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Parish Council Members

PresidentDimitrios TsagarisP: [email protected] Vice President Philip KithasP: [email protected] Vice PresidentTykie SkedrosP: [email protected] Gus Colessides P:[email protected] Treasurer

Chris SakellariouP: [email protected]

Alicia MaresP: [email protected] Secretary Maria Hardwick-Oneida P:[email protected]

George Adondakis P: [email protected]

Steve Gamvroulas P:

[email protected]

John Mastakas P:801-916-9488

[email protected]

Thomas Peters P:[email protected]

Sakis Sakellariou P:801-733-5030

[email protected]

Pete Saltas

P: [email protected]

Pete SefakisP: [email protected]

August 2, 2013

Dear fellow Parishioners,

Below please find a letter from His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah.

This letter is dated July 29, 2013.

It was mailed on July 30, 2013 and reached our Church office today at3:30 p.m. via first class mail.

Although it is customary that we receive time sensitive material via fax

or email prior to receiving the hard copy, this was not the case withthis particular letter.

It was unfortunate that the letter did not reach us by Monday July 29,2013 as we stated in previous communications.

In His Name and Service,

Your Parish Council

mailto:[email protected]






























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GREEKORTHODOX

METROPOLIS OFDENVER

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GREEI(ORTHODOX METROPOLIS OFDENVER

Reverend Michael Kouremetis

Reverend Matthew Gilbert

Reverend Elias KoucosMr. Dimitrios Tsagaris, Parish Council President

The Esteemed Parish Council

Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Salt Lake

Holy Trinity Cathedral and Prophet Elias Parish

279 South 300 West

Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Beloved in Christ,

I thank you for your recent letter signed by Mr. Dimitrios Tsagaris.

July 29, 2013

On the basis of the Uniform Parish Regulations of the Greek Orthodox

Archdiocese of America, I am obligated to inform you that neither of your

suggested options in the letter are possible. In fact, they are in contradiction to the

UPRs.

By now, all of you must know that there cannot be any Greek Orthodox parish

in existence anywhere without the assigned canonical priests, who represent Christ

and His Church through the canonical hierarchs over them. Otherwise, you end up

with a Greek club which focuses on fun and games.

From the days ofmy studies at our seminary, we were taught that, as the UPRsstate, "The Priest by virtue of his canonical ordination and assignment heads and

administers the Parish .. He shall also proclaim the Gospel and impart knowledge of

the doctrines, traditions, canons, and disciplines of the Church." At the Seminary

we took classes teaching us to do secretarial work, arid even janitorial work, if the

parish council could not afford to hire sucli=eniployees. In your letter, you infer that

such employees are vital, while an adequate number of priests is not. When

parishes cannot afford secretaries and janitors, it is hoped that the parishioners who

love their parish will volunteer their services. When I was a parish priest many

years ago, I had such blessings in committed people who loved their parish enough

to work for it in every way.

In regard to your suggestion in regard to Father Kouremetis be transferred or

involuntarily retired, Article 17, Section 2A of the UPRs state, "In accordance with

the canons and ecclesiastical procedure, neither the parish Council nor the Parish

Assembly is authorized to dismiss a priest." Moreover, your plan to "debate and

vote either to eliminate Father Michael Kouremetis' pay and/or position or in

alternative to permanently reduce all priests' salary compensation by a minimum of

4550 East Alameda Avenue, Denver, CO 80246-1208 · Telephone: (303) 333-7794 · Fax: (303) 333-7796

web:www.denver.goarch.org · e-mai l: [email protected]

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one third .." is prohibited by Article 17, Section 8B which states, "No parish shall

reduce, withhold or adversely alter a Priest's compensation without the consent of

the respective Hierarch." If, indeed, you were to do such a thing, I would have no

choice but to instruct all the priests to discontinue all liturgical services anywhere

in Salt Lake City, including the two churches, of the Divine Liturgy, Baptisms,

Weddings, and Funerals. Moreover, if you were to take such drastic actions, you

would be inviting your own dismissal from the parish council.

My question to you is, "What have you done to increase the stewardship and

freewill giving to the parish treasury, rather than to your independent accounts of

over two million dollars?" You have been members of the parish council for at

least fourteen months. Have you increased your own stewardship, and including

the stewardship of those who gave ten or twenty dollars last year in order to vote

all of you in?

Let us be candid. To eliminate the salary of one priest, or to reduce the salaries

of all priests by one-third, will not resolve this problem. There are other options

you can take to resolve this situation, if you love God and His Church Which

promises to us eternal life in His Kingdom and not an eternal existence in the outer

darkness, called Hell.

You are all educated and highly intelligent individuals. I know that you can find

positive options which will put an end to your problems, and be as organized and

progressive as the three other large parishes in this Metropolis. Please begin to

think positively and I am certain that then you will begin to act in a positive spirit

as faithful members of our holy Greek Orthodox Church.

With paternal sentiments,

LJL, /) !) .I ; / . / I ?'>~ ' 7 e ; r i / i > j l ~ - f q , . ~ P r 1 . u - ~{ ffi '1Yietr6politan Isaiah of D£'nver

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