Here on my blog there is no censorship. This has been yanked from other sites which claim to encourage dialogue but only support personal retreat. I'm an all in sort and I will stand beside those who speak truth to power. This author although an authority in his own field and having received international acclaim for his devotion and tireless effort for the Church has been banned from 'open' forums. In the spirit of religious freedom and speech which I believe is still legal in America I am reposting it in it's entirety without any further comment for your edification. I only ask that we repost this in the spirit of everything that is good about Americans. Let's make this go viral.
Author Iconographer Elias Damianakis, Archon Maestor
My initial thoughts on a stupid blog post I recently read called “Who is the Guarantor of American Autocephaly?” What a sad question. The question is itself obviously written by someone with serious neurotic proclivities and delusions of grandiosity.
The author seems to miss several points or does he? Perhaps he simply can’t deal with reality, uh oh fertile ground for another complex disorder.
The first and most important fact; there is no American Autocephalous Church. There is only one jurisdiction, the OCA, which accepted unilateral and anomalous granting of autocephaly from Moscow. A tomos which is not recognized by the Church at large or at least a large majority of Canonical Orthodox Churches irrespective of linguistics. This linguistics issue is another fable created by the “internet pentarchy” and has taken root in some futile minds… The idea “only the Greek churches” don’t recognize the autocephaly is simply another bigoted attempt at separating Orthodoxy according to ethnic lines. I’d find it humorous if it weren’t so sad that those who decry inclusiveness are the first to denounce the use of Greek (Hellenic), the language and peoples: God used as to fulfill the revelation the Word, of the Gospels, of the Ecumenical Councils, of the original Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, of the language of the Holy Fathers… Greek language and Hellenic identity is the source for the revelation of our faith, the only language which fully articulated the concepts of Christianity and yet according to them it can’t understand the necessity for autocephaly in America.
Additionally the OCA “is a servant to Orthodox unity” according to the respected Archbishop Dmitri, NOT autocephaly as those cohorts of the AOI would assert. The spin machine is hard at work to confuse the public. They are crafting the message “Autocephaly or subjugation” They are perverting a Traditional Orthodox praxis and order. They should be saying be ready for schism, for that’s the route they are promoting autocephaly at any cost. Autocephaly not simply UNITY for Orthodoxy in America.
The Ortho Hero Syndrome individuals like Jorge Mikhalopoulos, Michael Bowmen, Scott Peningstown, Dean Kalvertsi and other repeat offenders under the spiritual tutelage of such nonentities as Rev John Jakobsee a disgruntled priest with hidden agendas and a Rasputin like syndrome of self grandiosity and the gift of non-clear discernment. In their compulsion to help make the Orthodox world right again, they clearly utilize Hellenophobia, patriarchophobia, and OrthoEcclesiophobia while attempting to conceal their serious case of nonautocephaliophobia and realitiphobia… They are unique in the sense they suffer from both Napoleonic and Superiority complexes simultaneously. They fear subjugation which doesn’t exist in Orthodoxy and they know exactly how everything can be ordered and/or corrected. They have in essence hijacked Rum Orthodoxy and replaced their brand of Eastern Orthodox and label it as traditional, normative and promote it as authentic. They move as far West as you can get and brand it Orthodox, isn’t that nice.
They continually stroke each others sensitive egos on websites and blogs with very respectable names including authoritative terms such as institute, ancient faith, beacon and lone defender with backing of several respectable clergy and distinguished individuals which no way changes there deceitfulness.
They promulgate and insist autocephaly is the standard for Orthodoxy. They promote autocephaly exists and demand it without ambiguity or disagreement. Anyone who suggests otherwise is attempting to subjugate the “American” church, very Samuel Adams of them. Next they will be pouring incense into the sea to symbolize their Orthodox tea party. They either willingly or ignorantly promote the Russian expansionist ideology of the Moscow Patriarchate begun long before the establishment of the Alaska mission.
