In a strong rebuke to the authority of the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America, Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey sent a letter to his priests accusing the Archdiocese of “wrongful and uncanonical” communications.
The letter was obtained by The Pappas Post from 4 different priests who received it from the email address of Deacon Bartholomew Mercado, a deacon to Metropolitan Evangelos.
Evangelos blasts the Archdiocese and the authority of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, who an hour earlier had issued a nationwide directive to all churches to continue services behind locked doors. Elpidophoros made the directive in order to protect faithful from the spread of coronavirus.
The letter from the Archdiocese came as a result of a chaotic response from the various United States’ Greek Orthodox Metropolises.
Chicago had announced the suspension of services and the closure of Churches on Saturday, March 4th, followed by Boston today.
Other Metropolises gave different instructions to faithful and priests, creating a sense of confusion as news spread across the nation.
“People are angry,” a New Jersey priest told The Pappas Post, requesting anonymity for fear of recrimination from Metropolitan Evangelos. “I am angry. We are in a global pandemic. People might die. We need leadership from our Church leaders and they have failed. Failed. Instead of leadership, we have a power struggle and each one is trying to prove they have a taller mitre and a longer pateritsa,” referring to the ornate staff carried by bishops.
Evangelos’ letter to his priests commands them to ignore the directives of the Archdiocese and only follow his.
“The only directives to which you will put into effect on a Parish level, will be those which are communicated by myself, your Metropolitan,” the letter stated.
The issue raises questions of authority, structure and canonical jurisdiction of the Church in America and what authority the Archdiocese has over the eight Metropolises in the United States.
Metropolitan Evangelos’ letter emailed to clergy of the Metropolis of New Jersey is here.
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8 comments
[…] has been confirmed that Metropolitan Evangelos issued a letter to the clergy of the New Jersey Metropolis addressing the “wrongful and […]
Met. Evangelos is worried about the WRONG things…I commend the Archbishop for injecting sanity into the chaos created by multiple Metropolitans who neither communicate or coordinate with each other and clearly have no clue on quickly developing critical events as evidenced by their conflicting “guidance”, and instead appear more concerned their fiefdoms are jeopardized by the authority of the Archdiocese. the Holy Eparchial Synod convened via a teleconference to continue assessing the spread of COVID-19, commonly known as Corona Virus, and decided the following:
Met. Evangelos is worried about the WRONG things…I commend the Archbishop and the Holy Eparchial Synod for injecting sanity into the chaos created by multiple Metropolitans who neither communicate or coordinate with each other and clearly have no clue on quickly developing critical Corona virus events as evidenced by their conflicting and potentially dangerous “guidance,” or what sadly passes for it. Instead, they appear more concerned their fiefdoms are jeopardized by the authority of the Archdiocese and engage in a juvenile power struggle at a time of historic crisis! Ντροπή!
Mr or Mrs anonymous if you do not know what you are talking about do not talk at all!!! This Archbishop that they sent us needs to be sent back!! If you are a true Orthodox Christian then maybe you should watch the live YouTube video he did one week before Pasca!!! He is trying to change our orthodox faith in America!! He makes it crystal clear on the YouTube video that he believes in science and that you can get Corvid 19 by receiving holy communion from the Holy Spoon and the Holy Chalice and if you are married whether your spouse is baptised or not they can receive holy communion because you become one with your spouse!!! Well guess what I will challenge him he can give holy communion to someone what’s the worst case of Corbin 19 and I will go right after them and receive our Lord’s blood that he gave for all of us but he won’t because he is a doubting Thomas!!!
[…] This past week another act of retaliation occurred. According to multiple senior sources at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the Ecumenical Patriarch allegedly rebuked Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey for speaking out against a directive issued by Archbishop Elpidophoros to the entire clergy of the GOA. […]
Evangelos is no angel and has been using the churches money for his own selfish reasons for a long time and giving work to his friends who overcharge the church. Evangelos gets paid over 200,000+ from the church. Don’t feel sorry for him, he does not feel sorry for anyone trust me on that people.
Evangelos is a very corrupt peace and should be banned altogether.
Evangelos is a very corrupt and should be banned altogether.