Month: January 2024

Categories
faith

Greek Orthodoxy Reawakens!

The Orthodox Church of Greece convened a synod on January 23. The bishops voted unanimously to oppose plans by the government to legalize gay marriage. It should be understood that there is no opposition to gay people sharing benefits or having what appears to be civil unions.

Marriage is a religious concept and belongs to the jurisdiction of the Church, and not that of the government. Prime Minister Mitsotakis is likely pushing this because of the European Union and Greek leaders traditionally accept all western dictates uncritically. Marriage from a biblical and theological perspective can only be between a man and a woman.

This is not “homophobia” which critics will label opponents of the Mitsotakis government. Only twenty years ago, a Massachusetts court found that marriage can include couples of the same sex. This ruling spit in the face of all civilizations and cultures. The issue which the Church is fighting has less to do with people who are gay, and entirely with the matter of an ideology that smacks of paganism.

The “right” of same sex couples to marry has led to the trans movement. Today, a man who declares he is a woman can enter the ladies room, women’s showers, and participate in female sports. Women and girls have been injured by them.

In addition, we have seen the rise of drag queen story hour, in which men in drag read books to school children and teach them about “twerking”. Then there are the horrors of “drag” children, boys dressed as girls dancing in clubs for grown men who throw money at them. In some states, it is legal for thirteen year olds to get sex changes WITHOUT the approval of parents. Wait till the bishops of Greece see what same sex marriage in America has led to.

The uproar by the Church in Greece has led to Patriarch Bartholomew expressing his opposition to same sex marriage. Some good things are developing. The Church must stand its ground against the pagan LGBT agenda but should make clear that the Church is a hospital for sinners and that gay people are welcome as are heterosexual sinners.

The New Testament teaches us not to judge others. Therefore, the defense of marriage is not aimed at gay people, but at the ideology that is being exported worldwide by the Biden administration. The US government is promoting LGBT ideology worldwide and targeting children.

The bishops of Greece are specifically motivated to stop adoptions by gay couples. It should be remembered that Greek boys under the Turks were taken from their families, converted to Islam, and forced into the Janissaries. Generations of boys were lost to the Turks.

Greeks will not lose further generations of children to the Rainbow Janissaries. Now that the Greek Churches have found their voices, they can do the right thing by breaking off with the fake “church” in Ukraine and reestablish communion with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

But one thing at a time.




Categories
political

Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government is the most extreme in the history of Israel. His coalition partner Itamar Ben Gvir who is in charge of national security is a follower of the late Meir Kahane. Kahane was expelled from the Knesset in 1988 and was barred from running for office in Israel.

The attacks on Israel by Hamas on October 7 were indisputably crimes against humanity and cruel and inhumane. The Israeli reaction however is also cruel and sadistic as Israel is bombing civilian targets without discrimination. A Greek Orthodox Church, Mosques, hospitals and homes have been hit. The civilian population is being punished collectively for Hamas despite not being involved in the attacks by Hamas.

The United States which has hypocritically lectured the rest of the world on human rights is continuing to arm the Israelis despite the mounting evidence of war crimes. Israel is looking to push out one million plus Palestinians from Gaza. Netanyahu has openly mocked the US by insisting there will be no Palestinian state when the war ends.

American officials have responded by pathetically saying Netanyahu will not remain in power forever. So, the US which theoretically supports a Palestinian state is going to allow Netanyahu to call the shots. Contrast Washington’s slavish obedience to Netanyahu’s government with their aggressive threats against Russia and others.

As a Senator, Joe Biden supported NATO’s aggressive bombing of Serbia. The bombing of Serbia was no different from Tel Aviv’s bombing of civilians in Gaza. American officials are as complicit in war crimes as the Netanyahu government. It is therefore not surprising that Washington is not doing anything to stop the destruction of Gaza.

The Netanyahu government is blocking humanitarian relief from entering Gaza. Famine is becoming a reality, as is the spread of disease. Palestinians are living without electricity and water. South Africa has brought a case against Israel before the International Court of Justice.

