|
On January 21, 2026, the following materials were formally submitted to the United States Department of State, the Office of Inspector General, and relevant Congressional committees seeking institutional clarification regarding the governance of Mount Athos and the Holy Monastery of Esphigmenou. No allegation of wrongdoing has been made. The submission concerns the application of established legal and constitutional frameworks, including Article 105 of the Constitution of Greece, and seeks clarity regarding the enforcement of binding judicial rulings and the proper understanding of religious freedom in this context.  To the Executive Secretariat, I respectfully submit the enclosed materials for formal intake, tracking, and internal routing within the United States Department of State. This submission is made in my capacity as the Appointed American Advocate of the Canonical Brotherhood of the Holy Monastery of Esphigmenou, Mount Athos, designated by the Stavropegial Monastery to represent its interests in the United States. The enclosed packet includes: • An Open Letter addressed to Deputy Secretary of State Michael J. Rigas • An Executive Summary • A clarifying statement regarding religious freedom and Mount Athos governance • The text of Article 105 of the Constitution of Greece • Letter of Authorization issued by the Holy Monastery of Esphigmenou (7 October 2024) These materials seek formal clarification regarding matters that intersect with: • Greek constitutional law (Article 105) • binding Greek judicial rulings • Athonite self-governance • U.S. diplomatic engagement with Mount Athos • and issues of transparency and conflict-of-interest perception involving a senior U.S. government official I do not allege wrongdoing. I respectfully request acknowledgment of receipt and confirmation of appropriate internal routing for review by relevant offices, including the Office of the Legal Adviser, the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, the Office of International Religious Freedom, and the Office of Inspector General, as deemed appropriate. This submission is intended solely to secure clarity, preserve institutional transparency, and ensure alignment with the rule of law and established U.S. foreign policy principles. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Respectfully, Archon Elias G. Damianakis Appointed American Advocate Canonical Brotherhood of the Holy Monastery of Esphigmenou, Mount Athos  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This submission is made by Archon Elias G. Damianakis, in his capacity as the Appointed American Advocate of the Canonical Brotherhood of the Holy Monastery of Esphigmenou, Mount Athos, designated by the Stavropegial Monastery to represent its interests in the United States. It seeks formal clarification from U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Michael J. Rigas regarding matters that directly implicate Greek constitutional law, canonical authority, binding judicial rulings, and U.S. diplomatic integrity. Despite his recent official engagement with Mount Athos, including a formal visit to the Holy Mountain and hosting the Ecumenical Patriarch at the U.S. State Department, Deputy Secretary Rigas has issued no public statement concerning the long-standing unlawful occupation of the Holy Monastery of Esphigmenou by a non-canonical faction. This silence is of heightened public concern, given that a “John Rigas” serves as a public spokesman and defender of that same unlawful group. The governing legal framework is unambiguous. Under Article 105 of the Constitution of Greece, Mount Athos is a self-governed monastic polity under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and heterodox or schismatic persons are explicitly prohibited from dwelling there. The canonical Brotherhood of Esphigmenou, under Abbot Bartholomew, is recognized by all competent ecclesiastical and administrative authorities. By contrast, the occupying faction has been declared unlawful by the Court of Thessaloniki and the Supreme Court of Greece, with multiple enforcement rulings ordering its eviction. In light of this clear constitutional and judicial reality, the submission presents five core questions for Deputy Secretary Rigas: 1. Whether he affirms the constitutional governance of Mount Athos under Article 105. 2. Whether he recognizes the canonical Brotherhood under Abbot Bartholomew as the sole legitimate monastic authority of Esphigmenou. 3. Whether he accepts the Greek court rulings declaring the occupying faction unlawful and subject to eviction. 4. Whether he rejects the misuse of “religious freedom” rhetoric to defend illegal occupation. 5. Whether he categorically denies any financial, political, or advisory impropriety involving actors aligned with the unlawful faction. These questions are grounded in public concern, constitutional law, ecclesiastical authority, and the need for institutional transparency. They do not allege wrongdoing; they seek clarity. The Ecumenical Patriarchate has spoken. The Holy Community of Mount Athos has spoken. The Greek judiciary has spoken. The only position that remains unaddressed is that of the Deputy Secretary. A formal response is respectfully requested to ensure alignment with the rule of law, preserve the integrity of U.S. foreign policy, and protect the constitutional and canonical order governing Mount Athos. 
