Memoirs of Peter Boudoures Chapter 27 The Church Members Vote

Fr. Basil Lokis

We had quite a gathering at the Valencia Street Church, a large attendance. Two or three of us explained what we had in mind and what we could accomplish in the near future by uniting the two churches. We mentioned that we were far from Greece and that we should not be divided because of Greek politics. If the membership of Holy Trinity decided to authorize the union of the two churches we could have one group of directors, fifteen or twenty, from all walks of life. There would be one board of trustees, which could start formulating plans for the future. A vote was taken and they approved the union almost unanimously.

I left the church on Valencia Street and went to Holy Trinity with the result of the vote. Holy Trinity hall was small and it was packed. When I got there I immediately moved up to the front where I noticed Father Lokis was not there to meet me. I was surprised and annoyed. I leaned over to a friend who sat nearby and said to him, "Tell me, what's going on here and where is Father Lokis?" The answer was that Father Lokis was in his office. The president of the board of trustees was not allowed to wait to hear what the decision of the members of the St. Sophia Church was. They had taken a vote and voted against the union.

All this happened thirty years ago. Thirty years ago I was an aggressive person who didn't take no for an answer. I didn't like it and I was put out. I stood up and asked for the floor. I wanted to know from the president if such was the case. I wanted to know why he had promised me faithfully that he would not take a vote until I had a chance to explain the decision of the St. Sophia membership to the Holy Trinity people so they could agree or vote it down.

The president told me that, unfortunately, he couldn't help it. They had voted the union down and that he'd be glad to let me talk. In the meantime, Father Lokis had walked into the room and sat down.

As I started to explain to the Holy Trinity People what had happened at St. Sophia three or four women kept making disturbances and interrupting me. They were endeavoring to prevent me from presenting a clear story and perhaps convincing the members into taking a new vote. As a result, on two or three occasions, I shouted at them. I told them that I was invited to talk and if they had any decency, they should keep quiet. Out of decency they should listen to me. One of the women said to me "Who in the world are you and what right do you have to come and talk to us? Where have you been all these years that you have the audacity to come here now and tell us what to do?" I answered her that I didn't just walk in here, that I was invited here. I told her that if she were afraid that what I would say would change the minds of the assembly, that was her hard luck. I said that the only way she or anyone else could stop me was to throw me out and I dared anyone to step forward and try to throw me out.

I proceeded with what I had to say. Then Father Lokis, the Holy Trinity Priest, took the floor. He started orating in such a way that the people who objected to uniting the churches saw they were losing the battle. They immediately started fighting and shouting and there was pandemonium in the hall. The president had to adjourn the meeting without taking further action.

Father Lokis asked me to attended services at Holy Trinity the following Sunday for two reasons. First, to hear him preach to decide for myself how good he was. I had heard marvelous reports about him. Second, to hear what he was going to say regarding the action that took place at the membership meeting.

I went to Holy Trinity for the first time in fifteen or twenty years. He performed the Divine Liturgy in a way that I find no words to explain. I was truly impressed. When he finished he asked everybody to remain seated. He said that he had a message to deliver and that he wanted everybody's attention. He wanted everybody to understand what he meant and that this was the last message that he had for them.

He explained to them that he did not come to San Francisco to remain here. He came to accomplish things and, as such, he had started the movement of uniting the two churches. He said that it was his idea to have me and a few others to go to the St. Sophia Street Church to convince the members to vote to join hands with Holy Trinity. He told them that he had many ideas of great things that could be accomplished if the two churches worked together. We could achieve great things and prove that we were worthy of our Greek heritage. He went on to say that since the members of his congregation could not see any further than their noses, in plain English, there was no reason for him to waste his time there. He was resigning. He would preach one more Sunday at Holy Trinity and he would ask to be transferred.

Believe it or not a second pandemonium took place, not in the Holy Trinity Church hall this time, but in the church itself. This was something that no one could have expected and something that no one could explain. Ninety-five percent of the congregation started shouting, "Ohi, Ohi, (no, no) you are not going."