SUMMARY: My issue with this entire approach is not the need to rehabilitate a reputation or to support a hierarch but the use of the public trust in such a deceptive way. This use of deception in the name of truth, honor, loyalty, transparency, clarity and the support of a slandered or accused man now willingly crouching behind a perceptions of a 'gentle abbot' is unbecoming a bishop or the church. It is unbecoming a churchmen.
OCA Truth is the lastest in a ring of propped up websites designed to distract and reframe actual conditions on the ground. It is the counter argument to OCA News which also purports to defend the faithful from insider trading church style. The OCA Truth has run amok and much like a beheaded chicken calling for “ ...an urgent need in the OCA: for an independent source of real inside information and analysis in this critical time in the life of the OCA.” And here we are yet again with another OCA scandal and exception to every rule. Everyone claims to be an insider but with more honor then the other. So here is what we seem to know. There is a rift a real division and war being waged within the OCA. There is so much transparency that it's blinding to the average reader who takes everything at face value. The OCA is on a strict time line to have all its ducks in a row before the Episcopal Assembly. So as everyone takes sides and covers their bums mistakes are made and blunders a plenty.
OCA Truth is the lastest in a ring of propped up websites designed to distract and reframe actual conditions on the ground. It is the counter argument to OCA News which also purports to defend the faithful from insider trading church style. The OCA Truth has run amok and much like a beheaded chicken calling for “ ...an urgent need in the OCA: for an independent source of real inside information and analysis in this critical time in the life of the OCA.” And here we are yet again with another OCA scandal and exception to every rule. Everyone claims to be an insider but with more honor then the other. So here is what we seem to know. There is a rift a real division and war being waged within the OCA. There is so much transparency that it's blinding to the average reader who takes everything at face value. The OCA is on a strict time line to have all its ducks in a row before the Episcopal Assembly. So as everyone takes sides and covers their bums mistakes are made and blunders a plenty.
While OCA media claims to be disinterested in printing or promoting propaganda each are cleaving to their proverbial guns.
The Who's Who in this shell game.
Based on the 'alleged' email correspondences the OCATruth.com is handled by Jason Folsom and is written by Jesse Cone and Rod Dreher. Each of these men are either current or former parishioners of St. Seraphim’s Cathedral in Dallas. It is clear from the correspondences that Fr. Joseph Fester, the former Dean of St. Seraphim’s (and current Dean of Metropolitan +Jonah’s St. Nicholas Cathedral in Washington DC), has had a tremendous influence on its direction and function. Unless Met. Jonah has been unconscious it would appear that Fr. Fester's participation was known by Met. Jonah and not detered in any way; therefore at a minimum Met. Jonah has cooperated by omission.
The OCA Truth seems to be the brainchild of Rod Dreher and an act of desperation by Fr. Joseph Fester intended on spinning news and reshaping Met. Jonah’s public image to improve his standing amongst his bishops, clergy and laity. This make-over seems to be the true intend of this website. According to one source, the campaign to improve Met. Jonah’s image began with the a story by Julia Duin with Washington Post story.
In an email dated February 26th of this year Rod Dreher emails Fr. Fester in which 'the well is being primed' and any semblence of intergity or basic ethics is completely gutted. Dreher is concerned with a strong field postion and Fester is poised to respond. The email as published reads as follows:
“...I am acutely aware that I don’t know the inner dynamics of Jonah, or of this political situation within the Church. But I offer it as speculation. Here’s something I do know about: this Washington Post profile is going to be enormously important in re-establishing Jonah’s footing. Julia Duin, I learned from her phone calls and emails yesterday, is worried that this will derail Jonah. The way she spoke of the metropolitan yesterday convinced me she is personally on his side. As I‘ve mentioned to you before, there will never be change to have a media outlet of this prominence write a portrait of Jonah that will be so positive. We have to make the most of it. It is scheduled to run, she said, on March 17th. My advice is that Jonah should plan to speak with her sometime late next week, if only for five minutes. Or failing that, write her an email message from his personal account-- something that doesn’t look like it was composed by a publicist or spin doctor. I can guarantee you that her story, as it is right now, will end on a cliffhanger: what kind of Jonah will emerge from the wilderness? I say this not because she has told me so, but because that is the natural arc of this story. If I were Jonah media manager, I would ask him to think about the impression he wants the public and faithful of the OCA to have of him and this crisis. The story will the stage for his re-emergence. It’s hugely important that he take advantage ( and not in a cynical way) of the reporter’s sympathy, and the fact that this story will establish the playing field in the public’s mind. My sense - and I stress that this is only an informed guess - is that the piece will the remarkable story of a gentle abbot who rocketed to the top of a crisis-ridden church in a moment of its greatest peril, simply speaking the truth in charity. But now the abbot -turned metropolitan’s rise has been damaged by his enemies in the church. Duin is not sympathetic to the Stokoe crowd, as best I can tell. She will let Jonah have the last word. It won’t be the worst thing in the world if Jonah doesn’t speak with her, and lets the story go forward as its stands now. But I think him communicating with her in some way - via email even - from his retreat would give him the last word and could be enormously helpful in establishing strong field position in the contests he faces when he returns...". Dreher concludes: “ If I can help you craft a media message in any way, don’t hesitate to ask. I know yesterday’s OCA Press Release* was probably the only thing that could be said politically about this extremely delicate and combustible situation, but it still reads like an Official Story.”
