Archbishop Leonty (+1971) and the Greek Old Calendarists [part 3]
(Continue from here - special thanks to Protodeacon Andrei Psarev for the two photos in this part)
Arrival
in Athens
Archbishop Leonty arrived at Athens Airport on May 7/20, 1962, Sunday of the Paralytic, where he was received and picked up by the aforementioned driver Nikolaos Menegatos with the translator Demetrios Mouratides. They then headed towards the Holy Monastery of St. Nicholas in Paiania (a suburb of Athens to the east), the seat of Bishop Akakios Pappas of Talantion. At a predetermined point on the route, Archimandrite Akakios the Younger, Constantine Komnios, and Constantine Sideris, Vice President and Secretary of the P.T.E.O.K. respectively, boarded the taxi.
During the journey, Archbishop Leonty said the following significant words to the brothers: "I am not coming here for the sole purpose of ordaining three or four bishops. My purpose is broader. Orthodoxy is in danger. For this reason, I want to create a center of resistance here in Greece, which will soon extend to the Eastern Patriarchates, which are being ravaged by the Freemasons." [1]
They arrived at the monastery early in the afternoon and were welcomed by Bishop Akakios of Talantion, Archimandrite Chrysostomos Naslimes (who was to be consecrated that evening, as agreed), and the women's sisterhood of the monastery. The distinguished visitor was immediately taken to the archontariki (=guesthouse). [2]
Meanwhile, Archimandrite Chrysostomos Kiousis and some other trusted persons of the P.T.E.O.K. (such as Epaminondas Primalis, [3] an employee in the offices of the G.O.C. Church) and the monastery arrived.
They entered the reception room, where Archbishop Leonty was already present, and introductions were made. A discussion on general topics followed until Archbishop Leonty referred to the matter of the consecrations. It was revealed that Bishop Akakios of Talantion did not want to proceed with the consecration of the two elected (Chrysostomos Naslimes and Chrysostomos Kiousis) but suggested that the attending Athonites (Fr. Parthenios Skourlis and Fr. Ignatios Tsantilis) should be consecrated instead.
This revelation led to a scandal and division among those present, with one side (Chrysostomos Naslimes, Chrysostomos Kiousis and the members of the P.T.E.O.K.) invoking the resolutions of the Clerical Conferences, while the other side (Bishop Akakios of Talantion and Fr. Akakios the Younger) attempted to impose itself.
Archbishop Leonty, although he did not know the language and the details of the events, attempted to form his own understanding of the situation. He requested to be left alone with the Bishop Akakios of Talantion, with whom he conversed through the translator for a short while. The latter, in order to justify the change in candidates, made various remarks against Chrysostomos Naslimes and Chrysostomos Kiousis.
What was the true cause of Bishop Akakios of Talantion’s behavior and his disregard for the resolutions of the Clerical Conferences, for which he had never expressed objections until then? Some considered his nephew, Akakios the Younger, as the moral instigator of this aberration, accusing him of aspiring to become a Bishop. In my opinion, the cause of this unacceptable disregard for the decisions of the Conferences is deeper and should be sought elsewhere.
It is known that Bishop Akakios of Talantion was one of the many Athonite monks who left Mount Athos towards the end of the 1920s and came into the world to support the then headless Old Calendarist movement, which mainly consisted of laypeople and very few priests. It is an undeniable fact that without this support, there would not have been such significant growth in the movement, which, from just a few hundred in 1924, numbered a million believers after eleven years of struggle.
