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The National Herald - February 21, 2009
Scholar and Theologian Offers his Perspective
Rev. Dr. Demetrios J. Constantelos Talks About the Church
By Theodore Kalmoukos
Special to The National Herald
BOSTON – The name Demetrios Constantelos has been synonymous
for more than half a century with
academia, knowledge, wisdom,
virtue, seriousness, authorship, but
above all Hellenism and Orthodoxy.
Fr. Constantelos is the par excellence scholar of both Hellenism
and Orthodoxy. He is known worldwide and his works have become
points of reference by scholars of
theology, history, and Hellenism
throughout the world. He was for
more than 40 years, a distinguished
professor of the history of Theology
and Byzantine Empire at the Stockton State College of New Jersey
and today he is a distinguished researcher.
Fr. Constantelos is the expert of
the history of the life of the Greek
Orthodox Church of America and
in recent years, has been authoring
and editing the late Archbishop
Iakovos memoirs and his archives.
Asked as to where the new year
finds the Greek Orthodox Church
of America he said, “I do not see the
Church taking steps ahead. I am
not satisfied with the photographs
and the appearances that I see often. I ask myself many times if Orthodoxy has anything substantial
to offer to the contemporary world
and I say this because we have
some converts but to what degree
we have an internal mission? When
they have in a parish 2,000 people
and on Sundays you only see 50 or
60 attending church, what can you
say? Christ was chased away from
the Church many years ago. The
people have been influenced by the
materialistic life.”
He believes that “the establishment on the Metropolitanates has
weakened the Church and also the
Office of the Archbishop. Not only
that, but there is no brotherly feeling or cooperation between the hierarchs. When a Metropolitan goes
to a parish to Liturgize people do
not go to church.”
Fr. Constantelos is also outspoken about the path of Hellenic
Paideia and education.
“I was expecting more things,”
he said. “Hellenic Paideia has a lot
to offer, but we did not pay attention to it although we have the abilities. There is hope, but initiatives are needed. Many activities that are organized in the Greek American community are wasted money. We could have established programs for Greek Letters in the biggest universities of America.”
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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Fr.
Demetrios Contantelos in his office at home surrounded by his
many books. Fr. Constantelos delivers a lecture during one of his
classes at Stockton College. Fr.
Constantelos with then-newly
elected Patriarch Athenagoras
and professor and students at
Holy Cross. Fr. Constantelos with
his Presbytera Stella. Fr. Constantelos at a younger age checking
the then-newly published book
on the Apocrypha. Fr. Constantelos, his wife Stella and their children Christina, John, Eleni and
Maria. Metropolitan Evangelos of
New Jersey honors Fr. Constantelos for his contribution to the Hellenic Paideia and Language.
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Asked to explain the indifferent
position of Archbishop Demetrios
on the Hellenic Paideia issue, he
said, “He should have given it priority from the beginning.”
He does not think that other hierarchs have shown enough interest in Hellenic Paideia either, he
said, “I do not see any movement
from them. When I hear some of
them talking only in English with a
heavy accent what can I say?”
He is also disappointed about
the fact that Boston only has one
Greek American Day School.
“It surprises me, but it pains me
deeply when there are big cities
with large Greek populations without a day school,” he said. “We
should reprioritize our principles.”
As far as the status of Hellenic
College and Holy Cross School of
Theology, Fr. Constantelos said,
“We have a lot of converts, but how
many of them are really converts in
their research for authentic Christianity, and how many of them become Orthodox because they have
personal problems? I have experience on this issue. There was someone here who had approached me
many times. We spoke, I told him
that he should learn Greek. He got
up and he went to St. Vladimir’s
Russian School of Theology and he
became Orthodox. He was ordained and after a little while he
called me and he asked me to help
him be admitted into our Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. I asked him
why, and he said, ‘You pay well.’
“A professor called me from
Florida and told me that a certain
priest does not allow the school’s
students to recite their March 25
(Greek Independence Day) poems
because, he said they are pagan. A
priest who graduated from Holy
Cross Theological School told my
brother ‘I hate those Greeks, I hate
them.’”
Asked how he feels as a priest,
as a man and as a human being that
has been misled so may times concerning his appointment to the
presidency of the Holy Cross
School of Theology, Fr. Constantelos said, “My stance in life is if they
need me, I would offer myself. If
they do not, I wouldn’t be sorry.
One time, the former president of
the school Mr. Lelon, had visited
Philadelphia and asked me to meet
with him. He offered me the job of
vice president of academic affairs
because as he had said, the two
Deans Fr. Harakas and Fr. Vaporis
weren’t working well together.
