Elpidophoros Baptizes Surrogate Children of “Married” Homosexuals

Elpidophoros Baptizes Surrogate Children of Married Homosexualsby Nick Stamatakis –
AB Elpidophoros took an unannounced trip to Greece and proceeded to legitimize gay marriage by baptizing the children of a famous gay couple (born by surrogate mother)!!

I am truly incredulous writing these lines as this initiative by the Archbishop is something that should never have happened in Orthodoxy, where all such serious decisions are made democratically – synodically.

Yet, for one more time, AB Elpidophoros chooses to shove down our throats whatever novelty pleases his globalist masters.

From the Greek Reporter (Orthodox Editors’ Note):

“Evanggelos Bousis and Peter Dundas, both of Greek descent, became the first gay couple to hold a Greek Orthodox Baptism for their children in Greece on Saturday. The couple’s children, Alexios and Eleni, were baptized by his Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America at the Panagia Faneromeni Church in the southern Athenian suburb of Vouliagmeni.”

“Yesterday was truly a special moment not only for my family and me but for our entire Greek Orthodox Church…Thank you to our great spiritual leader, his Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, for christening the babies and not turning away any child or member of our faith,” George Bousis, brother of Evanggelos Bousis, wrote on Facebook on Sunday.

But let’s take things one at a time… You can read the full story in the posts added below but in a few words here it is: On Saturday (yesterday) night AB Elpidophoros baptized the children of famous fashion designer Peter Dundas (of Norwegian descent) and Evangelo Bousis, an actor, son of billionaire Jim Bousis and Eleni Bousis of Chicago. The gay couple is married and live in Los Angeles and some years ago started this intense effort to “create a family” by a form of adoption that is used by straight or gay couples in recent years, using a surrogate mother. And in that method, they had two children, Alexios (born last year) and Eleni (newborn).

California laws facilitated the whole process as they have declared in their posts and interviews (at the end of this post). But what does it mean to be lukewarm? In this scripture, the lukewarm Christians of the church of Laodicea are being referenced, but it speaks directly to a tragedy that can affect all Christians, particularly in our time.
…

Since he was enthroned (and even before he was), Elpidophoros made a conscious choice to depart from most traditions even some very sacred traditions of our Church.  But let’s examine the theological issues one by one.

  1. Neither the Catholic nor the Orthodox Church recognizes gay marriage – and there are statements by the Pope and by the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops in America.
  2. For the kids to be baptized in an Orthodox Church the parents must be both Orthodox and if married, they must be married in the Church (please link here for a typical sample of prerequisites for baptism from one of our Churches).
  3. On this serious issue, the Catholic Church and Orthodoxy usually recognize that “guilt or sin is not inherited” and so they usually proceed to baptize all children regardless of the status of their parents.
  4. A serious prerequisite seems (for the particular case of surrogate mother) to be that the presence of the natural (surrogate) mother is required for a valid baptism; in most other respects it is considered equivalent to adoption. And so in our photos, you will notice that next to the gay couple, the kids, Elpidophoros, the godparents the surrogate mother was there in Athens.
  5. As you will read (here is the link) about such experiences in the Catholic Church, pastors have been struggling with the decision.  A basic requirement from the point of view of the Church is that the parents would raise the child according to the teachings of the Church.  This is a very thorny issue for Orthodoxy and Catholicism: If gay marriage is not allowed, would the parents teach that to the baptized child? Furthermore, in our case, you will see that the two gay parents, Peter Dundas and Ev Bousis, are openly against the teachings of the Church and are considering their choices a matter of progress. Says Peter Dundas in the interview with Vogue (below): “What I don’t get about the Supreme Court ruling [that a Catholic social services agency in Philadelphia could refuse to work with same-sex couples who apply to take in foster children], what is the purpose? Do they really think in 10 years from now that’s gonna fly? I don’t think so for a minute. It becomes this holding off on the inevitable, and progress in our society.”
  6. The requirement about raising the child (children) according to the baptismal faith became important because if the baptized child is not to be raised according to the faith then what is the meaning of baptism?  Additionally, in the link w provided, many Catholic pastors were worried that if such a requirement was not there then the baptism would become a vehicle for the (indirect) recognition of gay marriage.
  7. The case of an illegitimate child is very clarifying here: The Church does not support abortion and the mother in such a case is considered able to raise the child according to faith.  But in the case of the gay couple, this is simply not possible…
  8. In our case were the godparents, supermodel Bianca Brandolini and Eugenia Niarchos, Orthodox? Very doubtful in the first case… How can an orthodox baptism take place without Orthodox godparents?

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Elpidophoros Baptizes Surrogate Children of Married Homosexuals

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Excerpts from: Helleniscope. (Minor organizational edits and bolding of key phrases done by blog editors done to enhance readability.)

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6 thoughts on “Elpidophoros Baptizes Surrogate Children of “Married” Homosexuals”

  2. From the GOA:
    Prerequisites prior to Scheduling the Divine Mystery of Holy Baptism
    https://www.greekorthodoxmansfield.org/about-us/expectations-for-baptism-requests

    1. Active Church Membership
    A Baptism is a privilege that requires a commitment on behalf of the parents to raise the child in the Orthodox Church. If parents are not active members of the Church, you must demonstrate a desire to become active for the sacrament to be approved. Parents are the primary role models for their children in living a committed life to Christ. Commitment to Christ is expressed in regularly attending Sunday liturgy, participating in the sacramental life of the Church and being a current Steward of the Church.

