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On Bishops, faith and military missions!
By J.S.G. Gandeto
We will not exaggerate if we state that USA is one of the most religious countries in the world. We will not be off the mark either if we state that religious values, traditions and customs have permeated into almost every sphere of our diverse culture. As a matter of fact, the people of The United States are not only assured their religious rights and freedom to safely pursue their religious affiliations, but more importantly, they also have those rights guaranteed by the first amendment of our constitution along with the freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Our founding fathers made sure that the government shall have no control over religion nor shall religious institutions receive government assistance: thus defining the separation of church and state. Only through such separation, they thought, and rightly so, can the people of the United States enjoy their continued religious liberties.
Consequently, the religious spectrum in this country is so diverse and so colorful that it became a vital and inseparable component of our identity and culture.
Here, I will not dwell on the importance of religion upon our lives; that should be the sanctuary of every individual or group of individuals to secure for themselves free and unimpeded pursuit of spiritual happiness as they see fit. I believe that each of us separately, obtains and derives varied spiritual experiences as we visit our religious institutions. We obtain and enrich those experiences as we interact with our fellow believers and as we reflect upon the impact of those experiences, we harmonize the content of the received sermons with our daily life’s challenges.
Mine is not to judge the values received from such an interaction; mine is to accept and recognize the right of every individual to take away and retain for himself what that person deems important and beneficial to him and to dispose or to part company with things that do not coincide with his convictions.
Personally, I expect, after visiting my church, to come away content with a touch of reassurance in my faith, that the guidance from my Lord and the path I have chosen to follow are righteous. I would like to feel convinced that the sermon delivered by my priest reflects the teachings of our Lord and that the faith and the belief in the goodness of all men is preserved, reaffirmed and accentuated. I would like also, after receiving the sermon from my priest, to be able to readjust my thoughts, to recalibrate my standards and to reaffirm my faith in those who take the pulpit in front of me. In other words, I would like to walk away enriched by his sermon, to feel invigorated and recharged, to feel cleansed and uplifted.
But what I do not expect, what I do not want to hear, what I do not want to experience, what I do not want to believe in, is a sermon that preaches hate, a sermon that preaches intolerance, a sermon that insights violence and a sermon that calls for destruction of property and lives of our fellow man. That is what I do not want to witness ever being propagated by my priest.
Let me be more specific.
Recently the Metropolitan Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Thessaloniki (Salonika), Anthimos, delivered to his parishioners in his sermon and called on his followers to board buses and go with him to Florina (Lerin), to destroy a radio station.
Why, you ask? For a simple reason that the station’s broadcast will be in the Macedonian language. This is the religious leader of a Christian faith, the second senior Metropolitan in the Greek Orthodox Church, who exhorts his faith followers to violence and calls for a destruction of property that belongs to the ethnic Macedonian minority living in Greece.
But what makes this episode a newsworthy piece of information is not that this person makes a mockery of his proclaimed religious devotion; it is not his myopic indulgence in violence, not even his prejudice-filled sermon—this is not his first time we know of him putting his hate-filled foot in his equally toxic mouth—but the fact that he takes it upon himself to regulate and even execute (outside the law), administrative and judicial matters. He intends to participate in the destruction of the radio station; he is the one who sees no other recourse but to personally go there and destroy everything in the station to “broken glass and nails”.
Imagine a Catholic priest in United States calling on his followers to go and destroy a radio station in town, simply because its programs will be broadcasted in the Spanish language. Can anyone out there comprehend the scope and the enormity of indignation that will reverberate throughout our country? Can anyone out there picture the intensity of the revolt that will ensue following such an act? It is really unconscionable to even think, let alone understand, the gravity of such an outrageous call.
Let us read the sermon before we attempt to understand the reasoning behind such a preposterous call by a high ranking Greek religious leader:
“In the difficulties and storms we face in our lives, as I mentioned before, those we have next to us are included. I do not say this myself, it is in a prestigious newspaper, and I am saying also its name . . . is "The Investor's World" of last Sunday's issue. You cannot read it from there, I am showing it with the newspaper, so you will not think this is a rumor or something we invented . . . I will tell you, because you cannot read it from a distance . . . "in preparation is a radio station of the Skopians [sic] in Greece". Do you hear that? And also those who are watching us, do you hear that? "Representatives self-defining as Macedonians announced through a newspaper in Fyrom [sic] that they have already got a license and are preparing to broadcast in their idiom [sic]. The president of the Florina municipality district of Meliti, Panagiotis Anastasiadis, who likes to be named also with a Skopian name [sic], announced a radio station that will broadcast in the slav-Macedonian idiom [sic]". On the top there is the internet address of the newspaper that announces the operation of such radio station. What can I say to you? The newspaper is valid, and here, this guy has made a statement and is about an interview he gave to a Skopian [sic] newspaper: "The member of the Rainbow Party and president of the municipal district of Meliti Panagiotis Anastasiadis or, as he likes to be named, Pande Ashlakov" who among other statements against Greece and some against us, is saying that "We are ready, we have the license ready and we will take it and start the broadcasting of the radio station." Is this possible, I ask you? Can we Greeks go and make radio stations in any Balkan country or any other? What's happening here? We have some of those who were left here since the Civil War period, as we call it, that difficult period, who did not leave to the other side and stayed here with us, they have, of course, Greek origin and live here but were brought up for many years with their conditions. So, those who stayed here or who took care to stay here, are now revolting and are instigated from abroad by the Skopian [sic] propaganda, together with the other things they are doing, like statues, etc. and are trying to create this issue . . . They will make also a TV station. And now I beg and ask this moment: Mr. president of the region of Central Macedonia, because they are saying they will address to all Macedonians and also the Thessalonikians, their announcement says, Mr. president of the region of Western Macedonia, gentlemen of the remaining secretariat of the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace we had but was abolished (I complained then to Mr. Papandreou, and he told me "no, we will have a substitute". What substitute, there is nothing!). To whom we can address to tell us what is going to be with this? That is why we address to the Ministry of Interior and deputy ministers relevant to the media to tell us: is it true, such a radio station will be become in Meliti and by which the Skopian [sic] propaganda will be broadcast inside Greece, so they will create an issue in Macedonia, yes or no? If it is yes, then I and the youth, and anyone who wants to, I will say it like I feel it, I do not know what will happen, if we say yes and they do it, at least 40-50 buses must go there and together with our brothers in Florina and Meliti, we will destroy everything into broken glass and nails. Otherwise it is not possible to do the job differently . . .”
