“His Scepter Was Not of Gold, But of Wood”

His Scepter Was Not of Gold, But of Wood Dimitris Soudas, Archon Depoutatos

His Scepter Was Not of Gold, But of Wood

Archbishop Sotirios led the Greek Orthodox Church in Canada for more than half a century. The real measure of him was never the criticism he attracted. It is what he leaves behind — and how little he asked for himself along the way.

A bishop’s scepter is usually a thing of gold.

His was made of wood.

I noticed it years ago, and I have never forgotten it, because in that one small detail you understand the entire man. Fifty years of authority over a Church that grew across an entire country, and the staff in his hand was plain. Not for show. Not for the cameras. Wood.

There is an old saying that history is kinder to builders than to critics. As people debate the legacy of Archbishop Sotirios after more than fifty years of ministry in Canada, I keep coming back to a question much simpler than any of the arguments swirling around it.

Did he leave the Church stronger than he found it?

By every honest measure, the answer is yes.

When he arrived in 1974, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in this country was 22 parishes. Today it is 75. That is not a…