Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some of the more frequently asked questions I get. Before emailing me with a question, please take a look to see if your question is answered below.
1. Can I copy or use an image on your site?
No images, whether they be icons or photos or any other type of image, are copyrighted or owned by me, therefore they can be freely used, unless otherwise indicted below the image. However, even though I have tried to use images that are not copyrighted, I can't say for sure whether any of the images appearing anywhere on my websites are indeed copyrighted. You will have to research this for yourself.
2. Can I get a higher resolution image from you?
Images that I have posted usually come from other sources, and there are many of them, so if you want a higher resolution image, I recommend you search for the source via Google Images and see if you can acquire it that way.
3. I'm having trouble copying text from your website?
Unfortunately, due to various abuses, and in my attempt to help reduce them, since I feel a responsibility to these texts, the copy and paste function directly from my websites are not available. However, because I do encourage responsible distribution, I have included a PRINT/PDF button at the bottom of each post where the text can be printed, and from here it can also be copied and edited. The only thing I ask is that upon distribution, the source link is included along with the name of the author and translator if applicable.
4. Why is the website domain name your name (www.johnsanidopoulos.com) and not the name most people know your website by (www.mystagogy.com)?
I originally began this website in 2008 as a place for my own personal use, without any intention of it growing to the popularity it has now become. By the time I looked into changing the name, I saw that someone bought the domain name MYSTAGOGY, and it will cost me many thousands of dollars to acquire it, and I am not willing to put so much money into it. At the same time, having my name as the domain site name allows me to show that everything presented here is done under my name and based on my own studies and interests, which I invite anyone who is interested to freely share in.
5. I noticed your Google Advertisement is displaying an inappropriate ad and/or image and I would like you to remove it.
Though I have taken many precautions for this not to take place, once in a while it will, so let me basically explain how Google ads work. The ad you see may not be the same ad I can see or anyone else visiting this site can see. Google ads are customized towards each individual. What Google does is trace your interests and match them with what they are advertising that day, and sometimes it produces something you may find inappropriate, and it may not have anything to do with your interests. You will not only see this on my websites, but any other website you visit that allow Google ads.To fix this issue, you can customize the Google ads you see by following the instructions here.
Google ads are an indispensable source of income for this ministry right now, and I do hope to remove them once I get a more steady source of income through donations. However, for now they are here to stay, and unfortunately once in a while something inappropriate may pop up.
6. Are you available for other projects or speaking engagements?
Right now, it sort of depends. I'm open to the possibility and to listening to any proposals for other projects, so please email me more details at mystagogy@aol.com. Speaking engagements I am not doing at this time.
7. Can you advertise my event or book or ministry or charity?
I get many requests to advertise these things free of charge, but if I do one for free I feel obligated to have to do them all. To advertise you will have to pay a small fee. For more information I refer you to the ADVERTISE WITH US section on this site, and there will be a fee of some sort, to be fair to my other sponsors. You can email me more details at mystagogy@aol.com.
8. Why don't you allow comments on your site?
From 2009 till 2012 I did allow comments on my site. I didn't find them to be at all beneficial. Positive and negative comments were fine, but I was always hoping someone could add to the discussion of the subject posted, or even ask sincere questions about it, and that was extremely rare. Considering it a waste of my time, I removed this function, and I have been able to now concentrate on more productive things. However, I do not altogether discourage comments made to me personally, but the only ones I really do encourage is something that can make the post better or if I have an obvious error that I overlooked, even if it is a punctuation or spelling error (which is fairly often since I don't have an editor). You can email those to me at mystagogy@aol.com.
9. Are you willing to publish something I wrote?
I am pretty strict with the material I publish, but I am certainly open to taking a look at something from other sources, and if it fits within my site's perimeters I will certainly publish it. You can send it to me at mystagogy@aol.com.
10: How can I contact you by email or in writing?
By email you can contact me at mystagogy@aol.com. In writing you can send a letter or item or donation to:
Mystagogy Resource Center
John Sanidopoulos
11 Schubert St #9
Roslindale, MA 02131 USA
11. Some personal inquiries:
Are you a clergyman? No, I am and always have been a simple layman.
Are you a professor in a college or university? No, just a perpetual student of my own personal library.
Where do you live? I was born, raised and currently reside in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States.
Have you studied in an Orthodox Seminary? Yes, I attended and graduated with three degrees from Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. I have also attended various other Protestant and Catholic schools.
How old are you? I was born on February 15, 1976.
Are you Greek? Yes, but I have never lived in Greece, just visited. My parents were born in Greece and emigrated to the United States in the early 1970's.
What jurisdiction do you belong to? The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