0 Comments
 Ecumenical Patriarch, Not “of Constantinople” My last post on Moscow’s ecclesiological “original sin” a deviation whose roots stretch back before late medieval Muscovy, into the reception and mutation of Hellenic Christianity itself, circulated far more widely than I anticipated (mostly unattributed). At this point, the content is more important than attribution.
When the message travels faster than precision, something essential has been named. And yet, even as the argument spread, sometimes verbatim, sometimes poorly paraphrased, sometimes anonymously..., one glaring ecclesiological error was consistently reproduced, even among hierarchs and highly esteemed clergy and media outlets, the same mistake continues to surface. And it is this: It is not “the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.” It is the Patriarch of Constantinople..., and the Ecumenical Patriarch. Even if you think you understand the distinction, read on... you almost certainly don’t.  There is a new genre of Orthodox counterfeiting online. It presents itself as sober, pastoral, even friendly, an “alternative” to what it derisively labels the "Greek Church," the ethnic Greeks, or the Phanar crowd. In reality, it is neither alternative nor Orthodox. It is ideological laundering.
Sites such as UOJ, SPZH, OrthodoxChristianity, and now projects like Orthodox Ethos, and St John of Shanghai, operate under deceptively pious names, "Union of Orthodox Journalists," "Orthodox Christianity," "Orthodox Ethos," in the same way RT calls itself “Russia Today” or Al Jazeera claims neutrality. The branding is deliberate. The deception is structural. Το προπατορικό αμάρτημα της Μόσχας ήταν εκκλησιολογικό — όλα όσα ακολούθησαν ήταν αναπόφευκτα1/14/2026  Υπάρχει ένα νέο είδος ορθόδοξης παραχάραξης στο διαδίκτυο. Παρουσιάζεται ως νηφάλιο, ποιμαντικό, ακόμη και «φιλικό» — μια δήθεν εναλλακτική απέναντι σε αυτό που χλευαστικά αποκαλεί Greek Bros, εθνοφυλετικούς Έλληνες ή Φαναριώτες. Στην πραγματικότητα δεν είναι ούτε εναλλακτικό ούτε ορθόδοξο. Είναι ιδεολογικό ξέπλυμα.
 There are moments when silence is humility, and moments when silence becomes complicity. We are living in the latter.
Comments are closed on this blog not to avoid dialogue, but to refuse disorder. You can always reach me by email to talk. What now presents itself as “discussion” has collapsed into distortion, abuse, and ideological aggression, often carried out in the name of Orthodoxy itself. The Church does not advance through mobs, and truth does not require a comment box. Ὑπάρχουν στιγμές ποὺ ἡ σιωπὴ εἶναι ταπείνωση καὶ στιγμές ποὺ ἡ σιωπὴ γίνεται συνενοχή.Ζοῦμε στὴ δεύτερη.