“...I am acutely aware that I don’t know the inner dynamics of Jonah, or of this political situation within the Church. But I offer it as speculation. Here’s something I do know about: this Washington Post profile is going to be enormously important in re-establishing Jonah’s footing. Julia Duin, I learned from her phone calls and emails yesterday, is worried that this will derail Jonah. The way she spoke of the metropolitan yesterday convinced me she is personally on his side. As I‘ve mentioned to you before, there will never be change to have a media outlet of this prominence write a portrait of Jonah that will be so positive. We have to make the most of it. It is scheduled to run, she said, on March 17th. My advice is that Jonah should plan to speak with her sometime late next week, if only for five minutes. Or failing that, write her an email message from his personal account-- something that doesn’t look like it was composed by a publicist or spin doctor. I can guarantee you that her story, as it is right now, will end on a cliffhanger: what kind of Jonah will emerge from the wilderness? I say this not because she has told me so, but because that is the natural arc of this story. If I were Jonah media manager, I would ask him to think about the impression he wants the public and faithful of the OCA to have of him and this crisis. The story will the stage for his re-emergence. It’s hugely important that he take advantage ( and not in a cynical way) of the reporter’s sympathy, and the fact that this story will establish the playing field in the public’s mind. My sense - and I stress that this is only an informed guess - is that the piece will the remarkable story of a gentle abbot who rocketed to the top of a crisis-ridden church in a moment of its greatest peril, simply speaking the truth in charity. But now the abbot -turned metropolitan’s rise has been damaged by his enemies in the church. Duin is not sympathetic to the Stokoe crowd, as best I can tell. She will let Jonah have the last word. It won’t be the worst thing in the world if Jonah doesn’t speak with her, and lets the story go forward as its stands now. But I think him communicating with her in some way - via email even - from his retreat would give him the last word and could be enormously helpful in establishing strong field position in the contests he faces when he returns...". Dreher concludes: “ If I can help you craft a media message in any way, don’t hesitate to ask. I know yesterday’s OCA Press Release* was probably the only thing that could be said politically about this extremely delicate and combustible situation, but it still reads like an Official Story.”
"Your Spy in Philadelphia,
Rod”
Rod Dreher sends another email to Fr. Fester during the morning of March 2, 2011. In this correspondence Rod seems to be regretting his latest conversation with Julia Duin the Washington Post writer.
“Father Joe:
Julia Duin wrote me this morning to say she’d spoken with Stokoe yesterday, and he told her the Synod was furious with HB [Met. Jonah] for not actually going on retreat. This is what prompted them to release the minutes of the meeting; they believe Jonah is spinning this thing. Julia is wondering what the heck is going on, saying that this latest information looks bad for Jonah.
She’s right -- and I say this purely as a public relations matter. You all know the background information, not I and certainly not Julia Duin. But she’s a journalist sympathetic to Jonah who is having a hard time figuring this one out. To be clear, I trust your judgement re: the picture you’ve painted for me about what’s really going on behind the scene, but as your friend and supporter, I need to to tell you that this stuff needs to come out, because the release of the minutes of the meeting do put Jonah’s case in a negative light. I received this morning an e-mail from an Orthodox friend who has been a strong supporter of Jonah, who read those minutes and now says he doesn’t know what to believe, because it looks like HB is being misleading in his Sunday statement.
That this man, and a sympathetic journalist, are now doubting HB’s side of the story tells me that y’all have a problem. You are at a disadvantage because Stokoe has his site, and y’all have nothing like it to counter. What about Fr. Hans Jacobse’s blog? I don’t think many people read it at all, but if word gets around that key documents supporting HB’s case are appearing there, at least people a place to go and see them. Its clear that Team Stokoe is going to play hardball here. HB may choose to rise above it, at least until after Pascha, but that decision should be made, if it is made, in full awareness that in a case like this, perception is to a large extent reality and perception makes reality -- by which I mean that what people believe may have happened, or may be happening, can make certain future outcomes more likely.
