CHICAGO (IL)
SNAP - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [Chicago IL]
March 1, 2024
Former Connecticut State Representative John Metsopoulos reported sexual, psychological, and physical abuse by two Greek Orthodox bishops on the SNAP website in November of 2023. His outcry has apparently produced repercussions for one of the two prelates. We are very happy for John!
John named Metropolitan Athenagoras Aneste (George Angelo Aneste), the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Mexico and Central America, as his primary abuser. A metropolitan is the equivalent of an archbishop or a cardinal. According to the January 24, 2024, issue of Orthodox Times, a new metropolitan was elected for Mexico, and Metropolitan Athenagoras was elected as the new metropolitan of Vize, Turkey. As far as we can tell this is a significant demotion.
According to Pew Research, the Orthodox population of Mexico is 110,000. There are almost no Greek Orthodox faithful in Turkey. Politico noted in 2020 that even the larger city of Istanbul numbered no more than 600 families. Politico further wrote, “For Turkey’s Christians, the country’s decision to reconvert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque represents yet another blow to their already marginalized community.”
The Greek Orthodox Church was silent on John’s accusations against Metropolitan Athenagoras. However, SNAP thinks that the Metropolitan was reassigned to a tiny, embattled diocese as punishment when John’s brave accusations were made public.
We hope that others who have been abused in the Greek Orthodox Church, or any of the other Orthodox churches, will be inspired by John’s courage and come forward as well. There are people who will believe you and support you.
CONTACT: Gail Howard, SNAP Connecticut (pennyq99@aol.com, 203-644-0387), Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Orthodox and SNAP Survivor Support Director (msakoda@snapnetwork.org, 925-708-6175), Mike McDonnell, SNAP Executive Director (mmcdonnell@snapnetwork.org, 267-261-0578), Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Board of Directors President (sdougherty@snapnetwork.org, 814- 341-8386)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for more than 35 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)