Τὰ σχόλια εἶναι κλειστά, ὄχι γιὰ νὰ ἀποφευχθεῖ ὁ διάλογος, ἀλλὰ γιὰ νὰ ἀρνηθοῦμε τὴν ἀταξία. Ὅ,τι σήμερα παρουσιάζεται ὡς «συζήτηση» ἔχει καταρρεύσει σὲ διαστρέβλωση, ὕβρη καὶ ἰδεολογικὴ ἐπιθετικότητα, συχνὰ στὸ ὄνομα τῆς Ὀρθοδοξίας. Ἡ Ἐκκλησία δὲν προχωρεῖ μὲ ὄχλους, καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια δὲν χρειάζεται πλατφόρμα σχολίων. Ἔχω περάσει τὴ ζωή μου στὴν Ἐκκλησία ἀναζητώντας τάξη—λειτουργικὴ τάξη, κανονικὴ τάξη, ἀσκητικὴ τάξη. Οἱ ἡμέρες μου ρυθμίζονται ἀπὸ τὴν προσευχὴ καὶ τὴν ἁγιογραφία, ἔργο ποὺ δὲν ἀνέχεται θεατρινισμούς οὔτε ψεύδη. Ὅταν μιλῶ καθαρὰ γιὰ τὴν ἐκκλησιαστικὴ τάξη καὶ γιὰ τὴ βαθειὰ ἀταξία ποὺ σήμερα δικαιολογεῖται στὸ ὄνομά της, συμβαίνει κάτι ἀποκαλυπτικό: τὰ ἐπιχειρήματα δὲν ἀπαντῶνται, οἱ πηγὲς δὲν ἐξετάζονται. Ἀντ’ αὐτοῦ, ἐκτοξεύονται βέλη. Ποῦ Στοχεύουν τὰ ΒέληΤὰ βέλη δὲν εἶναι ἀφηρημένα. Στοχεύουν, ξανά καὶ ξανά, τὸ Φανάρι. Στοχεύουν τὸ Πατριαρχικὸ Ναὸ τοῦ Ἁγίου Γεωργίου, ὅπου ἀναπαύονται τὰ λείψανα τῶν **Τριῶν Ἱεραρχῶν, τοῦ Μεγάλου Βασιλείου, τοῦ Γρηγορίου τοῦ Θεολόγου καὶ τοῦ Ἰωάννου τοῦ Χρυσοστόμου, μαζί μὲ τὴν Ἁγία Εὐφημία, τῆς ὁποίας τὰ λείψανα ὁμολόγησαν τὴν Ὀρθοδοξία στὴ Χαλκηδόνα ὅταν ἐπίσκοποι ἐδίστασαν. Ἐδῶ συγκεντρώνεται ἡ συκοφαντία, ἐδῶ πληθαίνουν οἱ κατηγορίες, ὄχι τυχαῖα, ἀλλὰ σκόπιμα. Οἱ Πατέρες γνώριζαν αὐτὸ τὸ μοτίβο. Ὅσοι λέγουν τὴν ἀλήθεια δέχονται βέλη. Ὅσοι ἀρνοῦνται τὸν καταναγκασμὸ στοχοποιοῦνται. Ὅσοι δὲν «ὑπογράφουν» ἀπομονώνονται. Τὰ βέλη στοχεύουν τὸ Φανάρι, διότι τὸ Φανάρι θυμᾶται-- τοὺς Πατέρες, τοὺς Κανόνες, τὸ κόστος τῆς πιστότητας. Ἡ Ὀρθοδοξία δὲν ὑπῆρξε ποτέ αὐτοκρατορία οὔτε ὅπλο. Ἡ μνήμη εἶναι ἐπικίνδυνη γιὰ τὴν ἐξουσία. Ἔχω καθίσει δίπλα σ’ αὐτὰ τὰ λείψανα. Ἔχω προσευχηθεῖ ἐκεῖ—ὄχι ἐναντίον κανενός, ἀλλὰ γιὰ ἐκείνους ποὺ ἐκτοξεύουν τὰ βέλη. Οἱ Πατέρες δὲν ἀπαντοῦν στὴ βία μὲ βία. Ἀπαντοῦν μὲ ὑπομονή. Ἡ ἱστορία καταγράφει τὸ ἀποτέλεσμα. Φερράρα, Τότε καὶ Τώρα Ἡ παροῦσα κρίση δὲν εἶναι καινοφανής. Ἔχει συγκεκριμένο ἱστορικὸ ἀνάλογο: τὴ Σύνοδο τῆς Φερράρας (1438). Στὴ Φερράρα ἀπαιτήθηκε ἐκ τῶν προτέρων «ἑνότητα». Ἡ πολιτικὴ ἐπείγουσα ἀνάγκη ὁπλοποιήθηκε. Ἡ συνείδηση θεωρήθηκε ἐμπόδιο. Ἡ διαφωνία βαπτίστηκε προδοσία. Ἡ Φλωρεντία ἀπλῶς ὁλοκλήρωσε ὅ,τι ἡ Φερράρα ἐίχε μηχανευθεῖ. Ἡ Ὀρθοδοξία ἐπιβίωσε ὄχι διότι ἐπετεύχθη συναίνεση, ἀλλὰ διότι ἕνας ἐπίσκοπος ἀρνήθηκε νὰ ὑποταχθεῖ. Ὁ Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Εὐγενικός δὲν ὑπέγραψε ὑπὸ πίεση. Ὅταν ἡ ἀντιπροσωπεία ἐπέστρεψε ἀνατολικά, ἡ κρίση ἦταν ἄμεση: «Τίποτε δὲν ἐπετύχαμε—ὁ Μάρκος δὲν ὑπέγραψε». Ὁ Οἰκουμενικὸς Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαῖος στέκεται σήμερα στὴν ἴδια στάση. Ὄχι διεκδικώντας κυριαρχία, ἀλλὰ ἀρνούμενος τὸν καταναγκασμό. Ὄχι ἐφευρίσκοντας ἐξουσία, ἀλλὰ διαφυλάσσοντάς την. Ὅπως ὁ Μάρκος, ἀπορρίπτει