Archbishop Elpidophoros of America spoke with the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Greek communist party (KKE), Dimitris Koutsoumpas, about the common sensitivities that the Church shares with the wider area of the left, during a meeting held at the headquarters of the Archdiocese in New York. Mr. Koutsoumbas was in the American metropolis as part of his first official tour of Canada and the USA.
Christian Pappas
On his part, the Archbishop welcomed the Secretary-General, saying "for us, every political leader who comes from our country gives great joy. And especially you know that with the left, so to put it more generally, we are linked as a Church and as a Christian faith by sensitivities about human rights, equality, justice, peace, the injustice that exists in the world, poverty. All this is a common denominator in which I think we find ground to cooperate and support each other."
Archbishop Elpidophoros shared two key elements from the operation of the Church. The first, he said, is that the Archdiocese in the US has managed to grow and progress in a country where there is a complete separation of Church and State. Mr. Hopeful, he appreciated that it is an experience that proves that the prosperity and progress of the Church may not be affected by its separation from the state.
The second element he emphasized has to do with the way the Archdiocese of America is organized, as it is a model of administration that has differences from that of the Church of Greece. "Here the Archdiocese has no parishes in the sense and structure that exists in Greece. Here we have communities. Communities where the laity have absolute participation, the right to vote and decide on the administration and financial management at all levels of the ecclesiastical organization, from the local community that we call the parish in Greece to the Archdiocese. Therefore, there is a body of laymen, men and women, and the participation of the people is essential with election procedures and not appointment," he noted.
In this context, Archbishop Elpidophoros shared the specific experience of the Orthodox Church in America, considering that its discussion may be useful in our country as well. As he said, "these are two elements that I would like to share with you. Perhaps they will be useful for you and for our country because there is a fear in general in Greece about what will happen if the Church is separated from the state. I do not know if this will ultimately be decided in Greece. This is a matter for the Greek state and the Church of Greece. It's just that we have a certain experience here, which we share and can be useful in all directions."
For his part, Mr. Koutsoumbas argued that there could be a separation of Church and State at all levels and at the same time there could be very good cooperation and joint action in areas that both Church and State need, without interfering in everyone's own household. In this light, he denounced the practice of parties and organizations that exploit genuine religious sentiment, spreading extreme perceptions that distinguish people.
At this point, Archbishop Elpidophoros explained that this is not a Greek phenomenon, as something similar is observed in the US, where political parties isolate teachings of the Gospel and Christianity in order to use them for partisan purposes.
"These are contrary to the teaching of our Church and contrary to the teaching of Christ Himself who does not divide people. Quite the opposite, Christ himself broke all the taboos of his time. And two thousand years later we have come to wonder if we too should break the taboos of the societies in which we live. And really that's sad. It is a retreat of Christianity from its principles."
Mr. Koutsoumbas acknowledged the contribution of the diaspora and expressed his emotion that he managed to stand by the Hellenism of America. At the same time, he called on expatriates to take advantage of the new opportunity given to them through postal voting, thus participating for the first time in the European elections from their place of residence.
"They have left with a thousand and two difficulties, mainly the older generations, but unfortunately history is somewhat repeating itself, as with the last economic crisis we had a new flight. And we think it will be a good opportunity to talk to expatriates. We should invite them to participate in the European elections, now that there is the possibility of voting by letter. And of course to listen to issues that we can forward to the central government and help with all our forces so that they are resolved."
