Elgreca's Road to The Phanar District 34220

His All Holiness

2012-01-15T12:11:00.000-08:00

growing “in the likeness” of God

2011-09-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

"God’s grace renders us worthy today to commence yet another ecclesiastical year, one more festive cycle, within whose blessed opportunities we are called to struggle spiritually in order better to evaluate the potential that we have been granted for growing “in the likeness” of God so that we also might become His saints". --Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarchate

So today I found it appropriate to commence my marathon training. My summer sabbatical was much needed. As providence would have it this evening was a cool 87 degrees with a slight breeze. I will overlook the humidity in the spirit of optimism. Xena came with me my true running partner. During 3+mile outing i thought about the dependability of the road to always be there to recall carefree times when my legs where like well greased wheels of a locomotive. Xena was barking encouraging me with her enthusiasm for the open road. I am blessed to have this outlet for myself. Time to think less, to pay attention more, to be challenged and to enjoy the marvelousness of God. Tonight I was joined by a few bats those nocturnal wonders.

Clinton on Opening Halki

2011-07-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

"We also hope that a process will include civil society and parties from across the political spectrum. And of course, I hope that sometime soon we can see the reopening of the Halki Seminary that highlights Turkey’s strength of democracy and its leadership in a changing region." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's address to Turkish Foreign Minister

Archbishop Chrysostom: The Turks want to destroy all trace of Christianity from Cyprus

2011-07-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

Nicosia, July 4, 2011

In a recent meeting, Štefan Füle, Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, and Archbishop Chrysostom of Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus talked about Turkey's plan to destroy every trace of Christian present on the island of Cyprus. This was reported by the Greek information agency, Romfea.

"We told him," related the Archbishop upon his return from Brussels, "that the Turks want to wipe every trace of Christian presence on our motherland, which is occupied by Turkish forces, from the face of the earth, and that the majority of all monuments all already under threat of total eradication.

Archbishop Chrysostom assured Mr. Füle that Cyprus has never experienced any problems with Turkish Cypriots, and is not experiencing them now. The problem is basically with Ankara, noted the Primate of the Cypriot Church. In his opinion, the presence on Cyprus of colonists from Turkey and the Turkish military contingency is an abuse of human rights and religious freedom.

Fule on his part assured the Archbishop that he would relate these concerns to the Turkish side.

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/47441.htm

Metropolitan Jonah: Asceticism and the Consumer Society (Source AOI

2011-06-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

His Beatitude’s remarks were delivered at the Acton University plenary session on Thursday, June 16, in Grand Rapids, Mich. AU is a “four-day exploration of the intellectual foundations of a free society” with the aim of deepening students’ knowledge of philosophy, Christian theology and “sound economics.” This year’s event attracted more than 600 people from 70 countries across a broadly ecumenical spectrum that included Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim lecturers, students, clergy and business people.

For more on the Acton Institute see its Core Principles, its scholarly Journal of Markets & Morality, the quarterly Religion & Liberty, and the PowerBlog.

Download Aceticism and the Consumer Society (.pdf).

Among other things, living our life in Christ requires that we grasp the spiritual significance of two opposing forces with us:

1.The flesh vs. the body

2.The world vs. creation

In the current social context, and so for this evening’s conversation, let me please add another set of opposing movements in the human heart:

1.Consumerism vs. worship

Following traditional Orthodox (and orthodox) theology, the first of these terms—the flesh, the world and consumerism—refer to humanity in rebellion against God. Even when we refer to “the world” we are referring to how creation has become disordered by human sinfulness. Because of Adam’s sin and mine, my body, the creation and the works of my hands have all become estranged from God. Not only that, they have also become sources for my estrangement. As we have become estranged from God, oblivious to God, the body, created matter and the works of our hands, have become idols. They become the means of endless distraction from the reality of God, of communion with one another, and from both life and death.

Thus the tragic paradox of the fall, the great tragedy of human sinfulness is this: the gifts of God have become distorted. Rather than drawing us closer to Him and to each other, we misuse the good things of God to our own harm, spiritually, morally, psychologically, socially and physically. In the words of the Prophet David:

The idols of the nations are silver and gold,

The work of men’s hands.

They have mouths, but they do not speak;

Eyes they have, but they do not see;

They have ears, but they do not hear;

Nor is there any breath in their mouths.

Those who make them are like them;

So is everyone who trusts in them (Ps 135:15-18).

The second of these terms—the body, creation and worship—are likewise richly anthropological. But here they refer to a way of life built on obedience to God. If idolatry strikes man dumb and breathless, obedience animates him and makes him sing out in the praise of God. Again from the Prophet David:

Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!

Sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Sing to the LORD, bless His name;

Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

Declare His glory among the nations,

His wonders among all peoples (96:1-3).

Just as our sin obscures our ability to perceive the beauty of creation and our own humanity, our obedience to God renews both and reveals their true beauty (see Romans 8:18-25).

In the theology of the Orthodox Church obedience is our response to God. Broadly speaking this response has two foundations: holy baptism (and really, all the sacraments) and metanoia, that change of heart by which we turn personally from our sin and toward the Living God in “faith, hope and love” (see 1 Corinthians 13:13). But repentance is more than turning away from sin. It is turning to God, and allowing Him to renew and transform our very consciousness. It is turning from self-will to obedience, from egocentric “dancing alone” to synergy. It is only through a life of obedience to God that we can rightly exercise the gifts God has given us.

Repentance renews our vision of creation, through our bringing our mind and heart into synergy with God. Fundamental to this obedience is the stewardship of the material world, and its proper use to glorify God. Through repentance God enlightens our hearts to see and know that the eucharistic Bread and wine become Christ’s body and blood; baptismal water is filled with the Presence of the Spirit and sanctifies us; oil of Chrism is sanctified and becomes the means of imparting the Gift of the Holy Spirit. These things, these material elements, are revealed not as ends in themselves, bread simply to be eaten and wine to be drunk, but become the means of communion with God. This sacramental vision ultimately extends to the entire creation, where everything is a means of communion, everything and everyone is filled with grace. It is not the creation that is found,wanting, but rather our hearts, our ability to perceive.

This evening I want to speak with you about the second of the two foundations of the obedient life: repentance. How is it that, in response to divine grace, we can come to live in obedience to God? A second question, and one which I think speaks broadly to the lectures and conversations that have occupied you this week, is this: What does this obedient life mean for us who live in society that has become increasingly materialistic and driven more and more by a desire to consume rather than to sanctify creation eucharistically?

The Orthodox liturgical theologian Fr Alexander Schmemann was an astute social commentator. In one of his most well respected works, For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy, he points out that we live a “secular age.” By this he means not that we no longer believe in God or that we reject “some kind of transcendence and therefore of some kind of religion.” No, what contemporary society rejects and negates is the worship of the God Who is the source, means and goal of human life. Secularism, for Schmemann, is “in theological terms … a heresy … about man.” At its core this heresy

is the negation of man as a worshiping being, as homo adorans: the one for whom worship is the essential act which both “posits” his humanity and fulfills it. It is the rejection as ontologically and epistemologically “decisive,” of the words which “always, everywhere and for all” were the true “epiphany” of man’s relation to God, to the world and to himself: “It is meet and right to sing of Thee, to bless Thee, to praise Thee, to give thanks to Thee, and worship Thee in every place of Thy dominion…”1

While as religious believers we may disagree among ourselves as the to the exact nature, context and form of worship, if we are faithful to our respective traditions as Jews, Christians, and Muslims, we know that our disagreements do not obscure, and more importantly must not be allowed to obscure, our fundamental agreement with the anthropological fact that to be human in the fullest sense is impossible apart from the worship of God.

As an Orthodox Christian, I believe (and I suspect many of you here this evening would agree with me on this) that both “worship in general and the Christian leitourgia in particular” presuppose “the sacramental character of the world and of man’s place in the world.” Again, the particulars of that are a source of some debate and even disagreement among Christians much less across religious traditions. We ought not to deny this. Nevertheless when we look at “the world, … it in its totality as cosmos, or in its life and becoming as time and history” the created order is “a means of [God’s] revelation, presence, and power.” To put the matter somewhat differently, the physical creation (and so humanity) “not only ‘posits’ the idea of God as a rationally acceptable cause of its existence” it also “truly ‘speaks’ of Him and is in itself an essential means of knowledge of God and communion with Him, and to be so is its true nature and its ultimate destiny.”2

As St Paul says, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image… Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts…” Rom 1:20-24.

