The circles of the Archdiocese of America commented on the “announcement” signed by the four Supervisors of the Holy Monasteries of Mount Athos, citing “falsehoods” in “various articles on websites.”
1. Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, with the canonical permission of the Bishop of Mount Athos, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, visited Mount Athos, leading a large group of American faithful. This visit was due to the great respect both he and the Greek-American community have for the sacred site of the Virgin Mary’s Garden.
2. As already widely reported in the mass media, the Holy Abbots of five monasteries (Xenophontos, Simonos Petras, Philotheou, Karakallou, and Pantokrator) and their respective holy brotherhoods of venerable Athonite fathers warmly and honorably welcomed our Archbishop.
The hundreds of images – photos, and videos – flooding social media serve as undeniable evidence.
This evidence should raise questions for the four signatories of this unusual announcement, who describe a unanimous decision that was never communicated to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Archdiocese of America, neither before nor during the pilgrimage. The alleged “unanimous decision” obviously was not upheld.
3. As known, in the pilgrimage schedule published two months prior and just before its commencement, there is no mention of a visit to the Holy Monastery. Nevertheless, the written invitation for the pilgrims to visit the Holy Monastery on Saturday, January 20, at 9:30 a.m., sent in a written message by one of the signatories of the announcement, raised eyebrows.
The Archbishop and the faithful of America maintain unwavering respect and support for the Athonite fathers, seeking to strengthen their Orthodox Christian witness in the world.
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
