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The National Herald - July 22-28, 2023
Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago
Spoke in Constantinople with Boldness
By Theodore Kalmoukos
His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago
BOSTON – Metropolitan
Nathanael of Chicago spoke with
boldness and frankness before Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
during the meeting on April 5,
2023 of the Hierarchy of the
Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese of America at the Phanar,
where Archbishop Elpidophoros
was also present. The third part
of the report is revealed in this
article by The National Herald.
The report states that "Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago
argued that the whole issue of
the revision of the Charter has
[become] exhausted and proposed a slowdown in the process
to determine what actually needs
revision in the current Charter.
He stressed that during the recent Archdiocesan Clergy-Laity
Congress (July 2022), members
of the Patriarchal Delegation
posed the question to the
Eparchial Synod whether they
desired a total or partial revision
of the Charter, and the Eparchial
Synod responded [by asking for
a partial revision], while the
Archbishop America, however,
recommends a total revision."
In another part of the report,
it is stated that "regarding the
issue of establishing an age limit
for the hierarchs, Metropolitan
Nathanael agreed with Metropolitan of San Francisco that it
falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Mother Church.
He even questioned how such a
regulation could be established
for only one Eparchy of the
Throne. However, he applauded
the proposal for including a provision in the Charter regarding
the process of determining the
incapacity of an Hierarch to perform his duties."
Regarding Archbishop Elpidophoros' proposal for a ‘triple
commemoration’ of hierarchs in
the Holy Services, including the
Divine Liturgy, the report states
the following: "Metropolitan
Nathanael of Chicago characterized the proposal for double or
triple commemoration as incomprehensible and uncanonical,
but he acknowledged that it was
his mistake, due to ignorance,
for not commemorating… during the Great Entrance, the
name of the Archbishop of
America in violation of a relevant provision of the current
Charter."
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Finally, regarding Archbishop
Elpidophoros' proposal to abolish
the metropolises and replace
them with districts, Metropolitan
Nathanael disagreed with the assessment made by the Archbishop of America describing the
current administrative system as
a product of the weak position
in which the Ecumenical Patriarchate found itself after the resignation of Archbishop Spyridon.
According to Metropolitan
Nathanael, such an approach
constitutes a disregard not only
for the wisdom of the Mother
Church to find better solutions
according to the circumstances
but also, worse still, for the role
of the Holy Spirit in guiding the
affairs of the Church. Metropolitan Nathanael expressed the
opinion that during the twenty
years of the functioning of the
Metropolitan System, it has
proven to be efficient. He also
characterized the Holy Archdiocese of America as strong and
capable today.
Metropolitan Nathanael also
spoke regarding the specific proposal for the election of the current Metropolitans of the Archdiocese of America as
Metropolitans of historic sees of
Asia Minor, Pontus, and Eastern
Thrace, and the assignment of
the duties of the Overseer to
them in the transformed Archdiocesan Region of the former
Metropolises. He emphasized
that the Holy and Sacred Synod
[in Constantinople] elected him
[the Archbishop of America] to
be a Shepherd and not a Regional Overseer (Περιφερειάρχης). For this reason, he cannot
accept the proposal as it affects
his own position as a hierarch,
with which the assignment of
certain administrative or managerial duties to the Metropolis
for which he was elected by the
Holy and Sacred Synod is in no
way compatible.
Regarding the Metropolis of
New Jersey, the report also includes the following: "In conclusion, Metropolitan Nathanael
questioned why the Holy Metropolis of New Jersey continues
to function in a vacant state, in
violation of the relevant provision of the Charter, despite the
complete reinstatement of the
current Charter. In response, the
Archbishop of America emphasized that the non-compliance
with the current Charter was acknowledged by Metropolitan
Nathanael himself, who until recently did not commemorate the
Archbishop during the Great Entrance, in violation of the relevant Charter provision. He further added that the Charter is
violated against the common
consent of all members of the
Holy Eparchial Synod, every time
it is convened, despite the fact
that this is not provided for under the current Charter."
At this point, Metropolitan
Nathanael observed that the
Charter grants the Archbishop of
America the flexibility to convene the Eparchial Synod whenever he desires. "Extraordinarily,"
clarified Archbishop Elpidophoros, who further supported
his argument by emphasizing
that the Church always finds a
way to invest a current state of
affairs with validity. The term in
Orthodox ecclesiology is ‘economy’ (οικονομία). As the Archbishop of America mentioned, by
economy, the Metropolitans commemorate the name of the Ecumenical Patriarch, and they do
well! However, proper practice
requires that the Metropolitans
commemorate the First of the
Synod, that is, in this case, the
name of the Archbishop of America. He reiterated his proposal
for not only commemorating the
Archbishop of America according
to proper practice, but also the
Ecumenical Patriarch, so that his
name is heard and becomes
known everywhere in the United
States.
In relation to the Metropolis
of New Jersey, His Holiness reminded those present that it was
established by the late Archbishop Iakovos for his spiritual
son, Metropolitan Silas of
blessed memory. Archbishop
Elpidophoros mentioned that
during the tenure of Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey,
now Metropolitan of Sardis, the
clergy of the Metropolis of New
Jersey were note permitted to go
to the Direct Archdiocesan District, nor were the clergy of the
latter granted permission to enter the Metropolis of New Jersey.
[ The National Herald - July 22-28, 2023 - p. 12 ]
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