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Google Groups - August 10, 1999

Evan Lambrou's response to Voithia's post
"Hellenic Times Reporter attacks the 5 Mets. of the GOA"

To Whom it may concern:

I did not "attack" the Metropolitans in the story I wrote concerning the Charter (Hellenic Times, July 9 - August 5, 1999 issue, page 5). I simply pointed out what the Charter actually says.

The Charter clearly specifies that the Metropolitans, as bishops who preside over Dioceses in the Archdiocese of America, must commemorate the Archbishop of America.

If you can canonically justify, through the Charter, how and why the Metropolitans should cease commemorating the Archbishop, I'm all ears, and the Hellenic Times would be happy to print your point of view, as long as it is reasonable (i.e., free of personal attacks).

The Metropolitans, it seems, have been resting on a specific point (i.e., that as Metropolitans of the Ecumenical Throne, they must now commemorate the Ecumenical Patriarch). But I am not convinced that, in America, this necessarily implies they should have stopped commemorating the Archbishop altogether, since a double commemoration is clearly provided for in the Charter. Neither am I convinced that they should have ordered priests in their respective dioceses to stop commemorating the Archbishop.

Of course, there may be much more to it which the Church Hierarchy both in Constantinople and in America have yet to reveal. But I can only go on what the official documents and official reports say, and in trying to adhere to certain journalistic standards, I choose not to engage in wild speculatation.

I'm not anxious about the fate of His Eminence. Our bishops will reveal what we, as lay people, ought to know in good time. Metropolitan Maximos has already taken the laity one step further in the life of the Church by pointing to the Charter as a solution. I simply followed his lead.

Whether or not we agree, do you not think an intelligent discussion on the Charter is necessary at this time? I offered a point of view which your website has not published. Does that mean I should be personally attacked by your staff? If your movement is not threatened by what I've written, why would anyone associated with it attack me?

In any event, one of the primary purposes of the Charter is to preserve the unity and integrity of the Archdiocese. In his book, The Odyssey of Hellenism in America, Bishop George of New Jersey confirms the same. I therefore submit that the commemoration issue is a direct assault on the spiritual and administrative unity of the Church in America. Thank you for your consideration.

Evan C. Lambrou
Managing Editor, Hellenic Times
Tuesday, 10 August 1999

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