We got back to the Patriarchate just in time for lunch. The lunch room is in the main building where members of the Patriarchate have lunch. It is a more relaxed atmosphere. You take your seat and you are served by the kitchen staff. After you have finished you take your leave and go about your business. You do not have to be there at a certain time- althought lunch is served between 1 and 1:30 or so. I was assigned to help out Fr Paisios in the English Office. The Patriarchate answers all its mail in one of three primary languages- Greek, Turkish and English.
The Patriarch reads all his mail. I would have assumed that someone lower on the totem pole would read his mail and determine if it was worthy to go to the Patriarch. Not by a long shot. Someone may open his mail, but he sees every bit of correspondence that is addressed to him and reads all the responses. I am helping Fr Paisios get caught up on the letters that need to go out.
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| Fr Paisios in the English Office |
Fr Paisios is the Patriarchal deacon in that he responsible to the Patriarch for his direction. The phone is constantly ringing and he is constantly back and forth to his office. He does get flustered at times. But Fr Paisios takes everything in stride. I joke with him that I am going to take him back to Los Angeles with me. Like 95% of the staff of the Patriarchte he is young.
Patriarchal English is a lot different from Parish English and that is one of the hardest things to master. In Greek it sounds so normal, but trying to say the same things in English is a little on the trying side. Some grammatical rules fly out the window especially concerning adverbs, and different types of clauses. But then again that was the stuff of "Byzantine Diplomacy." Diplomacy is simply telling someone to go someplace (^&^%&**) and actually have him look forward to going on that trip.
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