TO THE APOSTOLIC EXARCH OF THE
HELLENIC-RITE CATHOLICS OF GREECE
Voula, the 4th November 2008
Protocol No. 1562
To
The Apostolic Exarch
Of the Hellenic-Rite Catholics of Greece
Mr. Demetrios Salahas
Dear Sir,
«Rejoice always in the Lord»!
A few days ago I was informed of the content of your homily, during your ordination-enthronement as Bishop of the Hellenic-Rite Catholics of Greece. It is with this occasion that I am writing my personal thoughts, with the outspokenness of an Orthodox Bishop of the Church in Greece; one who was born in Hermoupolis of Syros Island, and raised and residing in his native island up until the completion of the Secondary Education cycle in the renowned High School of Syros.
Your homily, quite extensive, was addressed to the flock “of a small in number ecclesiastic community of faithful, in Athens and in Yannitsa”. These faithful, according to your address, are “fully united with the Church of Rome”, albeit “belonging to the Eastern Byzantine tradition”. And you continue, stressing that “this double ecclesiastic identity of theirs – as Catholics and Easterners – being in full communion with the Apostolic Seat of Old Rome and its Primate the Bishop of Rome, and simultaneously remaining loyal to the sacred Patristic traditions, the theological treasures and the divine Worship of the Christian East, enriches that very Catholic Church of Greece - which historically belongs almost in its entirety to the western Latin tradition - and it constitutes an expression of the “co-inheritance”, the communion and the unity within the bosom of the Catholic Church itself.”
This spirit, which infused many more paragraphs of your speech, was further embellished by the position that “our vision and our mindset is a unifying one and not a ‘Uniate’ one”, and was accompanied by your entreaty: “Do not consider me a Uniate, but a unifying hierarch”, additionally condemning “categorically every act of proselytism, from wherever it may originate”.
Because of your above positions, kindly allow me to ask you a few questions - which spring from my own experiences of living many years in Syros[1], as well as a familiarity with the manner of coexistence between Orthodox and Roman Catholics – which questions of course express my own, personal concerns:
Are you aware to what degree the mode of operation of your Ecclesiastic Community causes confusion amongst the faithful of the Orthodox Church, in the multitudinous urban communities of those two cities, and especially in the densely populated Athens suburb of Patisia, on Acharnon Street, where many Orthodox approach, not knowing the true Ecclesiological and Theological background that lurks beneath the Orthodox appearance?Why do your clergy need to wear the canonical attire of the Orthodox Tradition, erect Temples in the Byzantine style, perform the Sacred services according to the Rubric of the Orthodox Eastern Church, use mostly the Liturgical Books published by the “Apostoliki Diakonia” [=Apostolic Ministry] organization of the Church of Greece ? Isn’t that what Unia is about? Aren’t you a Uniate Bishop ? What exactly does “unifying hierarch” mean?
What is the need for a Uniate to be present in the Theological Dialogues between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Confession? Is that how the Union will prosper? Would it perhaps be a gesture of good will on behalf of the Pope – for the progress of the Theological Dialogues – to no longer appoint a Uniate Bishop-Apostolic Exarch of the Hellenic-Rite Catholics of Greece? Why such a persistence for Unia by the Pope?Are you able to reckon how many comprise the “small number of members” of the Community of Hellenic-Rite Catholics of Greece and justify for what reason there is a need to elect and instate a Uniate Bishop in Greece?
If your Community is indeed small in number – even with the recent, artificially increased groups of faithful – why can’t they be poemantically served by the clergy of the Roman Catholic Confession of Greece? Why can’t these people be ministered by Roman Catholic Bishops, who are evidently and manifestly connected to the Vatican; whose attire is according to the Latin tradition – just like those who attend your ordinations (as apparent in related photographs) – so that the members of your Community might come to know Jesus Christ in that manner?
Furthermore, whenever I recall the excellent hospitalization of my ever-memorable mother twenty years ago in the “Pammakaristos” Hospital [2], that memory is always tainted by the question posed at the time by the Orthodox-looking (but Latin in dogma) Hospital minister: “Would you like me to minister Holy Communion?” Despite the fact that my mother’s theological preparation and awareness gave him the appropriate response: “No thank you; I have a son who is a clergyman and he will make sure that I receive Communion in an Orthodox manner”, we do wonder if you continue with this same tactic, in the sensitive realm of pain and consolation… What, indeed, do you do, in other Hospitals?
What, I wonder, were the motive and the objective behind the performing of a “Trisagion” [3] service during the funeral in Rome of the recently deceased Pope, by Orthodox-attired Uniate clergymen, Bishops and presbyters, according to the Orthodox Rite, and in the Greek language?