Lelon asked me to accept the offer
to help the School. He requested
my biographical data which I sent
to him and promised me he would
announce my appointment shortly
after Christmas. I waited until February and I called him. He began
praising me by saying that I am the
most prominent graduate of the
school. I interrupted him immediately and I told him that I understand. I did that because I knew
that everything else he said were
lies.”
Fr. Constantelos also said,
“Iakovos had called me three times
about the School. I remember once
he invited me to speak to the Board
of Trustees and the Archdiocesan
Council at the World of Astoria and
I said things in a very straightforward manner. Iakovos had called
me a third time and everything was
ready for the announcement of my
appointment to the presidency of
the school. Presbytera and I were
even looking for a home in Boston.
At the end of the meeting, Iakovos
said they want to declare the position available, but he is determined
to announce my appointment, but
he did not. Instead, he appointed
Metropolitan Silas and I doubted
he knew anything about academic
programs. When Silas saw me he
said to me, ‘It is not my fault. I did
not say anything.’ Iakovos had told
me there are some at the School of
Theology who did not want me because I emphasize Hellenism. I was
told the same thing by Professor
Demetris Zaharopoulos.”
Asked about the more recent
time he was fooled in regards to the
school under current Archbishop
Demetrios, Fr. Constantelos said,
“It was my mistake. I should not
have gone in at all for an interview.
When we finished, Fr. Theodore
Stylianopoulos said to me, ‘this
wash best interview we ever had.’ I
believed him because they called
for a second interview, and they
told me the second one was not so
successful because they immediately appointed Fr. Triantafilou.”
Asked if he knew that Fr. Triantafilou is Fr. Stylianopoulos’
koumparo, Fr. Constantelos said, “I
knew that and you understand I
was disappointed.”
}
Asked who is going to be the
next Archbishop after Demetrios,
Fr. Constantelos said, “From what I
see up to now I do not think there is
anyone from here, but also I do not
see someone from abroad. Let us
pray to God that they do not send
somebody like Spyridon.”
Asked if the Ecumenical Patriarchate should be getting Archbishop
Demetrios’ succession ready from
now, he said, “I think they do have
those things in mind at the Patriarchate.”
Reading and searching through Archbishop Iakovos’ archives Fr.
Constantelos has insight about who
the real Iakovos was in terms of
leadership, ethos and education.
“His writings have made me reconsider my views about Iakovos,
because I thought that he was only
for himself. If I judge him from my
connection with him the last 10
years of his life, I saw him at his final years as very humble, thoughtful, and prayerful. Before that I had a different opinion. I remember the
dismissal of Fr. George Florofsky
from the Theological School because of a minor disagreement on
the issue of kneeling during the
consecration of the Holy Gifts.
Iakovos stood up and he was saying
‘I am the Archbishop that is my responsibility.’ At that point I stood
up and I said to him that ‘we are also responsible for the Church not
only you. You are not the Church,
we are too,’ and Iakovos did not say
a word.”
Fr. Constantelos believes that
“the Ecumenical Patriarchate
should remain in Constantinople.”
Asked for his opinion about the
clergy scandals such as Katinas, Fr.
Constantelos said, “I read The National Herald’s articles and I want
to tell you that it is not Katinas only,
but there are some others who are
in the ins an outs. Archimandrite
Karambis, who you have been reporting about lately is another one.
Let me tell you that when I was
teaching at the Seminary, I personally had requested to dismiss him
because of his academic inability
and his character.”
Fr. Constantelos also discussed
his position on homosexuality.
“I personal do not approve, not
only because the Holy Bible says so,
but also because it is inconceivable
for me,” he said. “No family can be
established between two male homosexuals or lesbians.”
Would you have difficulty supporting the return of the tradition
of married Bishops, he said, “I have
written on the issue in my book
‘Marriage, Sexuality and Celibacy,’
because in the tradition and history
of our Church we even had Patriarchs who were married and I do
not stop at the fourth century. We
have so many Bishops that are married, especially in Greece.”
Fr. Constantelos also said, “Another thing that bothers me is when
I see all that lavishness in the high
priesthood knowing that there is so
much poverty in the world, all
those big golden crosses and the
helmets, etc. That is not a tradition
for me. Those things appeared
much later. We should return back
to the simplicity of the early Church
and the Byzantine era.”
When asked what his worst fear
is, he said, “I am not fearful of anything because I believe that someone else is the governor. The presence of God in me, around me, in
the world takes away the fear.”
