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The Blade - April 20, 2002

Greek Orthodox dispute resurfaces

By Judy Tarjanyi
Blade Senior Writer

For the second time in three years, a dispute over control of the Greek Orthodox Church in America is brewing in the 1.5 million-member U.S. archdiocese.
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In 1999, the American church's embattled head, Archbishop Spyridon, resigned amid strong opposition to his leadership, which many insisted was too autocratic. Now, a revision of the archdiocese's 1977 charter, begun by Archbishop Spyridon and continued by his successor, Archbishop Demetrios, is bestirring some of the same passions that marked the 1999 war of words.

The proposed changes focus on how the church is administered and central to the dispute is the question of who controls the American Greek Orthodox Church, which is under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul, Turkey. American church officials had sought greater input into the appointment of bishops, for example, but the revised charter still gives the primary authority for appointing bishops to the Patriarchate.

About 100 of the archdiocese's 550 parishes have disputed the way the proposed charter has been presented, saying they want it to be discussed rather than imposed, according to George Matsoukas of Orthodox Christian Laity. The OCL promotes the role of lay people in the church and favors an autonomous American Greek Orthodox Church. Some parishes have adopted an OCL resolution calling for self-governance of the American church.

“There's a big divorce here now between what the people of the church think and what the hierarchy thinks,” said Mr. Matsoukas, executive director of OCL.

Orthodox Christian Laity believes Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is trying to push a new charter through with little or no say from the church membership. The way the new charter has been drafted, Mr. Matsoukas said, violates the archdiocese's 1977 charter as well as resolutions passed by Clergy Laity Congresses in 1998 and 2000.

“We've had four charters in 80 years and all the charters were drawn up here in America with clergy and laity and sent to Istanbul for approval. Now they've sent it here. For 80 years and four charters it worked the other way. Now they're saying they don't need our input.”

Church officials insist that lay people were involved in drafting the changes, but OCL counters that much of the work was done in secret and that parishioners were asked for their opinions late in the process. Despite an announcement that an agreement on the document had been reached in June with the Patriarchate, the revisions were not sent to parishes until recently. Parishioners have until April 30 to submit their “constructive views or comments.”

Mr. Matsoukas said the call for comments is a mere courtesy, but the Rev. Aristotle Damaskos, dean of Toledo's Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, said he considers it a “bold move” and an important sign that the church is heeding those who want to have input. He said he is confident that parishioners' comments will be considered in any revisions.

“I know there's concern. People are saying they want to take our freedom, our autonomy, but hopefully this will be a move to help us run even more independently and efficiently.”

Father Aristotle said he believes the proposed charter changes will strengthen the American church and its dioceses by letting the U.S. archbishop continue as head of U.S. church and making local bishops metropolitans, a hierarch comparable to cardinals in the Catholic church, with equal standing and rank among all the metropolitans in the world.

“When the whole church gathers, our metropolitans here will have equal voice and seniority to express what they need to express.”

Father Aristotle said there is no need to fear the revised charter.

“If we see that it's not working the way the intent was, the church will speak up and voice concerns that the charter has to be revised.”
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Father Aristotle, who formerly served at a parish in California that was embroiled in the dispute over Archbishop Spyridon, said he is worried that this latest conflict could divide the church again.

“We are healing after the Archbishop Spyridon tragedy and I don't want to see the church go through that again.”

George Sares, president of the parish council at Holy Trinity, said in places where the bishop is weak or does not listen to the lay people, parishioners may be more inclined to oppose the revisions. “Our diocese is really well run and we have a good bishop ... He's good with the priests and the laity and has open communication.”
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Dr. Don Stathulis, a Holy Trinity parishioner who has been part of Greek Orthodox American Leaders, a group that called for Archbishop Spyridon's removal three years ago, agreed. He said he is so impressed with Bishop Nicholas of Detroit that he has decided to stay out of the current controversy, even though it has raised some of the same issues that were part of the 1999 dispute.

“[Bishop Nicholas] is a human dynamo and he's doing wonderful things. He's the most dynamic bishop we've ever had. The bishop says don't be concerned, don't worry about it, it's going to work out OK. Because he's doing such a good job, it's hard to oppose him.”

Dr. Stathulis remains concerned about control of the church and wants local bishops to have more authority. “But they seem to be happy conceding it to Istanbul.”

“It still bugs us to some extent that there's so much control over there ... They're good people, dedicated, devoted spiritual leaders. It's just how well do they know us and our needs here?”

OCL wants the charter changes to be discussed by the national Clergy Laity Congress in Los Angeles June 30-July 5. The Congress is the highest legislative body of the Archdiocese.

The Greek Orthodox Church has been headquartered in Istanbul since it was founded in 33 AD, when Turkey was part of the Greek empire, Father Aristotle said. The latest political dispute between Turkey and Greece over the island of Cyprus has brought church members together in support of peace, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[ The Blade
  www.toledoblade.com/Religion/2002/04/20/Greek-Orthodox-dispute-resurfaces.html
   April 20, 2002 ]