With the entry of Hierarchs into the movement in 1935, some Athonite monks may have believed that they should rightfully be consecrated as Bishops. This belief wasn't solely due to their contributions to the Struggle and the persecutions they endured for it, including exiles, imprisonments, and beatings. It was also because, considering themselves as guardians of Orthodoxy, they thought they would safeguard it better than the Hierarchs, whom they generally regarded with suspicion. Among these Athonite monks, only Matthew Karpathakis managed to be consecrated in 1935, and we know that this consecration, which the consecrating Hierarchs deeply regretted later, was a result of pressure exerted by the Athonite monks on the Hierarchs, in exchange for them relinquishing the leadership of the Struggle. It was not at all coincidental that the main supporters of the 1937 Matthewite Schism were Athonite monks. The document that renounced the Hierarchs Germanos Mavromatis of Demetrias and St. Chrysostomos of Florina was even signed by five prominent Athonite Archimandrites, including the future Bishop Akakios of Talantion. [4]
Akakios himself reveals, "When in 1937 the Bishops of Bresthena [Matthew] and of the Cyclades [Germanos] and the distinguished Athonite monks separated from the Bishops of Florina [Chrysostomos] and Demetrias [Germanos], we went to the Old Community[5], which was led by Mr. Manesis, and we agreed to cooperate. Mr. Stavrianos, the head of the main Committee, told the Bishops of Bresthena and of the Cyclades to meet separately and resolve to consecrate Bishops to advance our struggle. They convened, and the Bishop of the Cyclades pointed out the pioneers of the Athonite struggle, who established the local Branches, toiled, were persecuted, imprisoned, and stood firm and unshaken in the struggle, were, namely, Gideon, Hilarion, Akakios, Parthenios, etc. The Bishop of Bresthena immediately became angry and refused, saying, 'No, no, none of them is worthy!'" [6] In May 1945, Father Akakios, along with a few other clergymen, sent a letter to Bishop Matthew of Bresthena, urging him to consecrate Bishops by himself. [7] After Matthew's renewed negative response, [8] fr. Akakios returned to the Church of the True Orthodox under St. Chrysostomos of Florina. In 1951, he again sought consecrations, this time addressing St. Chrysostomos, but the holy father Chrysostomos had serious reasons to categorically reject such a possibility. [9]
I believe that it is now easy to understand the deeper cause of the unacceptable behavior of Akakios of Talantion and his disregard for the decisions of the Clerical Conferences. Now that things were in his hands, he wanted, at any cost, to ordain monks from Mount Athos.
After the conversation with Bishop Akakios of Talantion and seeing the situation, Archbishop Leonty decided, with regret, to leave, telling the interpreter to go to Athens for an overnight stay and depart for Chile in the morning. Faced with the impending shipwreck and the looming new orphanhood, many people fell at the feet of Archbishop Leonty, pleading with him not to abandon them. At one point Archbishop Leonty demanded to know who the young man was, pointing to the aforementioned Epaminondas Primalis. As soon as he was informed that he was an employee of the [G.O.C.] Offices, Leonty spoke to him, asking his opinion on what he should do. Mr. Primalis himself recalls with emotion: “I didn't expect something like this. But at that moment, I gained courage, and it was as if my tongue loosened by itself, and my mind was completely liberated. I replied exactly as follows: ‘Your Eminence, today is a day of joy for the persecuted Orthodox Christians in Greece. Just as the Russians once received Christianity from the Greeks, today the Greek Orthodox receive the Archpriesthood from our Russian Orthodox Fathers’... At that moment, Archbishop kyr Leonty took a small paper Russian-style icon of the Panagia Vrefokratousa from his bag, and after writing a blessing in Russian, he offered it to me.” [10]
In order to prevent the possibility of a departure without consecrations, Constantine Komnios earnestly pleaded with Archbishop Leonty to stay at his house that night. Archbishop Leonty accepted, and along with the translator Demetrios Mouratides and Constantine Komnios, they boarded the car and went to the latter's house on 5 Apollonos Street in Nea Heraklion, Attica. There, they had a detailed discussion until 4 in the morning, both regarding the issue of consecrations, and mainly the history of the Holy Struggle of the Old Calendarists of Greece, about which Archbishop Leonty was fully enlightened and understood the urgent need to continue the Struggle through new consecrations. However, he did not want to ordain Chrysostomos Naslimes and Chrysostomos Kiousis, apparently because Bishop Akakios of Talantion (whom he respected) had said many things against them. He even said to Komnios, "If you will assume the responsibility for ordaining Chrysostomos Naslimes and Chrysostomos Kiousis, I will ordain them immediately and leave." To which he received the humble response, "I cannot take on such a heavy responsibility.” [11]
On Monday morning, Father Akakios the Younger arrived at the house to accompany Archbishop Leonty, who had already expressed a desire to see the sights of Athens. In front of Father Akakios, the interpreter Demetrios Mouratides, Constantine Komnios, and the latter's wife Maria, Archbishop Leonty said, "I do not want to depart without consecrating at least one person. From our extensive conversation, turning to Constantine Komnios, he said, the most suitable person for consecration is you. Turning to Komnios's wife, he said, 'For the love of Christ, you must separate, Maria. I personally undertake your protection, and after successively consecrating Constantine as a deacon, etc. (priest and bishop), I will leave.'” [12] This proposal was immediately rejected by humble Constantine Komnios, despite the unexpected approval of Father Akakios, who “advocated for it and consoled the crying wife of Komnios, saying, 'It will pass for you.'” [13] Archbishop Leonty did not insist and, with his companions, started to explore the glorious city of Athens.