ἑνότητα ἀγορασμένη μὲ ἐκφοβισμό. Ὅπως ὁ Μάρκος, δέχεται τὴν ἀπομόνωση ἀντὶ νὰ παραδώσει τὴ συνείδηση. Καὶ ὅπως ὁ Μάρκος, δέχεται ἐπιθέσεις ὄχι γιὰ καινοτομία, ἀλλὰ γιὰ πιστότητα. Ἄθως, Κίεβο καὶ Ἀναστροφή τῆς ΜνήμηςὉ σλαβικὸς ὀρθόδοξος κόσμος δὲν γεννήθηκε ἀπὸ τὴ Μόσχα· γεννήθηκε ἀπὸ τὴ Κωνσταντινούπολη διὰ τοῦ Ἁγίου Ὄρους. Ἡ μοναστικὴ ζωή τῶν Σπηλαίων τοῦ Κιέβου προέρχεται ἀπευθείας ἀπὸ αὐτὴ τὴν ἀθωνικὴ μετάδοση, ποὺ μετέφερε βόρεια ὁ Ἅγιος Ἀντώνιος τῶν Σπηλαίων, ἐπιστρέφοντας μὲ κανόνα σιωπῆς, ὑπακοῆς καὶ προσευχῆς, ὄχι ἰδεολογία. Ἡ Μονὴ Ἐσφιγμένου ἀνήκει σ’ αὐτὴ τὴ γραμμή: μέρος τοῦ ἀθωνικοῦ κόσμου ποὺ διαμόρφωσε τὸ Κίεβο πολὺ πρὶν ἡ Μόσχα διεκδικήσει ἐξουσία. Ἡ εἰρωνεία εἶναι ἔντονη. Ὅ,τι ἡ Μόσχα παρέλαβε ἀπὸ τὸν Ἄθω, ἀργότερα τὸ θεώρησε ὑποπτο, μετατρέποντας τὴν ἴδια της τὴν πηγή σὲ ἀντικείμενο ἐλέγχου. Τὸ μοτίβο δὲν ἔχει ἀλλάξει. Σήμερα, ὁ Ἄθως—καὶ ἰδίως ἡ Ἐσφιγμένου—ἐμπλέκεται ξανά σὲ ἐκκλησιαστικοὺς καὶ πολιτικοὺς ὑπολογισμούς, ὄχι ὡς πνευματικὴ κληρονομιά, ἀλλὰ ὡς ἀμφισβητούμενο πεδίο. Σήμα, Ὄχι Μετάνοια Ἡ Μόσχα δὲν βλέπει τὸν Ἄθω ὡς ἱερὸ τόπο. Τὸν βλέπει ὡς θέατρο χειραγώγησης καὶ προπαγάνδας. Αὐτὴ ἡ στάση δὲν εἶναι νέα. Στα τέλη τοῦ δεκάτου ἐνάτου καὶ ἀρχὲς τοῦ εἰκοστοῦ αἰῶνα, ἡ ρωσικὴ χορηγία μεγέθυνε παρουσία καὶ ὁρατότητα γιὰ νὰ προβάλει ἰσχύ, ὄχι γιὰ νὰ καλλιεργήσει ἀσκητικὸ βάθος. Ἐνισχύθηκε τὸ σήμα, ὄχι ἡ μετάνοια. Ὁ μοναχισμὸς ἔγινε μετάδοση, ὄχι ἐξομολόγηση. Τὸ ἴδιο σχήμα ἐμφανίζεται σήμερα παγκοσμίως: μικρὲς, ἐμφανῶς τοποθετημένες ρωσικὲς ἐκκλησιαστικὲς κατασκευὲς στὴ σκιά καθιερωμένων δυτικῶν τοποσήμων, ὄχι γιὰ νὰ διακονήσουν τὴν τοπικὴ ἐκκλησιαστικὴ ζωή, ἀλλὰ γιὰ νὰ δηλώσουν παρουσία καὶ ἰσχύ. Ὅταν ἡ Ὀρθοδοξία γίνεται μετάδοση ἀντὶ γιὰ ἐξομολόγηση, παύει νὰ εἶναι μαρτυρία καὶ γίνεται θέατρο. Ἡ ΣύγκρουσηΣήμερα ἡ Μόσχα ὑιοθετεῖ τὴ στάση τῆς Φερράρας—κατασκευάζει ἐπείγον, ἀπαιτεῖ σιωπὴ γιὰ χάρη τῆς «ἑνότητας», βαπτίζει τὴν ἄρνηση σχίσμα καὶ ἐκτοξεύει βέλη ἐκεῖ ποὺ λείπουν τὰ ἐπιχειρήματα. Ὁ Οἰκουμενικὸς Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαῖος, ὅπως καὶ ὁ Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Εὐγενικός, ἀπορροφᾶ τὰ βέλη ἀντὶ νὰ παραδώσει τὴν τάξη τῆς Ἐκκλησίας. Δὲν πρόκειται γιὰ σύγκρουση προσώπων. Πρόκειται γιὰ σύγκρουση ἐκκλησιολογιῶν. Ἡ μία ἐκτοξεύει βέλη γιὰ νὰ ἐπιβάλει συμφωνία. Ἡ ἄλλη ὑπομένει γιὰ νὰ διαφυλάξει τὴν ἀλήθεια. Μόνο ἡ μία εἶναι Ὀρθόδοξη. Τὰ σχόλια εἶναι κλειστά ὄχι γιὰ νὰ ἀποφευχθεῖ ὁ διάλογος, ἀλλὰ γιὰ νὰ ἀρνηθοῦμε τὴν ἀταξία. Ἡ ἀλήθεια δὲν χρειάζεται πλατφόρμα σχολίων, καὶ ἡ Ἐκκλησία δὲν προχωρεῖ μὲ κακοποίηση βαπτισμένη ζῆλο. Ἡ καρδιὰ βρίσκεται μόνο μὲ τὴ μετάνοια. Οἱ Πατέρες τὸ δίδαξαν ἐν ζωῇ. Τὸ διδάσκουν ἀκόμη καὶ ἐν θανάτῳ.  