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Chicago’s Crossroads – So Goes the Country?
On June 5th, The National Herald published an article about the recent death of the ruling Hierarch of Chicago, Metropolitan Iakovos. In a nutshell, this Metropolis is no stranger to controversy and scandal. Some have stated there is more controversy and scandal in this Metropolis than in any other one in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The fact is that this Metropolis is at a crossroads. One hopes that the path to cleansing, healing, and rebuilding will be chosen, as will be evident by “who” will be the next Metropolitan of Chicago. More than a few people are hopeful that the path of further dismay and deterioration will NOT be chosen, as will be evident by “who” will be the next Metropolitan of Chicago. To the gratitude of many, Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit was appointed as “locum tenens” for the Chicago Metropolis, and not the controversial Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos (Demetrios Kantzavelos). This may be because of proper protocol, or some other reason. Many can think of other reasons. Many also feel strongly that the way the Metropolis of Chicago is dealt with, will reflect what lays ahead for the entire Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. God help us.
Please see TNH article by clicking here.
UPDATE:
GOCCL calls all to participate and help resolve the Chicago Metropolis! See http://goccl.org/click-here-to-find-out-how-you-can-improve-the-future-of-the-greek-orthodox-metropolis-of-chicago/
Against (crypto-Protestant) “Orthodox” fundamentalism
Creationism and Holy Orthodoxy: fundamentalism is not enough
by C.J.S. Hayward
There have been many saints that although they lived a distinguished life of sincere piety, humility, and love for God and their fellow man, this in and of itself does not make them authorities on all matters. Like, for example, Aerial Toll Houses, or as in this case, a six 24-hour day creation.
Here, Hayward reflects on the fundamentalist phenomenon of the Orthodox Christian Church and concludes that Protestant Fundamentalism should not be imported into Holy Orthodoxy. The article provides a nice insight into his book The Seraphinians: “Blessed Seraphim Rose” and His Axe-Wielding Western Converts, which addresses the “Elder Ephraim” brand of Orthodox Fundamentalism. As Hayward mentions, “If you are Orthodox and have been uncomfortable or concerned with the “Blessed Seraphim Rose and Elder Ephraim” crowd, and especially if you want to put a finger on why but can’t pin it down, this book is very much written just for you.” We endorse this book. But for now, here is the article below:
Parish Council Resigns Amidst Hierarch-Clergy “Bullying”and Issues
As if the community has not suffered enough, a parish in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church- had their Parish Council resign citing clergy “bullying” emanating from its hierarchical clergy leadership.
This is another sad episode in the life of this parish. A court found one of its previous priests, Fr. James Dokos, guilty of basically stealing/embezzling money – reportedly hundreds of thousands – from a trust. Prior to litigation, when this was reported to the Metropolis, Bishop Demetri (the Chancellor of the Chicago Metropolis) indicated that Fr Dokos did nothing wrong. Records indicate that Bishop Demetri received money from this priest, and did not recuse himself. The replacement priest, Fr. Angelo Artemas, appears to have been punished by the Hierarchs of Burton Place (Metropolis of Chicago HQ), because he did not make the issue “go away” and actually sided with the parish community. Fr. Artemas was removed from the parish and is no longer in the Chicago Metropolis. Google search this and see how this dreadful horror show unfolded, as reported by various media outlets. Here is one example:
“After Dokos was charged, a prosecutor in Milwaukee had warned Bishop Demetrios against “potential efforts to intimidate witnesses” —
an apparent reference to his impending removal of the Milwaukee priest, the Rev. Angelo Artemas.”
– The Chicago Tribune, Feb. 26th 2016 by Robert McCoppin
And now, 9 members of the Parish Council have resigned, citing that the bullying has produced a crippling tension that has stultified its ministry. It is important to note that these are lifelong members of the parish, as evident in the resignation letter. There appear to be many examples of incompetent, self-serving and unwise leadership issues on behalf of the Hierarchs:
“You know the Greek expression, the fish rots from the head?
Well that’s what’s going on here.”
— Jim Gottreich, former President of the Sts. Peter and Paul Parish Council, Glenview, IL
removed by Bishop Demetri (per Chicago Tribune, Feb. 23, 2016 by John Kass)
As if a “domino effect” were taking place, Fr. Dokos was re-assigned after the Annunciation Church, to Saints Peter and Paul. The community was not happy and voiced their concerns through the person of its elected official, Jim Gottreich, Parish Council President. He was removed. They suffered too.