Chile and Mexico are supporting South Africa. Germany has announced it will defend Israel. The people of Gaza are not likely to be helped by any major western government. German. Support for Israel is reminiscent of the arms that Germany provided to the Turks during the genocides of the Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks during World War One.

The solution to a Middle East peace lies in a two state solution. American and European policies in the Middle East have failed. What the Middle East needs is greater Russian involvement. The Russians saved Syria from becoming a jihadist base a few years ago while the west was supporting ISIS and Al Quada. As the Ukrainian war is coming to a close, the Russians who have good relations with the Arabs and Israel may succeed in bringing about a ceasefire.

Categories
faith

Mount Athos, Church Of Greece, And The Struggle For The Faith

The Monasteries of the Holy Mountain have written a letter to Patriarch Bartholomew opposing the impending visit of Archbishop Elpidophoros. The reason for this are the controversial baptisms of two children of a gay couple. In addition, the Athonites cited the photograph of the Archbishop with the two men and suggest that the hierarch appears to endorse gay marriage.

This is an accurate assessment of the photograph. The monks have made clear that they do not wish to appear as if they are in agreement with the Archbishop or endorse his actions. We should recall that when the Archbishop asked for permission from Metropolitan Antonios of Glyfada to conduct the baptisms, he failed to mention the “parents” were gay.

The Archbishop deceived this hierarch and the Church of Greece in general. Furthermore, the use of a surrogate mother to provide these men with children represents a further moral issue with the entire affair. Archbishop Elpidophoros by all rights should be deposed.

This baptism is by no means the only controversy that he has stirred up. He has received into the Patriarchate’s Slavic vicariate a defrocked Archimandrite from the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia and sought to elevate him into the episcopacy. Only threats from the other Orthodox Churches in the episcopal assembly forced the Archbishop to cancel his plans.

During the fall of 2021, the Archbishop attended a ceremony at the Turkish consulate in New York one year after the Turks converted Hagia Sophia into a Mosque. The Archbishop was in the presence of Ersin Tatar, the leader of the Turkish occupation of Cyprus. This move angered the governments of Greece and Cyprus.

Archbishop Elpidophoros gained notoriety from an article he wrote in 2013 stating the Ecumenical Patriarch was “first without equals”. In reality the Ecumenical Patriarch is considered “first among equals” with a “primacy of honor”. The then Metropolitan also compared the Patriarch with the first person of the Holy Trinity. This writing gave the current Archbishop a good deal of notoriety.

Considering Patriarch Bartholomew’s subsequent actions in Ukraine (the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church) it makes the Archbishop the minister of propaganda to Patriarch Bartholomew. Both the Patriarchate and the Archdiocese have aligned themselves with American pro war foreign policy establishment.

Even worse, they compromised the Patriarchate of Alexandria, several Athonite Monasteries and bishops in Greece and Cyprus when the latter all established communion with the fake “church” in Ukraine. Certainly all the above have to take responsibility for entering into communion with the artificial entity calling itself “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”. But it was Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Elpidophoros who started all this by trying to bestow on the Patriarch authority and power he does not have.

The Monasteries of Mount Athos contributed to the schism in Orthodoxy when they decided to let each Monastery pursue its own policy toward the illegitimate Ukrainian “church”. Furthermore, they permitted the fake “bishops” of Ukraine to desecrate the holy mountain by permitting them to participate in liturgical services. These frauds also raised the Ukrainian flag on Mount Athos and sang the Ukrainian national anthem. Such expressions of nationalism are supposed to be prohibited on the holy mountain.

The expressions of opposition to gay marriage by the Church of Greece and Mount Athos deserve praise. But there is much more to be done. The holy mountain and the Churches of Greece and Cyprus must reverse their decisions to recognize that thing in Ukraine masquerading as a “church”. The holy mountain and the Church of Greece must restore communion with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and to condemn the persecution of this legitimate and canonical Church.

If this can be done, the Church of Greece and the holy mountain will be restored. Then the Greek Church must prepare itself to act against the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Archbishop of America who have caused so much chaos in Orthodoxy and sought to ruin the name of Hellenism by carrying out their ecclesiastical crimes under the Greek flag which they have desecrated.