Ελληνική έκδοση παρακάτω What Russia’s intelligence service issued was not criticism of a church leader, it was an attack on the Church itself. It reads as if Moscow still thinks it’s 1721, the year the Russian state absorbed the Church and turned it into a government department. But the Orthodox Church is not a ministry, and the rest of Orthodoxy did not surrender then, and will not surrender now. Calling a patriarch “the devil incarnate” from a spy agency isn’t faith. It’s proof of how far a church collapses when it mistakes power for truth.  Greek and English Ποιμαντικὴ μαρτυρία ὅταν ὁ πόλεμος κηρύσσεται ἀπὸ τὸν ἄμβων Ἔρχεται στιγμὴ στὴ ζωὴ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ποὺ ἡ σιωπὴ παύει νὰ εἶναι φρόνησις καὶ μεταβάλλεται σὲ προδοσία. Ὄχι προδοσία θεσμῶν, ἀλλὰ προδοσία τῆς ἀληθείας. Τὸν καιρὸ αὐτὸν ζοῦμε.
Ὅ,τι ἀντιμετωπίζομε σήμερον δὲν εἶναι ἁπλῶς πολιτικὴ κατάχρησις θρησκευτικῆς γλώσσης. Εἶναι βαθύτερη ἀλλοίωσις: ἡ μετατροπὴ τῆς θεολογίας εἰς γοητείαν. Ὁ ἄμβων γίνεται σκηνή, καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου προσφέρονται ἱερὰ παραμύθια, ἀφηγήσεις ποὺ καθησυχάζουν τὴν ἐξουσίαν, ναρκώνουν τὴν συνείδησιν καὶ ἀντικαθιστοῦν τὴ μετάνοια μὲ τὴν πίστη στὸ ἀφήγημα.  The Church speaks to a betraying wife. Ἑλληνικὴ Ἔκδοσις Ἀκολουθεῖ You were entrusted to me as a wife, Cyril, not as a ruler, not as a conqueror, but as one bound by covenant. I did not take you for your beauty alone, your familial reach, or your personal ambition. I took you for your vows. I clothed you in dignity, gave you a place at the table, and asked only fidelity to your Spouse, Christ; to the canons; to the communion you did not create.
 The decisive ecclesiological question before Orthodoxy today is not Ukraine, not territory, and not numbers. It is whether de facto power , what exists by force, endurance, or circumstance can be mistaken for de jure authority, which in the Church exists only by reception in communion.
Orthodox ecclesiology has always answered no. Authority is not seized, asserted, or defended into existence. It is received, Eucharistically and conciliarly, in time. Where power substitutes for reception, ecclesiology collapses into administration. Where communion is replaced by coercion, ideology displaces the Gospel. Every case discussed here, North America, Ukraine, schism rhetoric, and the present Moscow-manufactured crisis must be read through this single lens.  How Russia, exploits America’s First Amendment through the Simulacrum Moscow Patriarchate Public office does not excuse carelessness, especially in those we expect better from. Representative Anna Paulina Luna has earned admiration for her courage and independence. That is precisely why her recent conduct is so troubling.