And now this: lifelong members resigning. You know what this means? It means there is more trouble ahead for the Greek Orthodox in America. We know many individuals have left the Greek Orthodox Chicago Metropolis, and beyond. Now we have official church entities calling it quits. It appears that the heart and spirit of these communities are being broken, torn down, and highly disrespected. Out of self-respect, why would they want to remain? They carried the burden a long time because of their love for their community. But enough is enough. Not that any Hierarch appears to actually care of course. One can almost hear a self-deluding thought that might be resonating in the smug space between their ears, “they’ll be back.” God help our Church.
by associate editor of We Are Orthodox – Mr. Steve Johnson
Life long members of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Milwaukee, WI, resign amidst “bullying”.
The Heresey, Falsehood, & Lie of Aerial Toll Houses
The tollhouses. Fresco in the Monastery of St. John of Rila, Bulgaria.
Brothers & Sisters,
I wrote in another area of the esteemed “Orthodox Christian Laity” website, http://ocl.org in a section entitled “Tradition Without Fundamentalism“, concerning the deleterious effects that the “Ephraimite” style of Monasteries are having upon the cross-jurisdictional parish communities in the United States. In the section “Resolutions Relating to Monasteries Adopted by the OCL” I spoke to one item in particular, the Aerial Toll House heresy, that the Ephraimite Monasteries are actively promoting. They even just published a 1000 page book teaching this heresy. I am reprinting this here on We Are Orthodox.
In a nutshell, the false teaching alleges that upon death, the soul undergoes a journey through a number of “Toll Houses” where the demons of Hell examine particular sins of the person at each toll house. If the person can successfully give an account , then he/she can pass through and go to the next Toll House. If a person can pass through each Toll House, THEN they can proceed to Paradise. Ephraimites teach that “Blind obedience” to your priest, abbot, spiritual father, will give you a free pass through these Toll-houses. One can easily imagine how that could be exploited by self-aggrandizing ilks of base character.
This falsehood, indeed this heresy, this lie, completely insults Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross for us. This falsehood, this heresy, this lie, puts the demons as our judge, and not the Lord. This falsehood, this heresy, this lie, dismisses the incredible phenomenon known as “grace”. Each liturgy we pray for a good account before the awesome judgment seat of Christ – not the demons. Christ is our judge. And when we all face Him (indeed an intense event) our only defense, our only hope, is being released on a technicality – for what excuse can we give for sinning? Adam tried blaming Eve as his excuse. Didn’t work for him. It won’t work for us. Our only hope then is the technicality known as Divine Grace, through which (as scripture clearly states) we are saved. Indeed, as Orthodox Christians, this should not be news to us. There is no teaching of Aerial Toll Houses in Scripture, in Canons, in the Funeral Service, etcetera.
The proponents of this heresy clearly show their ego by:
1. Distorting Scripture to suggest that this teaching is there.
2. Using vague and ambiguous statements from certain saints to suggest “the Fathers and Saints teach this”
In some sense, they use this as a type of secret knowledge of what awaits us. This is a modern-day form of the Gnostic heresy.
I could go on. But let me only highlight on last item. The Monastery in Florence, AZ just published a book that is over 1000 pages long, alleging that Aerial Toll Houses are true and part of Orthodox beliefs. I don’t think doctoral dissertations are that long. To make matters worse, there are Orthodox Hierarchs that have foolishly given their endorsement of the book – as printed therein. This does not represent the dogma of the Orthodox Christian Church.
Let me predict something: The Protestant Church leadership (or some other Christian denomination) will get a hold of that book, and there will begin a campaign alleging that Orthodox Christians believe salvation is in the hands of demons. If you think people have left our Church now – “you aint seen nuthin’ yet!” There will be a profound exodus of people that is beyond what is already happening. Even those who think that this is merely a metaphor, or “theologoumenon” should re-evaluate and not give such credit to this profound insult and distortion. This heresy should not be given a foolish “de facto” endorsement either.
Here is a scholarly document refuting this teaching:https://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/dumbarton-oaks-papers/dop55/dp55ch06.pdf
The Dumbarton Oaks Papers are held in very high esteem amongst scholarly circles. While profane people like me point to simple and obvious truths, this scholarly approach by Dr. Nicholas Constas (now known as the Priest-Monk Maximos from Mount Athos) examines every minutia of detail and presents his conclusion that this is a false teaching.
I honor and respect the Parish Community as a place and source of holiness. I also honor and respect the same in unadulterated and healthy Monasticism (as is the case with the deeply respected Priest-Monk Maximos, and others). That is why I will speak out on anything that is of concern. I believe it is my responsibility as a human to speak the truth. Otherwise I would feel guilty of passively allowing a falsehood to continue. Please join me in addressing this. Do not be afraid to speak the Truth, even when it is uncomfortable. I read somewhere that: “Truth plus one person equals the majority”. That may take time, but that is the side I choose to be on. Ultimately the masses will discover that. The Lord knows. May He send us the Grace we need to overcome this evil challenge as we have historically overcome other ones. I believe the Lord does that through people like you and me.