Man was created with an intuitive awareness of God and thankfulness to Him for the creation. In return, the creation itself was made to be a means of communion and revelation of God to man. Man was thus created as a Eucharistic being, the priest of creation, to offer it in thanksgiving to God, and to use it as a means of living in communion, the knowledge and love of God. Man was created to worship. In our fallenness, turning from God to created things as ends in themselves, we lost the intuitive knowledge of God and our essential attitude of thankfulness to Him. Secularism is rooted in this loss of divine awareness, the darkening of our intuitive perception of the creation as the sacrament of God’s Presence. It is a denial of our essential reality as human beings, and our reduction to purely material animals. Thus the refusal to worship and give thanks, to offer the creation in thanksgiving back to God, is a denial of our very nature as humans.

What Schmemann is testifying to is that “worship is truly an essential act, and man an essentially worshipping being.” It is “only in worship” that I can find “knowledge of God and therefore knowledge of the world.” As the etymology of the word orthodoxy suggests, the true worship of God and the true knowledge of God converge and are together become the foundation of obedience to Him.

Asceticism, the Cross and the Healing of the Person

Knowledge in the context of the Orthodox Church’s tradition is not a matter of abstract facts about the world, much less God. Rather knowledge is synonymous with love and intimacy—knowledge in this context means “communion with God and therefore [in God] communion with all that exists.”3

All this is negated by secularism and as a result, the human person is left with a spiritual void that manifests itself concretely as shame and self-loathing. Reflecting on the widespread problem of alcohol and drug addiction in post-Communist Russian society, the bishops of the Orthodox Church in Russia have this to say:

The principal reason for the desire of many of our contemporaries to escape into a realm of alcoholic or narcotic illusions is spiritual emptiness, loss of the meaning of life and blurred moral guiding lines. Drug-addiction and alcoholism point to the spiritual disease that has affected not only the individual, but also society as a whole. This is a retribution for the ideology of consumerism, for the cult of material prosperity, for the lack of spirituality and the loss of authentic ideals. In her pastoral compassion for the victims of alcoholism and drug-addiction, the Church offers them spiritual support in overcoming the vice. Without denying the need of medical aid to be given at the critical stages of drug-addiction, the Church pays special attention to the prevention and rehabilitation which are the most effective when those suffering participate consciously in the eucharistic and communal life.4

Alcoholism, drug addiction, the normalization of sexual immorality, as well as consumerism, and the pursuit of material prosperity as an end in itself, all of these are symptoms of the deep spiritual void created by secularism.

The fruit of secularism is despair.

I will leave to others better qualified than I to discuss and debate the social history of secularism and how we have come to be held so tightly in its grip. This evening I come to you as a pastor. While as the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America will often and necessarily require of me that I address social issues and matters of public morality, my primary concern always is as bishop and as Christian who God has entrusted with the great work of healing the wounds sin inflicts on the human heart. How does Christ liberate us from the “spiritual emptiness, loss of the meaning of life and blurred” morality that enslave each and every one of us both personally and as a society?

The solution we are looking for is the Cross of Jesus Christ. It is His Cross that heals a fallen creation, a fallen humanity, and me as a sinner. Reflecting on the appropriateness of Christ’s death on the Cross as a public proclamation of God’s love for humanity, St Athanasius the Great writes:

[I]f the Lord’s death is the ransom of all, and by his death “the middle wall of partition” is broken down, and the calling of the nations is brought about, how would he have called us to him, had he not been crucified? for it is only on a cross that a man dies with his hands spread out. Whence it was fitting for the Lord to bear this also and to spread out his hands, that with the one he might draw the ancient people, and with the other those from the Gentiles, and unite both in himself. For this is what he himself has said to all: “I, when I am lifted up,” he says, “shall draw all men to me.”5

The Christian ascetical life, that is the life of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, the works of mercy and obedience, is the application and the appropriation of the Cross to my life. It is the means by which I both enter into a life of communion with God and become myself a sacrament of that communion for others. This is possible because at its most basic level, asceticism “is the struggle of the person against rebellious nature, against the nature which seeks to achieve on its own what it could bring about only in personal unity and communion with God.” Our “restoration” to a life of personal communion with God and so our personal “resistance” to the powers of sin and death, “presuppose a struggle” within each human heart that is often lacking in contemporary society and even our churches.6

This struggle IS the ascetical life and as an Orthodox Christian I believe that I cannot effectively preach the Gospel if I neglect my own person podvig, my own personal ascetical struggle to live a life in conformity to Christ. So clearly I am not referring here to “just any kind of asceticism.”7 Fasting, for example, simply to make ourselves more attractive to others is also a type of asceticism; it is the false asceticism of consumerism that encourages rather than mortifies our egoism. Likewise we can work longer hours so that we can simply own more things. This too is a false form of asceticism because it too is grounded in egoism.

The asceticism that is need to preach the Gospel, and so offer hope and healing to those gripped by the materialism and despair of secularism and the false idol of consumerism, is the kind of asceticism by which we “resist death in our own bodies.” This happens I believe only by our “conformity to the example of Christ, who willingly accepted death so as to destroy death.” As with worship, we may disagree among ourselves as Jews, Christians and Muslim as to the source, content and form of the ascetical life. But is it so daring to say that, on anthropological grounds at least, we agree among ourselves that “Every voluntary mortification of the egocentricity which is ‘contrary to nature’ is a dynamic destruction of death and a triumph for the life of the person” and so society?

Can we not as religious believers and as men and women of good will, in our own lives, in the lives of our respective communities and in our society at the very least foster a renewed appreciation and practice of asceticism?

+Jonah is Archbishop of Washington and New York and the Metropolitan of all America and Canada of the Orthodox Church in America.

Twelve (12) Episcopal Assemblies Global

2011-06-08T19:03:00.000-07:00

‎1. North America and Central America. ASSEMBLY OF CANONICAL ORTHODOX BISHOPS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA

http://www.episcopalassembly.org/

2. South America.-ASAMBLEA EPISCOPAL DE LAS IGLESIAS ORTODOXAS DE SUDAMÉRICA/ASSEMBLÉIA EPISCOPAL DAS... IGREJAS ORTODOXAS DA AMÉRICA DO SUL

3. Australia, New Zealand and Oceania.-EPISCOPAL ASSEMBLY OF ALL ORTHODOX BISHOPS OF OCEANIA

4. Great Britain and Ireland.-THE PAN-ORTHODOX ASSEMBLY OF BISHOPS WITH CHURCHES IN THE BRITISH ISLES

5. France.-ASSEMBLÉE DES ÉVÊQUES ORTHODOXES DE FRANCE
http://www.aeof.fr/site/226/organisation.htm

6. Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg.-CONFERENCE EPISCOPALE ORTHODOXE DU BENELUX/ORTHODOXE BISSCHOPPENCONFERENTIE VAN DE BENELUX

7. Austria.- ORTHODOXE BISCHOFSKONFERENZ IN ÖSTERREICH

8. Italy and Malta.-CONFERENZA EPISCOPALE ORTODOSSA D’ITALIA E MALTA
http://www.ortodossia.it/CONFERENZA%20EPISCOPALE.htm

9. Switzerland and Lichtenstein.-DIE SCHWEIZE ORTHODOXE BISCHOFSKONFERENZ

10. Germany.-ORTHODOXE BISCHOFFSKONFERENZ IN DEUTSCHLAND http://www.obkd.de/

11. Scandinavian countries (except Finland).?

12. Spain and Portugal.-ASAMBLEA EPISCOPAL ORTODOXA DE ESPAÑA Y PORTUGAL/ASSEMBLÉIA EPISCOPAL ORTODOXA DA ESPANHA E PORTUGALL

Nouno Archon Sargent at Arms

2011-05-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

Nouno thank you for your service to our country during wartime. Love Mia.