Let’s see if we can break it down and shed some light on it:
(1) “those who we have next to us are included”, refers to the ethnic Macedonians as part of the storm and identifies them as the culprits for the difficulties in their (Greek) lives.
(2) "in preparation is a radio station of the Skopians [sic] in Greece". The radio station of the “Skopians” in actuality is the station of the ethnic Macedonians living in Greece. They are the ones who have requested and are about to receive a permit to operate a radio station. This would be tantamount to, let us say for example, a minority group of Salvadorians requesting permission to open a radio station in their language in the USA. “Skopians” is the term he pejoratively uses for the people from the Republic of Macedonia.
(3) “to broadcast in their idiom”. By idiom he means language but because of prejudice and hate he reduces the Macedonian language to just an “idiom”, something of a diminished quality, and something of a lesser stature.
(4) “The president of the Florina municipality district of Meliti, Panagiotis Anastasiadis, who likes to be named also with a Skopian name [sic], announced a radio station that will broadcast in the slav-Macedonian idiom.”
Here, Anthimos inadvertently admits that the president of the Florina municipality likes to be named with a “Skopian name”, meaning his own original Macedonian name, forgetting in the process that perhaps, it was his predecessor who forced the conversion of his name into a Greek sounding one.
(5) He is accusing the president of the Florina municipality of making statements against Greece because he said: “we are ready to start the broadcast”.
Perhaps in Anthimos’ mind it must have sounded like: we are ready to start the revolution.
(6) “We have some of those who were left here since the Civil War period, as we call it, that difficult period, who did not leave to the other side and stayed here with us…”
You can almost feel the sadness oozing out of his thoughts as he reflects on the missed opportunity to drive the ethnic Macedonians out of the occupied territories. “Who did not leave”, (reminiscing regretfully), as they were being “politely nudged”, by burning their villages and killing off their inhabitants to go across the border.
(7) “So, those who stayed here or who took care to stay here, are now revolting.”
In other words, this ethnic Macedonians who were not driven out and who, despite all the repressive measures undertaken by the Greek government to exterminate them (yes, you read it correctly “exterminate” them), have survived, “are now revolting” by having a radio station that will broadcast news in their own language.
Wow! One would exclaim being stupefied by such a revolt against the Greek government. This Greek defender of democracy forgot to charge the ethnic Macedonians living in Greece, with another crime against Greece, namely using oxygen—a Greek invention and property—which naturally, is reserved for the Greeks by genus only.
(8) Those who stayed here “were brought up for many years with their condition.”
Perhaps, you are curious to know what he meant by “brought up for many years with their condition?” The “condition” he is referring to is the universal right called self identification which, to the Greek government is analogous to an infectious disease, a plague that ought to be avoided under any circumstances. That is the “condition” with which the ethnic Macedonians living in Greece are infected with.
(9) He appeals to the Ministry of the Interior to find out the truth about this radio station. If it is true then he wants:
“with the youth and anyone who wants to, with 40-50 buses must go there and together with our brothers in Florina and Meliti, we will destroy everything into broken glass and nails. Otherwise it is not possible to do the job differently . . .”
This is the second highest senior member of the Greek Orthodox Church who personally intends to lead a mob of volunteers on a mission to destroy everything into broken glass and nails of someone else’s private property. This is a religious leader whom you go to on Sundays to receive blessings from and into whose hands you have entrusted your children’s teachings and indoctrination into your Christian faith. Just for a moment pause, take a deep breath and reflect upon the gravity, upon the enormity and upon the consequences of such a call.
I am almost sure that we have witnessed similar calls for actions by other leaders of a different faith. I am also sure that your reaction to such calls was one of a total dismay and complete revulsion.
But one should not be surprised to hear statements from this religious leader that defy logic. Anthimos, the Metropolitan Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church in Thessaloniki (Solun), has shown his true colors in a few other occasions before.
On November 5, 2007, the Associate Press quoted him as saying: “Macedonia is Greece”. He also demanded that parts of it which are still missing should be “returned” to Greece, clearly referring to the part of Macedonia that belongs to the Republic of Macedonia.
He is on record claiming that “Macedonians as an ethnic group do not exist.”
Well then, your holiness, the disseminator of the God’s faith, if you claim that ethnic Macedonians do not exist, then, you do not have to undertake a military mission to search and destroy the radio station “to glass and nails” because there are no listeners as such.
Who are these infected with “their condition” people going to broadcast their “propaganda” to, if there are no listeners to receive it?
I find his behavior highly problematic. I find his views and attitude incomprehensible and deplorable for a simple reason: he is a religious leader, a man of God, a person with prestige and influence; a person entrusted with propagating the Orthodox faith. His preaching can have lasting impressions with far reaching consequences. As a member of the Orthodox faith I am embarrassed by his attitude and behavior.
My final thoughts:
To place the aforementioned episode of this Greek Metropolitan Bishop Anthimos in a proper context and measure the severity of prejudice and hate imbedded in its content, one ought to take the following realities into consideration: (a) that such malicious action is directed towards other fellow Christians in a supposedly “democratic” country and a member of the European Union, (b) that this episode is not some unverifiable occurrence from the middle ages, but happens today in an era of high technological advances in communications when almost everything gets exposed immediately, and (c) it is a call to physical destruction of property not by a law enforcement personnel but by a leader of the church.
And now, imagine if you will what these Greek religious leaders have done to the Macedonian minority in Greece in the early years of this century, when practically nobody was watching.
It should be born in mind that the salary of this bishop, who calls for destruction of somebody else’s property, is paid by the Greek government. Such is the life in today’s democratic Greece.
Until next time…Comment
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Macedonians Abroad Request Immediate Annulment of Interim Accord
Wednesday, 07 September 2011
Jurists who have been consulted by the Macedonian government in relation to lawsuit against Greece before the Hague-based International Court of Justice must draw up a legal syllogism – proof, but what the government had accepted as legal arguments in this case is lack of knowledge.