Archbishop Leonty, after his visit to the sights of Athens (he also visited Father Chrysostomos Kiousis, probably in his parish of St. Paraskevi in Monastiraki), wanted to visit other places that the enlightener of Greece, the Apostle Paul, had passed through more than nineteen hundred years ago. So, an excursion to Ancient Corinth was organized with the same companions.
NOTES
1.
Letter of the P.T.E.O.K. to Archbishop Leonty dated 1/14 April 1964.
2.
The reception hall that monasteries have for welcoming and offering
refreshments to visitors.
3.
The blessed struggler Epaminondas Primalis (1937-2023) was a valuable source of
information, as he was an eyewitness and earwitness to the events described
here.
4.
Later, four of them, including Akakios himself, returned from the Matthewite
Schism.
5. Refer to the organization "Greek Religious Community of the Genuine Orthodox Christians" (founded in 1926) which in 1935 submitted to the Hierarchs but left them in 1936 due to extreme ecclesiological positions (in its place the Hierarchs founded the P.T.E.O.Κ.).
6.
Akakios Pappas, Response to Libels (in Greek), Athens, 1957, p. 6.
7.
Ibid., pp. 10-11. Cf., Herald of Genuine Orthodoxy, 15
June 1945.
8.
In the end, Matthew performed "consecrations” by himself in 1948.
9.
See Stavros Karamitsos, The Modern Confessor of Orthodoxy (in Greek), Athens, 1990,
page 83. The reasons why St. Chrysostomos of Florina did not proceed with new
consecrations before his repose were as follows: a) The purpose for which the
consecrations of 1935 were conducted (to pressure the official Church to
reintroduce the old calendar) was not achieved; b) the individuals consecrated
in 1935 completely disappointed him (two - Matthew of Bresthena and Germanos of
the Cyclades - caused a schism, while the other two - Christophoros of Megara and
Polykarpos of Diavleia - returned to the official Church); c) he could not find
suitable individuals with the correct ecclesiological views (i.e., not
fanatical) to become bishops (he considered only two laymen suitable - the
theologians Dionysios Batistatos and Stavros Karamitsos - but they were married
and could not be ordained as bishops); and d) there was no second bishop to
assist in the consecrations.
10.
From a chapter titled "The Arrival of Archbishop Leonty of Chile and Peru
in Athens, and the Sudden and Arbitrary Change of the Fathers Elected for Consecration
in His Presence!" from an unpublished work (in Greek) of the late Epaminondas
Primalis.
11.
Letter of the P.T.E.O.K. to the Priests of the G.O.C., dated May 7/20, 1964.
12.
Letter of the P.T.E.O.K. to the Larissa Branch, op. cit.
13.
Letter of the P.T.E.O.K. to the Synod of the Church of the G.O.C. dated October
8/21, 1965.
[Be continued].
Σχόλια
Δημοσίευση σχολίου