Archbishop Elpidophoros of America has issued a searing appeal for “truth, restraint, and accountability” following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.
The killing of Pretti—a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs employee and a licensed gun owner with no criminal record—has ignited a firestorm of national outrage. It marks the second death of an American citizen in Minneapolis this month during “Operation Metro Surge,” a federal immigration crackdown that has turned the Twin Cities into a flashpoint of civil unrest.
Elpidophoros: A “grave moral event”
In a statement released Monday, the Archbishop, who leads the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, expressed that the church is “shaken to our core” by the violence. He specifically targeted the nature of the state’s use of power in the current climate.
“The loss of human life, especially under the authority of the state, is always a grave moral event, demanding truth, restraint, and accountability,” the Archbishop stated. “In a society governed by law, lethal force must never become routine, casual, or preemptive.”
The comments come as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) faces accusations of misinformation. While Secretary Kristi Noem labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist” who approached agents with a handgun, bystander videos and frame-by-frame analyses by major news outlets appear to show Pretti was holding only a cell phone. Witnesses say Pretti was attempting to shield a woman from being pepper-sprayed when he was tackled, disarmed of a holstered weapon, and shot ten times while pinned to the ground.
The danger of dehumanization
The Archbishop’s statement went beyond the immediate tragedy to address the “dehumanizing” rhetoric fueling the national divide. He warned that reducing individuals to political or social tropes—”every officer cast as a brute, every immigrant as a threat, every protester as an enemy”—is destroying the American social fabric.
“We must therefore push back against the deliberate strategy of dehumanizing the ‘other,’” he wrote. “When any group is reduced to a caricature… we corrode the bonds that make civic life possible.”
A call for divine enlightenment
Rooting his plea in the Orthodox concept of Imago Dei—the belief that all humans are made in God’s image—Elpidophoros reminded both protesters and law enforcement of their shared obligations.
While acknowledging the “grave and difficult responsibility” of officers and their right to safety, he concluded with a prayer for the nation’s moral compass: “May God enlighten all to honor the moral boundaries that protect the worth of every human life.”