This is the keynote of a column written by Marjan Popeski, lawyer and expert in international law, in which he clarifies his idea that Macedonia should file a motion for invalidation of the 1995 Interim Accord between Macedonia and Greece. His proposal has already won backing by Canada-based Committee for Democratization of Macedonia, which brought up an initiative to prove the meaninglessness of the interim deal.
The committee posted the motion to three legislators in the Macedonian parliament representing the Diaspora and they are expected to bring up the issue at a session.
The Ohrid-born lawyer claims the interim accord between Macedonia and Greece is not in line with the concept of jus cogens norms in the United Nations Charter, thus it is meaningless (Article 53 of the Vienna Convention on the Law on Treaties). Consequently, Article 5 of the Interim Accord is a meaningless norm and hence the interim consent is voided and has no legal action.
Furthermore, he quotes extracts from the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The Convention provides (Article 53) that a treaty will be void if, at the time of its conclusion, it conflicts with a peremptory norm of general international law.
Jus cogens, the literal meaning of which is "compelling law," is the technical term given to those norms of general international law that are argued as hierarchically superior. The power of a state to make treaties is subdued when it confronts a super-customary norm of jus cogens.
The bottomline of Popeski's column is that „groudless intterim accord has no legal action and that Macedonia doesn't have to change its name.“
Comment
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Fight PODNEBESJETO FORCES AND FATHER of lies!
Interview
Metropolitan. Methodius :
The interview with Mr.. Methodius, bishop responsible for the American-Canadian Diocese of the MOC - OA and also member of the Holy Synod, was motivated by numerous speculations and rumors of problems in the diocese. Mr. Methodius set a seemingly arrogant questions to get you more detailed and precise answers, I sincerely thank and who publish in full. Of course, Mr. Methodius, one of the younger bishops put him in the MOC and general questions on the recognition of the MOC and the situation in III and in Macedonia in general.
- Visokopreosveshteni Lord, with your entry into this American-Canadian Diocese, at the beginning you said that your priority wil be collecting youth wing of the church. Since then spent five years and younger are not yet in the church. What is the problem, whether priests, in you or whatever? publicly stated at the "Macedonian Roots" Tv.makedonski hour, that in those churches where young priests have more young visitors. Was that the only reason to change the old priests?
d. Methodius : I have five years of constantly trying to explain what it means to live young in the Church. And in the Gospel the Lord says: Do not defend the children to come unto me! That does not mean that we the Church need to do Disneyland for young people to primamime zalazheme or to come and participate. They should voluntarily and of his choice and spiritual need to feel the Church as their home. First, young people entering the church, it means they can begin to regularly attend religious services regularly to fast and pray, to practice, ready to partake of the Lord Mysteries. Finally, I agree with your impression, simply because it is unfair to many of our young people actively involved in the liturgical life, active in church societies and dance sections, and even the church authorities, who sacrifice their time and energy , and conclude that in this respect nothing has changed. Is not it obvious evidence of this example and the current Vice President of Eparhiskoto Assembly, which is a very good young man, an intellectual and a believer. As for personnel policy in the diocese, I'll say only that everyone is given a chance to prove and show. I do not distinguish between young and old priests, but among the priests who have successfully performed the mission and those who abuse their position.
- Your priority was also introducing religious education in our churches. Except in a few larger churches, where once there was, in other churches is nowhere to be maintained. What's the problem, old or young priests, whether it is disobedience, and whose is it?
d. Methodius : And it's a symptom. It is obvious that in general we lack optimism. The introduction of religious instruction and the Macedonian language in church schools is a process and it can not, or should happen overnight. Where necessary facilities and Sunday schools are working at full steam. But there our communities where the majority of the members are elderly people, and where simply not enough children to form classes. Also, I think it should be no obstructions usmerime to develop the administrative work of the Diocese and filling the vacuum of the previous decades in terms of communication, information and obligations as institutions have to state precisely the states, so that we can use the help that society provides to nonprofit organizations. The idea is, instead of blaming each other and ask why things orderly wines do not go well, to begin pousrdno, so besides Sunday school course where there are conditions to organize and church nurseries and much more above all religious activities, which will cover all age groups. The media in particular can help in this, the current defeatism zameninme to properly inform and obnaroduvanje very useful such initiatives.
- Do you think the traditional church gatherings to introduce new content, especially in the spiritual sphere?
d. Methodius : One such innovation is the church choirs smotrata that 3-4 years ago have introduced. Certainly we need to understand that the joint in the Church and the activities gravitate around the Church. Well, everything that we do not have a dominant spiritual and moral character. It excludes, of course, patriotic, sporting and cultural activities.
Innuendo to show disunity in the Church
- Your deacon Stephen banner on a public rally before more people and priests said that in this diocese will have more and Stefanovci Kirilovci. What does that mean? Are these previous hierarchs did nothing for this diocese priests or set wrong, so you now rectify their mistake?
d. Methodius : Absolutely wrong conclusion. First, the deacon Stephen neither position nor expressed something like this. Obviously, someone responds with false and malicious insinuations of the people meant to display any disunity in the top of the Church and to denigrate the excellent cooperation and personal friendship we cherish each other with His Eminence and grandfather Cyril . Especially with them, but with all the other brothers in the Holy Synod of Hierarchs. You should spend time digging that propaganda against the unity of our people and our Church.
- What are your plans with Archimandrite Arsenie who brought from Strumica and set in New York? Why are priests leave their jobs, and bring your people from Macedonia and whether it corresponds to the previous question?
d. Methodius : Archimandrite Arsenius came to America as the Strumica diocese clergy to pursue doctoral studies. Moreover, in the Church and your not my man, we are all Christ. His setting for the pastor of the parish in Queens is in compliance with the personnel policy that I as the bishop responsible AKMPE have in office. Priests currently on his parish without fault, nor want, and can not legally act as priests in America. If you care, you need to cater for all, and Archimandrite mentioned should not be an exception.
- Why America brought in a priest who was Vraniskovski apostate? Do not you fear that it can be done as another error with it, so you get a situation in the diocese to secede from the MOC?
d. Methodius : All clergy who seceded with apostate Vraniskovski been defrocked by the MOC and no place for them in the Church. That cleared things and these are only harmful misinformation.