Halki 40 Years After Forces Closure 112th Congress 1st Session

2011-05-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

United States of America PROCEEDINGS and ; DEBATES OF THE 112th CONGRESS, 1st SESSION

Vol. 156 Washington, Tues., May 24, 2011 No. 7 Senate

40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FORCED CLOSURE OF THE THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL OF HALKI

HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN OF MARYLAND

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined today by Senators Snowe, Reid, Shaheen, Whitehouse, and Menendez in introducing a resolution calling upon the government of Turkey to facilitate the reopening of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Theological School of Halki without condition or further delay.

I was privileged to again meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I, during his 2009 visit to the United States. His impassioned request to those of us gathered was for our support for the reopening of the Theological School of Halki, forcibly closed by the Turkish authorities in 1971. In this year marking the 40th anniversary of that tragic action, I urge the Turkish leadership to reverse this injustice and allow this unique religious institution to reopen

Founded in 1844, the Theological School of Halki, located outside modern-day Istanbul, served as the principal seminary of the Ecumenical Patriarchate until its forced closure. Counted among alumni of this preeminent educational institution are numerous prominent Orthodox scholars, theologians, priests, and bishops as well as patriarchs, including Bartholomew I. Many of these scholars and theologians have served as faculty at other institutions serving Orthodox communities around the world.

Past indications by the Turkish authorities of pending action to reopen the seminary have, regrettably, failed to materialize. Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met with the Ecumenical Patriarch in August 2009. In an address to a wider gathering of minority religious leaders that day, Erdogan concluded by stating, ``We should not be of those who gather, talk and disperse. A result should come out of this.'' I could not agree more with the sentiment. But resolution of this longstanding matter requires resolve, not rhetoric.

In a positive development last August, the authorities in Ankara, for the first time since 1922, permitted a liturgical celebration to take place at the historic Sumela Monastery. The Ecumenical Patriarch presided at that service, attended by pilgrims and religious leaders from several countries, including Greece and Russia. Last November, a Turkish court ordered the Buyukada orphanage to be returned to Ecumenical Patriarchate and the transfer of the property has been completed.

As one who has followed issues surrounding the Ecumenical Patriarchate with interest for many years, I welcome these positive developments. My hope is that they will lead to the return of scores of other church properties seized by the government. In 2005, the Helsinki Commission, which I co-chair, convened a briefing, ``The Greek Orthodox Church in Turkey: A Victim of Systematic Expropriation.'' The Commission has consistently raised the issue of the Theological School for well over a decade and will continue to closely monitor related developments.

The State Department's 2010 Report on International Religious Freedom is a reminder of the challenges faced by Orthodox and other minority religious communities in Turkey. I urge the Turkish Prime Minister to ensure respect for the rights of individuals from these groups to freely profess and practice their religion or beliefs, in keeping with Turkey's obligations as an OSCE participating State.

The 1989 OSCE Vienna Concluding Document affirmed the right of religious communities to provide ``training of religious personnel in appropriate institutions.'' The Theological School of Halki served that function for over a century until its forced closure four decades ago. The time has come to allow the reopening of this unique institution without further delay.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

SENATE RESOLUTION 196--CALLING UPON THE GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY TO FACILITATE THE REOPENING OF THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE'S THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL OF HALKI WITHOUT CONDITION OF FURTHER DELAY

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. REID of Nevada, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. MENENDEZ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

S. Res. 196

Whereas the Ecumenical Patriarchate is an institution with a history spanning 17 centuries, serving as the center of the Orthodox Christian Church throughout the world;

Whereas the Ecumenical Patriarchate sits at the crossroads of East and West, offering a unique perspective on the religions and cultures of the world;

Whereas the title of Ecumenical Patriarch was formally accorded to the Archbishop of Constantinople by a synod convened in Constantinople during the sixth century;

Whereas, since November 1991, His All Holiness, Bartholomew I, has served as Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch;

Whereas Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997, in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions toward religious understanding and peace;

Whereas, during the 110th Congress, 75 Senators and the overwhelming majority of members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives wrote to President George W. Bush and the Prime Minister of Turkey to express congressional concern, which continues today, regarding the absence of religious freedom for Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in the areas of church-controlled Patriarchal succession, the confiscation of the vast majority of Patriarchal properties, recognition of the international Ecumenicity of the Patriarchate, and the reopening of the Theological School of Halki;

Whereas the Theological School of Halki, founded in 1844 and located outside Istanbul, Turkey, served as the principal seminary for the Ecumenical Patriarchate until its forcible closure by the Turkish authorities in 1971;

Whereas the alumni of this preeminent educational institution include numerous prominent Orthodox scholars, theologians, priests, bishops, and patriarchs, including Bartholomew I;

Whereas the Republic of Turkey has been a participating state of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since signing the Helsinki Final Act in 1975;

Whereas in 1989, the OSCE participating states adopted the Vienna Concluding Document, committing to respect the right of religious communities to provide ``training of religious personnel in appropriate institutions'';

Whereas the continued closure of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Theological School of Halki has been an ongoing issue of concern for the American people and the United States Congress and has been repeatedly raised by members of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and by United States delegations to the OSCE's annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting;

Whereas, in his address to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on April 6, 2009, President Barack Obama said, ``Freedom of religion and expression lead to a strong and vibrant civil society that only strengthens the state, which is why steps like reopening Halki Seminary will send such an important signal inside Turkey and beyond.'';

Whereas, in a welcomed development, the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met with the Ecumenical Patriarch on August 15, 2009, and, in an address to a wider gathering of minority religious leaders that day, concluded by stating, ``We should not be of those who gather, talk, and disperse. A result should come out of this.'';

Whereas, during his visit to the United States in November 2009, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I raised the issue of the continued closure of the Theological School of Halki with President Obama, congressional leaders, and others;

Whereas, in a welcome development, for the first time since 1922, the Government of Turkey in August 2010 allowed the liturgical celebration by the Ecumenical Patriarch at the historic Sumela Monastery; and

Whereas, following a unanimous decision by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in 2010, ruling that Turkey return the former Greek Orphanage on Buyukada Island to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, on the eve of the feast day of St. Andrew observed on November 30, the Government of Turkey provided lawyers representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the formal property title for the confiscated building: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate—

(1) welcomes the historic meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I;

(2) welcomes the positive gestures by the Government of Turkey, including allowing allowed the liturgical celebration by the Ecumenical Patriarch at the historic Sumela Monastery and the return of the former Greek Orphanage on Buyukada Island to the Ecumenical Patriarchate;

(3) urges the Government of Turkey to facilitate the reopening of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Theological School of Halki without condition or further delay; and

(4) urges the Government of Turkey to address other longstanding concerns relating to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Countries

Cyprus

Greece

Turkey

Issues

Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion or Belief

Mohammad in Danish Cartoon? No. But I'm outraged!

2011-05-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

Mohammad in Danish Cartoon? No. But I'm outraged!

Kalistos Ware-Liturgy what does the word mean Part 1

2011-05-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

Kalistos Ware Liturgy what does the word mean Part 2

2011-05-23T14:53:00.001-07:00

Archimandrite Vasileios of Iveron: Dangerous of Spiritual Life

2011-05-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

I had the blessed fortune of meeting and dining at the same table with Archimandrite Vasileios of Iveron during the Patriarchal Visitation to Tarpon Springs. He is a man of true humility and affection whose source must be holy and sublime. Archimandrite Vasileios demonstrated a genuine interest in the care of our children. He was most pleasantly surprised to learn that our daughter Theophani was named for the iconographer of the monastery and seemed almost astonished to learn our son Stavronikitas was named for the monastery itself. In all his years he never met anyone with that name and upon his return to the Holy Mountain he sent the most beautiful books for Stavronikitas' edification.

By Archimandrite Vasileios of Iveron

The spiritual life is interesting because it is dangerous. At any moment the last can become first and the first last.

