Archbishop Leonty (+1971) and the Greek Old Calendarists [part 5]
(Continue from here)
New Consecrations and Organization of the Synod
Before he departed, Archbishop Leonty had given the following instructions: a) Fr. Chrysostomos Kiousis should be consecrated as soon as possible, b) Fr. Akakios the Younger should be quietly consecrated (so as to provide support to his elderly and ailing uncle, Bishop Akakios of Talantion), and c) Fr. George of Provata should be consecrated upon his arrival from Mount Athos, whom he had even proposed as Archbishop of the Church of Genuine Orthodox Christians! [1] With these consecrations, the symbolic number of 7 would be completed.
The order of Archbishop Leonty for the immediate consecration of Fr. Chrysostomos Kiousis was not followed, as although Bishop Chrysostomos of Magnesia came down from Volos, the consecration was canceled by Bishop Akakios of Talation, who cited health reasons. However, on May 23 / June 5, Bishop Parthenios of the Cyclades and Bishop Auxentios of Gardikion (following the aforementioned written command of Archbishop Leonty) secretly consecrated Fr. Akakios the Younger as the Bishop of Diavleia at the Axion Estin Monastery in Varympompi, Attica. [2]
The blessed Father George of Provata, out of humility, refused consecration (despite the pressure he received), realizing the utmost magnitude of the episcopate.
On June 2/15, Bishop Akakios of Talantion sent a letter to Archbishop Seraphim of Chicago, informing him of the consecrations and concluding: "The interest of both our Holy Churches [ROCOR and the G.O.C. of Greece] is to work in the future as one Church, with the banner of Orthodoxy raised. We are confident that you will support the position of the holy Archbishop Leonty in any future Synod, for the great and historic work he has accomplished... Since our contact with the most venerable Leonty, we were delighted by the sanctity of his life and his apostolic self-denial." [3]
But the response of Archbishop Seraphim of Chicago was not what was expected, writing to Bishop Akakios of Talantion that he cannot provide support for fear of being excluded from the Synod [4].
During those days, Bishop Akakios of Diavleia exchanged telegrams with Archbishop Leonty, who was at the first stop of his return journey, Rome, hosted by Professor Sergius Grotoff. There, he officiated (probably on the day of Apodosis [=Leavetaking] of Easter) [5] in a church belonging to ROCOR and visited the ancient Catacombs; at the same time, some suggested to Archbishop Leonty that he should visit the Pope, but he refused. [6]
After Rome, he went to Paris, most likely to visit his friend St. John Maximovitch, who was Bishop there. Although he originally planned to return to Santiago, Chile, from Paris on Air France Flight 117 on Friday, June 9/22, he ultimately decided to travel a week earlier. This decision proved to be providential, because the flight in question crashed in Guadeloupe, with all 113 people on board (crew and passengers) meeting a tragic death…
On the Sunday of Pentecost (June 4/17), after the Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity [Church] in Santiago, he announced to the faithful the details of his trip and the consecrations, and their reaction was very moving. [7]
On Monday of the Holy Spirit (June 5/18), at the Monastery of Saint Nicholas in Paiania, Bishop Akakios of Talantion, along with Bishop Parthenios of the Cyclades and Bishop Auxentios of Gardikion, consecrated Archimandrite Gerontios Mariolis as the Bishop of Salamis. However, his certificate was dated the next day, on June 6/19, as we learn from the Acquittal Decision 54/1976 of the Piraeus Court of First Instance, through which Gerontios, Metropolitan of the G.O.C. of Piraeus and Salamis, was discharged from criminal prosecution (“for the unlawful exercise of the service of a minister of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ”), which had been brought against him by the New Calendarist Metropolitan of Piraeus, Chrysostomos Tavladorakis.
It is worth pausing for a moment on this document, publishing some significant excerpts that demonstrate the validity of the consecrations of Archbishop Leonty: "In December 1960, Archimandrite Akakios Pappas succeeded in being ordained in America by Archbishop Seraphim of Chicago and Bishop Theophilus, as Bishop of Talantion. Returning from America, the Bishop of Talantion took over the pastoral care of the G.O.C. Church, assisted by a committee of Archimandrites. In May 1962, the above-mentioned with the Ecclesiastical Committee around him, summoned the Archbishop of Chile and Peru, Leonty, from South America, and [together] they ordained Archimandrite Parthenios Skourlis as Bishop of the Cyclades, Archimandrite Auxentios Pastras as Bishop of Gardikion, and Archimandrite Chrysostomos Naslimes as Bishop of Magnesia, in the Holy Monastery of St. Nicholas in Paiania, Attica... Hence, the ordination of Akakios Pappas in America, as well as the subsequent ordinations of Skourlis, Pastras, and Naslimes, in which Archbishop Leonty of Chile and Peru also participated, cannot be characterized as having taken place without the consent of the local flock, because the latter Bishop, Leonty, was invited by the local Bishop to the consecration (Canon 34 of the Holy Apostles)." [8]
On June 8/21, the Holy Synod of the Genuine Orthodox of Greece issued its first Encyclical, from which we excerpt the following regarding Archbishop Leonty: "Through the divine oeconomy and at the urging of many bishops of the Orthodox confession in America, the venerable Archbishop of Chile, Peru, Zhitomir, and Berdichev (Russia), kyr Leonty, a man of virtuous character, distinguished theological education, and full of zeal for Patristic piety and ecclesiastical traditions, was sent for and came to Athens, for the purpose of strengthening our holy struggle and fortifying it even more through the consecration of bishops, so that it may possess fully and indisputably the attributes of genuine Apostolic succession for its Hierarchy and its canonical ecclesiastical organization."
NOTES
1. Letter of Monk Antonios Moustakas to Constantine Komnios, dated Sep. 19, 1964.
2.
Letter of Bishop Akakios of Diavleia to Archbishop Leonty, dated June 23, 1962 (old calendar).
3.
Letter of Bishop Akakios of Talantion to Archbishop Seraphim of Chicago.
4. Letter of Archbishop Seraphim of Chicago to Bishop Akakios of Talantion, dated June 7/20, 1962.
5. May 24 / June 4.
6.
See Letter of Archbishop Leonty to Constantine Komnios and Constantine Sideris
of the P.T.E.O.K., dated August 11/24, 1962.
7.
Letter of Archbishop Leonty to Bishop Chrysostomos Naslimes of Magnesia, dated June
8/21, 1962.
8.
See Ta Patria magazine, volume 10,
Piraeus, 1994, pp. 165, 168.
[Be continued].
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