In case you were wondering, the Ecumenical Patriarchate doesn’t seem to be getting the memos. Which ones? Those that have to do with hitching their ecclesial wagon to the progressive star of the Episcopal Church.
As you can see from the picture to the left, a certain Fr Evageros, a Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne is praying with the Very Reverend William Ogburn, the Rector of St Paul’s Church in Brooklyn. The Very Reverend is “married” to a certain Jonathan Vantassel, who, we are told, “works for an advertising firm in Manhattan.”
Perhaps Archbishop Elpidophoros is not passing these memos on to Istanbul –a miscommunication as it were. More likely, this ecumenical service was given the go-ahead by Elpidophoros, acting on his own. It’s even possible that this was instigated by Patriarch Bartholomew himself.
The timing is somewhat concerning, given that this service took place after the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops (AOB) concluded their annual meeting which was held in Atlanta. I would like to think that had said meeting taken place after Fr Evageros “prayed” with Ogburn, things might not have gone so smoothly for Elpidophoros.
This is all water under the bridge. What has happened, happened. I have given up all hope that the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese will right itself, or at least, take stock of the progressive trajectory it’s on and turn things around. The only concern now is whether the rest of the bishops who sit on that Assembly will continue to provide theological cover to the GOA.
In my humble opinion, they have to denounce this. It’s possible, after all, they derailed the elevation of Alexander Belya to the episcopate. If they don’t, then they’ll be contaminated with the same rot that infects the GOA. Not only has Elpidophoros continued to celebrate Gay Pride month by serving the Divine Liturgy at St Bartholomew’s Church in Manhattan, he has done so for the last three years. As if that’s not enough, two of the GOA’s dioceses (Chicago and Atlanta) encourage girls to serve in the Altar. And now this.
I won’t even go into the multiple spoon kerfuffle, the BLM march and the horrendous speech given by Elpidophoros at the Annual March for Life.
That’s three strikes. The only question now is: when will he be “out”? My sources in the Big Apple assure me that highly placed laymen in the GOA have tired of the Archbishop’s antics, that it’s only a matter of time before he is “retired.” I wish I could share their optimism. Hopefully, I’m wrong. That being said, I’m not sure that this progressive trajectory can be reversed, even if he is replaced by a conservative bishop. (Look what the Phanar did to Demetrios; it took a while but they got their way.)
So what’s on the horizon? The rest of the non-GOA bishops on the AOB following the course of ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate bishops? I can’t see any other option. I even foresee problems within the GOA, that is to say, some of the Metropolitans not being on board with this nonsense. I can’t see the Athonite monasteries thinking this is all hunky-dory.
Regardless, it can’t be called schism. Not with so many heterodox actions perpetrated by this particular eparchy of the “Ecumenical Throne.”
Alex says
Yes, it’s H-I-G-H time that the other hierarchs on the Assembly address the tragically comedic elephant in the room!
Veras Coltroupis says
In the USA, many Greeks got chapels inside Episcopal churches because the Greeks had in turn been kind to Anglican missionaries in the Levant. Many of the “American” College in Greece (Anatolia, Athens, Deree Pierce – which grant USA degrees for studies in Greece – had originally been missionary schools in Asia Mi nor) See https://anglicanhistory.org/orthodoxy/emhardt_historical1920.html