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Greek Orthodox Stewards of America - February 19, 1999

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STEWARDS

The Greek Orthodox Stewards of America, Inc. was organized in August, 1998. Until now, the Stewards have remained silent, hoping and praying that the purported "crisis in the church" would work itself out in a satisfactory way. Unfortunately, this has not occurred. Instead, critics of the Archdiocese, some of whom unilaterally have declared themselves to be leaders of the Greek Orthodox Church and to be acting "for the good of the Church", have increased their criticism of the Archdiocese. Moreover, they are now criticizing (and attacking) the Ecumenical Patriarch, the leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians. These attacks, which are filled with half truths and distortions, are taking on a more venomous tone every day. The only thing that is clear about the criticism and attacks is that those who are making them, individuals who purport to be Greek Orthodox Christians, are acting unchristian like.

In response to this state of affairs in our church, the Greek Orthodox Stewards have decided to take a stand. The Stewards' purposes are as follows:

• To promote the unity of the Greek Orthodox Church in the United States;
• To disseminate accurate information regarding Greek Orthodox Church affairs to the Greek Orthodox community and to the public at large and to correct inaccurate information about said affairs that has been disseminated by any source;
• To promote and preserve the traditions of the Greek Orthodox Church and to educate the Greek Orthodox community in the United States about those traditions;
• To raise the level of awareness of church issues by members of the Greek Orthodox faith;
• To coordinate the dissemination of accurate information regarding Greek Orthodox Church affairs to the media;
• To investigate lay accusations against the Greek Orthodox Church administration and to inform the public of the results of those investigations;
• To raise the level of spirituality within the Greek Orthodox Church; and
• To foster and promote cooperation and a close, harmonious relationship between the Greek Orthodox Church administration and the laity.

In the coming weeks and months, we hope to be communicating with you on a regular basis. In these communications we will tell you the untold story and expose the half-truths, falsehoods and distortions that form the foundation of the alleged crisis. In addition, we will examine what truly is motivating the critics. As will be seen, it is not the alleged mismanagement of the Archdiocese by the present administration. What is being complained about today dwarfs in comparison to what went on under the prior administration. If "mismanagement" was a real concern, many of the critics, who were in lay positions of power under the former administration, would have spoken up long ago.

There are some things you will not hear from the Stewards. First, unlike the critics, the Stewards will not say that they are made up of doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, businessmen and other professionals. Some may be impressed by that fact. We are not. We are concerned with fostering Greek Orthodox Christianity, regardless of economic station in life. Second, the Stewards will never attempt to intimidate or scare anyone with a differing view. Rather, we will respect all views and respectfully agree to disagree. Third, we will not use the clergy in advertisements and brochures to advance our objectives. We do not believe that the clergy should be used in this way.

We look forward to communicating with you in the weeks and months ahead. If you would like to become a Steward, either by volunteering your time or providing financial support, please write to the Greek Orthodox Stewards of America, Inc., P.O. Box 462, Lynnfield, MA 01940.

Copyright 1999, Greek Orthodox Stewards of America, Inc. All rights reserved.

[ Greek Orthodox Stewards of America - www.gostewards.org/stewards.htm - February 19, 1999 ]