Respectfully,
Steve Johnson
On “Archmandritism” in the Church
Because of the numerous sick examples of unhealthy clergymen, The National Herald (TNH) published a Viewpoint that challenges the status quo in the Church to return to a more healthy practice of married bishops. This was the original practice of the Orthodox Christian Church.
Here is a quote:
“Personally I respect and honor the true, authentic, and healthy monasticism because it is the joyful sadness of the Church. But when I see career celibates who live in the world lavishly, two things come to my mind (when I see celibates): they are saints, or they are sick. I don’t believe there is a middle ground.”
To read this article by Editor Theodore Kalmoukos (February 28, 2017) please Click Here.
In order to be directed to the article as found on TNH, please click here.
Dangerous & Lucrative Trend of “Sick” Orthodox Guruism
For many years now we have been doing our best to raise the awareness of the faithful in America about the “cultish-like” phenomenon that seems to follow and even blindly obey Elder Ephraim of Arizona, Abbott Paisios of Arizona, and the like.
The January 31st edition of The National Herald has an article that raises these exact observations and questions. As a matter of fact, he references it as quite a lucrative industry as well. While the local parishes struggle to pay their assessments and meet their recurring bills, the dozens of multi-million dollar Monasteries of Ephraim in the United States (and also those abroad not included in this tally) have spawned unabashed.
Monasteries are not assessed like parishes are from the Archdiocese/Metropolis. Yet Parishes are also “guilted” to help the monastery raise money by activities such as selling higher-than-market-prices for candles, icons, and other items. Also many Parishes have reported to have monastics selling their wares at the local parish Greek Festival. In fact, Ephraimite Monasteries have industrial type kitchens (that are the envy of many restaurants) where they prepare their baked goods and delicacies, that are also sold at the local parish, and other venues too. Any revenues from oversees (maybe from the coffers of Vatopedi?) are not included in this tally.
Yes Mr. Kalmoukos is right – again. It is a lucrative industry. Add to the mix alleged prophecies, miracles, blind obedience, while also disparaging the Hierarchs of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (GOA) it’s no wonder that the financial outlook looks pretty good. Too bad many souls (and communities) may be destroyed in the process.
Mr. Kalmoukos is right – again. This phenomenon is unhealthy.
Thank you Mr. Kamoukos for having the courage of your convictions to stand up and say things that are not comfortable, but nevertheless are true.
Read the full article by clicking the title following this sentence:
Elderism, Futurism, and Prophetism
By Theodoros Kalmoukos – January 31, 2017
A Pharisee
Exodus from Churches in America
During the last few decades in the America, there has been a significant change in the religious landscape. The numbers indicate people are leaving the Church, but the numbers appear to be higher within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (GOA).
Educated and Dynamic Pastor Leaves Orthodoxy
Such is the case here with Pastor TJ Humphrey. In his blog he details his experience.
Read by clicking anywhere in this post.
Monastic Contrasts in America
Monastic Contrasts in America
In one of the notoriously renowned fundamentalist monasteries in the USA, one of the highest ranked monastic leaders of that brotherhood immediately asked a visiting Orthodox Priest if he and his wife engaged in oral sex. Not the usual salutation one might expect. Unfortunately, this abusive and distorted voyeurism masked under monasticism has been reported before here. It is also reported concerning those clergy and laity that follow this unhealthy ilk.
This distortion of monasticism stands in remarkable contrast with healthy, wholesome and normal monasticism. Monasticism is a vital part of Orthodox Spirituality and deserves to be monitored properly by the hierarch to ensure it is best represented. Not only to protect the faithful from this, but also other actions and heretical teachings (like aerial tollhouses).
There are good examples of wholesome and healthy monastic communities. One of these is located in Washington state, specifically on the Vashon island in Puget Sound. https://vashonmonks.com/wp/
The monks at the All-Merciful Saviour Monastery seem to represent one of the better examples of the monastic life. The monastery is headed by Abbot Tryphon, who publishes an almost daily blog at the Ancient Faith website. Blogs.ancientfaith.com To get a sense of the wholesomeness of Abbott Tryphon, please visit https://youtu.be/pgyhIkcHLZA?list=PLVt2095LEkjhuAH9Tavd5EoY98Fa3w-eQ for a very touching interview.
In is refutation of purgatory entitled “The Heresy of Penal Substitution”, Abbott Tryphon’s July 6th 2016 commentary (http://blogs.ancientfaith.com/morningoffering/2016/07/heresy-penal-substitution/) can also be seen to dismiss the idea of Aerial Tollhouses, which leave the saving grace of God in the hands of demons who test the soul upon a person’s death, thus making a complete mockery of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.
Monasteries like this one will make a positive difference in America’s landscape, and hopefully bring more people to Christ. As it stands now, the fundamentalist monasteries in America are chasing people away.