Orthodox News - March 8, 2004

Spyridon Speaks out about the Legal Dispute
against the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
and the “Metropolitization” of the American Church

(Excerpts from an interview with former Archbishop of America Spyridon
who is visiting in Tarpon Springs, Florida)

NH:  How would you comment on the legal dispute over the issue of the Charter of the Archdiocese?

Spyridon:  I not only mourn the situation, I mourn especially the fact that there is a need for recourse to civil courts for solutions to ecclesiastical and religious issues.

On the other hand, no one can gainsay the right that those who have brought the action have, inasmuch as the 1977 Charter provides for the approval of the Clergy Laity Congress when there is an adjustment or amendment to a new charter.

What I am trying to say is that those who have brought this action did not do it without a substantive rationale. Especially inasmuch as the 1977 Charter was approved by the Patriarchate, the Patriarchate itself should have respected it, and not made an effort to adjust a new Charter which had not passed through the canonical proceedings that the Patriarchate itself provided. Consequently, they have a basis.

I don’t know how the matter will evolve. I do pray that it will be solved quickly, such that the two sides come to agreement, find a solution, and move on. Because this will mar the prestige of the Church and scandalize our people even more, which has been scandalized enough by administrative, ecclesiastical and financial scandals which continuously arise.

NH:  How do you see the new structure of the Archdiocese of America?

Spyridon:   I have an unchanged position on the issue of the “Metropolitization” – that it is not the solution for the ecclesiastical problem of America based on the numbers.

I don’t think that the number of our faithful justifies the establishment of ten Metropolises, when these same Metropolises will tax the adequacy of the finances of the Church. Where one office covered Youth, now we will have eleven offices for Youth. These offices will all require space, personnel, funding. The establishment of these Metropolises and the segmentation of the Archdiocese into ten pieces, as I see it, harms the unity of the Archdiocese.

[ Orthodox News
  www.orthodoxnews.netfirms.com/110/Spyridon%20Speaks%20out.htm
  March 8, 2004 ]

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The text above, furnished with the headline
"Former Archbishop Spyridon Speaks Out On Charter and other issues!", was also
posted at http://www.ocl.org/Former%20Archbishop%20Spyridon%20Speaks%20Out.htm
03/30/2004)