And for me the price is too high Evangileieto
- A one and a half, for providing new Gospel of our churches, which are chargeable after $ 500.00. Did you think it is not to say, audacious high price for this people? Anyway, please let us explain the logic as it has come to the price of the Gospel?
d. Methodius : The logic is very simple. Cost is made on consensus and voting Eparhiskoto diocesan Assembly and Executive Board. Maliciously sound and intonation even myself that I had something to someone charged. We are serious Diocese and should respect each other and the world does not respect and recognize. Although personally I think it is set too high a price.
- We hear that in Canada and America are collecting signatures against your performance against your decisions that you make, you do not agree with what was written against you. Therefore, you have immediate priests in Detroit called an extraordinary meeting and you are ordered to immediately take measures to deny this letter as untrue . What is truth and what untruth in all this ? Finally, in the Church, probably allowed a not dogmatic thinking if it comes to religion, but about organizational matters, right?
d. Methodius : What happened in Detroit was a regular session of the diocesan Executive Board and the meeting was attended by all members of the EUO. It is not a collection of priests by command or function in the meeting was to talk about writing. The meeting came a resolution that condemned the above letter as misleading, especially after it began to circulate, many signed the petition addressed to me or through personal phone calls and letters apologize and confirm that they were forged their signatures. This letter was not signed and is a decent act of perjury and arbitrariness that some of the ecclesiastical authorities of his meetings condemned even before that to do EUO. But we do not fight with ordinary things, but by forces podnebesjeto and the father of lies.
- Master Visokopreosveteni Why go every year in Macedonia three times and sit for two months? The apartment and all the expenses you paid on time. You are a member of the Holy Synod of the MOC, our information tells you never or rarely attend meetings Sinodskite. Why? And right you think that your absence from nearly six months a year to make large expenditures of the Diocese and our churches. Some of us, believers have the feeling that you do not understand that it is useful to sit here and resolve problems through our many churches, which in fact, believers and we pay you and priests?
d. Methodius : Me and the priests of this diocese I've make a living wage and do not deserve to be treated as mercenaries. It shows how little we have self-esteem. I go to Macedonia twice a year when we have plenary sessions of the Holy Synod, to which all the hierarchs need to attend. To discuss the presence or absence my sessions is insolence. I as a member of the Synod has committed and work well in committees and working groups, and individual responsibilities, and my going to Macedonia officially. The money paid for my accommodation is part of my salary and it should not be subject to charshiski gossip.
- What specific things Vashot deacon? Can not his job to take some of the parish priests do not have?
d. Methodius , nor deacon can work clerical work, nor vice versa. It has been established by the canons of the Holy Orthodox Church.
Do not justify breaking the fast
- As a hierarch, that is your opinion about fasting? We see that allow dirty dishes during the fast and did not react and did not oppose it. Line of least resistance, or have other, theological explanation?
d. Methodius : I bless disruption of fasting and insisted he absolutely be respected. And not just in fast food mrsnata, but fasting in lying and gossiping, perjury and fasting in hatred. Fasting is a means salvational human life. But fasting is also an expression of free will. And the Gospel says: He who fasts shall not condemn those who do fast and vice versa. Each will be responsible for their actions before God. Christianity is a faith in free people.
- When you go to vizitacija our churches across America and Canada and performs sacred worship, why take money from churches, which also pay your hotel bills? Did you pay by the Diocese, you have to use a car and you paid. Is it not contrary to yours, even as a monk, renunciation of avarice and whether it is against the material as irrelevant to the Church and especially its top officials?
d. Methodius : Even I'm embarrassed to hear such a lie. I for my visits to our churches, I never asked for money. He blames me for his avarice takes great sin of the soul. May God forgive him for that.
- With your coming to this duty, rather than solve problems, create new look. Could you explain that?
d. Methodius : The problems solved and created, but what worries me is the fact that the very widespread sport in our communities is more competition which will offend the bishop or priests. The church is a living organism is impossible no problems, just need all the mutual respect and good will to want to solve them. Otherwise if you teach it in advance, then if God himself came down to earth, He would be crucified again.
- When they came to this diocese as new parishes organize and where?
d. Methodius : The organization of new municipalities is not tied to my desires and ambitions, but the specific features of konkreni initiative committees. We have more churches in formation, but strategically wrong to open new fronts the first to take care of existing ones. Currently, the most important thing is to concentrate on reviving the churches in Florida, Arizona, in Montreal, etc., to be prepared for future extensions.
We should be concerned about external recognition of the MOC
- Are generally MOC-OA has entered into a severe spiritual crisis? Bishop Peter scandals in Australia are well known. Here also we have big problems though not to so sharp. In Macedonia the skandlot Vraniskovski not forget, because he was appointed bishop in exactly protezheata Holy Synod. The church has repeatedly proved to be excellent with every koketa power. And in communist and "democratic." Not once, not one bishop did not speak of poverty and unemployment that tishti people, which is the product of the authorities. Public kitchens and possibly other assistance are more the exception than the rule, and many of the bishops of the SAS, even the lower clergy, still enjoy great material wealth ..?
d. Methodius : fan passions are high, but is not sure whether to cheer or Samson the lion. Things can always be shown and made black by this, but it does not serve our integrity as a church and as people. I already use with the parable of the holy man Paisios of Mount Athos. That human-fly and man-bee. If we want to see only evil, only evil and only seen in this world, it is our personal choice. Finally in the Gospel says: the world of evil lies. But in this world there are many pros and has a fundamental basis for optimism. This particularly applies to us Christians. Himself creating heaven and hell still here on earth. God's call should be aware not to be good and not to touch anything that will not be polluted.
- Are there bishops in SAS that reflect, in accordance with the canons and Eastern Orthodoxy, not to seek recognition from the SOC already on our holy Church? Finally, scholars know the truth, and everything else is politics. In such conditions, if you thought the union and communion with other Orthodox churches not recognized?
d. Methodius : These are two separate issues. First, the public and is well known that the SPC is currently occurring major internal turmoil and divisions. They are not willing to deal with foreign affairs for them when they have internal problems. In that sense, when one side has no capacity for negotiation, negotiations can not continue, and with them the denouement. Second, the MPC is in canonical position much better than any other recognized churches and fellowship with them we would only put a damper on those positions. We are a Church of apostolic preemsvo and if you have respect and recognize themselves, should not be afraid of recognition from the outside. And this primarily means keeping the original Orthodox faith as we passed by the holy apostles.
