e w s l e t t e r o f t h e H o l y O r t h o d ox C h u r c h i n N o r t h A m e r i c a The Faithful Steward The soldiers and