The unprejudiced defiance and disobedience of Archbishop Demetrios of America to his Ecclesiastical Authority the Ecumenical Patriarchate to submit his resignation, as The National Herald exclusively revealed, was no surprise.

Neither was it surprising that in an unwise and desperate attempt, the Holy Cross Theological School professors would rush to his defense, using Rev. Emmanuel Clapsis, a Holy cross professor, as a crutch.

Clapsis and School President Christopher Metropulos should kneel and cry for the extreme denigration of the Church and the School instead of orchestrating a petition to extend the archbishop’s tenure. These are comical actions by comical people.

To go a step further, it wouldn’t be a surprise if another orchestration by the archbishop takes place during or after the upcoming Clergy Laity Congress. Given his recent defiance toward the Patriarchate, he has proven that he is capable of doing anything and everything to stay on the throne.

After the complete wreck of the Archdiocese and its institutions, it was expected that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew would do what, obviously, any leader would: ask the archbishop to resign graciously and voluntarily. But Demetrios said no, because he wants to fix everything. If that isn’t a joke, then what is?

Bartholomew has given Demetrios plenty of opportunities to “fix” the catastrophe he brought upon our Church and community, which has resulted in the halting – for six months now – of the St. Nicholas National Shrine, and the need for the Archdiocese to mortgage its two Manhattan buildings in order to obtain a bank loan to pay its debts.

I respectfully acknowledge the patriarch’s delay, as he was in a difficult position regarding Demetrios, a 90-year-old hierarch, but the question is, does Demetrios himself respect the Church enough so as not to put his holding on to the throne above it?

After all, it was Bartholomew who plucked then-titular Metropolitan Demetrios of Vresthena out of obscurity – who was officiating funerals and memorial services – and catapulted him in to Archbishop of America, the most prominent Ecclesiastical Eparchy of the Patriarchate. Instead of expressing his gratitude, Demetrios showed ungratefulness in the most arrogant of manners by refusing to obey the command of his ecclesiastical superior. To put it bluntly, he showed his true colors.

Finally, Bartholomew left the issue unresolved, and, of course, everyone realizes this cannot extend beyond September.

After all, beyond the Church’s well-paid employees – Demetrios, Clapsis, Metropulos, and the rest of the “religious professionals” – is the life of the Church, and the Greek-American community.