Orthodox Reflections

By Stratis Georgiou – a Concerned Orthodox Christian

The Slap Heard Around the Orthodox World

At the First Ecumenical Council in Nicea (in present-day Iznik, Turkiye) in 325 AD – i.e. the Year of our Lord and not CE or the “common era” as the pagans would like us to use as just another insult to the Son of Man – St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Bishop of Myra, was so disgusted with the heresy spewing from Arius’ demonically-inspired mouth to the point where he slapped this heresiarch in the face.

St. Nicholas was immediately removed from the Council venue because the Canons of our Church[i] forbid the clergy to strike any man at all.

But, because St. Nicholas was so beloved 1699 years ago – as he is today – this left the other 317 Fathers of our Church in attendance at this Council perplexed about what penance to apply to him.

As Holy Tradition tells us, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and His Mother, our Glorious Lady, the Theotokos, came to St. Nicholas’ defence by appearing to some of the Fathers during the night with the revelation that no disciplinary action was to be taken against St. Nicholas and that he was to be re-admitted to the Council venue.

Christ and the Theotokos knew that St. Nicholas had acted out of love – and not passion – and wanted to make sure that the leadership of this first, extremely important Council, was clear about this.

In America, it is said that when your President calls on you with a request, you just do it. Now just imagine if God and His Mother tell you to do something.  In this context, please take a silent minute and contemplate this: the God-Man Himself and his Holy Mother … together … appeared to the Bishops at this first Ecumenical Council and gave them their marching orders.[ii]  What an awesome message, which is, by the way, the word we use to describe Christ in every Divine Liturgy; we also revere and venerate the motherly love, kindness and holy protection (αγια σκέπη) that the Theotokos, the ever-Virgin Mary, imparts on us – and especially monastics – when we (and they) need it most.

Who Will Be Our St. Nicholas as this Age Comes to a Close?

And with the following question, I am sure that this article will become controversial to some and, perhaps, welcomed or long-awaited by others:

Who will slap, hopefully metaphorically but maybe literally, US Archbishop Elpidophoros in the face, the next time he spews out another heresy?

In the history of the Greek Orthodox Archbishopric in the US, we must ask ourselves, as American-based Orthodox Christians (and please notice that I omitted the reference to Greek in this instance), can anything good come out of this hierarch’s Gotham-and-Gomorrah based headquarters?

Truly and sincerely, I ask you, the faithful readers of this site:

Has there ever been anyone else in this position who has looked to curry favour with woke, secular power brokers of his time and kiss his boss’ behind in the same blatant and unabashed way that AB Elpi (as I refer to him) does?

And, if you are thinking that I am being too harsh, I would like to refresh your memory about the history of this hierarch’s very curious – and I’m being euphemistic – pronouncements and behaviours since he came to power (in 2019) by referring you to a previous article published on this site, summarizing a presentation by Fr. Saša Petrović (a Serbian Orthodox Priest), in August 2024 which laid bare AB Elpi’s official writings and acts which are, arguably, heretical and, at the very least not-Orthodox: Fr. Saša’s Warning: Elpidophoros ‘Leads His Entire Archdiocese to Spiritual Destruction’.

You can try ignore these things as “background noise” (see below) out of Christian love, kindness and forgiveness but, at some point, if something appears before you and it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck! [iii]

What Gives me the Right to Write this Article?

To be clear, my intention is not to stir up controversy during this year’s nativity fast. (May the Lord strengthen you in your fast and may your peace achieved through the fast to date not be disturbed by this article.)

To provide some additional background for my statement about who the heck am I to write this article, let me first say that I am a nobody.  I am a simple, Orthodox Christian man who is trying to be watchful in the age in which I live.

The inspiration for writing this article came to me while I was reading about St. Nicholas’ in the Synaxarion[iv] on his feast day (December 6), very early in the morning, while sitting in silence in front of the armoire (see below) in which my wife and I) keep the icons we have collected from our individual and joint pilgrimages.

My intention in writing this article is to express concern, as a watchful Orthodox Christian, about the actions and writings of AB Elpi, which continue to remain unchecked by The Phanar.[v] In fact, the continuing silence about this US Hierarch’s endorsements of un-Orthodox things from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (or EP Bart, as I call him in my publications) about AB Elpi’s shenanigans is actually deafening to some of us.

Look, I understand that a fellow brother or sister Orthodox Christian might be offended by this article and may be thinking: Who does this guy think he is to write an article like this about our US Archbishop?

My answer, as nobody special, is this:

Our Lord gave me eyes and ears and has returned me to the Orthodox Christian path from which I strayed for many years and I am going to use both to be watchful about our faith.  The Lord has also given me an ability to analyze things and write, clearly and concisely about them, which I will exercise, from time to time, in a respectful way, to “call’em as I see’em” about our Greek Orthodox leadership in the US (and Canada) when something seems off to me about them.

