San Francisco Priest Admits his Infidelity, by Theodore Kalmoukos, Orthodox Reform, September 7, 2007

San Francisco Priest Admits his Infidelity

By Theodore Kalmoukos
Orthodox Reform
September 7, 2007

http://orthodoxreform.org/cases/michael-pappas/san-francisco-priest-admits-his-infidelity/

Boston, Mass. – Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in San Francisco is in turmoil after disclosures that its priest, Rev. Michael Pappas, who by all accounts was thought to be one of the most prominent and active clergymen in the Archdiocese of America, is at the center of a sex scandal.

Father Pappas – in his forties, married and a father of three underage children, two of which are twins – admitted he had extramarital affairs. In a letter dated this past August 21, he informed members of his parish of his "unfaithfulness" to his wife.

Father Pappas said zeal for his ministry made his marriage suffer and led him astray, telling his parishioners that, "over these last 15 years, in my zeal to excel in ministry, I have neglected the garden of my marriage, and as a result, it has withered on the vine. In those moments of hunger, I have sadly strayed from faithfulness and dishonored the sanctity of the gift of a precious wife and treasured children. Today, I am haunted by the Lord's words, "physician heal thyself.' Had I listened more carefully to the words I preached, perhaps the irreparable damage done to my marriage and the divorce, which will now sever an almost 20-year relationship, might have been avoided. For this painful reality, I take full responsibility."

Although Father Pappas does not specify the type of unfaithfulness he engaged against his wife, the National Herald has obtained information alleging that his unfaithfulness included sexual contact with members of both sexes, men as well as women.

The Herald tried time and again to communicate with Father Pappas by leaving messages on his cell phone, but he never responded. Sources familiar with the case told the Herald that Father Pappas was not engaged in relationships either with underage persons, or with individuals from his parish.

Father Pappas served San Francisco's Holy Trinity parish community for three years. Prior to his assignment there, he served at Saint Basil's Church in Stockton, California. He was very active in inter-faith and inter-church relations with the Metropolis of San Francisco. He was also on the Archdiocese Clergy Sexual Misconduct Committee, and was also at one point a candidate for the position of executive director of the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Endowment Fund, the Church in America's strongest financial arm.

When Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco learned about Father Pappas' activities, he called him to his office and suspended him from all clerical, ecclesiastical and sacramental duties. Gerasimos has since temporarily assigned a retired priest, Rev. James Adams, to serve the Holy Trinity community. At the same time, the Metropolis of San Francisco sent a letter to its faithful informing both clergy and laity that, "effective August 20th, 2007, Father Michael Pappas, pastor of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in San Francisco, was suspended from active ministry within the Greek Orthodox Church and released from all priestly and pastoral duties."

Gerasimos visited Holy Trinity parish in person; met with the parish council; and told parish faithful that Father Pappas was suspended, without giving details of what it had transpired. Gerasimos asked the parish to safeguard its unity and sobriety in an effort to overcome a "sad situation."

In an interview with the Herald, Gerasimos, who was on his way to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople in order to participate in the Synaxis of all the hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne, said, "I beg your understanding, but I am not at liberty to tell you anything about the case of Father Pappas, other than I have placed him in suspension from every liturgical and pastoral activity."

Asked whether he plans to sent the now-suspended priest to Spiritual Court and initiate the process for his defrocking, Gerasimos said yes: "I will most certainly do that when I return from the Ecumenical Patriarchate. I will send him to the Spiritual Court to be defrocked," he said.

"I am deeply sorry about Father Pappas' case because he was really a very able and active priest. He had done a tremendous job at his parish which, as you can understand, has now been wounded," Gerasimos added.

Holy Trinity Parish Council President Tom Karas (Anastasios Karamouzos) told the Herald that, "besides the letter Father Pappas has sent, I don't know anything more. It's between Father Pappas, Metropolitan Gerasimos and God; they know the truth. We only understand what he said – that he was at fault."

When the Herald reminded Mr. Karas that Father Pappas stated in his letter that he was unfaithful to his wife, Mr. Karas said, "I read the same thing. Our parish is one of the best parishes in California. It is comprised of 650 families, but we send mail to 1,000."

Asked how the parish has been doing since being informed of its now former priest's self-confessed adulterous behavior, Mr. Karamouzos said, "We are all vary sad because Father Michael was very much loved by everyone, especially by the young children. He was a very nice person, and he had so much vision to do good work for our parish."

In a statement to the flock of the Metropolis of San Francisco, Metropolitan Gerasimos wrote, "We grieve and feel deeply saddened for the pain and turmoil caused by one of our own brother priests, to his wife, children, family members and all the beloved members of the Holy Trinity parish. I urge all the faithful to pray for the forgiveness, mercy and love of God to come upon all affected by this situation, including Father Pappas and his family."