- As seen on church leadership lustration in Macedonia?
d. Methodius : I could only speak in my name because I am not entitled to any official opinion of the MOC SAS on this issue. Time anti-Macedonian propaganda and assimilationist policies of previous occupation once and for all ages to stop. In this sense, the example of all ex-communist countries, the law of lustration is extremely important catalyst to the process of clearing and the impact of defense against those who today do not want good for Macedonia. There should be no exemptions and exceptions to institutions and individuals in the application of this law.
Last edited by Makedonska_Kafana; 09-07-2011, 11:11 PM.Comment
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ОТКАКО ОБЕДИНЕТА МАКЕДОНСКА ДИЈАСПОРА НА ЕКС ПРЕТСЕДАТЕЛОТ МУ ДОДЕЛИ НАГРАДА ЗА ЖИВОТНО ДЕЛО
Жесток судир на СМК и ОМД поради наградата за Глигоров
Наградата за животно дело на поранешниот претседател Киро Глигоров од организацијата Обединета македонска дијаспора (ОМД) е неприфатлива за најголемиот број Македонци и македонски заедници во светот, бидејќи не ја одразува нивната волја, смета Светскиот македонски конгрес (СМК). ОМД реши да го награди првиот македонски претседател по осамостојувањето по повод дваесетгодишнината од независноста на Македонија.
Неразбирлива е мотивацијата на организацијата ОМД за награда на Глигоров, кој во својот мандат наводно ја одвратил државата од погрешни потези кои можеле иднината на Македонија да ја одведат во несакан правец (?!), бидејќи тоа воопшто не е вистина. Почит кон функцијата што ја вршел, но грешките на Глигоров не ги покриваат ни 1000 години од независноста на државата Македонија", се вели во соопштението на Конгресот.
Од СМК наведуваат 14 причини зошто Глигоров не требало да ја добие наградата:
(1) во времето на распаѓањето на поранешна СФРЈ со босанскиот претседател Изетбеговиќ предлагаше платформа за асиметрична југословенска федерација;
(2) со Стојан Андов ја жртвува Владата на Никола Кљусев за да го спаси југословенството на Денко Малески од одговорност во Собранието;
(3) без образложение за мисијата поради која го именува, го смени Васил Тупурковски од специјален пратеник на претседателот на Републиката во Соединетите Американски Држави;
(4) со Стојан Андов го анулира гласањето во Собранието за членот 1 од Уставот на Македонија како држава на македонскиот народ и држава на рамноправни граѓани";
(5) без собраниска одлука декларира промена на државното име во: Република Македонија во загради Скопје";
(6) во 1992 година ги подели Македонците во светот формирајќи втор Светски Македонски Конгрес со Џон Битов од Канада како алиби за манипулација со емиграцијата заради промената на државното име и знаме;
(7) цели шест месеци по одлуката на Собранието во јули 1992 година не ја поднесе апликацијата на Македонија за прием во Обединетите нации се до обелоденувањето од пресот на портпаролот на генералниот секретар на ООН во јануари 1993 година дека Македонија се уште не поднела апликација за прием во Обединетите нации;
(8) со Бранко Црвенковски ја внесе Македонија во Обединетите нации под понижувачкото привремено обраќање Поранешна Југословенска Република Македонија";
(9) со Стево Црвенковски ја прифати македонско-грчката согласност од 13 септември 1995 година со којашто се суспендира една третина од Уставот на државата Македонија;
(10) ја суспендира грижата за положбата на државата Македонија за припадниците на македонскиот народ во соседните земји на републиката и за иселениците од Македонија;
(11) прифати промена на државното знаме на Македонија;
(12) беше претседател на држава без парламентарна опозиција и со партизирано судство од 1994 до 1998 година;
(13) направи груб атак врз уставниот поредок, во обид за суспензија на парламентарната демократија, осудувајќи го поразот на СДСМ како крај за демократијата во Македонија, барајќи од народот да не го остава сам" и
(14) им беше покритие на Бранко Црвенковски за криминалната приватизација на општествената сопственост со која се криминализира целото општество, и на Соња Николовска за пирамидалната штедилница ТАТ во Битола.
Глигоров: Ние немаме друга татковина освен Република Македонија
Првиот претседател на Македонија, Киро Глигоров, упати честитка до граѓаните на земјава по повод Денот на независноста, 8 Септември. Глигоров во честитката пишува дека одржаниот референдум пред 20 години значеше врв на борбите и стремежот на македонскиот народ за слобода и сопствена држава.
Иако меѓу последните на Балканот, Глигоров вели дека тоа македонскиот народ го направи длабоко свесен за сопствените права и идентитет.
- Огромно е задоволството што дваесетгодишниот јубилеј го чествуваме во слободна и суверена држава, национална држава на македонскиот народ и татковина на сите припадници на другите етнички заедници што живеат во државава, членка на ООН и рамноправен субјект во меѓународната заедница. Без оглед на величината и богатството, без оглед на тоа како е прифатена, дали е напаѓана или оспорувана, Македонија ни е една и единствена татковина. Таа е географски одредена со нејзините меѓународно признати граници. Ние немаме друга татковина. Затоа мораме да ја чуваме, да ја градиме и да се бориме за неа. Притоа е важно сите граѓани на Република Македонија еднакво да ја сакаат државата и да ја чувствуваат како своја татковина. Тоа е важна претпоставка за меѓусебно разбирање, дијалог и соработка, за меѓусебно почитување, толеранција и соживот. Таквите определби се традиционални на овие простори и се содржани како во Крушевскиот манифест, така и во асномските документи, потсетува Глигоров.
- Уште еднаш од се срце сакам да ви го честитам Денот на независноста на Република Македонија и да ви посакам добро здравје, семејна благосостојба и подобар живот, се вели во честитката на првиот претседател Глигоров.