Great are not the noise-makers who raise themselves as spiritual leaders or prophets, to amaze and to asphyxiate the world. Great is the humble and "nonexistent", who have received the supplication of the Spirit and are the consolation of the world. Grace is enough for them. And this they emit perpetually with the radiance that endlessly feeds from the contrition of the heart and the feeling that they have polluted the land with their presence. For they themselves are a blessing for all creation while they live and though they may pass, because the Holy Spirit gives meaning and reason to their presence and absence.

On the other hand, once you believe that you are something in virtue or knowledge, then you lose everything and you become polluted, regardless of whether you - or others - think that you are a model of virtue and the renewal of spiritual life.

That which is possessed by the Saints are not human talents or qualities: wisdom, poetry or rhetoric. But all these they sanctified by offering them to God. And through them is manifested the Grace that comforts and deifies humanity.

From the book Apolytikion. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

PTL Club Slain in the Spirit Satan Among You

2011-05-17T19:04:00.001-07:00

Turkish Policy is Notably Regretable Talk About Piggish

2011-05-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

While Turks protest phantom discriminations in the west requesting the extreme in allowances for their mineretts they continue to descetrate Christian sites. Now monesteries are converted to hotels. Google translates from Greek for your convience. The Greek Article also shown just below.

When the Turks turn to the Byzantine monasteries hotels we build the mosque.

The monastery flourished for five centuries now became «Gamirasu». The cloisters of monks carved into volcanic rock, were suites with jacuzzi and underfloor lighting. The cost of accommodation is € 1.200 per day. The owner, a former mule drivers, has every reason to be proud as the most famous tourist guides recommend it to "stay with spiritual search.

"Live like hermits - monks a thousand years ago, if I had at their disposal room service and jacuzzi.

The devastating description of an American tourist guide causes instinctive reaction, even one not possessed of strong religious feelings. A quick search leads to the site luxury hotel which, according to advertising, working in place of a Byzantine monastery with cloisters sometimes be configured in suites!

The «Gamirasu Cave Hotel» is located in the depths of Anatolia, the region of Cappadocia, very close to Procopius (or Urgup in Turkish), the city where the martyred St. John the Russian and so far saved the church by name. From there, a few kilometers, the visitor encounters the village of Ayvalik Koghias - is synonymous with the history or Ayvalik Kydonies the coast of Asia Minor in recent years has been put on the map of tourist destinations in Turkey due to the existence of this quirky hotel.

Apparently one of the dozens of hotels with facilities cave developed in the volcanic region of Cappadocia. But this stands out precisely because it is the location for about five centuries of Byzantine monastery functioned around a church with frescoes from the 8th century AD

Area is characterized by the Turks cradle of civilizations, Cappadocia has, among other things, important religious monuments, underground and ground churches, monastic cities and popular hagiography cultivated in the cloisters iconoclastic period. A multicultural heritage that the neighbors rush in recent years to canonization, attracting millions of tourists, including many thousands of Greeks.

The case of course of the undertaking is the emergence of hundreds of monuments which invests in Cappadocia, Turkey travel. A Byzantine monastery converted into a hotel and the monks' cells have been transformed into suites with whirlpool and underbody led lights in shades of red and blue. The image of the "Byzantine royal suite" of «Gamirasu» refers to a hotel room, Day use. Only here the night priced at 1,200 euros. The salt of the data rates in the region starting from 150 euros for a simple double coupled with the uniqueness of the sites hosted hermits for centuries - the monks are, apparently, the credentials of this tourist facility in the pages of prestigious and widely read guidebooks.

Publications such as «Traveller» of Conde Nast, the «Forbes», the «Financial Times», the German «Bild» and many other forms of general and special interest have included in recent years in the tributes to proposing it for spiritual uplift offered by the labyrinthine spaces, dug for ten centuries into the volcanic rock. According to one of the offerings, this hotel on German interests by investing some locals. Indeed, another article states that the owner, sometimes very poor mule drivers, has every reason to be proud for the company that now employs several villagers on the map and put little Ayvalik.

The «Gamirasu Cave Hotel» ran for the first time about ten years and was recently renovated, offering now more rooms and suites to cut jobs once used as hermitages. Byzantine Icons centuries - some substandard conserved - adorn many of the existing rooms with rugs, the gossamer lids and heavy wooden furniture.

The Church of the 8th century, around which had emerged since the monastery is in a state of collapse, virtually stripped of its paintings, a unique component 'decorating' a backpack ... Furthermore, modern building additions and ancillary facilities, such as blinds, solar panels and satellite dishes, have altered the character of the landscape, which probably goes unnoticed for the Turks, but not for specific forms of travel, the who put in many of the publications that the whole of the hotel is not known for its special taste of the premises. This observation, however, does not act as a deterrent to many young couples who present the mayor with a backdrop of sometimes cloisters of monks choose to where the wedding ceremony.

In the monastery - a hotel can be booked through Greek portal which works with large international website bookings. Only in his presentation is not any reference to historicity, but described as "luxuriously renovated Hotel - cave, which has rooms built with traditional volcanic stone, vaulted ceilings and decorated in traditional Turkish style."

RELIGIOUS TOURISM

Episkeptes 2.2 million in 2010!

Featuring recent years the number of historical sites in Cappadocia and investing in reverence in religious tourism, the Turks have managed to develop the region, with tourist arrivals to record year on year growth rates significantly. Thus, while the Greek tourism counts his wounds and large resorts famous islands in the southern Aegean have come under the hammer in the interior of Turkey's brand new luxury hotels with SPA services and the famous oriental steam bath await guests.

In 2010 more than 2 million tourists visited Cappadocia, in accordance with data from local authorities. Arrivals totaled 2.18 million, of which approximately 1.5 million were tourists from abroad, increased by 30%.

Indicative of attempts to exploit the hinterland made the Turks is the systematic promotion of balloon flights made in volcanic valleys. Even before dawn, when the weather is usually favorable in terms of volume of air, dozens of oversized balloons skyrocket in baskets with their would-be conquerors of the skies on flights within the valleys and around natural domes that millions of years ago created the hot lava from volcanoes.

THE CENTURIES OF ACNE

In early Christian times the area of Cappadocia was one of the main focus of spreading the new religion. There appeared notable religious leaders at the time of St. Gregory and St. Basil's. Christianity spread rapidly throughout central Anatolia. The first places of worship were generally small monasteries and places of isolation, which showed no particular building shape. These sites were located near ravines and inaccessible places, and that because Christians were still being persecuted.

When Constantine the Great in the early fourth century adopted the religion and moved the capital of the Roman Empire in Constantinople, Christianity spread rapidly in Cappadocia. This intensified the construction of churches, monasteries and other Christian sites. The period of iconoclasm (the 8th century AD) reduced the influence of churches and monasteries, but after 843 AD, when the Empress Theodora restored and restored images, founded new churches, inside of which was decorated with frescoes and icons. The beautiful paintings and pictures of the Byzantine era created the centuries that followed.

Όταν οι Τούρκοι μετατρέπουν τα βυζαντινά μοναστήρια σε ξενοδοχεία εμείς τους χτίζουμε τζαμί.

Το Μοναστήρι που ήκμασε για πέντε αιώνες έγινε τώρα «Gamirasu». Οι σκήτες των μοναχών, λαξευμένες σε ηφαιστειογενή βράχο, έγιναν σουίτες με υδρομασάζ και υποδαπέδιους φωτισμούς. Το κόστος διαμονής είναι € 1.200 την ημέρα. Ο ιδιοκτήτης του, πρώην αγωγιάτης, έχει κάθε λόγο να περηφανεύεται καθώς οι πλέον γνωστοί τουριστικοί οδηγοί το προτείνουν για «διαμονή με πνευματική αναζήτηση».

«Ζήστε όπως οι ερημίτες - μοναχοί πριν από χίλια χρόνια, αν θα είχαν στη διάθεση τους υπηρεσίες δωματίου και τζακούζι».

Η ισοπεδωτική περιγραφή σε αμερικανικό τουριστικό οδηγό προκαλεί την ενστικτώδη αντίδραση, ακόμα και κάποιου που δεν διακατέχεται από έντονα θρησκευτικό συναισθήματα. Η γρήγορη αναζήτηση οδηγεί στην ιστοσελίδα πολυτελούς Ξενοδοχείου το οποίο, σύμφωνα με τη διαφήμιση, λειτουργεί στη θέση ενός βυζαντινού μοναστηριού, με τις άλλοτε σκήτες να έχουν διαμορφωθεί σε σουίτες!

