Constantinople suspends Metropolitan of Boston, transfers Metropolitan of New Jersey, suspends Archdiocesan charter

Istanbul, October 9, 2020

Met. Methodios of Boston (left), Met. Evangelos of New Jersey (right). Photo: pappaspost.com Met. Methodios of Boston (left), Met. Evangelos of New Jersey (right). Photo: pappaspost.com     

On the third day of its current session yesterday, the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople made several major decisions regarding its Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

The Chief Secretariat of the Holy Synod reports the Synod’s decisions:

  1. “It placed into abeyance the force of the Charter of the Holy Archdiocese of America, with the objective of constituting a joint Committee of representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Archdiocese for the composition of a new Charter.

  2. “It placed His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston under a penance of suspension until the Feast of Christmas, on account that he had fallen into canonical transgressions.

  3. “It transferred His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey to the Holy Metropolis of Sardes and appointed as Patriarchal Vicar in the vacant Eparchy of New Jersey, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.”

Regarding the plans to draw up a new charter for the Greek Archdiocese, many outlets and social media users have speculated that the plan is to reduce the status of the metropolitans of the GOA from diocesan hierarchs to auxiliary bishops under Archbishop Elpidophoros, who would become the ruling hierarch for the entire country.

Metropolitan Methodios has found himself in the news lately, as the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office instructed him to direct his priests to cease serving Holy Communion from a single chalice with a single spoon after a supposed COVID outbreak was found at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Portsmouth last month.

“This practice of using a single, shared chalice and spoon does not comply with Paragraph 15 of the Guidance and therefore, is a violation of Emergency Order 52,” the letter reads. The Metropolis responded that none of the infected had actually received Communion around the time of infection, and that “the Attorney General’s letter raises important issues of Church-State relations.”

Because of this recent trouble, again, many have speculated that this is why Met. Methodios has been placed under suspension.

However, the Synod’s communique specifies that he was suspended for “canonical transgressions,” and OrthoChristian has learned from informed sources that the Metropolitan’s canonical violation was to convene a meeting of the Eparchial Synod to discuss the Archdiocese’s troubled pension fund without the approval of Archbishop Elpidophoros.

Met. Evangelos served in America for 17 years before his election yesterday to the ancient See of Sardis, located in modern Western Turkey.

