MICHAEL G. CANTONIS
1650 Seabreeze Drive
Tarpon Springs, FL 34689
727-938-5067

June 9, 2000

His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
10 East 79th Street
New York, NY 10021

Re: My letter of June 5, 2000
      Dictated on June 9, 2000

Your Eminence:

I regret that the Archdiocese has failed to satisfy the conditions of my original gift and pledge in December 1997 concerning the then anticipated establishment of an Ecumenical Patriarchate Endowment Fund. As the donor, individually and through the Michael G. Cantonis Foundation (collectively the Cantonis Gifts), I expressly required that "if the above fund is not established by the end of 1998," the proceeds of my gift were to be used for "another fund of the Archdiocese." No tax exempt trust or corporation with the customary characteristics of an endowment and qualified under the Internal Revenue Code was established in a timely manner. This, of course, was a condition precedent to the utilization of these funds for such purposes.

On June 5, 2000, out of frustration with your unresponsiveness to my earlier good faith efforts over a period of six months to resolve the matter of the withholdings of a duly authorized pension from your immediate predecessor, His Eminence Spyridon, I offered a "final proposal" in writing. It involved, inter alia, the use of the Cantonis Gifts for the funding of a Special Pension Restricted Trust Fund to be established to pay Archbishop Spyridon's pension. Despite the urgency of this matter, you once again proposed unwarranted delay and were unspecific in any meaningful way. No reasonable person could take comfort from your assurances. In fact, you demonstrated repeated failure to resolve the matter lawfully and fairly galvanized the Executive Committee to bring an end to the matter. Thankfully, the Executive Committee of this Archdiocese took decisive action to finally remedy your most unsatisfactory handling of this matter.

As a result of the action of the Executive Committee of the Archdiocesan Council on June 9, 2000, I hereby withdraw my reiterative offer in my letter to you of June 5, 2000 to fund a separate pension for His Eminence Spyridon and any other offer therein contained. In order to implement the Resolution adopted by the Executive Committee, I hereby direct that, subject to the Resolutions specific condition precedent "that all of these sums (totaling $939,741.14 plus interest) are (to be) transferred to said Grantor's Trust within two business days after the commencement and payment to date of all pension monies due His Eminence Spyridon", the aforesaid sums contributed by me and the Michael G. Cantonis Foundation and which are held at Paine Webber and in other accounts of the Archdiocese, be transferred to the trust established at PNC Bank, as Trustee, entitled "Trust Under Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America", dated August 16, 1999.

Very respectfully yours,
Michael G. Cantonis

Cc: Executive Committee

[ Orthodox Truth | www.orthodox-truth.bugs3.com/art_21.html
  From posting: "Michael Cantonis' Correspondence with Goa and the Ecumenical Patriarchate"
  June 9, 2000 ]