Το «Gamirasu Cave Hotel» βρίσκεται στα βάθη της Ανατολίας, στην ευρύτερη περιοχή της Καππαδοκίας, πολύ κοντά στο Προκόπιο (ή Urgup στα τουρκικά), την πόλη όπου μαρτύρησε ο Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Ρώσος και μέχρι σήμερα σώζεται η εκκλησία με το όνομά του. Από εκεί και σε απόσταση λίγων χιλιομέτρων ο επισκέπτης συναντά το χωριό Αϊβαλί Κογιού - πρόκειται για συνωνυμία με το ιστορικό Αϊβαλί ή Κυδωνίες στα παράλια της Μικράς Ασίας που τα τελευταία χρόνια έχει μπει στον χάρτη των τουριστικών προορισμών της Τουρκίας λόγω της ύπαρξης του ιδιόμορφου αυτού Ξενοδοχείου.

Φαινομενικά είναι μία από τις δεκάδες Ξενοδοχειακές μονάδες με υπόσκαφες εγκαταστάσεις που έχουν αναπτυχθεί στην ηφαιστειογενή περιοχή της Καππαδοκίας. Μόνο που αυτή ξεχωρίζει ακριβώς επειδή βρίσκεται στη θέση όπου για περίπου πέντε αιώνες λειτουργούσε βυζαντινό μοναστήρι, γύρω από μια εκκλησία με αγιογραφίες του 8ου αιώνα μ.Χ.

Περιοχή που χαρακτηρίζεται από τους Τούρκους κοιτίδα των πολιτισμών, η Καππαδοκία έχει να επιδείξει, εκτός των άλλων, σημαντικά θρησκευτικά μνημεία, με τις υπόγειες και επίγειες εκκλησίες, τις μοναστικές πολιτείες και τη λαϊκή αγιογραφία που καλλιεργήθηκε στις σκήτες από την εικονοκλαστική περίοδο. Μια πολυπολιτισμική κληρονομιά την οποία οι γείτονες σπεύδουν τα τελευταία χρόνια να αγιοποιήσουν, προσελκύοντας εκατομμύρια τουριστών, μεταξύ των οποίων και πολλές χιλιάδες Έλληνες.

Η περίπτωση βέβαια της συγκεκριμένης επιχείρησης απέχει από την ανάδειξη των εκατοντάδων μνημείων της Καππαδοκίας στην οποία επενδύει τουριστικά η Τουρκία. Ένα βυζαντινό μοναστήρι έχει μετατραπεί σε Ξενοδοχείο και τα κελιά των μοναχών έχουν διαμορφωθεί σε σουίτες με υδρομασάζ και υποδαπέδιους led φωτισμούς σε αποχρώσεις του κόκκινου και του μπλε. Η εικόνα από τη «βυζαντινή βασιλική σουίτα» του «Gamirasu» παραπέμπει σε δωμάτιο Ξενοδοχείου ημιδιαμονής. Μόνο που εδώ η διανυκτέρευση τιμάται στα 1.200 ευρώ. Οι αλμυρές για τα δεδομένα της περιοχής χρεώσεις που ξεκινούν από τα 150 ευρώ για ένα απλό δίκλινο σε συνδυασμό με τη μοναδικότητα των χώρων που για αιώνες φιλοξενούσαν ασκητές - μοναχούς είναι, καθώς φαίνεται, τα διαπιστευτήρια της εν λόγω τουριστικής μονάδας προς τις σελίδες των εγκυρότερων και πολυδιαβασμένων τουριστικών οδηγών.

Εκδόσεις όπως το «Traveller» του Conde Nast, το «Forbes», οι «Financial Times», η γερμανική «Bild» και πολλά άλλα έντυπα ειδικού και γενικότερου ενδιαφέροντος το έχουν συμπεριλάβει τα τελευταία χρόνια στα αφιερώματά τους, προτείνοντας το για την πνευματική ανάταση που προσφέρουν οι δαιδαλώδεις χώροι του, σκαμμένοι εδώ και δέκα αιώνες μέσα στον ηφαιστειογενή βράχο. Σύμφωνα με ένα από τα αφιερώματα, το συγκεκριμένο Ξενοδοχείο αφορά γερμανικών συμφερόντων επένδυση μέσω κάποιων ντόπιων. Μάλιστα, σε άλλο άρθρο, αναφέρεται ότι ο ιδιοκτήτης του, άλλοτε πάμφτωχος αγωγιάτης, έχει κάθε λόγο να περηφανεύεται για την επιχείρηση που σήμερα απασχολεί αρκετούς συγχωριανούς του και έβαλε στον χάρτη το μικρό Αϊβαλί.

Το «Gamirasu Cave Hotel» λειτούργησε για πρώτη φορά πριν από περίπου δέκα χρόνια και ανακαινίστηκε πρόσφατα, διαθέτοντας πλέον περισσότερα δωμάτια και σουίτες στις λαξευμένες θέσεις που κάποτε χρησιμοποιούνταν ως σκήτες. Βυζαντινές Αγιογραφίες αιώνων - κάποιες κακότεχνα συντηρημένες - κοσμούν αρκετά από τα σημερινά δωμάτια με τα κιλίμια, τα αραχνοΰφαντα σκεπάσματα και τα βαριά ξύλινα έπιπλα.

Η εκκλησία του 8ου αιώνα, γύρω από την οποία είχε διαμορφωθεί τότε το μοναστήρι, βρίσκεται σε κατάσταση κατάρρευσης, σχεδόν απογυμνωμένη από τις αγιογραφίες, με μοναδικό στοιχείο «διακόσμησης» ένα σαμάρι... Παράλληλα, οι σύγχρονες κτιριακές προσθήκες και οι βοηθητικές εγκαταστάσεις, όπως τα σκιάδια, τα ηλιακά πάνελ και τα δορυφορικά πιάτα, έχουν αλλοιώσει τη φυσιογνωμία του τοπίου, κάτι που μάλλον περνά απαρατήρητο για τους Τούρκους, όχι όμως και για τους ειδικούς των ταξιδιωτικών εντύπων, οι οποίοι επισημαίνουν σε πολλά από τα δημοσιεύματά τους ότι στο σύνολο του το Ξενοδοχείο δεν διακρίνεται για την ιδιαίτερη καλαισθησία των χώρων του. Η παρατήρηση αυτή πάντως δεν δρα ανασταλτικά για πολλά νεαρά ζευγάρια τα οποία παρουσία του δημάρχου και με φόντο τις άλλοτε σκήτες των μοναχών επιλέγουν να πραγματοποιήσουν εκεί τη γαμήλια τελετή τους.

Στο μοναστήρι - ξενοδοχείο μπορεί κάποιος να κάνει κράτηση και μέσω ελληνικής δικτυακής πύλης η οποία συνεργάζεται με μεγάλο διεθνή ιστότοπο κρατήσεων. Μόνο που στην παρουσίασή του δεν γίνεται η οποιαδήποτε αναφορά στην ιστορικότητά του, αλλά περιγράφεται ως «πολυτελώς ανακαινισμένο Ξενοδοχείο - σπήλαιο, που διαθέτει δωμάτια χτισμένα με παραδοσιακές, ηφαιστειακές πέτρες, θολωτές οροφές και διακόσμηση σε παραδοσιακό τουρκικό στυλ».

ΘΡΗΣΚΕΥΤΙΚΟΣ ΤΟΥΡΙΣΜΟΣ

2,2 εκατομμύρια επισκέπτεs μέσα στο 2010!

