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Greek-Canadian Reportage - March 12, 2001
Presentation of Justine Frangouli-Argyris' Book
The Lonely Path of Integrity - Spyridon, Archbishop of America 1996-1999
MONTREAL - GREEK-CANADIAN REPORTAGE
The Lonely Path of Integrity - Spyridon, Archbishop of America
1996-1999 written by the Greek journalist Justine Frangouli-Argyris, correspondent
to the Athens News Agency, was presented on Sunday, March 11, at the Cultural
Center of the Hellenic Community of Montreal.
The book, published by Exandas Publishers, narrates the unprecedented vicissitudes
that the Church of America embarked upon after the departure of Archbishop
Iakovos. With the appointment as Archbishop of Spyridon, hitherto Metropolitan
of Italy, such vicissitudes resulted in church conflicts and dissension within
the Greek American community.
Ms Frangouli, as she herself explained, had access to Archbishop Spyridon's
archives, correspondence and personal journal. She succeeded in presenting,
even if only one-sidedly, some interesting aspects of the overall situation
arisen in the Archdiocese. She records, with details unknown to most people,
the events that took place within the Greek Orthodox Church of America and
describes exhaustively the former Primate's three-year ministry.
At the presentation, prominent members of Montreal's Hellenic Community spoke
of Spyridon's personality and ministry. He was described as a direct
and simple man and as a gifted religious and spiritual leader.
It is worth noting that after his ousting from the Archdiocese of America
and his refusal to accept a new patriarchal appointment to the Metropolitanate
of Chaldia, Archbishop Spyridon left the United States for Portugal, where,
no longer involved in active Orthodox church ministry, he lives a life of
monastic solitude.
Antonis Bartzakos
[ Translated from Greek ]
[ Greek-Canadian Reportage -
www.microtec.net/gcradb/book_spyridon.html
March 12, 2001 ]
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