Now let me circumscribe what I just said by acknowledging that as Orthodox Christians, we must guard against the vileness of our tongues. The tongue, inspired by demonic hubris, can be filthy and hurtful. The Fathers and our modern-day Saints have written extensively about this issue and we must take it seriously. Does this mean, however, that we, as individual Orthodox Christians, should remain wilfully blind and silent when we see and experience things – speeches, writings, discussions and blatant, self-aggrandizing PR stunts or photo-ops – that seem contrary to the tenets of our faith?

My respectful answer to this question is a resounding – “Heaven No” – and I will continue to pick my spots and speak out and publish when inspired to do so (but only after prayer and research about the issue at hand).

In my daily life, since making my way back to my Orthodox path, I try to speak or write with gentleness, as St. Paul, St. Nektarios, St. Paisios and St. Porphyrios, to name a few, counsel us to do. However, I fully acknowledge that am a struggling sinner and, as such, I often fall short of the ideal of being gentle.  Here is my rationale for this: sometimes one must be direct to get the attention of those who can make a change. (I am not sure what, exactly, St. Nicholas was thinking when he slapped Arius but, it could have been this: enough is enough!)

I will say that when speaking or writing about our beautiful, rich and true Orthodox Christian faith, my motivation is never to hurt but, rather, to shine a light on something that does not seem right to me so that my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ can think about the issue for themselves and be watchful for themselves and for their circle of influence (their spouses, their kids, their friends, and their parishes).

In my view, we should not shy away from the marketplace of ideas … which, recently (i.e. in the last four years, especially), has been the target of censorship by the left.  And, to be clear, I fully accept and welcome that the “marketplace” includes critiques and corrections, which I will accept with humility.  Of course, I may choose to respond to a critique … once … but what I will not do is engage in what happens often in the comment sections of social media platforms: repetitive arguments back and forth that go nowhere and detract from the original point of the article.

By all means, if you have a counterpoint to make about this article, please feel free to make it; likewise, I may choose to retort but beyond that, I will take the advice of Saint Paul (see below) to step away from further dialogue on the issue.

Look, in my journey back to Orthodoxy, I read extensively and came across things that seemed “offensive” – initially – to me.  In my case, my training guided me to not rush to judgment.  Instead, I re-read the piece in issue to better understand the content and technique of the writer, did my own research on the issue, consulted my trusted Orthodox brethren and spiritual father about it and only then did I form a “final” opinion about it.

Over time, I have identified sources that I trust for my continuing education about our faith.  My sources include so-called “professionals” and lay people both of whom have edified my Orthodox Christian learning and journey over the last six or so years.

This article is my way of adding my voice to our Orthodox Christian marketplace of ideas and in this regard, you are free to condemn it or consider it in a way that may edify your Orthodox path … or just file it away in your long term memory and think about again if the concerns that have been raised about AB Elpi’s Archbishopric continue to be borne out by his future writings and behaviours.

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The Importance of a Lone Voice that Speaks Out

From my readings of the lives of our Saints, I have noticed the following theme: our Saints spoke out in the face of things that were heretical in their times. And, in this respect, remember that it is only in retrospect that we read about their lives and their lessons as Saints.

Hold on now … before you keyboard warriors rush to the comment section to tell me that I am not a Saint and that I should just shut up, let me address both of these possible reactions.

First, I understand and acknowledge that I am the farthest thing from a Saint; however, my hope is that by sticking to my Orthodox path, even though I may fall often,[vi] – and with the help of my wife, my parish priest, my spiritual father, my biological siblings and all of my brothers and sisters in Christ – I will complete the race that St. Paul speaks of (i.e. the  process of theosis), and, by the grace of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, be judged worthy of admission to the Choir of the Saints and be allowed to sit at eternal Heavenly Banquet table that He has prepared for us.[vii]

Second, I won’t shut up.

St. Mark of Ephesus[viii] was the lone dissenting voice at the Council of Florence in 1439, which basically saved Orthodoxy from the Latin heresy of the Filioque, among other “compromises” proposed at such council.  Holy Tradition tells us that his dissent preserved our faith as we know it today.[ix]  When the Bishops of his own delegation to this Council tried to intimidate him into accepting the Latin heresies for the sake of ecumenism (i.e. union with the Pope of Rome who had ripped our faith into West and East) he replied as follows:

“There can be no compromise in matters of the Orthodox Faith.”