By her own interlocutors’ admission, the so-called Society of St. John presented Representative Luna with a selectively framed narrative advancing its own ecclesiastical and geopolitical interests. There is nothing unusual about advocacy groups seeking congressional access. What is indefensible is what followed: the repetition and public elevation of those claims without verification, without historical or legal context, and without consultation of authoritative countervailing sources. This was not a minor lapse. It was a failure of discernment unworthy of a Member of Congress. When a congresswoman adopts the talking points of a marginal pressure group and projects them under the authority of her office, admiration turns into concern. The problem is not persuasion; it is abdication. Access is not evidence. Proximity is not truth. This critique is not motivated by animus, but by expectation. Representative Luna is not naïve, and she is not powerless. Precisely because she is capable, her uncritical amplification of a curated narrative constitutes a serious error in judgment, one that misleads the public, legitimizes manipulation, and weakens congressional credibility. What follows is a factual examination of what was claimed, what was omitted, who benefited, and why Representative Luna should have known better. Respect for public servants does not require silence when they fail their duty. On the contrary, accountability is the price of admiration.  Spiritual warfare is not unfolding in shadowy metaphors or distant lands. It is erupting in our own paddock, inside the household of the Church, led not by pagans or atheists, but by men who weaponize vestments, crosses, and incense to advance an ideology fundamentally hostile to Christ. The epicenter of this rot is the Moscow “Patriarchate”, an institution so disfigured by state servitude and heretical nationalism that it can no longer be regarded as a trustworthy steward of the Orthodox faith.
 This encounter is not mere protocol. It is a witness that the successors of Peter and Andrew are bound by spiritual fraternity. Peter and Andrew in Nicaea and Constantinople, 1700 Years After the Creed By Archon Elias G. Damianakis “Amen” is the final word of the Creed of Nicaea, the Creed proclaimed in A.D. 325 and, in late 2025, proclaimed again in the city of its birth during Pope Leo XIV’s historic visit to Türkiye. The word is identical across Greek, Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Hebrew, sealing the truth of Christian faith across all traditions. It is the universal assent of the Church. This bears the title AMEN because what unfolded in Ankara, Istanbul, and Nicaea constituted a living reaffirmation of the first millennium: a Pope and an Ecumenical Patriarch speaking together, commemorating the Council of Nicaea together, and issuing a joint declaration that reverberated across the world. Christian worship re-emerged publicly on the very soil where the Creed was born. History did not repeat itself, it resurfaced. Metropolitan Tikhon (OCA-MP) and Metropolitan Onufriy (UOC-MP): Two Primates Bound by Moscow’s Ecclesiology  Two primates on opposite sides of the world, Metropolitan Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America: Metropolia of the Moscow Patriarchate and Metropolitan Onufriy of the Moscow-affiliated structure in Ukraine, have become unlikely mirror images of one another. Their histories could not be more different, their landscapes utterly distinct, their pastoral challenges unique. Yet both remain caught within the same canonical gravitational field: the ecclesiology of Moscow, a system that has for centuries made unilateral claims over territories, churches, and peoples far beyond its historical boundaries.
There is a growing infection within certain corners of the Greek-American community, men who believe volume replaces virtue, rage replaces reason, and ethnic slogans replace ecclesial understanding. This sickness recently erupted in a statement so historically ignorant, ecclesiologically bankrupt, and morally diseased that it demands a public answer:
This is not bravery. This is not truth-telling. This is racialized nationalism masquerading as theology, the very thing the Orthodox Church named a heresy in 1872 under the explicit condemnation of ethnophyletism.  Nick Skatamatakis, μαλθακὸς καὶ ἀνάλκις  In a recent tirade, Proto-presbyter Anastasios Gazopoulos once again abandoned sober priestly discourse in favor of noise, ego, and theatrical outrage. His public attack on the Mother Church that ordained him is not merely ungrateful—it is built on talking points so anemic they collapse upon contact with Scripture, the canons, the Church Fathers, or elementary historical fact. This has become a pattern.
Bluster replaces study. Accusation replaces obedience. Provocation replaces pastoral responsibility. For the clarity of the faithful and the dignity of the priesthood, three of his attempted claims deserve direct exposure and dismissal.  As the Church celebrates the Feast of the Archangels, the Synaxis of Michael and the Bodiless Hosts, it is fitting that this month is also dedicated to Nicaea, the cradle of Christian orthodoxy. The Archangels are not mere celestial messengers; they are the guardians of divine order, restoring what human pride distorts.
