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Hellenic Communication Service - April 13, 2003

A CONFESSION: An Interview with Spyridon,
Former Archbishop of America

The Editor:
In an exclusive interview to the magazine "Eikones", Spyridon, the former Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church in North and South America, speaks of "political cabals" in the Archdiocese, accuses the Ecumenical Patriarchate of "self delusion", sees Archbishop Dimitrios as following a policy of peaceful coexistence "with the backrooms of power", and argues that individuals representing OCL "the same OCL cadres used in the war of detrition against two archbishops (meaning himself and Iakovos) now hold leadership positions in the Archdiocese. He is more critical for his downfall of the "Patriarchal friends" than of the Iakovos supporters, but at the same time he opposes any effort to cut off ties between the patriarchate and the Archdiocese and he feels that any revision of the Charter should have been undertaken at a time when the Archdiocese is strong, implying that currently the Archdiocese is weak, going through a period of transition and uncertainty".

Spyridon explains why he chose Lisbon to retire, and how he spends his time "far from the turbulent church centers". Being now away from those centers, he speaks candidly and without diplomatic constraints. The REVIEW felt that our readers would find the interview very interesting.

[ Hellenic Communication Service
   www.helleniccomserve.com/spyridoninterview.html
   April 13, 2003 ]