THE PARTRIARCH ASKED DEMETRIOS

THE PARTRIARCH ASKED DEMETRIOS TO INTERVENE IN CHICAGO AND DENVER

Wednesday, May 13 2015 by Theothoros Kalmoukos

Boston. The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew appears to be particularly concerened with the state of ecclesiastical affairs in the Archdiocese of America and has asked Archbishop Demetrios to intervene. The “National Herald” has information that the Patriarch has intimated to Archbishop Demetrios the need to request the resignations of the Metropolitan of Denver Isaiah and the Metropolitan of Chicago Iakovos, and to recall the Bishop of Mokissos Demetrios to the Archdiocese in New York.
The Patriarch’s subtle intervention was not done officially via a Synod to avoid any leaks, but communicated privately with Archibishop Demetrios. It should be reminded that some months ago Archbishop Demetrios went to Denver himself to address the issue with the parish of Holy Trinity at Salt Lake City in Utah.
The Patriarch seems to be particularly concerned because the Archdiocese of America is in every respect the biggest Eparchy of the Ecumenical Throne abroad. He is highly concerned and agonizes over the divisive situation created in Utah within the parish of the Holy Trinity in Salt Lake City, where the Metropolitan of Denver Isaiah has tried to break it up in two, as the “ National Herald” has repeatedly mentioned in its articles.
Metropolitan Isaiah has even reached the point of closing for a month both the two churches of the parish, and the situation is so out of control that police presence is required inside and outside the church of Prophet Elias during the  Holy Liturgy.
Because Metropolitan Isaiah did not achieve his goal, he permitted and encouraged the creation of a new parish in the same city the so called “Missionary Community” as previously mentioned in the “National Herald.” In the mean time the problems in Salt Lake City continue to exist.
In Chicago the situation worsened with the case of the priest Fr. James Dokos who was formally charged by the Prosecutor with stealing money from a church trust fund of a former parishioner during his twenty year priesthood with the Annunciation parish in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bishop of Mokissos Demetrios, who in essence is the Auxiliary Bishop of  Archbishop Demetrios and serves the Metropolis of Chicago as a Chancellor due to the advanced age of Metropolitan Iakovos,  proceeded with the simultaneous transfers  Fr. Dokos and Fr. Evangelos Artemakis from Saints Peter and Paul in Glenview, Illinois, to the Annunciation parish in Milwaukee, and the reverse.
Fr. Dokos  as revealed by the “National Herald”, gave money from the trust fund to the Bishop of Mokissos Demetrios , as well as to the Metropolitan of Dardanellia Nikita who is also the Director of the Patriarch Athenogoras Orthodox Institute in California, and to the Metropolitan of Buenos Aires Tarasios.
There is already movement with the clergy and the laity calling for the retirement of Metropolitan Iakovos and the recall of the Bishop of Mokissos Demetrios back to New York. Signatures are being collected through an Internet petition, while the Syndicate of Priests in the Diocese of Chicago on April 1, 2015 sent a letter of support for both hierarchs Demetrios and Iakovos.
Priests from the Chicago area have talked to the “National Herald”, with the condition they remain anonymous because of fears of retaliation from the hierarchs, about the situation in Chicago. Various “interest groups” have also been created in Chicago with participation in the Archdiocesan Council and a variety of Committees of the Archdiocese including that of Finance.
Especially strong is the influence of the monk Efraim and his Monasteries, both in the community and over the priests in Chicago, who adhere to their fundamentalist movement presently operating without any control in Chicago but also in other Metropolises of the Archdiocese of America, presenting itself as a kind of “anti-Church” (alternative to church?), that has parents concerned about their children getting exposed to the extreme doctrines taught by some priests, as many have revealed to the “National Herald.”
Another element for concern is the sharp decline in church attendance in many areas in America, with first place given to New England. Many churches in large parishes have become the abominations of desolation with only a few attending liturgy on Sunday, where even on Holy Friday and Holy Saturday there were empty seats in many churches. Many communities experience decline due to unfortunate administrative interventions and the faithful and driven away, while the child molestation case of the priest Adamantios Mitropoulos who has been the head priest for thirteen years in the parish of St. George in Bangor, Maine has given rise to even more questions. We should add that Hellenic Education in Boston and in the New England area at large is totally anemic and in a state of neglect.
Meanwhile the conversation between clergy and laity regarding what needs to happen with the succession of Archbishop Demetrios, when “his time comes” as they say, is intensifying. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has the exclusive privilege of electing the Archbishop and in essence it depends on the Patriarch.