Fr. Demetrios Constantelos is a
world-renowned scholar on Eastern Orthodoxy, Byzantium, modern
Greek history, and Hellenistic philosophy. Currently he is a Distinguished Research Scholar in Residence and the Charles Cooper
Townsend Sr. Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies, Emeritus, at Richard Stockton
College of New Jersey, Pomona,
New Jersey.
He was born in Spilia, Messenia,
Greece. He became a citizen in
1958, and resides in Linwood, NJ
with his wife and presbytera, Stella.
Following his graduation from
the Gymnasium of Kyparissia,
Greece, he was offered a scholarship to study at Holy Cross Greek
Orthodox School of Theology,
Brookline, Massachusetts. Upon his
graduation from the Theological
School in 1951 he attended the University of Michigan. In 1954 he
married Stella Croussouloudis of
New York and Chios, and returned
to Greece where he enrolled and attended courses at the School of
Theology, University of Athens (1954-1955).
Upon his return to the United
States in May 1955, he was ordained in July, 1955 and assigned
to St. Demetrios Church in Perth
Amboy, NJ. During his diakonia at
St. Demetrios (1955-1964) he pursued post-graduate studies at
Princeton Theological Seminary,
Princeton, NJ, (1957-1959), receiving a Th. M. in New Testament
studies and Rutgers University
(1959-1964), receiving an M.A. in
1963 and Ph.D. in 1965 in the history of Byzantine Civilization. He
has received several scholarships,
fellowships and honors including
the Lane Cooper Fellowship and University Fellowship at Rutgers
University, a Junior Fellowship at
Dumbarton Oaks of Harvard University, several grants, an honorary
doctorate in theology by Hellenic
College/Holy Cross and several distinctions from academic, professional and social organizations.
Since 1962, he has taught at
Rutgers University, Hellenic College, Boston College, New York
University and has lectured at several universities and colleges in the
United States and before many professional, religious, academic and
civic organizations.
He has read papers at International Congresses of Byzantine
Studies, Conference on Medieval
Studies, the Catholic Historical Association, American Historical Association, Society for Church History, the American Academy of Religion, the Modern Greek Studies Association, the Orthodox Theological Society of America, the Anglican-Orthodox, Eastern OrthodoxRoman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox and Evangelical Lutheran
Theological Consultations, and
other organizations in the United
States, and other countries in
Spain, England, France, Denmark,
Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia,
Uzbekistan, Turkey, Israel, South
Korea, Australia and of course,
Greece.
Between 1955 and 1996, Rev.
Constantelos served either as regular or visiting priest at several communities in New England, New Jersey, and Maryland.
He has been a visiting lecturer in
many communities of Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut,
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia,
North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio,
Michigan, California, Kansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Florida, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Indiana.
Fr. Constantelos is an Associate
Editor of the Journal of Ecumenical
Studies at Temple University, and a
member of the New Revised Standard Version Bible Committee of
the National Council of Churches in
the United States. He has also received several academic, community and book awards from 1959 to
2002.
He is married to Stella Croussouloudis of New York City and is
the father of four children: Christine, a graduate in Plant Science of
Rutgers University; John, a graduate in Political Science and International Relations of Tufts University,
Johns Hopkins University, and
Duke University; Eleni, a literature
graduate of Colgate University; and
Maria, an educator, graduate of
Bergen College, who also attended
Ramapo College and Marymount
College. He also has six grandchildren.
Fr. Constantelos is a prolific
writer, with published books and
articles on Hellenism, philosophy,
history and theology. His many titles include:
Christian Faith And Cultural
Heritage: Essays from a Greek Orthodox Perspective
Renewing the Church: The Significance of the Council in Trullo
Paideia: Addresses to Young
People
The Complete Works of His Eminence Archbishop Iakovos, e of
North and South America 1959-
1996.
The Torchbearer: Encyclicals
Spiritual and Ecclesiastical Subjects, Administration, Education,
Culture
Understanding the Greek Orthodox Church: Its Faith, History and
Life
Christian Hellenism, Volume
Three: Essays and Studies in Continuity and Change
The Greeks, Their Heritage, and
Its Value Today
Poverty, Society and Philanthropy in the Late Mediaeval Greek
World
Byzantine Philanthropy and Social Welfare
Religious-Philosophical Issues
and Interreligious Dialogues in the
Orthodox Church Since World War II
Orthodox Theology and Diakonia: Trends and Prospects Essays in
Honor of His Eminence Archbishop
Iakovos.
[ The National Herald - Vol. 12, Issue 593 - February 21, 2009, pp. 1 and 3 ]
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