Eileen Bouzidis, 72, of Scottish descent, is a great believer in the Greek Orthodox faith. She has prayed, practiced a life of piety and is present at her pew on most Sundays, however she was allegedly banned this month from sponsoring a young convert just days before the ceremony due to her husband’s harsh criticism of the church administration, especially in what he calls a “spending spree”.
Ms Bouzidis, who has never publicly endorsed or condemned her husband’s views, was surprised to hear from His Grace Bishop Elpidios Karalis that she would not be able to act as a sponsor to a young convert unless she wrote a letter condemning her husband’s statements concerning church officials. She prayed, referred to the scriptures (Ephesians 5:22-33) and decided that God would want a husband and wife to stand united.
“I sent him a text message as he was in Sydney at the time, I said, ‘Your Grace, I can give you want you want (verbally), but not in writing’,” she told Neos Kosmos, adding that, according to the scriptures, “a half divided house is one that falls”.
“Nobody should be asked to go against their husband. His views are his views, and I don’t see it as my job to correct my husband, the bishop or anyone,” she said.
The young man was told, “for personal reasons as much as she wants to be your sponsor, she cannot”, which caused the young man to worry about Eileen, with whom he had built a relationship. He texted her to ask if there was a problem with her husband’s health. “At the time, I did not tell him that the choice was not my own as I did not want to spoil the ceremony for him. I met my financial obligations which cost hundreds of dollars and, a week after, I took the boy out to dinner and explained why the priest banned me from being his sponsor,” she said. “The young man told me he agreed that I made the right choice not to go against my husband.”
Ms Bouzidis is already Godmother to a devout young woman, also of Scottish descent, and part of her work as a Christian, she has cosponsored another two young adults in their catechism. Even though she was banned from baptising the young convert, they have created a bond as a result of the relationship they built prior to the religious ceremony and they talk together every week.
Bishop Elpidios confirms he stopped the sponsorship after Ms Bouzidis failed to comply with his request to publicly denounce her husband’s statements which refer to clergy members as “professional clowns” in a written statement.
“I said, ‘I need to know that you don’t agree with these words. What lesson are you going to teach the young convert?'” Bishop Elpidios said. “The role of a nona (godmother) is important and I wanted to be sure that the young convert would not be poisoned by Mr Bouzidis’ beliefs. She did not make the statements herself, but refused to make a (written) declaration distancing herself from them.”
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Bishop Elpidios has never before prevented someone from being a godparent, but adds that his act was not to punish. “The purpose of our actions are to offer a ‘wake up call’,” he said. “In Orthodoxy, penance is not to punish but pedagogy to help us learn.”
Asked if the church runs a background check on all godparents, Bishop Elpidios said that this is not the case, but sometimes those who are closer to the church – such as Mrs Bouzidis – are judged more harshly as “they should know better”, and he adds that in the eyes of God, those closest to the church are those who face the most judgement.
“Nobody can be so outspoken and critical as Mr Bouzidis has been, and I wanted to nip such views in the bud so that they would not continue or get out of control,” Bishop Elpidios said, adding that church officials have no problem being held accountable however “defamatory statements” would not be tolerated. He added that everyone, including clergy members, journalists and politicians have a duty as Greek Orthodox Christians. “Orthodoxia (Orthodoxy) and Orthopraxia are one,” he said.
Ms Bouzidis said she feels as though she is being punished for the sins of her husband. On Forgiveness Sunday, she reached out to Bishop Elpidios, and told him that her husband had sent another letter. “Forgive George,” she said, but she adds that if her husband is excommunicated for what he has said then 65 per cent of parishioners would need to be excommunicated also for statements they make “behind his back”.
She said Orthodoxy informs her lifestyle. Since espousing the religion upon marrying her husband fifty years ago, she has been a regular at her parish in Perth, studying the scriptures, donating cash, quietly volunteering her services in the creation of a Sunday school, book shop and other activities while keeping alive her faith. Now she wonders whether it would be best to join the Serbian Orthodox or Russian Orthodox Church.
Mr Bouzidis is outraged. He said the church has “no regard for women” and states that asking his wife to compose a written letter is “blackmail designed to test her loyalty to me and to break up the family unit. It was guilt by association,” he said.
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“They are on a spending spree,” he alleges, adding that he has the right to express this thoughts and still be a devout Christian too.
“I’ve got the ability to have free speech,” he said. “What has my wife got to do with it. It has hurt and humiliated her.”
He points out that “those who abuse their power will be answerable to God at a later time.”