Αναδεικνύοντας τα τελευταία χρόνια το πλήθος των ιστορικών μνημείων της Καππαδοκίας και επενδύοντας με ευλάβεια στον θρησκευτικό τουρισμό, οι Τούρκοι έχουν καταφέρει την ανάπτυξη της ευρύτερης περιοχής, με τις αφίξεις τουριστών να σημειώνουν χρόνο με τον χρόνο σημαντικά ποσοστά αύξησης. Έτσι, την ώρα που ο ελληνικός τουρισμός μετρά τις πληγές του και μεγάλα ξενοδοχειακά συγκροτήματα σε φημισμένα νησιά του νοτίου Αιγαίου έχουν βγει στο σφυρί, στα ενδότερα της Τουρκίας ολοκαίνουρια πολυτελή ξενοδοχεία με υπηρεσίες SPA και τα φημισμένα ανατολίτικα χαμάμ περιμένουν τους επισκέπτες.

Το 2010 περισσότεροι από 2 εκατομμύρια τουρίστες επισκέφτηκαν την Καππαδοκία, σύμφωνα με τα στοιχεία των τοπικών αρχών. Οι αφίξεις έφτασαν τις 2,18 εκατομμύρια, εκ των οποίων περίπου 1,5 εκατομμύριο ήταν τουρίστες από το εξωτερικό, σημειώνοντας αύξηση κατά 30%.

Ενδεικτική της προσπάθειας αξιοποίησης της ενδοχώρας τους που καταβάλλουν οι Τούρκοι είναι η συστηματική προώθηση των πτήσεων με αερόστατο που γίνονται στις ηφαιστειογενείς κοιλάδες. Πριν ακόμη ξημερώσει, οπότε οι καιρικές συνθήκες είναι συνήθως ευνοϊκότερες όσον αφορά στην ένταση του αέρα, δεκάδες υπερμεγέθη μπαλόνια ανεβάζουν στα ύψη το καλάθια με τους επίδοξους κατακτητές των αιθέρων σε πτήσεις μέσα στις χαράδρες και γύρω από τους φυσικούς τρούλους που πριν από εκατομμύρια χρόνια δημιούργησε η καυτή λάβα από τα ηφαίστεια.

ΟΙ ΑΙΩΝΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΑΚΜΗΣ

Στα πρώτα χριστιανικά χρόνια η περιοχή της Καππαδοκίας αποτέλεσε ένα από τα βασικά επίκεντρα εξάπλωσης της νέας θρησκείας. Εκεί εμφανίστηκαν αξιόλογοι θρησκευτικοί ηγέτες κατά την εποχή του Αγίου Γρηγορίου και του Αγίου Βασιλείου. Ο χριστιανισμός διαδόθηκε γρήγορα σε ολόκληρη την κεντρική Ανατολία. Οι πρώτοι τόποι προσευχής ήταν εν γένει μικρά μοναστήρια και τόποι απομόνωσης, που δεν παρουσίαζαν ιδιαίτερο οικοδομικό σχήμα. Οι τόποι αυτοί βρίσκονταν κοντά σε χαράδρες και σε δυσπρόσιτους τόπους και αυτό διότι οι χριστιανοί ήταν ακόμα υπό διωγμό.

Όταν ο Μέγας Κωνσταντίνος στις αρχές του 4ου αιώνα θέσπισε την ανεξιθρησκία και μετέφερε την πρωτεύουσα της ρωμαϊκής αυτοκρατορίας στην Κωνσταντινούπολη, ο χριστιανισμός διαδόθηκε πολύ γρήγορα στην Καππαδοκία. Έτσι εντάθηκε η ανέγερση εκκλησιών, μοναστηριών και άλλων χριστιανικών μνημείων. Η περίοδος της εικονομαχίας (τον 8ο αιώνα μ.Χ.) περιόρισε την επιρροή των εκκλησιών και των μοναστηριών, όμως μετά το 843 μ.Χ., οπότε η αυτοκράτειρα Θεοδώρα αποκατέστησε και αναστήλωσε τις εικόνες, ιδρύθηκαν νέες εκκλησίες, το εσωτερικό των οποίων διακοσμήθηκε με τοιχογραφίες και εικόνες. Οι ωραιότερες αγιογραφίες και εικόνες της βυζαντινής εποχής δημιουργήθηκαν τους αιώνες που ακολούθησαν.

http://www.ellinikanea.gr/

Brother Leo From Sts. Raphsel Nicholas and Irene

2011-05-14T13:26:00.001-07:00

Pope John Paul II Assassination Attempt 1981

2011-05-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

On May 13, 1981 Turkish national Mehmet All Agca shot and seriously wounded His Holiness Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square.

Islam Peace Progress Update Cairo

2011-05-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

Religion of Peace Update:

By: Father Mark Hodges

A group of armed Muslims marched May 7 on Saint Mena Co...ptic Orthodox Church, one of the oldest churches in Egypt, and the resulting violence caused at least three deaths, news media reported.

In Cairo, at least 12 people were killed and 232 others were wounded in clashes outside a Christian Church.

A small group of Coptic Christians gathered near the U.S. Embassy in Cairo May 9 to condemn the government for not doing more to protect them and called for international protection of the country's Christian community, CNN said. Soldiers blocked access to the U.S. embassy.

In one Cairo neighborhood, bricks were thrown from rooftops on Christian protesters. Chants of "with our souls and blood we will sacrifice ourselves for the Cross" were heard, according to CNN.

Gunfire was heard in Alexandria, sending people running for cover, according to a May 8 report from CNN.

Tensions between Muslims and Christians have increased after a recent U.S. government report highlighted hostility directed against the minority Coptic Orthodox Christians in the predominantly Muslim society, CNN said.

http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=35251

Di Tzeitung. (AP) Omits Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

2011-05-09T17:38:00.000-07:00

President Obama & his staff watching the operation that killed
Osama bin Laden digitally altered to remove

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton &;

Counterterrorism Director Audrey Tomason

Brooklyn weekly Di Tzeitung. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

This Ultra-Orthodox Jewish paper has a traditon of omitting all images of women from its paper as a way of advancing the cause of women by protecting their modest sensibilities. This is essentially their position because it removes all possibility of men to objectify their female counterparts; again their position. Quite frankly, it only serves to erase completely from current events and history the contributions of women. The article is posted for your review. (How do they acknowledge women leaders like Golda Mier on the anniversary of her birth which just past May 3rd?)

By Verena Dobnik The Associated Press

NEW YORK — An Orthodox Jewish newspaper apologized Monday for digitally deleting Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton from a photo of President Barack Obama and his staff watching Navy SEALs move in on Osama bin Laden.

The Brooklyn weekly Di Tzeitung, which says it doesn't publish images of women, printed the doctored photo Friday. It issued a statement saying its photo editor hadn't read the “fine print” accompanying the White House photo that forbade any changes. The newspaper said it has sent its “regrets and apologies” to the White House and the Department of State.

A second woman, Counterterrorism Director Audrey Tomason, also was deleted from the photo, which captured a historic moment in the decade-long U.S. effort to apprehend the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Di Tzeitung said it has a “long standing editorial policy” of not publishing women's images. It explained that its readers “believe that women should be appreciated for who they are and what they do, not for what they look like, and the Jewish laws of modesty are an expression of respect for women, not the opposite.”

The weekly said Clinton, a Democrat who represented New York as a U.S. senator, had won overwhelming majorities in the Orthodox Jewish communities because they “appreciated her unique capabilities, talents and compassion for all.”

Di Tzeitung, published in Yiddish, is sold at city newsstands, especially in Brooklyn's Williamsburg and Borough Hall neighborhoods, which have many Orthodox Jewish residents. It acknowledged it “should not have published the altered picture.”

An editor at a Manhattan weekly that has covered Jewish issues since the 1890s addressed why the Brooklyn newspaper might have altered the image. The Forward's managing editor, Lil Swanson, said that removing women from photos is “in keeping with” the belief of some ultra-Orthodox Jews that showing images of the female form is “immodest.”

In the original photo of the White House Situation Room, Obama and his national security team are gathered around a table, following in real time the operation that culminated in the killing of bin Laden at his Pakistani compound on May 1.

The White House, which issued the photo, had no comment Monday on the removal of the women from it.

Psychological Testing for Ordination Candidates OCA Solution

2011-05-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

Melanie Ringa presented her extensive Treasurer’s report, after which it was resolved to make some minor adjustments to the 2011 budget. Among the adjustments are ... funding for psychological evaluation of all ordination candidates..."