The above facts give the impression - to a multitude of intelligent and prudent people - that they comprise actions of proselytism and attempts to seize the souls of Orthodox Christians with underhanded means.It is our wish that the aforementioned do not reflect reality. That is why it is our hope that your sincerely written intentions are indeed sincere and do not hide any deception, thus offending Christ’s “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church”.
With prayers in the Lord,
The least among Bishops.
THE METROPOLITAN
† PAUL OF GLYFADA [4]
——————————-
OODE Notes:
[1] Skyros is a Greek Island in which lives a relatively large number of members of the Latin Community http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyros
[2] Pamakkaristos Hospital is owned by the Greek-Catholic Exarchate of the Latin Community in Greece
[3] http://www.oca.org/QA.asp?ID=99&SID=3
[4] Glyfada is a suburb of Athens : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyfada
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2 comments:
From here: http://www.byzcath.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/305681/Re:%20Letter%20of%20Metropolitan%20Pau
Father Deacon Lance does not tell us where he obtained Metropolitan Paul's letter - but there is no doubt that such points are made on a daily basis by representatives and hierarchs of the Church of Greece. I could recount a number of disedifying incidents which I have witnessed.
To respond to at least some of this scurrilous letter:
"Mr. Demetrios Salahas"? "Dear Sir"? His Grace Bishop Demetrios is not a secular person and is not properly addressed with either of these forms, as Metropolitan Paul knows perfectly well.
"Bishop of the Hellenic-Rite Catholics of Greece"? This is a nonsensical title, and the Church does not know of any "Hellenic Rite". His Grace Bishop Demetrios is Bishop of the Hellenic Catholics of the Byzantine tradition in Greece.
Syros Island is about 50% Catholic, so Metropolitan Paul may be presumed to know better, and at the very least to know how to ascertain these things - it's not difficult.
I have not, alas, yet had an opportunity to read Bishop Demetrios's address on the auspicious occasion of his cheirotonia and enthronement. But with joy and congratulations I am happy to wish him "Eis polla eti, Despota"! We have known one another for nearly forty years.
Since there is no agreement as to the meaning of the term "Uniate", using this term serves no useful purpose.
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Are you aware to what degree the mode of operation of your Ecclesiastic Community causes confusion amongst the faithful of the Orthodox Church, in the multitudinous urban communities of those two cities, and especially in the densely populated Athens suburb of Patisia, on Acharnon Street, where many Orthodox approach, not knowing the true Ecclesiological and Theological background that lurks beneath the Orthodox appearance?
No, and I doubt that such a thing is accurately stated here. The Church of Greece makes so much noise about our two (2) parishes in Greece that anyone who reads the newspapers could hardly be unaware that these are parishes in communion with Rome, not with the Church of Greece. I am more familiar with the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Athens than I am with Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Iannitsa, so I am able to state plainly that within a couple of blocks of Holy Trinity there are no less than three churches belonging to the Church of Greece, and I do not doubt that the Orthodox who live in proximity to Holy Trinity have been "warned" incessantly that Holy Trinity is not in communion with the Church of Greece. Moreover, those who have eyes to see could tell the difference immediately: as soon as one walks in the front door of the Church one notes that Katholiki is available to everyone at the candle desk.
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Why do your clergy need to:
a)
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wear the canonical attire of the Orthodox Tradition
? - Because that is the canonical attire of our proper tradition.
b)
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erect Temples in the Byzantine style
? What are we supposed to build? Pagodas? Hindu temples? In any event, the question is irrelevant: we have built no church at all in Greece since Holy Trinity Cathedral was built in Athens more than fifty years ago - and it required a fifteen-year court case to obtain the building permit.
c)
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perform the Sacred services according to the Rubric of the Orthodox Eastern Church
? Thank you for the compliment; we do our best. If we served the divine services in some sort of travesty, Metropolitan Paul would no doubt be among the first to point the finger of accusation at us.
d)
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use mostly the Liturgical Books published by the “Apostoliki Diakonia” [=Apostolic Ministry] organization of the Church of Greece ?
We need to use mostly those editions, because Rome has stopped printing liturgical books which are available from Orthodox publishing houses. Apostoliki Diakonia publishes good books; why should we not use them? ZOE makes lovely recordings of Byzantine music; does Metropolitan Paul wish to forbid us to listen to them?
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Isn’t that what Unia is about?
Well, if Metropolitan Paul can offer us a definition of "Unia" that the Orthodox are agreed on, perhaps one can respond to this question. But in the absence of such a definition, the most one can say is that patronizing this or that publishing house is a poor criterion for determining anyone's religious connection. Does Metropolitan Paul not know that, for example, our 4-volume Anthologion published in Rome has been out of print for decades, because it sold so well in Greece? Does he think that everyone who purchased a copy is therefore a "Uniate"?