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  3. For those who are not familiar with the heretical works of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, here’s proof and another reminder that the GOA has been pushing for the Church to embrace homosexual “marriage” for a while.

    On March 12, 2016, as a featured speaker at the Christian Family Life and the Challenges of Faithfulness symposium organized and sponsored by Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in California, Fr. Michael Courey called on the Orthodox Church to be more inclusive and welcome same-sex couples into her sacramental life.

    Fr. Michael Courey: Orthodox Church Must be More Inclusive, Welcome Same-Sex Couples
    https://www.orthodoxytoday.org/blog/2017/04/fr-michael-courey-orthodox-church-must-be-more-inclusive-welcome-same-sex-couples/

    Reply

  4. From The National Herald story:
    https://www.thenationalherald.com/archbishop-elpidophoros-traveled-to-greece-to-baptize-the-children-of-greek-american-gay-couple/

    Archbishop Elpidophoros of America made a special trip to Greece to celebrate the baptism of the children of his close friends, Greek-Americans Evangelos Bousis and Peter Dundas. Elpidophoros has appointed Bousis’ mother, Eleni Bousis, from the city of Northbrook, Illinois, to the Archdiocesan Council and specifically to the critical Archdiocese Administration and Youth committees.

    The sacrament of baptism took place on the evening of Saturday, July 9, 2022, in the holy church of Panagia Faneromeni of the Metropolis of Voula, according to the Ecclesiastical News Agency ‘Exapsalmos’ of Sotiris Tzoumas, while the original news was revealed by the Ecclesiastical News Agency Ekklisiaonline. The children were given the names Alexios and Eleni, and the sponsors were the famous model Bianca Brandolini and Eugenia Niarchos. The children were apparently born from surrogate mothers.

    Reply

  5. John Chryssavgis, archdeacon and theological adviser to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, wrote an atrocious piece defending Apb. Elpi and his actions. This confirms yet again the depth of the spiritual darkness and apostasy raging in the GOA.

    A tempest over a baptism in Greece raises questions about what we’re trying to protect
    July 25, 2022 – By John Chryssavgis
    https://religionnews.com/2022/07/25/a-tempest-over-a-baptism-in-greece-raises-questions-about-what-were-trying-to-protect/

    What happened was simply another baptism, but what ensued was something everyone in the world of faith is familiar with of late: Another episode in the culture wars.

    It also revealed how out of touch the Orthodox Church is with reality and the world.

    We observed it in the response to COVID-19; we witnessed it in the defense of Russia’s war on Ukraine. A mere glance at tabloids and blogs reflects how the Orthodox Church lives in its own bubble. There, we excel in ostentatious rituals and flamboyant vestments.

    There are certain topics that Orthodox Christians are singularly uncomfortable broaching. Most prominent among these is homosexuality, which arouses much passionate emotion but little rational discourse. Simply regurgitating the catchphrase that we “loathe the sin but love the sinner” can often be condemnation masquerading as compassion — it is, after all, easier to label than to listen.
    …
    There should be no controversy over a baptism, to which all children are entitled. Why then has Elpidophoros’ action caused such contention and accusation? When an independent church reaches out to the ecumenical patriarchate about what transpired, I have to wonder what exactly our fears about this event conceal.

    Are we afraid that tradition or truth might be diluted? Are we perhaps afraid of unraveling a seamless fabric? Yet the historical church never shunned difficult debates in councils over centuries, even — and especially — when it came to contentious and complicated issues like Christ’s gender (or flesh) and the significance (or style) of depicting the holy.

    Are we afraid of opening Pandora’s box? Should the metropolitan of Glyfada have been more informed about what happens in his diocese? Or is there another reason why he scrambled to wash his hands and cover his tracks? He admits he wouldn’t have the courage to decide had he been provided all the information.

    Should Archbishop Elpidophoros have clarified in writing that the children baptized do not belong to what the metropolitan of Glyfada calls “a traditional family”? Do we expect the same for children of single parents? What happens in the case of atheist parents? What of parents who undergo civil marriage or are not married at all?

    In such cases, do we impose any limitations on photography or publicity, as has been suggested in this case?

    Are we afraid of being too close to “sinners” or possibly contaminated by sin? The metropolitan of Piraeus ignored a similar baptism in central Athens some years ago; but he was discomfited by the recent baptism in a neighboring diocese. Too close for comfort? Once asked whether there were any gay Orthodox, he allegedly replied that, if “sodomites” exist in the church, “we must distance such sick people from others.” How would the metropolitan respond if asked whether there are gay bishops in the church?

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  6. And here comes Dn Nicholas Denysenko, former director of pro-LGBT Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in California (funded by the openly-bisexual and maker of movies promoting homosexuality to teens Michael Huffington), defending the heretical baptism ceremony of “married” homosexuals that Elpidophoros performed in Greece.

    Denysenko is a long time friend of infamous pro-homosexual activist Inga Leonova. Denysenko also supports other former gay Orthodox who abandoned the Church and encourages many homosexual propagandists who are fighting to normalize homosexuality and gay marriage within the Orthodox Church.

    TO BAPTIZE OR NOT: GOD’S LOVE AND IMAGE
    by Rev. Dr. Nicholas Denysenko
    https://publicorthodoxy.org/2022/07/26/to-baptize-or-not/

    Are we beginning to see a pattern here folks? Or is it just me?

    Reply

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