What a mouth full for sure. It speaks volumes about what the Synod considers of its clerics and hierarchs. Just three months ago there were rumors circulating that Met. Jonah is unhinged. Now they are recommending a battery of secular psychological tests for clerics. Generally mental illness and psychological pathologies become pretty evident rather quickly. You would think that an astute seminary would take note of such issues in their seminarians. I can't imagine subjecting churchmen to secular and most often times heretical and pagan ideals of human wellness and reasoning. Perhaps we could take Yoga and chant t-r-a-n-q-u-i-l-i-t-y after a biofeedback session.

Let's just look at Maslow who seems harmless enough not controversial like Sigmund. For example and his hierarchy the pinnacle of man's authenticity and bliss is derived from self actualization. This is actually demonic; as man cannot self actualize no matter how much the ego tells us we can. We actualize if we must use the term at all when through illumination we experience theosis. We can only become actualized through Christ. Then there is Bettelheim who blamed mothers of autistic children for being cold; with his 'good enough' mother theory only matched in cruel malpractice by his ideas on enchantment. We can always go with Jung and his archetypes to explain our fascination with religion and obsession with death. Then there is Anna Freud and her defense mechanisms where the ultimately we have no chance for healing purity or an honest thought. If we could all just sublimate then we'd have astronomers (a voyeur's' just reward) not peeping toms. Of course we can look into Erickson, Piaget, Pavlov, Skinner...

You don't need a Rorschach Test to know someone is psychotic. You don't need Mezmer and hypnotism to quit smoking. It is about choosing Christ each and every moment. It is not about Faith alone but about commitment, loyalty and service to His Kingdom. The church doesn't require validation from an MMPI psychological test. We don't need psychodrama in council meetings. We need to lock up the perpetrators and encourage the victims to put blame and shame where it belongs on those responsible.

The are chasing their tails over at the Synod and Synod Lesser. They have become so perplexed as to why the laity are all walking out. Perhaps they are looking for a lithmus test to keep out lavender clerics and not neurotic ones. One small detail they missed. The the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), previously known as DSM-V [until the APA decided to abandon the Roman Numerals] maintains a consistent concensus about homosexuality. The American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and similar institutions around the world, is that the research and clinical literature demonstrate that same-sex sexual and romantic attractions, feelings, and behaviors are normal and positive variations of human sexuality. Oops.
It is pretty obvious now why the OCA attaches the Mystery of Confession with the Mystery of Communion. They have taken the secular model of psychotherapy and tried to force it on the church. Confession and pastoral guidance are not synonymous. My confession is between God, my confessor and me. I think the OCA is on very shaky ground sadly.

Perhaps I should be more optimistic because award winning and self aggrandizing Josephus Flavius aka Byzatnine Texas has this to say: "Quite a comprehensive update. I'm quite surprised by a number of items discussed. This outline of events, if not of great detail, still show a transparency in Church affairs not often matched by other jurisdictions. For as interesting as this is, the minutes from the synodal meeting are also well worth reading (the new processes and restrictions on determining a locum tenens bishop, the role of chancery staff, the make-up of the Lesser Synod, clarification of the office of chancellor, interviewing episcopal candidates, and the vital importance of proper handling of sexual abuse cases)".

HOMERUN no really a very practical approach to spiritual leadership.zone.

There is NO autocephalous Church in America

2011-05-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

Here on my blog there is no censorship. This has been yanked from other sites which claim to encourage dialogue but only support personal retreat. I'm an all in sort and I will stand beside those who speak truth to power. This author although an authority in his own field and having received international acclaim for his devotion and tireless effort for the Church has been banned from 'open' forums. In the spirit of religious freedom and speech which I believe is still legal in America I am reposting it in it's entirety without any further comment for your edification. I only ask that we repost this in the spirit of everything that is good about Americans. Let's make this go viral.

Author Iconographer Elias Damianakis, Archon Maestor

My initial thoughts on a stupid blog post I recently read called “Who is the Guarantor of American Autocephaly?” What a sad question. The question is itself obviously written by someone with serious neurotic proclivities and delusions of grandiosity.

The author seems to miss several points or does he? Perhaps he simply can’t deal with reality, uh oh fertile ground for another complex disorder.

The first and most important fact; there is no American Autocephalous Church. There is only one jurisdiction, the OCA, which accepted unilateral and anomalous granting of autocephaly from Moscow. A tomos which is not recognized by the Church at large or at least a large majority of Canonical Orthodox Churches irrespective of linguistics. This linguistics issue is another fable created by the “internet pentarchy” and has taken root in some futile minds… The idea “only the Greek churches” don’t recognize the autocephaly is simply another bigoted attempt at separating Orthodoxy according to ethnic lines. I’d find it humorous if it weren’t so sad that those who decry inclusiveness are the first to denounce the use of Greek (Hellenic), the language and peoples: God used as to fulfill the revelation the Word, of the Gospels, of the Ecumenical Councils, of the original Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, of the language of the Holy Fathers… Greek language and Hellenic identity is the source for the revelation of our faith, the only language which fully articulated the concepts of Christianity and yet according to them it can’t understand the necessity for autocephaly in America.

Additionally the OCA “is a servant to Orthodox unity” according to the respected Archbishop Dmitri, NOT autocephaly as those cohorts of the AOI would assert. The spin machine is hard at work to confuse the public. They are crafting the message “Autocephaly or subjugation” They are perverting a Traditional Orthodox praxis and order. They should be saying be ready for schism, for that’s the route they are promoting autocephaly at any cost. Autocephaly not simply UNITY for Orthodoxy in America.

The Ortho Hero Syndrome individuals like Jorge Mikhalopoulos, Michael Bowmen, Scott Peningstown, Dean Kalvertsi and other repeat offenders under the spiritual tutelage of such nonentities as Rev John Jakobsee a disgruntled priest with hidden agendas and a Rasputin like syndrome of self grandiosity and the gift of non-clear discernment. In their compulsion to help make the Orthodox world right again, they clearly utilize Hellenophobia, patriarchophobia, and OrthoEcclesiophobia while attempting to conceal their serious case of nonautocephaliophobia and realitiphobia… They are unique in the sense they suffer from both Napoleonic and Superiority complexes simultaneously. They fear subjugation which doesn’t exist in Orthodoxy and they know exactly how everything can be ordered and/or corrected. They have in essence hijacked Rum Orthodoxy and replaced their brand of Eastern Orthodox and label it as traditional, normative and promote it as authentic. They move as far West as you can get and brand it Orthodox, isn’t that nice.

They continually stroke each others sensitive egos on websites and blogs with very respectable names including authoritative terms such as institute, ancient faith, beacon and lone defender with backing of several respectable clergy and distinguished individuals which no way changes there deceitfulness.

They promulgate and insist autocephaly is the standard for Orthodoxy. They promote autocephaly exists and demand it without ambiguity or disagreement. Anyone who suggests otherwise is attempting to subjugate the “American” church, very Samuel Adams of them. Next they will be pouring incense into the sea to symbolize their Orthodox tea party. They either willingly or ignorantly promote the Russian expansionist ideology of the Moscow Patriarchate begun long before the establishment of the Alaska mission.

They spread subtle ambiguous lies like “the See of Constantinople, which claims universal jurisdiction over the Greek-speaking peoples of the world” which not only is completely inaccurate but creates a self-dictating propaganda. Anyone with a slightly influenced religious constitution would seem this to be an honest statement.

The false concept that an apostolically founded See only serves their respected ethnic community is preposterous. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, for historical accuracy, lead dozens of ethnicities without prejudice through the millennia. It still reserves the canonical authority to do so, as has been proven by all other legitimate Churches in recent years by Synaxis and Councils called and held by Constantinople. Further misinformation by these minions of deceit is “Since Byzantium has fallen there is no reason for that See to exist”. How truly ignorant. The Church founded by the Apostle Andrew was never a church for any political empire rather it was a church located in the City of Constantinople (originally Byzan/modern day Istanbul) for all Orthodox Christians not only in that particular Metropolis but according to Canon 28 for those lands not under any other Patriarchal jurisdiction’s clearly defined Tomos’ geographical boundaries or the ‘barbarian lands’. Of course Moscow and its dependencies challenge this because they have for centuries broken this law without consequence.

