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Archon Nicholas Chatzopoulos Incensed About Recent St Basil Video
ORDER OF SAINT ANDREW THE APOSTLE
ARCHONS OF THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE
Nicholas Chatzopoulos
Archon Aktouarios
St. Basil Academy
Rev. Fr. C Sitaras, Director
R2 BOX 8A
Garrison, N.Y. 10524
December 7, 2000
Dear Father,
After watching the St. Basil Academy video tonight,
I would like to congratulate you, Dr. Gounardes and everybody else who worked
so hard and so diligently to prepare this exceptional work.
As the video was coming to the end though, I
realized that something was missing and that omission made me very sad, real
sad ...
I remember in 1998, when I was appointed
member to the Board of Trustees, I toured the buildings along with Mr. Panikos
Papanikolaou and your predecessor. What
a disappointment. The Main Building,
the House where Archbishop Michael lived, the next door house to it and the two
houses to the left of the Chapel, the Gym, the Pool, the Medical Building, the
Ahepa School and the Dorms, where in bad shape. The old stone houses mentioned above, including the Main
Building, were in ruins and they were ABANDONED. They were abandoned by Archbishop Iakovos, the Caretakers and the
Board of Trustees that he had appointed ...
I saw the holes in the walls, the broken
windows, the ruined plaster and the crumbling walls and floors. I need no help to remember, I saw these
facts with my own eyes ...
And then we had a new Archbishop and
everything changed for the Academy of St. Basil. He appointed a new Director: Fr. Sylvester, a new President: Dr.
Gounardes and new, energetic, visionary Board of Trustee members. Gave them direction and courage and the "AnagennhsiV" begun. By the end of 1998, we had spent or contracted over $500,000 worth of
renovations and the progress is still continuing. Best of all this New Archbishop appointed you as the new
energetic and visionary Director and you have done miracles, working closely
with these Board Members.
Now back to the video. As we were watching the end of it, I
realized that although all of the Archbishops were mentioned, starting with
Archbishop Athenagoras, NO mention was done about Archbishop Spyridon. Not a picture. And if you permit me to paraphrase the title of Theo Halo's Book: "NOT EVEN HIS NAME".
And I wonder, WHY? WHY? Who made that decision? Who eliminated three years of the history of
this Archdiocese and this Institution? Who has the right to do this?
When we are creating a video which is part
of history, do we have the right to pick and choose the historical events? And
for what purpose? I can go on and on,
but it is of no use ...
Father, please, next time you read to us
from the Bible, find a paragraph that refers to FAIRNESS and for standing up
for the TRUTH. I am sure all of us
could benefit ...
Best wishes and Happy Holidays.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Chatzopoulos
Archon Aktouarios
cc. Dr. S. Gounardes
[ Orthodox Truth | www.orthodox-truth.bugs3.com/art_39.html - December 7, 2000 ]
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