GOARCH retweets pro-abortion approval of Abp. Elpidophoros’ March for Life speech

New York, January 26, 2022

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On Monday, OrthoChristian reported on the controversy surrounding the remarks offered at the March for Life in Washington, D.C., by Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

While the Archbishop stated: “We affirm the gift and sanctity of life—all life, born and unborn… Every life is worthy of our prayer and our protection, whether in the womb, or in the world,” he also said: “At the same time, we also affirm our respect for the autonomy of women. It is they who bring forth life into the world,” leaving the faithful unclear about his message.

Numerous comments were left on the Archbishop’s social media pages asking for clarification, or outright charging him with heresy. Others praised his statement as compassionate and profound.

George Demacopoulos, co-founder of the Fordham Orthodox Christian Studies Center and official historian for the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle, known as the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in America, writes: “Not everyone can handle paradox but it has been a central element of Christian thought since antiquity.”

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And adding to the confusion is the fact that the GOARCH Press Office retweeted a specifically pro-abortion tweet praising the Archbishop’s statement.

On January 21, Aggeliki Spanou retweeted the Archbishop’s statement, with the comment: “A hierarch who defends a woman’s right to decide for herself, even if she chooses abortion. So rare in the Church that it ends up being touching.”

This tweet was retweeted by the GOARCH Press Office:

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On the same day as the March, Abp. Elpidophoros also visited the Ukrainian ambassador to America to assure her that GOARCH stands together with the U.S. State Department against the Russian Orthodox Church.

