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.


Categories
faith

Hagia Sophia

The Orthodox Church today commemorates the consecration of Hagia Sophia of Constantinople in addition to the Saints commemorated on the Church calendar. Hagia Sophia will always be our holy Church regardless of its present status. The Church is named for Christ himself. Its present plight will not be forgotten.

Categories
faith

Church Of Greece Finding Its Voice

The Orthodox Church of Greece has expressed condemnation of the government’s plans to recognize same sex marriage and the right of gay couples to adopt children. This is the right call as the Orthodox Church cannot accept social policies that conflict with the Christian teaching on marriage and the family. However, there is still a noticeable difference of opinion between the Church of Greece and the distorted and heretical views of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. Recall the baptisms of two children in Greece by the American Archbishop whose parents were a gay couple in 2022.

Archbishop Elpidophoros misled the Metropolitan of Glyfada when he failed to inform him that “parents” of the children were both men. The Archbishop left behind much anger in Greece and has remained unrepentant over his actions. The bishops of Greece who are rightfully standing in opposition to the anti Christian agenda of the Mitsotakis government really need to also direct their words at Archbishop Elpidophoros and the Ecumenical Patriarch.

In addition, while the bishops of Greece are doing the right thing in the area of social morality, they can do the right thing in the area of religious freedom. This means they should condemn the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. They should also cease communion with the fake “church” and restore communion with the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Russian Church.


Categories
faith

Turkish Nationalists On The Patriarchate

The Turkish newspaper “Aydinlink” has expressed criticism that the Ecumenical Patruarchate includes the term “ecumenical” in its title. This is indicative of the fact that Turkey remains hostile to the Patriarchate. America in the end will do nothing for the Patriarchate.

Just as America did nothing after the anti Greek pogroms of September 1955 and the subsequent ethnic cleansing of Greeks from Constantinople.The Ecumenical Patriarchate made a disastrous decision to cooperate with the US against the Russians by interceding in Ukraine, the canonical territory of the Russian Church. The Russians will be unlikely to help the Patriarchate considering the Ecumenical Patriarch’s Russophobia. The Patriarchate has split Orthodoxy and compromised itself when its future is far from secure.

Former Ukrainian President Poroshenko recently praised the “tomos” that the fake “church” in Ukraine received in 2018 from Patriarch Bartholomew. Does Patriarch Bartholomew think the Nazi political elite in Ukraine will help the Patriarchate from the hostile Turks? Both the Ukrainian and American governments will leave the Patriarchate to its fate when the anti Russian hysteria fades away when the war ends.

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Categories
political

Greece And Turkey

Prime Minister Mitsotakis hosted Turkish President Erdogan of Turkey earlier this month. Once again there is talk about a Greek Turkish rapprochement. The only positive sign from Ankara is that Turkish officials have stopped threatening to invade the Greek islands. How nice of them. This time at least Erdogan did not demand a revision of the Treaty of Lausanne as he did in 2017 when he last visited.

The fact remains that Turkey still occupies Cyprus. Ersin Tatar, Ankara’s representative in the occupied Territories of Cyprus insists on a two state solution and no concessions will be forthcoming. Add to the fact that Turkey has successfully helped Azerbaijan ethnically cleanse the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh. Turkey is a major regional power entering into dialogue with Greece from position of strength.

The influence of Washington on Mitsotakis is quite apparent. Athens is moving to placate Turkey to please Washington. The Erdogan visit to Greece was out of place in light of the atrocities against the Armenians and Ankara’s general hostility toward Cyprus. Mitsotakis once pursued a hard line against Turkey.

His first administration with former Foreign Minister Dendias led to alliances with France and Egypt to counter Turkey. Over time, Greece’s principled stance has softened considerably. It might seem that Greek Turkish relations are less tense but this is not the case.

The fact that the Turks are not presently threatening to invade does not mean that their hostile claims on everything from Cyprus to to the Aegean Sea have disappeared. The Erdogan visit to Greece is a victory for Turkey and a defeat for Greece.

Turkey appears to be pursuing reconciliation while maintaining aggressive stances. This is a major propaganda victory for Turkey.