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10/9/2020

See also
Abp. Elpidophoros: “Our Patriarch exemplifies every flame in the Burning Bush that we know as the Phanar” Abp. Elpidophoros: “Our Patriarch exemplifies every flame in the Burning Bush that we know as the Phanar” Abp. Elpidophoros: “Our Patriarch exemplifies every flame in the Burning Bush that we know as the Phanar” Abp. Elpidophoros: “Our Patriarch exemplifies every flame in the Burning Bush that we know as the Phanar”
Serving in the Holy Trinity Archdiocesan Cathedral in New York on June 11, Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America read out an address in honor of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople on the occasion of his name’s day. GOARCH’s Slavic Vicariate, headed by defrocked priest, receives Abp. Elpidophoros, launches new website GOARCH’s Slavic Vicariate, headed by defrocked priest, receives Abp. Elpidophoros, launches new website GOARCH’s Slavic Vicariate, headed by defrocked priest, receives Abp. Elpidophoros, launches new website GOARCH’s Slavic Vicariate, headed by defrocked priest, receives Abp. Elpidophoros, launches new website
Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America visited the newly-created Slavic Vicariate for the first time on May 24. During his visit, he gifted the vicariate with relics of St. Spyridon of Tremithus and blessed the group’s new website. Abp. Elpidophoros publicly reiterates his stance on open Communion for non-Orthodox spouses Abp. Elpidophoros publicly reiterates his stance on open Communion for non-Orthodox spouses Abp. Elpidophoros publicly reiterates his stance on open Communion for non-Orthodox spouses Abp. Elpidophoros publicly reiterates his stance on open Communion for non-Orthodox spouses
In a virtual town hall meeting held yesterday, Saturday, April 11, Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople publicly reiterated his belief that non-Orthodox spouses who were married in the Orthodox Church should be allowed to receive Holy Communion in the Orthodox Church.
Comments
Theodoros 10/14/2020 5:02 pm
To Nikolaos, Who are you sir to be passing judgement on others? I happen to be Greek and I fully concur with the sentiments being expressed against Patriarch Bartholomew. It is clear for those who look upon the present Ecumenical Patriarch that he is destructive and cares for nothing other than grabbing as much power as possible. The Russian Church is the bastion of Christianity where Orthodoxy is thriving. Contrast that to Patriarch Bartholomew's most important eparchy which is the Greek Archdiocese in America. Look at his important eparchy. It is in complete ruins and scandal from the debacle of the Saint Nicholas shrine to the financial and spiritual ruin of the Archdiocese to the bankruptcy of the priest pension fund and the ruin of Holy Cross Seminary. Patriarch Bartholomew has been Patriarch for twenty nine years and has presided over this catastrophe. All this however pales in comparison to the damage done to Orthodox unity through the blasphemy undertaken by recognizing unordained priests and unconsecrated bishops in Ukraine. Patriarch Bartholomew has created misery for the canonical Church in Ukraine which is being oppressed by the Ukrainian government and the State Department with whom the Patriarch has unscrupulously collaborated. Now Patriarch Bartholomew is threatening to harm the Church of Serbia by considering to recognize schismatic and unordained clergy under the omophorion of the Church of Serbia. And there is the damage he has done to Mount Athos by turning Greek monks against slavic monks and bullying monasteries into concelebrating with Ukrainian schismatics. Greeks should be mourning for what has happened to the Church of Greece which was once a bright light of Orthodoxy. Greek Bishops have blindly followed Bartholomew's destructive path in Ukraine and have contributed to the division within Orthodoxy. The once flourishing Church of Greece which is supposed to be autocephalous and Mount Athos may soon be in ruins like the Greek Archdiocese of America. Patriarch Bartholomew has destroyed everything that he has touched. It gives me no pleasure to write these things about the Patriarch of Constantinople, but the truth is the truth. Greeks have to put aside the sentimentality for Constantinople and look at the present day realities as they really are.
Mikhail10/14/2020 3:34 pm
Nikolaos, I'm sorry to inform you, but your EP is poison. Istanbul has fallen into apostasy. They created a new "church" consisting of schismatic laymen...and now they are making a power grab in America. I know (and pray with) many pious Greek Orthodox clergy and laity. They do not consider me an enemy. In fact, they agree with me. Perhaps you should retreat back to your safe space.
Nikolaos10/13/2020 7:24 pm
Mikhail, your words are poison. Calling Constantinopolis Instanbul shows that you have hate in your heart and you are an enemy of all Greeks, not just the EP. Furthermore, your MP aspouses the heresies of Sergianism, papoceasarism and ethnophyletism.
Eddie10/13/2020 7:37 am
As a member of the Greek Archdiocese I feel maybe the time has come for the Moscow Patriarchate to open a dialogue with the Old Calendarist Greeks in North America. Why not regularize them and receive them as an autonomous part of the MP like ROCOR. Their mission would be to offer pious Greeks an alternative to the madhouse that GOARCH has become. I don't live near a non-Constantinople parish or I would have skipped out years ago. But I know lots of Greeks want out. Real bad. This would offer them hope.
Mikhail10/13/2020 5:58 am
We are to wait for a bishop to lead us...another saint Mark of Ephesus. In the mean time, it would be wise for all Orthodox to distance themselves very far from the EP. It's gonna get very ugly... very fast.
David10/12/2020 12:47 am
And we traditional, patristic-oriented laity who do not in our hearts and souls believe that we ourselves are apostates? What are we to do? All the Saints and all who see this post, pray for us!
Mikhail10/9/2020 5:25 pm
This is yet another power grab by Istanbul. It is time for all patristic minded clergy and monastics of the GOA to quickly find a jurisdiction who will accept them before EP Bartholmew and AB Elpidophoros crush them into the ground. Also, the laity need to find another church. The Greek Orthodox Church has descended into apostasy. If people choose to remain, in an attempt to right the ship, they must stop all tithing. Constantinople only understands the almighty dollar.
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