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What is the need for a Uniate to be present in the Theological Dialogues between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Confession?
What is the need which Metropolitan Paul evidently feels to exclude the "Uniate" from the Theological Dialogues? Is he afraid that the "Uniate" might know too much? Or does he wish to forbid me to ask such a question?
Further, why does he refer to "the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Confession"? Does he deny - as appears to be the case - the ecclesiastical reality of the Catholic Church?
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Would it perhaps be a gesture of good will on behalf of the Pope – for the progress of the Theological Dialogues – to no longer appoint a Uniate Bishop-Apostolic Exarch of the Hellenic-Rite Catholics of Greece?
Does Metropolitan Paul think that the Pope has the right to decapitate a Church? Does Metropolitan Paul not know that the ancient Patristic teaching is ubi episcopus, ibi ecclesia?
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Why such a persistence for Unia by the Pope?
Since His Grace Bishop Demetrios is presumably not telepathic, Metropolitan Paul has addressed his letter to the wrong person. If he wants to, he is at liberty to write to the Pope and ask His Holiness that question. Or he might write to the Nuncio in Athens and ask him.
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how many comprise the “small number of members” of the Community of Hellenic-Rite Catholics of Greece
Ignoring the inaccurate title, the number of faithful of the Exarchate was about 2,500 at the time of the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. But now the migration of significant numbers of Greek-Catholics from Eastern Europe and the Middle East has significantly increased that figure.
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for what reason there is a need to elect and install a Uniate Bishop in Greece?
The faithful know perfectly well that a Church needs a Bishop. This does not depend on the number of faithful - Metropolitan Paul might have a look at the Metropolitans attached to the Ecumenical Throne and ask just how many Orthodox Christian faithful remain in these dioceses.
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Why can’t these people be ministered by Roman Catholic Bishops?
Because "these people" are not Roman Catholics.
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If your Community is indeed small in number – even with the recent, artificially increased groups of faithful
... Excuse me? did the Exarchate take out advertisements or offer economic inducements to the Greek-Catholics of Eastern Europe and/or the Middle East to move to Greece and increase the number of faithful in the Exarchate? And has Metropolitan Paul copies to offer of these advertisements?
It is well that Metropolitan Paul saw to it that his mother received Holy Communion; thank God. PASOK nationalized the Pammakaristos Hospital, and that is the only hospital in Greece connected to the Exarchate. It has a full-time chaplain who would naturally ask the sick if they desire his ministrations. Anyone who asks for an Orthodox priest can be provided with one - there is a functioning Greek Orthodox Church in walking distance.
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What, I wonder, were the motive and the objective behind the performing of a “Trisagion” service during the funeral in Rome of the recently deceased Pope, by Orthodox-attired Uniate clergymen, Bishops and presbyters, according to the Orthodox Rite, and in the Greek language?
This is indeed the custom at the funeral of a Pope of Rome, and has been for some time. The objective was to pray for the eternal repose of Pope John Paul II; the motive was to assure the Greek-Catholics that we are fully recognized on such an occasion. The Greek language is the original language of this service; would Metropolitan Paul have been happier if our hierarchs and clergy had served in Church-Slavonic?
A public worship service conducted by Catholics praying for the repose of the Pope of Rome constitutes proselytism? From what to what? The presumed logic of this appears impenetrable.
Metropolitan Paul has gone to the greatest possible length, not only to indicate his outrage that our Exarchate in Greece exists, but to do so in the greatest offensiveness. It is not for me to judge him. But perhaps I may ask a question of my own:
Metropolitan Paul assumes that there is an "Orthodox Rite". How, then, does he understand the phenomenon of Western Rite Orthodoxy?
Fr. Serge
Josephus,
Fr. Serge seems not to take into account the "tongue in cheek" approach of Metropolitan Paul; in enumerating these points he is calling into question, albeit indirectly, the very existence of the Eastern Rite Catholic Church and by extension, the Roman Catholic Church itself which are separated from the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church, the Orthodox Catholic Church.
Metropolitan Paul's letter derives from a soil which provides the nutrients for the content of the claims he makes in the form of questions which Father Serge, believing in the veracity of the Eastern Rite Catholic Church, takes offense at.
Remember dear friend, I am not among those who believe all paths Christian are the same, even those that appear very similar i.e. the Eastern Rite Catholic Church.
I do not enjoy debate for the sake of debate to highlight my own reasoning abilities or lack thereof so I will be very direct that the Orthodox Church is the Church and there is none other. She is the Church of Christ and all other confessions, no matter how large or numerous are outside of Her.
This being so, I pray that you as well as everyone would be found in Her embrace.
Yours,
Sophocles
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