antiochian orthodox christian archdiocese

It is now a police matter.

David Yonke, religion editor at the Toledo Blade, has a very thorough report on the unjust and spectacularly un-Christian treatment Antiochian Orthodox Bishop Mark of Toledo has received at the hands of Walid Khalife, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., who sent threatening emails to the bishop and other clergy.

As if that weren’t enough, Yonke adds this:

Meanwhile, some Antiochian Orthodox parishioners are voicing concerns over the change in status of Bishop Demetri, the disgraced former bishop of Toledo. He was arrested in July, 2003, after grabbing a woman’s breast in a casino near Traverse City, Mich., and later was convicted on a felony charge of criminal sexual conduct. Metropolitan Philip ordered Bishop Demetri to undergo therapy for alcoholism, and the bishop later retired with restrictions barring him from ministry. The 60-year-old bishop, who is a registered sex offender in Florida, was listed in December as an auxiliary bishop under Metropolitan Don Antonio Chedraoui of Mexico. More recently, a financial report to be presented at the Palm Desert convention includes Bishop Demetri’s name with the six archdiocesan bishops in a list of “officers and trustees.”

Yonke’s article also goes into the continuing dispute over the status of Antiochian bishops in light of Metropolitan Philip’s sending of a letter earlier this year “to clergy and board members stating that the Holy Synod in Damascus had ruled that all bishops in North America were now auxiliary bishops.” Yonke quotes “insiders” who fear that the upcoming national convention in Palm Desert, Calif., will turn into “Palm Desert Storm.”

The Ocholophobist has been on the story. See the post, “meet walid khalife, the metropolitan’s heavy.”

Full text of Yonke’s article follows:

Turmoil envelops Antiochian church
Toledo Bishop stands ground in Orthodox controversy
By David Yonke
Toledo Blade Religion Editor (July 13)

When Bishop Mark Maymon of Toledo attended a recent regional conference in Cincinnati for the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, local police were on guard because of threats made by a member of the denomination’s board of trustees.

The threats by e-mail from Walid Khalife of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., accused the bishop of being a “traitor,” a “liar,” and a “dictator,” and said the bishop needed to be “taught a lesson.”

Mr. Khalife also threatened and insulted other Antiochian clergy via e-mail, and Sgt. Keith Schoonover of the Sharonville, Ohio, Police Department, which provided the security at the conference July 1-5 in Cincinnati, said “the suspect has been contacted” by police in his hometown. Continue reading →

HT: Orthodox Christians for Accountability (Initial summary written by Mark Stokoe of Orthodox Christians for Accountability and edited by AOI.)

In a 15-page opinion offered to Metropolitan Philip, the Local Synod and the Board of Trustees of the Antiochian Archdiocese, dated May 13th, the Chancellors of the Archdiocese Robert Koory and Charles Ajalat shredded both the February 24th decision of the Synod of Antioch and the April 24th decision of the Local Synod as "invalid", "inapplicable" "inconsistent" and "ill-advised:"

…the February 24th decision is not a valid decision of the Holy Synod of Antioch. Moreover, even if were, it would have no effect on our Archdiocese since it wasn’t intend to apply to our Archdiocese and if it was intended, it would not apply because it is inconsistent with, negates, and would violate the irrevocable Resolution on Self-Rule, the Archdiocese Constitution and the Archdiocese Articles of Incorporation, filed with the State of New York.

Not only was the February 24 decision rejected, the Chancellors dismissed it as "folly". “Unless properly amended,” the Chancellors wrote:

…these documents cannot be overridden and the February 24,2009 decision is inapplicable to the Self-Ruled Archdiocese. Thus, what contradicts those articles in their application to North America is the Resolution of the Holy Synod granting self-rule, the Constitution of the Archdiocese of North America, the irrevocable creation of three diocesan bishops by the self-rule Resolution itself, the election and consecration of three bishops under the Constitution as diocesan bishops for North America and the enthronement of these various bishops their respective dioceses. To render all of these documents, resolutions and actions null and void by implication, or sub silentio, would be an absurd action. It cannot be imagined that the Holy Synod of Antioch, composed of wise and holy men, would participate in such a folly.

They further warned that all members of the Church bear the obligation to protect the Archdiocese Constitution:

Pursuant to the Constitution, all members of the Board of Trustees including the clergy and the hierarchs have an obligation to insure that the Archdiocese Constitution and Articles are protected. A constitution defines certain rights and privileges and obligations, these apply to the entire church population including the laity. It is incumbent upon all members to insure that these provisions are not violated even if one disagrees with them.

There is an element of trust that is underlying the role of a member of the Board of Trustees (and a member of the General Assembly) whether the person is a hierarch, priest, or member of the laity. That trust is that the member will act in the best interests of the Archdiocese and follow the dictates of the spirit as well as the letter of the Constitution. If the members do not act to protect the Constitution and the self-rule as defined therein, then they will have violated that trust. The consequences, among others, will be a legitimate lack of trust by clergy and laity in the leaders of this Archdiocese. That would be tragic.

The Complete Opinion

Continue reading →

A well-written, thoughtful, and thoroughly engaging article on what American Orthodoxy increasingly looks like.

He looks like a regular young guy — maybe late 20s or early 30s. Head shaved to mask a receding hairline, a black goatee to offset the baldness, the gold rim of his glasses glinting beneath his dark brows. A regular guy, except maybe for his robe. Though it has the sheen of satin, it does not drape or hang; it holds its shape, stiffly framing the man beneath. Though mostly creamy white, the robe beams with patterns of yellow gold. (If we were not in church, the fabric would seem ostentatious, guilty of Louis XVI excess.) And over the robe, a stole, equally stiff and resplendent, making an X across his belly. The resulting look is old-fashioned in the extreme, reminding me of nothing so much as the priestly robes worn by long-ago Jewish characters in the Jesus movies. Yet here it is on a Sunday in 2009, on a young guy, in a brick chapel set amid the more ordinary opulence of La Jolla Scenic Drive North.

Read the entire article on the San Diego Reader website.

Paschal Greetings of Metropolitan PHILIP

“He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one to His own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)

“O Christ Saviour, we were but yesterday buried with Thee, and we shall rise with Thee in Thy Resurrection. We were but yesterday crucified with Thee: glorify us with Thee in Thy kingdom.” (Verse from the Third Ode of the Paschal Canon)

Beloved Hierarchs, Clergy, Trustees, Parish Council Members, and All Faithful of our God-Protected Archdiocese:

Christ is Risen! Continue reading →