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Rocky Mountain News - July 14, 1999

Criticism Of Greek Orthodox Archbishop Heats Up

5 metropolitans object to spyridon's style of management,
claim he's too authoritarian

By Jean Torkelson
News Religion Writer

Opposition is reaching a boiling point over Archbishop Spyridon's leadership of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Isaiah, the head of the Colorado region, told the Denver Rocky Mountain News Tuesday.

Last week, Isaiah's three senior colleagues took that urgent message to the Patriarchate, or leadership, of the mother church based in Istanbul, Turkey.

"I am surmising that the Patriarchate has been inundated with correspondence, faxes and e-mails," Isaiah said. "The Patriarchate must do something."

Opposition is also mounting in the Denver-based diocese, which includes 10,000 members in 12 states, he said.

Isaiah is one of five metropolitans who govern the 1.5 million-member U.S. church along with the archbishop in New York.

In January the five metropolitans called for Spyridon to resign. They echoed a growing lay movement that objects to Spyridon's authoritarian style.

Spyridon, who was educated in Turkey, at one point sued his American critics in federal court. They had criticized Spyridon for acting autocratically in a number of incidents, including the purchase of his home and the firing of several seminary faculty.

"The fact of the matter is, not having lived in America he doesn't know the American way of life," said Isaiah, who said Spyridon's European style is to micromanage rather than share authority.

Isaiah said the metropolitans have asked the church to give them input on Spyridon's successor.

The Rev. Mark Arey, spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, said Spyridon has not expressed any intention of resigning. Arey also discounted the depth of the opposition.

"We're talking about 1.5 million (members)," he said. "I challenge anyone to do a head count of all those who have expressed opposition to the archbishop."

Arey pointed out that the metropolitans and the archbishop have continued to work together amicably during the crisis. Isaiah also acknowledged that the situation is a delicate one for Spyridon, who is highly regarded as an honorable man.

"It would be a humiliation if he were to be suddenly pulled out," Isaiah said. "That is why, if there are strong feelings at the Patriarchate that he should be re-assigned, (the Patriarchate) may depend on his honor to submit his resignation so it won't look embarrassing for him."

[ (The Denver) Rocky Mountain News - July 14, 1999 ]