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1/26/2022

See also
“This is a great opportunity for Turkey”—Abp. Elpidophoros on his role as head of Greek Archdiocese (2019) “This is a great opportunity for Turkey”—Abp. Elpidophoros on his role as head of Greek Archdiocese (2019) “This is a great opportunity for Turkey”—Abp. Elpidophoros on his role as head of Greek Archdiocese (2019) “This is a great opportunity for Turkey”—Abp. Elpidophoros on his role as head of Greek Archdiocese (2019)
“It is the first time in history that a Turkish citizen is chosen as the archbishop of the United States. This has a significant importance for Turkey because the archbishop of the U.S. is the religious leader of all the Greek foundations in the United States. It means he also has a political impact.” Abp. Elpidophoros on the BLM march: It was my duty as a Christian and Greek, inspired by Pat. Bartholomew Abp. Elpidophoros on the BLM march: It was my duty as a Christian and Greek, inspired by Pat. Bartholomew Abp. Elpidophoros on the BLM march: It was my duty as a Christian and Greek, inspired by Pat. Bartholomew Abp. Elpidophoros on the BLM march: It was my duty as a Christian and Greek, inspired by Pat. Bartholomew
The day before he marched, police officer Shay Mikalonis, a member of the St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Las Vegas, was shot in the head during a Black Lives Matter protest and is currently on life support. Abp. Elpidophoros has also come under heavy criticism for making no public statement about Mikalonis and for joining with BLM after this incident. 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
Diana Noonen9/9/2023 5:13 am
Christ spoke clearly and so must he. He is misleading the people through " liberal compassion". He has misled and will continue to mislead millions of souls. I would like for him to first repent, then permanently removed. It makes me question his own sexual proclivities as a man, since Arch Bishops do not marry. It would explain his willingness to go against the church's stance on both abortion and homosexuality. He needs to be removed from all service in the church. Never mind becoming the future Patriarch. If the last nail in the coffin is to do without a Patriarch in Constantinople- so be it. This man has already hurt the church and all those struggling against woke mentality. Try raising children in this environment to be strong against homosexuality and abortion, when your Arch Bishop is Baptizing openly Gay couples. It makes me physically ill. I pray Jesus Christ, son of God please hear our pleas to please remove this man from our Church leadership. Amen.
Ben Dixon 3/30/2023 6:54 am
Um.... Christ hadn't been conceived when God gave the Theotokos the choice to be His mother lol. The scriptures are clear that only AFTER she said yes did the Holy Spirit come upon her... Lord have mercy on this man and his allies.
Evangelos Alexiou2/8/2023 3:38 am
When it comes to abortion or the killing of the seed of God, The Creator, there should be no room for paradox or ambiguity from the leader of GOA….thou shall not kill any human being . He is like a Greek/Turkish Joel Osteen, speaking from multiple sides of his mouth….a Satan thing!
Evangelos Alexiou1/19/2023 3:07 am
The Virgin Mary had a choice to give birth to Christ. The Archbishop is using analogy by saying that a pregnant woman has the same choice to kill her child in the womb. Sounds pretty black and white to me….not much confusions here. Clear cut case of heresy. A young Orthodox woman debating whether to abort or kill her baby in her womb just has to read his statement to fell less guilt in aborting her child. Not good. He should encourage adoption not murdering of a baby.
joseph2/20/2022 6:22 am
Arch. Elpidophorous never endorsed abortion. It is Calumny to say he did.
Jacqueline Richold2/5/2022 1:43 am
A particularly problematic part of the Archbishop's speech was the statement 'We march not for coercion.' Pro-lifers will always try to show women and girls who are ambiguous about a pregnancy how abortion will hurt them, i.e. will always seek 'pro-female' approaches to preserving foetal life. However, there is a bottom line, which is that in unfortunate cases where mothers really are hard-set on abortion, perhaps for ideological reasons, secular legal compulsion should indeed ensure that the foetuses are not put to this atrocity.
Jackie1/30/2022 7:09 am
https://www.helleniscope.com/2022/01/16/stand-for-mercy/
Jackie1/30/2022 7:01 am
I see that George Demacopoulos has found a kindred spirit in a man who speaks out of both sides of his mouth. I'm not surprised Demacopoulos defends His Eminence, Archbishop Elpidophoros and celebrates "paradox" in Christian thought - when he is the epitome of weaving webs of paradox himself. The Fordham Orthodox Christian Studies Center is a bastion of paradox.
Cat1/28/2022 9:26 pm
He simply stated the Church affirms sanctity of life and respects the autonomy of women. There was nothing about respecting women's choice of abortion. People might read more into it, than there really is. And sometimes it seems they're waiting with anticipation to get scandalized. I agree with the point that he could have mentioned that every choice has consequences.
Paul1/27/2022 10:38 am
This is the danger of what I call “Twitter theology” I.e. trying to distill Biblical and Patristic theology into a pithy sound bite. The Church has always taught that God grants us choice. Choose life or choose death, repentance or rebellion. The Bishop is therefore correct that women have the choice when it comes to abortion, just as we all have the choice whether to follow Christ in repentance or descend into sin. What he fails to point out in his pithy quote is that our choices have eternal consequences. The issue of whether abortion should be legal in secular law should rest on the principle of whether abortion is the deliberate taking of a human life I.e. tantamount to murder. If as Christians we affirm the sanctity of life in the womb, our position on that should be clear and obvious.
Noah1/27/2022 6:27 am
ANATHEMA to Archbishop Elpidophoros! ΑΝΆΘΕΜΑ! АНАФЕМА!
Gene Kauffman1/27/2022 12:50 am
GOARCH retweeting the Spanou tweet is unthinkable!
Basil1/26/2022 11:37 pm
Alexander, ROCOR has already broken communion with the Greeks. I think they have effectively washed their hands of them.
sherlock_holmes1/26/2022 10:31 pm
I think abp.Elpidophoros, George Demacopoulos ( his paradox is like Nasreddin Hodjea's one,Everybody is right ! ) and Aggeliki should be asked if abortion is a sin which needs repentance for healing. The same question for other sins that devil consider them " human rights ".
Alexander Leitner1/26/2022 6:39 pm
If the Russian and Serbian Church will not cut off these heretics I and many others will them. Where is the ROCA?
Mikhail1/26/2022 6:38 pm
Is that how you justify it Mr. Demacopoulos? A paradox? God help us.
Michael 1/26/2022 4:29 pm
Anaxios! Anaxios! Anaxios! Would we expect anything less from the author of the First Without Equal doctrine? Satan has entered the Church. And he is wearing a bishop’s vestments. Lord have mercy!
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