Categories
Published commentaries

On Henry Kissinger

GUEST VIEWPOINTS

On Henry Kissinger

December 8, 2023

The National Herald

By Theodore Karakostas

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Henry Kissinger

FILE – Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Oct. 10, 2017, in Washington. Kissinger, the diplomat with the thick glasses and gravelly voice who dominated foreign policy as the United States extricated itself from Vietnam and broke down barriers with China, died Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. He was 100. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has died. Kissinger supported the military dictators of Greece and encouraged the coup against President Makarios of Cyprus and the subsequent Turkish invasions. Greeks will forever associate him with the loss of Cyprus. A thoroughly immoral and unscrupulous individual, Kissinger is the perfect example of how statesmen act like mafia figures at a much higher and more sophisticated level.

Kissinger was born Jewish in the Weimar Republic and was ten years old when Hitler came to power. His family fled Germany just before the pogroms of Kristaalnacht in November 1938. Kissinger experienced the brutality of living as an oppressed minority in a totalitarian state, and despite this lacked any empathy for the victims of dictatorships.

Aside from supporting the dictatorship in Greece, Kissinger supported Augusto Pinochet’s fascist regime in Chile and was a backer of the Shah’s dictatorship in Iran. Critics are also pointing out the various wars and crimes against humanity that Kissinger supported throughout the world in places such as Cambodia, East Timor, and Bangladesh.

The strongest indictment of Kissinger came from the late Christopher Hitchens in his book, ‘The Trial of Henry Kissinger’. Hitchens got tired of seeing journalists like Ted Koppel treating Kissinger as a statesman rather than as a war criminal and wrote an article that later became the aforementioned book. Hitchens had previously authored a book on Cyprus called ‘Hostage to History’ which remains one of the best on the modern history of Cyprus.

It remains truly disturbing that the memory of Kissinger is being honored by the powerful of the world. Former President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair have both praised Kissinger. They are not alone. These two leaders themselves instigated the invasion of Iraq, which led to a sectarian civil war, the destruction of most Iraqi Christians, and the rise of the genocidal Islamic State.

They have something else in common. Just as Kissinger supported the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, these latter day western leaders supported the dismemberment of Cyprus by trying to bully the democratic Republic of Cyprus into accepting the Annan Plan in 2004.

Henry Kissinger exemplified the sinister and criminal nature of the foreign policy establishment. The disregard for civilian lives and the destruction of independent countries was demonstrated in Cyprus and in many other cases. Athens and Nicosia continue the struggle to liberate Cyprus from the Turkish occupation, which remains Kissinger’s evil legacy bestowed on the Hellenic world.

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Categories
cinema

Napoleon

Napoleon

Directed by

Ridley Scott

2023

The new film “Napolean” with Joachin Phoenix in the title role is great. Phoenix who earned a well deserved Oscar for his role as the Joker is terrific in his role. The film depicts the rise and subsequent fall of the tyrant and his political and military careers.

Much attention is given to his military campaigns and the senseless destruction and carnage. The closing credits inform us that twenty three million people died in his wars over a twenty two year period. My favorite parts are the scenes involving Russia and there is much about this film that is timely.

An excellent film highly recommended.

Categories
Letters

Letter To New York Times

This letter is in response to the November 29 article by David E. Sanger on Henry Kissinger. Mr. Sanger omits Kissinger’s crimes and offenses perpetrated in Greece and Cyprus during his disastrous back to back tenure as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State. Kissinger and the Nixon administration remain complicit in supporting the Greek military dictatorship and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Kissinger overruled all suggestions by State Department officials to stop the Turkish invasions of Cyprus that occurred during the summer of 1974.

Kissinger personally loathed and mocked the democratically elected President Makarios of Cyprus and approved his overthrow and the subsequent Turkish aggression in Cyprus. As a result over 200,000 Greek Cypriots suffered the results of Turkish ethnic cleansing and are unable to return to their homeland up to the present time. Kissinger’s ruthlessness and inhuman gangsterism has had devastating consequences for people around the world, including Cyprus who are still suffering and enduring the consequences that emanated from Turkish aggression and the psychopathic mind of Henry Kissinger who supported that brutal invasion.

The article makes very clear that Henry Kissinger is responsible for human suffering on a mass scale around the world. Torture victims in Greece and victims of rape, murder, and ethnic cleansing by Turkish troops in Cyprus occurred largely because of the misuse and abuse of power exacerbated by the now deceased sociopath. 

Theodore Karakostas
Boston, MA