For example, I looked on Stokoe’s site this morning, and see that he has a snarky comment up about HB’s participation in the reception in Chicago saying something to the effect of “it is unseemly for the Metropolitan, who agreed to go on retreat, to go party in the luxury suites.” Stokoe is correct --and I say that not as moral judgement but strictly as a matter of public perception and PR. I imagine it’s the case that protocal required HB to be there, and perhaps Jonah feels he needs to demonstrate a certain independence from the Synod in these matters. That may be true...but to the wider public, who doesn’t have the picture of what’s really going on that you and HB do, it doesn’t look good. I fear that HB may be giving his enemies ammunition unnecessarily. Stokoe is a master at using information to his advantage, and he is definitely armed more heavily in this regard than our side.
Please understand that I am offering you this media management advice not as someone in the peanut gallery throwing spitballs, but as a friend and supporter, one who wants Jonah to triumph. I have a lot at stake in this too, not only in that I want my church to live, but some of the dearest people in the world to my family, +Jonah, you, Kathy [Kathy Fester, Fr. Fester's wife] Fr. Gregory [Deacon Gregory Stevens, aide to Metropolitan Jonah]-- have everything at stake.
I think also y’all should be open to having an “on background” conversation with Julia Duin to make sure she knows exactly what’s going on, and isn’t susceptible to Stokoe spin. “On background” means that which was spoken of in the conversation cannot be quoted, that it’s only an informational session for the reporter. This is distinct from “off the record” which means the reporter is to treat what she learns in that session as if it never happened.
If I can help in anyway, let me know.
R”
Within minutes Fr. Fester’s reply:
“You will now begin to get some background.”
Rod Dreher then responds by mentioning the possibility of a new blog as the quick fix.
“...Is it possible for you to start a blog and to post on it. You could set up a blog in 15 minutes. I could help you with it. Is there someone one step removed from you who could run it, and to whom you could feed background information? I would be pleased to help you shape the narrative from behind the scenes, if that helps the cause.
When the WaPo’s [Washington Post] story comes out, this becomes a bigger public story, and things are going to move quickly, I imagine. Team Jonah needs to think two or three steps ahead, and anticipate what the Stokoe people are likely to do next.”
Later that same day on March 2nd Jason (Elijah) Folsom sends an email to Fr. Fester describing the details and actual mission statement of the OCA Truth website and who can be counted on to be a member of Dreher’s “Team Jonah”. Within this email there is the assumption that blessings were given to move ahead. Folsom writes:
“Father Bless.
Father, you may have heard both Jesse (Cone) and Rod (Dreher) express a desire to have some sort of medium to post some clarifications of what is going on so that the truth can be made more clear to those who want to know. Jesse is currently seeking the spiritual counsel of His Beatitude in pursuing that idea. If he is given a blessing from His Beatitude I would also like to have your blessing to facilitate the means for them to do so. I basically just want to buy the domain name, set up the site, hands the keys over to them, and deal with any web administration that needs administrating.
Jesse advised me in seeking the advice of my spiritual father in this situation would be wise, I agreed, so I am asking you, if this would be ok to have that facilitational involvement with them in their desire to post some truthful information.
We miss you a LOT!
Jason Elijah”
Later that evening Dreher informs Fr. Fester:
“Looky here: http://www.ocatruth.com”
At which time Fr. Fester immediately responds:
“tell your friends. tell your neighbors. you want more info, let me know.”
Dreher, however, cautions Father Fester:
“Please, please, please don’t tell ANYBODY that I have anything to do with this site. Very, very important. You know, Fr. Gregory knows, Jesse Cone knows ( he’s posting too), Jason knows and HB knows. But really, I am taking a big risk here.”
This plea is coming from Rod Dreher who writes a column “Rod Dreher - Science Religion Markets and Morals” on BeliefNet.com:
On March 3, 2011 the website was published and stated its mission and purpose as “an alternative source of information and analysis about the current crisis in the Orthodox Church in America. An alternative, that is, to OCANews.org.” This site made several claims to project third party objectivity but it was all a rouse as it was not really or exclusively “....run by laypeople who have experience in the OCA, and sources throughout the Church...” They sought to project themselves as independent and morally driven “ ...an urgent need in the OCA: for an independent source of real inside information and analysis in this critical time in the life of the OCA.”
The bloggers like Rod excused away the need for anonymity by protecting others but in reality they were covering themselves especially Met. Jonah, Fr. Fester and Rod who was professionally compromised by his involvement in spinning the news. “... for being anonymous, but we all have to be here to protect the sources who have been telling us the real behind-the-scenes story.”
