Elpidophoros vs. the Archons

Rumor has it there’s a civil war brewing in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. On the one side, we have the Greek Orthodox clergy led by Abp. Elpidophoros of America. On the other side, we have the donor class represented by the Archons of the Ecumenical Throne and their “spiritual advisor” Fr. Alexander Karloutsos.

On Wednesday, the Archons issued a statement on the pan-Orthodox delegation that met with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill. They accused the delegation — which included bishops and clergy of every major jurisdiction in America — of being a Russian intelligence operation. The same statement bizarrely accused the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of persecuting the schismatic Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU)—a reversal of reality that stunned observers.

GOARCH’s official media channels dutifully amplified the Archons’ text far and wide.

The backlash was immediate and ferocious. Multiple members of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States threatened to withdraw from the Assembly unless Abp. Elpidophoros issued a personal apology.

Within 24 hours the posts vanished from GOARCH platforms, and His Eminence released a carefully worded clarification. He wrote that “rumors have circulated” regarding GOARCH’s view of the pan-Orthodox delegation. “I do not and would never perceive my brother Hierarchs — or, indeed, their official representatives — as agents of foreign governments,” Abp. Elpidophoros continued. 

He then reaffirmed support for the Assembly’s earlier resolution, stating “we pray the Ukrainian Law 3894 is not used to persecute any religious group within Ukraine.” This, of course, is an unmistakable nod to the real persecution suffered by the canonical UOC.

Many remain unsatisfied, demanding that Abp. Elpidophoros offer a full, unequivocal apology. And that’s fair enough.

Yet reliable GOARCH sources insist Abp. Elpidophoros neither saw nor approved the Archons’ statement — signed by National Commander Anthony J. Limberakis — before it went live. When the scale of the disaster became clear, the Archbishop reportedly ordered every trace removed from Archdiocesan channels and delivered Karloutsos a scorching reprimand by telephone. 

So, it seems that His Eminence doesn't want to take responsibility for the statement because he had no hand in it. The GOARCH social media team, in sharing the statement on its channels, naturally assumed the Archons and the Archdiocese were on the same side. And maybe that was true, once upon a time. But it's not anymore.

Tellingly, the Archons themselves have left their statement standing. They are under no obligation to retract it, either. They answer directly to the Ecumenical Patriarch, not the Archbishop of America.

Herein lies the deeper crisis. GOARCH depends heavily on the generosity of these Archons, who donate millions to the Archdiocese. At the same time, these donors appear to have little respect for Elpidophoros. They're issuing statements without his approval, attempting to set GOARCH policy independently of the Archbishop.

It's a classic case of the tail wagging the dog. And when the money men can publicly humiliate their spiritual leader and shrug off the consequences, talk of civil war no longer sounds like hyperbole.

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