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umd are like lapdogs theu award people who sell us out.Kiro gligorov told the greeks we aren't macedonian we are slav.It's a slap in the face when he says we have no connection to the past.Also sold us out both on the name & flag.Looks like if you compromise & capitulate you will be awarded an award.Which ever you look at it gruevski is a traitor."Ido not want an uprising of people that would leave me at the first failure, I want revolution with citizens able to bear all the temptations to a prolonged struggle, what, because of the fierce political conditions, will be our guide or cattle to the slaughterhouse"
GOTSE DELCEVComment
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UMD, is a computer science program - a small network of supporters aka family & relatives, a clickLast edited by Makedonska_Kafana; 09-14-2011, 01:01 PM.Comment
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the ventilators are flying thick & fast at skopje.They should know that they don't need to accept the ventilator.The country chooses it's own flag not one which greece concocts for them."Ido not want an uprising of people that would leave me at the first failure, I want revolution with citizens able to bear all the temptations to a prolonged struggle, what, because of the fierce political conditions, will be our guide or cattle to the slaughterhouse"
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Sadly, the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia missed a HUGE chance today to make a human rights statement and if I was Athenian I would be very pleased to see so many Greek flags flying proudly in Skopje today.Originally posted by George S. View PostLast edited by Makedonska_Kafana; 09-19-2011, 08:23 PM.Comment
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Australia’s official stance on Macedonia
By J.S.G. Gandeto
Rebutal
Even though I prefer to open my article with a suitable phrase - to grab your immediate attention - this time, I will begin my story with an impromptu question: If you ever find yourself in a time squeeze and are not sure how to proceed or how to react to a given situation, would you:
(a) Do what seems natural to you.
(b) Do what the majority of the people before you have done already.
(c) Take the advice of a fellow who has vested interest in the outcome or
(d) Consult as many scholars/experts on the field as possible before you make your decision.
Obviously, your first initial approach would be to read and understand the question being asked. Second, you would read and analyze the choices given. Next, you would eliminate some of the choices and finally, you would focus on one that, in your opinion, makes the most sense regarding the essence of the question being asked.
Considering the choices given:
Choice (a): Most likely you would not select choice "a" because the question does not allude to things being done instinctively, or on the spur of a moment without some consideration.
Choice (c): Chances are that you would stay away from this one because you may get suspicious and may question this fellow's hidden agenda or motives.
Choice (d): You would decline selecting choice "d" on the strength of the "time squeeze" constraint emphasized within the question itself, thus, the urgency of the decision to be made will preclude its selection. Here, the contrast is obvious; you do not have the luxury of time to indulge yourself in a time consuming research to consult all the experts in the field.
Therefore, your choice most likely would be "b"; do what the majority of people have done already.
In the article "Australia's official stance on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)" from September 13, sent to the American Chronicle by the so-called Australian Macedonian Advisory Council and written by certain Paul Kiritsis, their Executive Director, we find the following advice given to the Australian community in advance of the Republic of Macedonia's Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's visit to Australia scheduled for late October.
He is concerned that you, the citizens of Australia, could "erroneously" call the Republic of Macedonia by its constitutional name and not refer to her by the awkward and insulting acronym-imposed by Greece-Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Since Mr. Kiritsis feels that:
"Many Australians have been misled by this continuous propaganda, their ignorance of history, unwillingness to take initiative and educate themselves, lack of conscientiousness and to an extent, anomalous inertness on the part of the Greeks, who remained calm and assured the past few decades because they supposed a culture based on erroneous beliefs could not possibly evade extinction. As a result, a climate conducive to dangerous activities has proliferated surreptitiously in both in Australia and abroad", he would like to prepare you and offer a lesson in history.
Since he finds you ignorant of history, unwilling to take initiative and educate yourselves and since you lack consciousness, he, Kiritsis takes it upon himself to educate, enlighten and advise you how to think and how to act when the Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski from the Republic of Macedonia visits Australia in October.
In his letter of advice to you, the usual Greek propaganda lines are being repeated- ad nauseum- again. He is cautioning you not to offend the Greeks living in Australia by referring to Republic of Macedonia according to her constitutional name. In other words, you need not do what majority of the world's countries have done already; pay no heed to 126 countries of the world among which are: USA, Canada, Britain, China, India, Russia, Brazil and the rest, but rather listen to these Greeks who, with their incessant peevish complaints, have become the laughing stock of Europe.
In their overzealousness to appropriate the inheritance of the Ancient Macedonians and portray them as "Greeks", modern Greeks have demonstrated utter contempt not only for your intelligence and wisdom but also for the leading scholars of the world past and present. They have betrayed the writings of their "own" nineteenth century historians who saw the ancient Macedonians not as brethren but as conquerors of Greece (Roudometof 2000). They have unscrupulously usurped the reporting of the ancient Greek biographers themselves whose description of Greece never included the kingdom of Macedon . To them the boundaries of Greece extended from the Ambracian Gulf in the south to the river Peneus in the north (Strabo, Scylax, Dichaerchus, Scymnus, Dionysius). Are they also suggesting that Isocrates, in his letter to King Philip of Macedon, lied when he told Philip that his "ancestors left Greece entirely and found their kingdom among the people of non-kindred race"? Moreover, weren't the ancient Greeks pleading with the Romans to force King Philip V to evacuate from Greece ? (Pol. 16 and 18; Diod. 28. 5ff.; Livy 31-33; Plut. Flamininus). And when Rome defeated the Macedonians didn't they proclaim the liberation of all the Greek cities? (Polybius, xviii,46,5).
Numerous epitaphs do testify and serve as a somber reminder that Ancient Macedonians and the Ancient Greeks were two distinct and quite antagonistic neighbors who were embroiled in constant squabbles and disputes ranging from territorial disagreements to form and style of government. Consider the following epitaph for the ancient Greek hero Demosthenes:
“O, Demosthenes, if your strength was equal to your wisdom, Greece would have never been enslaved by a Macedonian Ares.”
Or perhaps you prefer these few preserved lines that unambiguously testify to the veracity of our claim regarded the ancient Macedonians as brethren:
“With the fallen Hellenes at Chaeronea was buried the freedom of Greece.”
