Orthodox Stewards for Justice and Reconciliation

During the celebration of the Divine Liturgy and just before we proclaim the Orthodox Creed the priest calls us to ' Love one another so that in one voice we may confess '. If there are two co-celebrant priests, they each kiss each other's front right shoulder, then each other's right hand and proclaim "Christ is in our midst. He is, was and always shall be! " This is an ancient and beautiful custom, and Fr. Nick was keen to rekindle its observance among the St. Athanasius faithful! As awkward as it felt at the beginning, this physical act, and verbal exchange of Christ's presence, became a favorite point in the Divine Liturgy for all, young and old, parishioners and visitors. We learned to turn to our neighbors in the pews, hug, kiss, repeat the same words, and then proceed to recite the 'Symbol of our Faith'. Last Sunday, I found myself in another Greek Orthodox community, and as the point for the custom approached, came, and went withou

This message is to all Greek Orthodox faithful. This is not about just St. Athanasius, or even Father Nick Kastanas. This is about how important the role of a good priest plays on attracting its youth and retaining its membership. As a mother and grandmother in the Greek Orthodox Church, I know full well the importance of having a priest who welcomes young people to his parish of all faiths and creed. A priest that will remember your name. A priest who will take interest in your life. A genuine true soldier in Christ that cares about his parishioners. In a moment's notice all this has changed. Our priest is dismissed for no real reason, he is banned from performing any sacraments and treated unfairly. Now what happens....our youth are disheartened. They say they will either never attend church again or attend a church of a different faith. Parishioners stopped sending their  stewardship, and young children just don't understand why their beloved priest was sent away.

It has been a very dark week! Today marks one week since the 28 year pastoral ministry of Fr. Nicholas Kastanas (or Fr. Nick as he is best known to his community) at St. Athanasius the Great, Arlington, MA came to an abrupt end (for some) and to a long tortuous conclusion for those that had followed the story closer over the last few years. On July 27th, the Metropolitan of the Greek Orthodox Church Boston Diocese relieved Fr. Nick of his pastoral duties, and asked the executive board of the St. Athanasius to post on the Church's web site Fr. Nick's dismissal letter (what many have called a character assassination ) that among other things charged that: "the Saint Athanasius Parish has been in a state of turmoil as a result of issues revolving, in large part, around the person of Fr. Kastanas. The Spiritual environment in the Community has been severely damaged by behavior that is wholly contrary to Christian values, which has resulted in, among other things, the d