The Apostolate of Archon Elias and Archontissa Agapia Damianakis
Free speech was meant for truth, not for tantrums. The ancients would’ve roasted you extra crispy. In the agora of ideas, Helleniscope's Skatamatkis plays with ease the μαστροπός τῆς πληροφορίας, the pimp of information, dressing gossip as news and parading it for profit, notoriety, and his self-inflated ego. 
-Archon Elias Damianakis «Γέλως ἔστι φάρμακον ψυχῆς.» Democritus “Laughter is medicine for the soul.” We all know, or at least we should, how an Orthodox Christian ought to behave. Our Church teaches humility, discernment, restraint, and love, virtues that never go out of season. Yet as a student of history and culture, I can’t help but look back fondly and, yes, a little mischievously at our ancestors, the Ancient Hellenes and Romiosini.
Archon Elias was recently featured on NPR’s flagship international affairs program, The World, offering insight into the ongoing situation at the historic Monastery of Esfigmenou on Mount Athos. In the interview, Archon Elias spoke candidly about the deep spiritual traditions of the Holy Mountain, the canonical order that sustains it, and the challenges posed by those who reject both ecclesiastical and civil authority. His remarks underscored the importance of fidelity to the Church’s canons and the centuries-old stewardship of the monastic brotherhoods, while also addressing misconceptions that too often cloud public reporting on these sacred matters.
 The imitation of canonical privileges by other patriarchates and autocephalous churches does not render such acts canonically valid. Simply put, ecclesiastical mimicry does not establish canonical precedent even if no other patriarchate currently performs a given duty due to historical, pastoral, or circumstantial limitations. This is especially true when such inaction is exploited by expansionist theories, like those propagated by the Russian Orthodox Church, which have not been adequately addressed by Orthodoxy as a whole and are now used to mislead the faithful or subversively lay claim to territories. A striking example of such overreach is found in the recent interference of Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem into the internal affairs of the Autonomous Monastery of Sinai.
An Essay in Gratitude | Series Introduction
This consolidation of my work humbles me. Thank you, Andreas C. The Writings of Iconographer Elias Damianakis, Archon Maestor of the Great Church of Christ (Compiled and expanded from essays at archonelias.com) I. Introduction: The Fragility of Orthodoxy under Attack The ecclesiastical crisis surrounding Mount Athos and the schism at Esphigmenou Monastery represents a spiritual and geopolitical fault line within the Orthodox Church. Damianakis quotes His All Holiness, who describes this as "an open wound," a phrase not only metaphorical but pastoral, reflecting the pain of disunity and the hemorrhaging of ecclesiastical authority. His writings illustrate that the danger is not theoretical or distant but is "in the very heart of Orthodoxy itself" (An Open Wound). At the center of this disruption is the radical disobedience of a faction within the historic Esphigmenou Monastery, whose refusal to commemorate the Ecumenical Patriarch places them in formal schism. Their defiance is not grounded in theology but in politicized traditionalism, a phenomenon that Damianakis unpacks across multiple essays as a false front for illegitimate ecclesial rebellion. GREEK Version  Η Ορθοδοξία σήμερα δέχεται επίθεση — όχι μόνον από εξωτερικές δυνάμεις, αλλά κυρίως και επικίνδυνα από εσωτερικές παρεκκλίσεις. Στον πυρήνα αυτής της κρίσης βρίσκονται το Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο και το Άγιον Όρος: δύο ακλόνητοι πυλώνες της πίστεώς μας, οι οποίοι σήμερα απειλούνται από παραπληροφόρηση, εθνικιστική χειραγώγηση και πνευματική αφλογιστία.
Ο Παναγιώτατος Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης περιέγραψε συγκλονιστικά την κατάσταση ως «ανοιχτή πληγή». Αυτή η έκφραση δεν είναι ρητορικό στολίδι, αλλά υπαρξιακή κραυγή — καθρέφτης του βαθύ πόνου της Μητρός Εκκλησίας μπροστά στην απομόνωση, την κακοκατάνoηση και τη συκοφάντηση του ιερού ρόλου της. Η πληγή δεν είναι μόνο θεσμική ή διοικητική· είναι πνευματική, κανονική, ιστορική — και αφορά κάθε Χριστιανό. 
