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PHOTO: The famous “Foyer Hellenique” at Chatenay Malabry, the dormitory that houses poor Greek Students, located in one of the best neighborhoods of southeastern Paris.

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΜΕΤΑΦΡΑΣΗ ΠΑΡΑΚΑΤΩ

By Nick Stamatakis

A very significant trend in post-WWII Greek history is the big wave of intellectuals leaving Athens and heading to Paris, thanks to the French government scholarships and other grants.  In 1945 a ship left Piraeus with several intellectuals on board, including Cornelius Castoriadis, Kostas Axelos, and Kostas Papaioannou – who later became distinguished members of French academic circles.

The French Institute of Athens, an organization sponsored by the French Foreign Office and promoting the development of French language and culture abroad, helped those intellectuals to escape the chaotic political situation in Greece… It was to be followed by many more waves of students in the 1950s, 1960s, and later, as the relationship between France and Greece, always strong, became even stronger… One of them Helene Glykatzi-Ahrweiler, an expert in Byzantine history, reached the heights of becoming a Rector of the Academy of France… But there are so many, listing them here is pointless (but I have to mention my mentor, the late Professor George V. Kavadias, God bless his memory…)

The wave of Greek students to Paris was so big that in the late 1960s the community and the Orthodox Church of Paris started the project of building a dormitory with the specific purpose to provide a roof over the heads of the least financially able among them. And so in 1968 the then Metropolitan Meletios took the initiative and put the foundations of the beloved dormitory (with some help from the Greek-American community I was told!!)… It opened in 1969 and in the next 12 years, it expanded to have about 100 rooms and other facilities for the students… The president of Greece Constantinos Tsatsos was present in a major expansion ceremony in 1979…

 

My friends, this dormitory is not simply a building, it is part of Greek history and especially the Greek Diaspora…

Enter Bishop Maximos of Melitini a few weeks ago, after his “protector” Metropolitan Emmanuel was enthroned as Metropolitan Elder of Chalcedon in Constantinople (“second in command” in the hierarchy of the Patriarchate”).  No need to repeat here the details of the scandal of April-May 2019 that cost Emmanuel the throne of America and involved his “beloved” Maximos – those who follow my writings are familiar with the story (here is a link for those interested)… But when a few months ago Emmanuel moved to Constantinople, Metropolitan Irineos became temporary head of the Church and Bishop Maximos remained there as second in rank – but in essence, he was left behind by Emmanuel to control the finances. (Photo Below: Irineos- Emmanuel-Maximos in a recent photo).

One of the first actions of Maximos was to go ahead and announce the sale of the dormitory “Foyer Hellenique”!… The building, at 15 Petite Voie des Vignes, 92290 Châtenay-Malabry, is about 13,000 sq.m. and the property is located in an excellent neighborhood – valued at 85M euro or about $100M!! Our sources in Paris tell us that Maximos and Emmanuel want to keep one part of the sale in cash!! They also want some apartments for themselves in the new building to be raised there!! We tried to find out whether there is an authority in France to play the role that the Attorney General plays in the US; it seems that in France Churches are very loosely regulated…

In general, no one would oppose the development of existing land for the benefit of the Church.  But given the complete lack of transparency and accountability throughout the Patriarchate of Constantinople, we have to worry… Especially because they did not provide (in the ample space of the property at the above address) a plan to create rooms for the Greek students… They showed no concern at all…

But it seems to me that a major plan is behind this move that matches the “Friends of Pat. Bartholomew” Foundation in the US.  In the name of achieving “financial independence” for the Patriarchate, an undefined concept in itself (where are your financial statements and your accounts etc.? Where are your auditing procedures?), they are ready to throw out every rule and bypass any sense of rational organization… This is certainly not how a church ought to operate…

In the meantime, Bishop Maximos of Melitene spends much of his time traveling between Paris, Athens, and Constantinople, as he and Emmanuel cannot take exotic vacations anymore because of the pandemic…

And when in Paris he continues to frequent the gay neighborhood with all its bars and other indulgences…

I become extremely upset when I think that so many well-meaning Greek immigrants did everything in their power to give life to the message of Jesus Christ, only to have the fruits of their labor sold out by those who have no other belief than worshipping their own weaknesses…

And I become even angrier when I am told that even Greek-Americans contributed to the construction of this historic dormitory…

May 25, 2021, [email protected], www.helleniscope.com

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