ΒΟSTON – At the next meeting of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the current month of March, a committee is expected to be appointed by the Phanar for the drafting of the new charter of the Archdiocese of America. The Phanar’s committee will cooperate with the committee appointed by the Archdiocese.

On Friday morning, March 4, the Committee on the Eparchies of the Throne Abroad met in the Phanar under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Emmanuel Geron of Chalcedon. The meeting was also attended by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, who was traveling to Constantinople with a group of twenty-five Greek-Americans.

During the meeting, some confusion and misunderstandings were identified between Archbishop Elpidophoros and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

At Friday’s meeting, when the Committee on the Eparchies complained to Archbishop Elpidophoros about a long delay on the issue of the Charter, he was surprised and pulled out of his briefcase the letters he had sent over the past few months, leaving the chairman and members of the Committee on the Eparchies embarrassed.

Archbishop Elpidophoros, in fact, urged the members of the Committee on the Eparchies and the officials in the Departments of the Patriarchate to be more careful so that the Phanar and the Ecumenical Patriarch are not embarrassed.

It is recalled that the Charter of the Archdiocese was suspended on Thursday, October 8, 2020 by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy Synod around him on the recommendation of Archbishop Elpidophoros, without Elpidophoros receiving the consent of the Holy Eparchial Synod, or of the Archdiocesan Council in the United States, which he did not even inform. In fact, they were informed, as was the entire Church and Omogenia in America by The National Herald.

When Archbishop Elpidophoros was asked why he is convening meetings of the Eparchial Synod since the Charter has been revoked, he reportedly answered that there was no alternative, explaining that since there is not yet a new Charter, they must proceed according to the old one, that is, the one that has been revoked.

Sources from the Phanar told TNH that the plan of Archbishop Elpidophoros consists of abolishing the existing administrative system of the Archdiocese with its metropolises and the return to Archbishop Iakovos’ system of a ‘Monarchy’ led by and Archbishop presiding over auxiliary bishops. It was suggested that is the reason why Elpidophoros has ordained a large number of auxiliary bishops, all selected with the criterion that they be meek people without opinions.