His All Holiness' insistence is clear: Mount Athos cannot fully breathe spiritually until this schismatic and illegal occupation is resolved. And he has placed part of the responsibility for that failure squarely on the shoulders of the Greek state.  His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Abbot Bartholomew of the canonical Esfigmenou Brotherhood walk together in solemn witness, just steps away from the site of a recent attempted homicide and past Molotov cocktail attack — a moment of unity and steadfast faith amid escalating tensions caused due to the inept Greek government. More recent comments by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew March 22, 2022 “Να εφαρμοστούν οι αποφάσεις των ελληνικών δικαστηρίων το ταχύτερον δυνατόν.” (“That the decisions of the Greek courts be enforced as soon as possible.”) voria.gr+12romfea.gr+12skai.gr+12 April 2022 “Να εκκενωθεί από την σχισματική αδελφότητα.” (“To be evacuated from the schismatic brotherhood.”) orthodoxia.info March 2023 “Η επίλυση του προβλήματος Εσφιγμένου θα είναι επ’ αγαθώ πάντων.” (“The resolution of the Esphigmenou problem will be for the good of all.”) orthodoxianewsagency.gr+14skai.gr+14iefimerida.gr+14 April 5, 2024 “είναι πράγματι προκλητικόν και απογοητευτικόν … ανεφάρμοστες και ανεκτέλεστες … ενός κράτους δικαίου …” (“…it is truly provocative and disappointing … unenforced and unexecuted … by a rule-of-law state…”) esphigmenou.gr April 14, 2024 (video) “Ξανά στο Άγιον Όρος μόνο για την Μονή Εσφιγμένου.” (“Again to Mount Athos only for the Monastery of Esphigmenou.”) youtube.com+8youtube.com+8emakedonia.gr+8 September 17, 2024 “…η Μονή Εσφιγμένου […] είναι μία πληγή στο σώμα του … Αγίου Όρους, της κανονικής τάξεως της εκκλησίας.” (“…the Monastery of Esphigmenou […] is a wound on the body of … Mount Athos, of the canonical order of the Church.”) esphigmenou.gr+1emakedonia.gr+1 November 8, 2024 “Η κατάσταση στο Άγιον Όρος δεν είναι ευχάριστη.” (“The situation on Mount Athos is not pleasant.”) romfea.gr October 29, 2024 Although not a direct quote, the Patriarch received the abbot of Esphigmenou at the Phanar, underlining his ongoing concern and dialogue emakedonia.gr+14orthodoxianewsagency.gr+14m.facebook.com+14. Article 105 of the Greek Constitution: Sacred Autonomy and State Responsibility The legal and spiritual autonomy of Mount Athos is enshrined in Article 105 of the Greek Constitution, which declares: “Mount Athos… is an autonomous part of the Greek State… under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate… No schismatics or heterodox may reside there.” This unique constitutional clause obligates the Greek government to:
 Greek Government Inaction: “A Breach of Constitutional Duty” Multiple statements from the canonical Esphigmenou brotherhood accuse the Greek Civil Governor of Athos and the Ministry of Citizen Protection of violating their responsibilities under Article 105: “The government refuses to act… The illegality is galloping, due to the complete inaction of the current administration… in violation of Article 105 of the Greek Constitution.” — Esphigmenou Brotherhood Statement, May 2023 “We denounce the Greek state’s indifference… toward its duty under the Charter of Mount Athos [Article 105].” — Public statement, August 2023 These charges have not been publicly refuted with detailed legal justification by the Greek authorities, nor has the government offered a timeline or mechanism for enforcing the rulings. Instead, officials have cited political caution, the difficulty of intervening in Mount Athos, and sometimes even electoral timing as reasons for delay.  Conclusion: Toward Liberation and Healing As the Holy Mountain nears a quarter-century of this unprecedented internal division, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s recent comments reveal both urgency and sorrow. His call is not merely legalistic—it is spiritual and pastoral: “This is not merely a legal problem. It is a wound—upon the Athonite body, upon the heart of Orthodoxy, and upon the very nature of ecclesial communion.” His remarks echo a profound desire to liberate Mount Athos not just physically, but spiritually, restoring unity, discipline, and holiness to this sacred peninsula. Whether the Greek state will rise to meet its constitutional and moral obligations remains to be seen. Further Reading & Sources:
|
Most Popular Posts
Archives
February 2026
Categories
All
Αγιογράφος
Ηλίας Δαμιανάκης Άρχων Μαΐστωρ της Μεγάλης του Χριστού Εκκλησίας AuthorBy the Grace of God Archon Elias Damianakis has ministered in the study of Holy Iconography since 1980. In his biography you can read about Elias' life and on his portfolio page you can see where he has rendered some of his hand painted iconography or visit the photo galleries to see some of his work. There is a complete list of featured articles, awards and testimonials which you can visit, as well as a list of notable achievements here below. Please contact Elias for more information or suggestions for this website, thank you and God Bless. 
|
RSS Feed
