yup. would serve them right.

And to follow-up on your point, it would be nice if the Archbishop of America actually addressed issues facing Americans but then again 79th street knows little about a recession, unemployment or making ends meet in the real world. You do have to wonder what is going to happen if Obama gets his wish and taxes some of those “elevated” members of the Greek Community so much that there ability to fund GOA operations becomes reduced to a great degree.

Afterall, if the government takes an extra miliion or two that is million or two less to give to the Church.

Andrew, you’ve hit the nail on the head. Biden’s visit is a joke. He’s paying a visit to “the Archbishop of America” and the same archbishop is talking about –what? homelessness? increased joblessness? the collapse of the family? No, Cyprus, FYROM, the Greek bailout. Nothing at all about this “America” that he’s the supposed “Archbishop of.”

Pity.

Dean, what this visit by Biden should also remind us of is that the GOA is completely incapable of leading the Episcopal Assembly or a united Orthodox Church in America. This is because the GOA and its leadership cannot separate ethnic issues from Orthodox issues in America. Omogenia (race) comes before Orthodoxy.

Archbishop Demetrios could have easily greeted the VP as head the the Assembly of Bishops thus showing at minimum good will in representing all Orthodox Christians. I would have welcomed any such an effort. However this is not the case nor will it ever be the case because 79th Street is beholden to the politics of the Greek state and the money it provides. However, one wonders how much money is going to flow to 79th Street or Constantinople if the Greek Economy Crashes and its currency is basically worthless.

Andrew,

You are misreading this…it’s really part of the Obama jobs program…i.e., SAVING theirs!

LOL

Anyone still believing these two clowns are going to to do anything for the Greeks (or anyone else) must be smoking something. On the other hand, perhaps we should be grateful….I mean…3 years in and the Greeks still control 60% of Cyprus. If you compare that to their actions on the economy…we’re in relatively good shape.

Best Regards
Dean

Remember the good old days when the media touted Obamakis and Bidenopoulos and how they would help the Greek Community and the EP? Today that Arab Spring is not looking too good for Christians throughout the region including the EP. Have Obama and Biden done anything positive for the EP or is this stop just a customary political pitstop to fortify the the Greek base in NY for 2012 and get some good photos for the next issue of the Orthodox Observer. One could make the argument that the policies of the Obama adminstration have been harmful to Orthodox Christians in America and around the world.

I doubt much will come of this. These political visits are all the same. Same words from the Archons, same words the Archbishop and same words from the politicians. Meanwhile nothing will really happen and the possibility of a real time persecution of Christians throughout the region looms large.

Kai,

The Hagia Sophia they are talking about is a smaller church, in Nicaea (Turkish Iznik). Most of the large cities had an “Hagia Sophia” of their own.

And the 1331 date comes from the fact that most of Asia Minor was lost to the Byzantines during the 1300’s. By the time of the Fall, 1453, only C’nople really remained. Trebizond (which also has an Hagia Sophia) and the Morea fell a few years later.

PS sorry…had a little trouble with the links

Now, we see that Turkey has contradicted itself and is violating the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. The European Union must take punitive action against Turkey if this is true.