Progress and tension in U.S. Orthodoxy

The Christian Century - November 12, 1997

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos, head of the Greek Orthodox Church, met with leaders of ethnic Orthodox churches in the US and offered his support for a closer union. An announcement was also made that Archbishop Spyridon had been named chmn of the Standing Council of Orthodox Bishops in America.

Leaders of Russian Antiochian Ukrainian Serbian and other ethnic branches of the Orthodox Church in the United States have taken steps to heal a longstanding rift with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos. In a closed meeting October 24, the leaders of the autonomous, ethnic-oriented Orthodox churches assured Bartholomeos --head of the Greek Orthodox Church and the "first among equals" of all Orthodox leaders-- they were not seeking to establish an American Orthodox church that would rival his Istanbul-based leadership.

Rather, they said they were jointly seeking to determine how Orthodox Christian churches can function in a distinctly American environment. "The patriarch stated his intention to support any form of cooperation between Orthodox bishops," said Archbishop Spyridon, head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Orthodoxy's Largest and most visible branch in the U.S. "He was very supportive of the necessity of Orthodox bishops here to form a closer union to meet common concerns of people in the U.S. It is clear now that the will is there to go forward together" Spyridon added.

At a news conference held after their lengthy meeting with Bartholomeos, Metropolitan Philip, leader of tile U.S. Antiochian Christian Orthodox Church, whose members include Christian Arabs and many converts announced that the Standing Council of Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA) had by acclamation elected Spyridon chairman of the group. The post had been vacant after Bartholomeos forced the retirement of Spyridon's predecessor Archbishop Iakovos.

Iakovos had reportedly sparked Bartholomeos's ire for too aggressively pursuing greater independence for Orthodox Christians in the West from the patriarch's control. His retirement came on the heels of a widely publicized 1994 SCOBA meeting in Ligonier Pennsylvania which was perceived by the patriarchate in Istanbul as a move toward independence.

The U.S. visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I was intended to celebrate Greek Orthodoxy's 75 years in America and garner support for the patriarch as pre-eminent leader of 250 million Orthodox Christians around the world. Yet Bartholomeos's visit--continuing until November 17--has also exposed strains within the Orthodox community in the U.S., especially among America's 1.5 million Greek Orthodox Christians.

While church members are united in love for their church widespread dissatisfaction with the policies and personality of Spyridon, the archbishop whom Bartholomeos named last year to lead the American all archdiocese is having a corrosive effect. When Bartholomeos arrived in Washington D.C., October 19, he began a sojourn among the members of a restive church equally passionate about their ancient beliefs and American notions of independence.

"I'm not an activist and never would have imagined I would be doing this. But never have we had a more divisive time as we have since Spyridon was appointed," said Harry Coin a Greek Orthodox layman from Boston who presides over a Web site that inveighs against the policies of the patriarch and his appointee. Viewing the patriarch's visit as an opportunity to "redress the injustices perpetrated by Spyridon on the clergy and faithful of America," Coin commented: "He can take Spyridon back with him."

Even Spyridon's supporters acknowledge that the archbishop has stumbled badly as successor to the imperious but beloved Archbishop Iakovos. The appointment of the 57-year-old Spyridon born in Ohio but schooled and groomed for the episcopacy in Europe, was widely perceive d as Bartholomeos's assertion of authority over a headstrong American church.

Nevertheless, hopes were high among Greek Orthodox that a young arid vigorous archbishop would provide renewed spiritual leadership for a church whose members have completed the three-generation journey from struggling immigrants to educated affluent participants in the American mainstream. But exactly the opposite seems to have occurred. Spyridon's management style, often viewed as autocratic and administrative changes at the New York-based archdiocese have raised fears the democratic charter and conciliar form of church government that evolved under Iakovos would be scrapped. Spyridon's tendency to speak Greek rather shall English when visiting parishes has puzzled converts and assimilated Greeks, who voice concerns that his vision of the church is more Hellenic than American.

Spyridon's proposal to shift real estate now owned by individual Greek Orthodox parishes to the archdiocese has prompted apprehension that the treasure amassed for their church by American Greeks will be funneled into the depleted coffers of the ecumenical patriarch, forbidden by law in primarily Muslim Turkey to own or develop property. But chief among their complaints is Spyridon's alleged cover-up earlier this veal of an incident in which a student at Holy Cross Seminary punched a visiting Greek cleric, who the student said had repeatedly made sexual advances. The offending cleric was sent home, and Spyridon's subsequent decision to fire tenured faculty members who protested his decision made international headlines and outraged tile school's board of trustees.

The fired faculty members included four priests: the school's president Alkiviadis Calivas; librarian George Papademetrious and theologians Emmanual Clapsis and Theodore Stylianopoulos. Valerie Karras, a lay-woman and member of the administrative staff, also was fired. The scandal put the academic accreditation of the school in Weston, Massachusetts, at risk and invited the scrutiny of the Massachusetts attorney general after Karras filed a complaint. At a mid-September press conference in New York Spyridon acknowledged the difficulties of his first year in office but offered few apologies.

"With the introduction of new faces or new persons, it is inevitable that there will be dissatisfaction and problems," he said. "I am sorry if there are some people who are displeased, hut the church must move forward, and the archbishop must he granted the means to contribute to the advancement of actions which are in the church's best interests."

Such statements do little to quell the archbishop's critics. Coin's Web site (www.voithia.com), a potent mix of fact, rumor and speculation, registers more than 500 visitors a day. The Greek-American press, secular and religious, seethes with stories and rumors. The 2,000-member Orthodox Christian Laity has organized public forums around the country to discuss Spyridon's policies and challenge his authority.

Nick Karakas, a St. Louis businessman and longtime lay leader of the church, condemns as "unspiritual" the criticism of Spyridon, who, he concedes, has exhibited "an unusually long learning curve" as he adjusts to American ways. "Spyridon has made mistakes. He has been bull-headed and some of his actions have not been appropriate. But to pick up the cudgel as the dissidents have done, asking for his resignation, is ill conceived," said Karakas. "Yes, things have gotten off-track; it can happen in ally organization. But Archbishop Spyridon is taking strong steps to remedy things. I believe that the laity will continue to he a strong voice in the governance of the church. I believe Spyridon will prove himself to be a strong leader and spiritual light for Orthodoxy in the United States."

Already, according to the archbishop's spokesman, Alex Karloutsos, the fired Holy Cross faculty members have been reinstated to new posts at the school while the Archdiocesan Council probes the alleged abuse and possible violation of state regulations and the school's bylaws.

The various tensions within the church led Karloutsos to quote the Greek playwright Euripides: "Unhappy Greeks are barbarians to each other," he said with a sigh recently, referring to the troubled relationship between Spyridon and his critics. Most important to Bartholomeos, according to karloutsos, is his desire to see "the family of Greek Orthodox believers . . . come together to celebrate all they have achieved in 75 years in America. And most of all, he wants the members of the family to speak tile truth and listen to one another with love," Karloutsos said.

[ The Christian Century - November 12, 1997 ]