No amount of propaganda can erase the meaning of these lines; Greeks at Chaeronea were fighting the Macedonians "to safeguard the liberty of Hellas ". No amount of half-truths can suffice and overcome these incontrovertible facts; Ancient Macedonians conquered the ancient Greeks and kept them under the Macedonian yoke for centuries. Garrisons, which are sure sign of servitude, are not stationed in your own country; "As long as Chalcis , Corinth and Demitrius, the fetters of Greece , are garrisoned by the Macedonians, there will be no freedom for the Greeks."
In lieu of these and plethora of other irrefutable facts how do you justify your claim that Macedonia was always Greek? What idiosyncratic sinister drives possessed your soul to assume that lies can be passed over as truth? Or do you suppose, with your twisted logic, that others are ignorant, uneducated and without conscience (I forgot that you do) and that you, perched on your broken Greek marble, can dispose the truth as you see fit?
(Do you ever consider that your pervasive and barbaric attacks on our Macedonian identity will have lasting and negative, detrimental consequences for generations to come and that your bigoted, racist attitude towards our ethnicity has planted seeds of mistrust, prejudice and hate to last another five hundred years? When will you grow up? When will you realize and come to your senses that we, the ethnic Macedonians want nothing from you that does not belong to us. Is asking for permission to visit the graveyards of our beloved departed grandparents too much? Is asking to be allowed to freely use our Macedonian language at home and in schools too hard to comprehend? And when we declare that we are ethnic Macedonians, is it really up to you to decide what we can or cannot call ourselves?).
I am profoundly puzzled as to how you Greeks present these facts to your students? Will you ever reconcile and tell the truth for once? Aren't you the only country in the world that celebrates its conqueror?
Be reminded that slogans history do not make. Be reminded that historical truth presented to serve domestic market will not find a fertile ground abroad. You can twist the truth, slip and slide around the facts, lie to your own people and demonize your neighbors but at the end you will suffer the inevitable defeat; you will drown into your own manipulative lies.
Mr. Kiritsis who thinks that you are ignorant of history continues:
"At this time, I will not engage you with a lengthy dissertation on historical truth. Any historian or scholar involved in serious critical inquiry will honestly disclose that the history of Macedonia (the geographical region) is an integral part of Greek history and that its actors were the Macedonian Greeks, from before Alexander the Great to the Greeks of the Byzantine Empire and the contemporary ones (http:/ /macedonia-evidence.org/).
Those who can, indeed, do engage in a lengthy dissertation of historical truth-they provide evidence to back up their claims. Those who cannot, refer you to websites.
Contrary to what Mr. Kiritsis alludes in the passage above that ancient Macedonia is an integral part of Greece , the evidence points to the opposite direction and cannot support such an elusive act. Greece occupied historic Macedonia for the first time in 1912, 1913 with the Balkan Wars. Never before that date did Greece ever claim Macedonia as part of Greece. Fact is that Greece maintained a consular office in Salonica prior to 1913. Countries do not open a consular office in their own cities; do they? Similarly, one is hard pressed to find evidence for the newly created designation "Macedonian Greeks" before 1986. Who were these people who kept silent over their dual ethnicity? Why were they hiding? Do Australians know or remember of any such designation prior to 1986? Can these Greeks provide a shred of evidence for this ethnic description? Isn't it a grotesque lie?
Fact is that Greece in her drive to exterminate the ethnic Macedonians has lost her political compass, is perilously close to losing her credibility and is dangerously manipulating the truth to her own populace. It is true that with her protracted campaign against the Republic of Macedonia , she is winning some minor skirmishes here and there, but truth is also, that you do not stop the bleeding of a severed aorta with a Band- Aid application.
Instead of reading and listening to your own Australian son, professor A. B. Bosworth, who says that the Greeks with Alexander in Asia were known for their absence from any major battle, the Greek Advisory Council in Australia wants to educate you and give you a "proper" guidance of protocol - the Greek style. Their laughable attempt to appropriate the ancient Macedonian Kingdom and steal the Macedonian legacy is an attempt to disrespect, obfuscate and denigrate world Academic Institutions.
The ancient kingdom of Macedon has nothing to do with Greeks. Alexander and his father Philip looked down upon these Greeks with utter contempt. Ancient Greeks have nothing in common with this mongrel race of residuals that inhabit Greece today.
Author after author, being disenchanted with modern Greeks' behavior and attitude, have depicted them as an agglomeration of Albanians, Vlachs, Slavs and Turks. Their violations of human rights of the ethnic Macedonians living in Greece and their continuous persecution and torment of them is a tantamount to thumbing their nose at the United Nations' universally established and accepted human rights codes of conduct and principles. In their path to procure documents, secure evidence or manufacture new one to support their inadmissible claims, these people will resort to corruption, deceit and willful endangerment of the well-being of anyone who dares to challenge their stands.
The world is simply tired of their fake concern about the name. It is amply transparent that their crocodile tears about the name are just a front to blur and deflect the real attention from the gist of their crime; the continuous denial of existence of ethnic Macedonians living in Greece whose human rights are being daily violated and whose existence as people is being threatened. That is the real issue with Greece today. These ethnic Macedonians are the real thorn in Greece 's behind because they expose and reveal to the world that democracy in Greece is a total farce. The inhumane treatment of the Macedonian minority in Greece is slowly but gradually emerging as a colossal problem for them that must be addressed sooner than later.
I know and strongly believe that Australians are quite able to separate the truth from fiction and act accordingly. I also know and wholeheartedly believe that Australia will soon join the majority of the countries of the world and refer to the Republic of Macedonia by its chosen constitutional name.
A memorable encounter (20)
From Metz Epitome 53-62.
King Porus of India responds to Alexander's emissary's message to bring tribute and hostages to Alexander and meet him at the boundaries of his kingdom:
“Porus, King of India, has this to say to Alexander: No matter who you are -and I am told that you are a Macedonian -it is better for you to remain at a distance and to reflect upon your own misfortunes rather than envy another. Porus is undefeated up to this time, and Darius caused me no alarm. So, imbecile, don't give me orders. Just set one foot in my territory with hostile intent and you shall learn that I am king of India, that none but Jupiter is my master.”