Holy Tradition has preserved and memorialized the legacy of this St. Mark so that we – as Orthodox Christians – remember that one person, one voice, can make a difference.  (For those who need it, we have many examples in the secular world of one person making a difference which you have probably read about in your secular lives.) Therefore, I ask – rhetorically: Why should we, as individual orthodox Christians, remain silent when we see or hear something that does not appear to be Orthodox?

Again, I am not writing this article to cast aspersions about AB Elpi; he has done that all by himself by his pronouncements and his actions over the last five years. My goal is to add my voice to other Orthodox Christian voices who see what I see and hear what I hear and are concerned about the leadership of Greek Orthodoxy in America by AB Elpi and what seems to be wilful blindness and silence from EP Bart.

So What Do We Do About AB Elpi and The Phanar?

The short and ultimate answer is that we leave this up to God.

As we know from the history of the Church, AB Elpi – and EP Bart – are not the only hierarchs who have made questionable statements and engaged in dubious behaviours in their official capacity.  And, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, we, American Orthodox Christians, live in the times of these hierarchs which, in my view, makes them our problems

My spiritual father recently made a point to me, which I believe we must remember, but, not in the same way our as Protestants friends do (i.e. to the exclusion of the Mother of God, Icons, Holy Tradition, the Sacraments):

Our loyalty should be to Christ and our focus should be on emulating Him in all aspects of our lives, including forgiveness and mercy.

Obviously, this is the quintessential issue for each of us as we travel along our salvific path; and just as obviously, this is easier said than done. Regardless, I believe this simple rule should be our central goal.

Stated yet another way, I believe that the point of my spiritual’s father advice is to make sure that we are filtering out what Saint Paul calls “stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels over the law, for they are unprofitable and futile. …” [x] as we walk along our Orthodox paths.

But, this begs the following question: When is enough… enough?

And, this brings me to what I call the longer answer to the question of what we, as an individual Orthodox Christians, can, should, or may do when we observe our hierarchs engaging in things that don’t seem to jibe with the clear Canons of our faith … like concelebrating the Divine Liturgy with the Heterodox.

Answering this question on an individual level involves a lot of introspection and prayer and consultation with your Orthodox advisors and friends about how you want to live your Orthodox Christian life.

Look, it is perfectly fine to worship and remain loyal to Christ in silence so long as when you are asked to deny Him – and, make no mistake, this time in coming – you are prepared to say “No” and confess your faith in Him.

My approach is, obviously, to speak out.

In my lay and professional life, I seek knowledge about something before getting to know that something and only after that do I attempt to share my knowledge and research about it.  This has also been true about my journey back to Orthodoxy, through which I came to know the Lord, Jesus Christ, in my daily life.

In my life’s path, I only became curious about our Orthodox faith very late in life and, looking back, I thank God for the struggles that brought me back to it.  In this regard, one of the best[xi] experiences I had, about 15 years ago now, was to be trolled on the Internet before trolling was a thing.  Why was I trolled?  Because I defended a certain group of kids who found themselves in a woke, DEI scenario (before these terms entered our daily discourse) that was destroying their experience in what should have been a fun time in their lives.  I stood my ground and emerged stronger and more determined to speak out against injustices and falsehoods and generally, things that don’t seem right to me.

And, so, from where I sit and watch AB Elpi, something is off with him and, in my respectful opinion, it is dark. 

I truly hope that I am totally wrong about him. And let me state, for the record (so to
speak) that if he emerges as a champion and stalwart of our Orthodox faith rather than continuing to progress American Orthodoxy down the slippery slope of ecumenism, I will be the first to publish a full and unmitigated retraction of this article. Until then, I will remain watchful and truthful to Orthodoxy and keep adding my voice to situations that I believe call for all Orthodox voices to speak out.

As for striking AB Elpi in the face, literally, if … or should I say when … he makes another pronouncement or a PR stunt that crosses the line between Orthodoxy and heresy, I will leave that to the conscience and discernment of the clergy or other hierarchs close to him at that time.  As for a metaphorical strike, I reserve the right to add my voice to other Orthodox faithful who are using our eyes and ears to watch and listen for things from our leadership that are not Orthodox.

[i] There are many Canons of the Church, which were handed down by various Fathers at different times. They have been compiled in what is known as the Pedalion or “The Rudder”. (As a quick aside, I believe that the faithful readers of this site would really enjoy hearing Father Kosmas of the Orthodox Monastery of the Archangel Michael in Australia pronounce the “Rudder” in his Orthodox Talks series, which I highly recommend.) It is beyond the scope of this article to say anymore on the Canons but I will say this for any reader who may have a negative reaction about anything “canonical”: although some of the Canons are clearly dated because they were handed down by the Fathers to deal with very specific, historical, heretical situations or behaviours of their times, the majority of the Canons are timeless. We may not like what they mandate for us as Orthodox Christians (because they are strict) but, they clearly apply to us even today. Fortunately, our spiritual fathers, father confessors and our parish priests, out of love (including tough love), compassion and discernment, apply the concept of economia to mitigate the penances mandated for transgressions of the Canons.  (There is so much to say about this concept and its application today … but, perhaps in a future article.)  In all events, the reading of the Pedalion should not be undertaken as a novel.  As with any works inspired by God, the reading should be done under the supervision and guidance of a priest or spiritual father.