They spread subtle ambiguous lies like “the See of Constantinople, which claims universal jurisdiction over the Greek-speaking peoples of the world” which not only is completely inaccurate but creates a self-dictating propaganda. Anyone with a slightly influenced religious constitution would seem this to be an honest statement.
The false concept that an apostolically founded See only serves their respected ethnic community is preposterous. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, for historical accuracy, lead dozens of ethnicities without prejudice through the millennia. It still reserves the canonical authority to do so, as has been proven by all other legitimate Churches in recent years by Synaxis and Councils called and held by Constantinople. Further misinformation by these minions of deceit is “Since Byzantium has fallen there is no reason for that See to exist”. How truly ignorant. The Church founded by the Apostle Andrew was never a church for any political empire rather it was a church located in the City of Constantinople (originally Byzan/modern day Istanbul) for all Orthodox Christians not only in that particular Metropolis but according to Canon 28 for those lands not under any other Patriarchal jurisdiction’s clearly defined Tomos’ geographical boundaries or the ‘barbarian lands’. Of course Moscow and its dependencies challenge this because they have for centuries broken this law without consequence.
As everyone is aware the See of Constantinople has survived living under various political rulers; Pre-Roman until 330 AD, Roman [known as Byzantine] until 1453, Ottoman until 1922 and today the Republic of Turkey. These varied political rulers have not kept the Patriarchate from spiritually leading its flocks by any criteria though the modern political situation particularly as the Ottoman Empire began to dissolve offers many opportunities for lively discussion about the opportunistic frenzy for autocephaly spurred on by natotionalism which took place in the 19th and 20th centuries or the difficulties placed on it by modern Turkey’s “secular” government. However this is fodder for another blog.
Another pearl of deception by Jeorge Mikhalopoulos is “Granting Turkish citizenship to the Greek bishops by Constantinople” suggesting that the See of Constantinople has the ability to grant citizenship or desires create an “Hellenic subjugation to the Turkish state … over the entire American Orthodox Church”. First they say the See of Constantinople is dwindling because of Turkish oppression then they say the Holy See is a diplomatic tool of the Turkish state. I find it hard to believe any body could buy into this ridiculous idea. Turkey would control the American church (I am laughing out loud) but there are imbeciles in the world who make this stuff up... another sad ignorant position.
They believe unless all bishops in America have American citizenship “it makes trans-jurisdictional unity all but impossible”. To them American ethnocentricism is the only acceptable form of ethno-phyletism. The same individuals who decry nationalism and phlyetism run rampant in the GOA and it must be stopped say “bishops of Anglo-American descent to view foreign citizenship as anything less than scandalous”. The scandal is the idea that citizenship has anything to do with the church governance. The only criterion is baptism and chrismation in the canonical church, not what kind of passport you hold (did I say imbeciles already?). The emphasis on citizenship requirements by these troublemakers rings hypocritically with the call for no ethnicities… another sad ignorant position.
Their insistence that Traditional Orthodox Praxis would be “Subjugation to the Phanar” is an offense to all Orthodox Christians. The term subjugation is a simple fear mongering term on their part. They suggest we would be subjugated to an old world patriarchal synod but ‘free willed’ under the OCA or some sort of autocephaly synod here in the USA. Hierarchal Synods are Hierarchal Synods they are run by certain canons and are not there to subjugate its communicants; perhaps they feel the anomalous actions of the OCA are par for the course. They are not… another sad ignorant position.
They have begun to reframe the conversation even within the OCA and suggest that the OCA is a “servant of American autocephaly” which perverts the comments of Archbishop +Dmitri when he said The OCA is “a servant to [Orthodox] unity.” NOT autocephaly. There is a distinct and profound difference not only in historical concept but more importantly perhaps to Orthopraxis.
There is one thing for sure they do not suffer from zelophobia! They thrive on jealousy, deceit and schism. Anyhow those are my initial thoughts; rest assured I’ll be back with more…
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