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Mass News - July 29, 1998

Boston at Center of Global Orthodox Turmoil

Americans Resisting Greek Authority

By Paul Moreno

The Greek Orthodox Church has been wracked by internal dissension in the past year, as Americans object to heavy-handed control of their new archbishop, Spyridon, who is attempting to reinforce church authority.

At the center of this turmoil is Hellenic College/Holy Cross Seminary in Brookline, where Spyridon removed the president and three faculty members who, it is alleged, would not participate in a cover-up of sexual misconduct by a Greek priest.

The New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the Association of Theological Schools recently censured the College.

At a deeper level, the battle between the new archbishop and American membership is a struggle over the identity of the Orthodox Church in America. Spyridon represents the conservative fear that the American Orthodox Church is becoming too modern, secular, and democratic, as its members become assimilated into American society.

Others claim that Spyridon is "part of a plot by the Patriarchate in Istanbul to take control of the financially rich Greek Orthodox Church in the US," says Paul Glastis in US News.

The fissure is ironic, since Spyridon is the first American-born archbishop in America, and many Americans hoped he would be more accommodating than his predecessor, Iakovos.

A group of Americans who perceive a worldwide crisis in the Orthodox Church formed an organization called Greek Orthodox American Leaders (GOAL). It is based in Cambridge, and its co-executive directors are Dr. Tom Lelon, a Vice-President at Nichols College and a former president of Hellenic College, and Dr. John Collins, a Cleveland neurosurgeon.

They created a web site, "Voithia" (Greek for "help") to promote their cause. The Greek Orthodox Church also has a web site.

The following articles provide more information on the controversy in the Greek Orthodox Church:

  • "Leadership Turmoil Tears Greek Orthodox," by Diego Ribadeneira, Boston Globe.
  • "Growing Pains in American Orthodoxy," by Terry Mattingly, Gospel Communications Network.
  • "Discovering Byzantium," by Jeffrey Sheler, US News.

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  July 29, 1998 ]