I brought this passage up for only one reason and that is to emphasize the fact that even people of so far away places, like India , knew who the Macedonians were. Greek web sites inform that when Persians came in contact with the Macedonians, they described them as Greeks: “Yauna takabara”, the "Greeks with sun hats", a reference to the Macedonian headwear. Fair enough. Now let us go to Herodotus the man who should know a thing or two about the Macedonians, and see what he had to say about the Persian arrival in Greece .
He states that the Thessalians were the first Greeks to fall under Persian control in 480-79 B.C. (Hdt. 7.130). Fact is also that Persian army was in Macedonia since 492 B.C. (Hdt. 6.42-45), which gives Herodotus more than a decade's time to recognize that the "Greeks" in Macedonia , the "Yauna takabara," were the first Greeks to fall under Persian rule. That did not happen because Herodotus knew better; he did not place ancient Macedonians under Greek ethnic umbrella.
The Theft of a King – Who Stole Alexander
ISBN: 978-1-4327-6856-0
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.
By Gandeto, J.S.G.
1. What is the book about?
The book centers on Alexander the Great and the Ancient Macedonians’ ethnicity. It elaborates topics related to the differences between the ancient Macedonians and the ancient Greeks and attempts to dispel the modern notion – one originating in the 19th century and thereafter propagated by some western authors – that ancient Macedonians “were” Greeks. Also, in the book the reader will find glimpses of today’s dispute between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece regarding the name of the Republic of Macedonia, in essence, what lies hidden behind this carefully orchestrated Greek problem with the name. Readers will have a chance to get acquainted with modern-day Balkan politics where deep-rooted historical intrigues, stereotyping and ingrained prejudices do justice for tolerance and rational thought.
The book offers glimpses into our continuous struggle to return Alexander to his rightful place - among his Macedonian kinsmen. Yes, it is a feeble voice in the dark, but a voice nevertheless, that isn't going to die any time soon. Through the topics discussed in the book, the reader will have a chance to see and understand the other side of the story. In the words of Marquez Garcia, "Our enemies have crushed many roses before but they haven't succeeded in stopping the spring from coming."
Compelling questions:
..If Alexander the Great was a Greek king, why would he dismiss his own "Greek" troops in the middle of his Asian campaign in 330 B.C.? (Arr. III.19.6-7; Plut. Al. 42.5; Diod. XVII.74.3-4; Curt. VI.2.17).
Why would Greeks in the mainland, supposedly his own people, rebel against him?
Why would the Greeks call the Lamian War a "Hellenic War" if they were fighting the Macedonians?
2. Why did you decide to write it?
My main objective was twofold: to bring to the forefront the differences between the ancient Macedonians and the ancient Greeks and to shed some light on much overlooked and, by some authors largely ignored, facts about the ethnicity of the ancient Macedonians.
I could no longer stay silent in lieu of such incontrovertible evidence left to us from the ancient chronographers that clearly distinguished and separated the ancient Macedonians from the ancient Greeks. I felt compelled to respond to the blatant and dishonest manipulation of historical evidence in order to circumvent and subvert the universally declared human rights covenants and obligations.
3. How did you get your book published?
A friend of mine suggested Outskirts Press as a reputable vehicle to reach my audience; I’m glad I did.
4. What types of readers will be interested in your book?
I would be happy if today’s younger generation gets a “whiff” of the twisted political winds in the Balkan and understand how distortions and manipulations of historical facts can be used for political gains.
5. What is special about your book? What differentiates it from other books in the same category?
What separates this book from other books in the same category is the blunt straight forward – no gloves – attitude. There is no glossing over, no need to look for clues hidden in between the lines or sugar-coating politically correct terms. If I have perceived historical distortions being sold as fact, I have described them as lies; if unsupported of evidence claims are propagated as truths, I called them fabrications; if historical injustice has been committed, I find no acceptable reason to remain silent regardless of socio-political consequences. Conscience compels me to act and stand against all social injustices.
If modern day Greeks succeed in their diplomatic offensive to convince the world that Alexander the Great and his Macedonians were actually Greeks, then such a verdict may accomplish two things: (a) prove that historical evidence can be ignored (and in this case it would be), that records can be manipulated and subverted, and (b) inflict irreparable damage to the confidence and the faith entrusted in the hands of scholars and academic institutions world wide. Such a verdict will amount to nothing less than the theft of a king. On the other hand, if justice prevails, as it should, then we may safely conclude that Alexander and his legacy would continue to rest among his Macedonians whom he considered his natural kinsmen and with whom he shared his troubles, setbacks, sufferings and pain as well as jubilation in his victories.
6. Have you published any other books? Do you plan to publish more?
Yes, I have. In 2002 I published The Ancient Macedonians – Differences between the Ancient Macedonians and the Ancient Greeks, One Golden Ray upon the Rock, a novel in 2005 and The Wolves of Trapper’s Bluff in 2007.
I most certainly will continue to write.
The book is available through most of the book stores;
J.S.G. Gandeto was born in Lubojno, Macedonia. Educated at Ss Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. He immigrated to United States and continued his studies at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan and Nova South-Eastern University in Fourth Lauderdale, Florida where he received his post graduate degrees. He recently completed his 29th year as an educator and has since retired and is continuing to pursue his passion in writing. In 2002 he published his first book Ancient Macedonians - Differences between Ancient Macedonians and the Ancient Greeks. In 2005 he published the romantic novels One Golden Ray upon the Rock and in 2007, The Wolves of Trappers Bluff.
In the Macedonian Language he has published the following novels: Spasa's Light in 2004, Saraf in 2009 and Rosamarina's Grave in 2010. Book of poems Muabeti in 2003, poemata Ko Jagne in 2005 and Majka -Egejka in 2009. Currently, he is preparing for publication his latest novel Folded Impressions.
Articles by Risto Stefov:
Free electronic books by Risto Stefov available at:
Our Name is Macedonia
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no greek nazis around only microfone noizes."Ido not want an uprising of people that would leave me at the first failure, I want revolution with citizens able to bear all the temptations to a prolonged struggle, what, because of the fierce political conditions, will be our guide or cattle to the slaughterhouse"
GOTSE DELCEVComment
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