[ii] I know that some of you reading this may experience the same doubt about St. Nicholas’ life (and this event in particular) that St. Thomas felt when his fellow Apostles told him about the resurrection of our Lord. But have no doubt, dear brothers and sisters, about St. Nicholas’ bio or his motive for striking Arius because the Lord, the Theotokos – and the Saints to whom the gift of discernment has been given – know the hearts of men! Please, make an effort to read the lives of Saints, little by little, and your doubts about any aspects of our Orthodox Christian faith will dissipate over time by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit.

[iii] Of course, as Orthodox Christians we must always be vigilant about not being deceived by the little troublemaker, (as St. Paisios calls satan) who can appear as an angel of light.  The Saints tell us to ignore “visions” and “signs” when they first appear and if the message is truly from God, He will persist and make it clear to us that it is He who is giving us this message.  The same vigilance should be applied to the “duck” saying.  However, in the case of AB Elpi, his writings and his actions since being elevated to the position of US Archbishop have given all of us cause to question what is motivating or animating this hierarch.

[iv] You can read an excerpt from the Synaxarion about St. Nicholas Bishop of Myra, the Wonderworker here: https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas/stories-legends/classic-sources/synaxarion.  However, I would encourage you to buy the 7-volume Synaxarion set for your Orthodox Christian library.  You can order it here: https://sebastianpress.org/synaxarion/.  (To be clear, I have no interest in St. Sebastian Press and I certainly don’t have any financial interest in referring the purchase of this set to you.)

[v] This is an alternate name of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople currently presided over by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: https://www.patriarchateofconstantinople.com/index.html

[vi] Again, please consult the lives of Saints about this.  No matter how often you fall, you must get back up, repent and do everything possible to not succumb to the same temptation (or a different one) that led to the same, prior fall.  Yes, this very easy to say and hard to live by … but, as Orthodox Christians, this is our obligation.  And a final word for those that think they can “game” God’s infinite mercy by “faking” repentance: He knows your heart when it comes to genuine effort and repentance.

[vii] You know that question that people like to ask at parties and other social gatherings about the historical figures that you would like to host as dinner guests.  Well, hands downs, for me it is Christ, the Theotokos, and our Saints.  If I make it to Heaven, I can’t wait to ask them about their lives in the times in which they lived and about so many other questions I have for each of them … assuming asking questions is a thing in Heaven, the place “… where there is no pain, nor sorrow, nor suffering, but life everlasting”: see the Eastern Orthodox memorial service prayers.  I take Christ the Word at His word about Heaven and I try to live my life being telos-bound toward it.

[viii] Here are two sources of the story of St. Mark of Ephesus: https://stmarkofephesus.org/life-of-saint-mark-of-ephesus/ and https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/01/19/100228-saint-mark-archbishop-of-ephesus

[ix] Again, please do not think – and comment – that I am comparing myself to St. Mark of Ephesus.

[x] St. Paul’s Letter to Titus 3:8-15.

[xi] When I say “best”, I mean this in retrospect.  At the time, the situation was very trying, including death threats again me and bullying of my children in school, the latter of which actually strengthened their characters.  I was pilloried in local and cross-border press by what we know today as the liberal media who pursued only those facts that suited the false narrative about me that made for sensational headlines.  (as a quick aside, in 2015, as I watched Donald Trump, the businessman, launch his first presidential bid and witnessed what the liberal media did to him and then, in 2019, what the same media did to those who spoke out against the COVID-19 narrative that Dr. Fauci was pushing, I realized that I had been an early victim of this type of “journalism”.)  In my experience, I lost “friends” who believed the false narrative about me and even some family members shunned me or were quick to lecture me about my stance at the time.  However, I never wavered in my stance because it was a correct approach (notice I did not say the correct approach) for the situation I found myself in. Time has vindicated my stance and it has become a wonderful life lesson for my kids about the power of thick skin and strong character.  I believe that this experience has prepared me for the struggles that I will face in my Orthodox path; however, to be clear, I know the assault on my character will pale in comparison to what is coming for Christians but, as this age comes to a close, regardless of whether this actually occurs in my lifetime, I now have Christ on my side who has provided the following divine counsel: “But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak.  For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” Matthew 10:19-20.