Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Orthodox Archbishop of Athens accuses EU of de-christianising Greece


Manolis Glezos on Greece in WWII (english sub)


A Leftist and A Man of Ancient Faith

Manolis Glezos,who just turned 96,is a longtime leftist politician,activist and World War II resistance fighter.He came to prominence when,on 30 May 1941,he and his friend Apostolos Santas lowered the Nazi flag which German troops had raised at the Acropolis alongside the Greek flag.He was arrested by the German occupation forces on 24 March 1942,imprisoned and tortured,and contracted tuberculosis in consequence.What is more,Italian occupation forces arrested him again on 21 April 1943,jailing him for an additional three months.*
Indeed,Mr.Glezos was arrested numerous times in the Cold War era that followed as well,given the anti-left sentiment of the authorities at that time.The Soviet Union put him on a postage stamp and gave him the Lenin Prize.He spent a total of 11 years and four months in prison,plus four years and six months in exile.
As a member of the Democratic Left Party,or EDA,he was elected to his first seat in the Hellenic Parliament while imprisoned.He went on to serve several more times under EDA,the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and,most recently,the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA),which is currently in power.In 2014,he was elected to the European Parliament.*
Mr.Glezos has received a number of honourary degrees from the likes of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens,among others.Besides politics,he has worked in civil engineering,inventing a flood and erosion control system that utilises a series of small dams.*
In 2015,Mr.Glezos met with His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece.It was a surprising moment for the Archbishop when Mr. Glezos made an unusual request for a leftist politician:
When I die,you will take charge of me,and you will do an ecclesiastical funeral.You will not let other people get involved in this issue.*
Archbishop Ieronymos inscribed a book for him:
2 September 2015,the day of revelation to me...Because all that we said was a revelation to me.*
They also discussed the migration crisis,something which appalled Mr.Glezos,and he confided to Archbishop Ieronymos that he in fact loved and respected the faith of his fathers.*

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Eastern Europe Update:Ecumenical Patriarch Addresses Synaxis;Exarchs Appointed

On Monday,3 September 2018,speaking before the Synaxis of the Hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Istanbul,Turkey,His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew elucidated the position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on the issue of autocephaly (independence) for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.Here are some excerpts:
In times of greater or lesser historical challenge,our Patriarchate-faithful to its vocation and ministry-neither says nor does anything unrelated to the incarnate Word.Its mission is not comprised of imposing some new ecclesiological principles but preserving truths of faith,precious traditions and inspired patristic teachings established many centuries ago.*
As the First Throne of Orthodoxy,the Ecumenical Patriarchate exercises a prophetic ministry,extending the mystery of the Catholic Church in Christ Jesus throughout the world in each era.*
The Ecumenical Patriarchate bears the responsibility of settling matters in ecclesiastical and canonical order because it alone has the canonical privilege as well as the prayer and blessing of the Church and the Ecumenical Councils to carry out this supreme and exceptional duty as a nurturing Mother and birth-giver of Churches.If the Ecumenical Patriarchate denies its responsibility and removes itself from the Inter-Orthodox scene,then the Local Churches will proceed "as sheep without a shepherd" (Matt.9.36),expending their energy in ecclesiastical initiatives that conflate the humility of faith and the arrogance of power.*
In the matter of Ukraine,the Ecumenical Patriarchate has appointed two exarchs,or legates,announcing on 7 September 2018 that:
Within the framework of the preparations for the granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine,the Ecumenical Patriarchate has appointed as its exarchs in Kiev His Excellency Archbishop Daniel of Pamphlion from the United States,and His Grace Bishop Ilarion of Edmonton from Canada,both of whom are serving the Ukrainian Orthodox faithful in their respective countries under the Ecumenical Patriarchate.*
Both exarchs were born in Ukraine.
Analysis:The Ecumenical Patriarchate indeed exercised the functions mentioned above in the twentieth century in Eastern Europe by,for example,granting a Tomos of autocephaly to both the Orthodox Church of Poland and the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.Now it serves a new century at a time of war in Eastern Europe instigated by the Putin regime in Russia,with the same leading ministry,in all its holiness and sincerity,as the Great Church of Christ in Constantinople that it has always been,bravely asserting the religious freedom of a Ukraine so long repressed by its mighty and sinister neighbour to the East.

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Kirill and Bartholomew at odds over Ukraine

Kirill and Bartholomew at odds over Ukraine: The Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch has defended his right to settle church disputes in Ukraine, after meeting Patriarch Kirill of Russia to discuss demands for an autocephalous, or self-governing Ukrainian church.