As everyone is aware the See of Constantinople has survived living under various political rulers; Pre-Roman until 330 AD, Roman [known as Byzantine] until 1453, Ottoman until 1922 and today the Republic of Turkey. These varied political rulers have not kept the Patriarchate from spiritually leading its flocks by any criteria though the modern political situation particularly as the Ottoman Empire began to dissolve offers many opportunities for lively discussion about the opportunistic frenzy for autocephaly spurred on by natotionalism which took place in the 19th and 20th centuries or the difficulties placed on it by modern Turkey’s “secular” government. However this is fodder for another blog.

Another pearl of deception by Jeorge Mikhalopoulos is “Granting Turkish citizenship to the Greek bishops by Constantinople” suggesting that the See of Constantinople has the ability to grant citizenship or desires create an “Hellenic subjugation to the Turkish state … over the entire American Orthodox Church”. First they say the See of Constantinople is dwindling because of Turkish oppression then they say the Holy See is a diplomatic tool of the Turkish state. I find it hard to believe any body could buy into this ridiculous idea. Turkey would control the American church (I am laughing out loud) but there are imbeciles in the world who make this stuff up... another sad ignorant position.

They believe unless all bishops in America have American citizenship “it makes trans-jurisdictional unity all but impossible”. To them American ethnocentricism is the only acceptable form of ethno-phyletism. The same individuals who decry nationalism and phlyetism run rampant in the GOA and it must be stopped say “bishops of Anglo-American descent to view foreign citizenship as anything less than scandalous”. The scandal is the idea that citizenship has anything to do with the church governance. The only criterion is baptism and chrismation in the canonical church, not what kind of passport you hold (did I say imbeciles already?). The emphasis on citizenship requirements by these troublemakers rings hypocritically with the call for no ethnicities… another sad ignorant position.

Their insistence that Traditional Orthodox Praxis would be “Subjugation to the Phanar” is an offense to all Orthodox Christians. The term subjugation is a simple fear mongering term on their part. They suggest we would be subjugated to an old world patriarchal synod but ‘free willed’ under the OCA or some sort of autocephaly synod here in the USA. Hierarchal Synods are Hierarchal Synods they are run by certain canons and are not there to subjugate its communicants; perhaps they feel the anomalous actions of the OCA are par for the course. They are not… another sad ignorant position.

They have begun to reframe the conversation even within the OCA and suggest that the OCA is a “servant of American autocephaly” which perverts the comments of Archbishop +Dmitri when he said The OCA is “a servant to [Orthodox] unity.” NOT autocephaly. There is a distinct and profound difference not only in historical concept but more importantly perhaps to Orthopraxis.

There is one thing for sure they do not suffer from zelophobia! They thrive on jealousy, deceit and schism. Anyhow those are my initial thoughts; rest assured I’ll be back with more…

heinous crimes: Zero Tolerance and Complete Transparency (NOT)

2011-05-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

Try a Refreshing Approach: Zero Tolerance and Complete Transparency STOP DRAGGING THE CHURCH THROUGH MUD.

Why is it that the church seems content to conceal within its ranks the most heinous crimes? How is it that they could possibly find it ethically, morally or legally appropriate to deal with crimes under some sacred seal of the church?

Wouldn't a zero tolerance be the best shield against deformation law suits? Isn't the protection of children and the flock a moral imperative? What creates actual liability to the Church? Relocation; ongoing at infinitum investigations; the standard protocol of allowing abusive and destructive clerics to simply retire as if that is corrective action, therapeutic or justice; dismissing misconduct as mutual and consensual; demonizing the abused as 'troubled'; failing to immediately suspend cleric with compensation if necessary until allegations are address in doing so the priest no longer has a platform or bully-pulpit to sway public opinion or intimidate; suspension would openly acknowledge that the hierarch is concerned and seriously attending to the allegation otherwise an endorsement or a vouching for the cleric is perceived. Laity generally would perceive inaction as exoneration as surely the bishop would never allow such things to continue. What about the church harboring a perpetrator as opening a real legal can of worms. That would seem better reason to call State Authorities and the FBI then a few email leaks. THE CHURCH IS CALLED TO HEAL NOT TO SIMPLY DO NO HARM (which also seems to be beyond its ability).

The deranged actions of an individual who is removed, suspended, sanctioned, exposed and simultaneously turned over to the states attorneys office or child protective services for its independent investigation would amputate the cancer and exonerate and over time reduce the liability of the broader church. I wish the church at the OCA would stop functioning as a corperation and start behaving like churchmen. It should seem obvious even to the oblivious, that due diligence, not a cavalier anemic systemic "deny, deny, deny" approach "protecting at all cost clerics' defending their eccentric proclivities and serving portfolios investments.

The OCA should begin to listen more to its conscience then to their lawyer. The OCA has been bent on concealing rather then corrective action. Where are all the moral men said to have committed themselves to leading children and adults to the Church to Christ. It would seem that more credence is given to the boys club then to any victim. I would say that we should start speaking in terms of alleged perpetrator and not alleged victim.

MINUTES SPRING SESSION OF HOLY SYNOD OF BISHOPS OCA

2011-05-07T08:08:00.000-07:00

MINUTES OF THE SPRING SESSION OF THE HOLY SYNOD OF BISHOPS OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA

Diocese of the Midwest Chancery

Chicago, Illinois

2-4 May, 2011

Present were:

His Beatitude, JONAH, Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America, and Canada,

Chairman

His Eminence, NATHANIEL Archbishop of Detroit, and the Romanian Episcopate

His Grace, NIKON, Bishop of Boston, of New England, and the Albanian Archdiocese

His Grace, TIKHON, Bishop of Philadelphia, and Eastern Pennsylvania, (Secretary)

His Grace, BENJAMIN, Bishop of San Francisco, and the West

His Grace, ALEJO, Bishop of Mexico City, and the Exarchate of the United States of Mexico

His Grace, MELCHISEDEK, Bishop of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania (Interim Chancellor)

His Grace, MICHAEL, Bishop of New York and New York and New Jersey.

His Grace, MATTHIAS, Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest.

His Grace, MARK, Bishop of Baltimore, Administrator of the Diocese of the South

His Grace, IRENEE, Bishop of Quebec City, Administrator of the Archdiocese of Canada

Absent was:

His Grace, IRINEU, Bishop of Dearborn, Auxiliary Bishop of the Romanian Episcopate

Monday, May 2, 2011

SESSIONS I and II

His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH opened the Spring Session of the Holy Synod on Monday, May

2, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. with the singing of the Paschal Troparion and “The Grace of the Holy Spirit…”

Address of the Metropolitan

HEARD:

Metropolitan JONAH presented his written report and offered further oral comments concerning his recent leave of absence and offered some proposals for moving forward.

The members of the Holy Synod each offered responses to the address of the Metropolitan. They

discussed the relationship of the Holy Synod with the Metropolitan in the past and for the future.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod began the process for establishing clear policies and procedures for the Holy Synod
to allow for better communication and accountability within the Holy Synod.

Pastoral Issues

HEARD:

The Holy Synod discussed several areas of concern in the Church, including a case of clergy

interference in another diocese, an unresolved clergy misconduct case and concerns about a monastic

community.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod received the assurance of His Beatitude’s definitive action in the case of the

monastic community and will prepare official documents in reference to the clergy misconduct case.

The Holy Synod also acted decisively in the case of the clergy interference case.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

SESSIONS III, IV and V

Review of Minutes of Sessions I and II

HEARD:

Bishop TIKHON presented a draft of the private minutes of the previous day’s meetings. Members

of the Holy Synod submitted corrections.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod approved the minutes of the May 2, 2011 sessions of the Spring Session and

appended their signatures to the document.

Policies and Procedures

HEARD:

Bishop BENJAMIN presented four resolutions related to the Holy Synod.

Discussion followed.

DECIDED:

The following four resolutions were approved by the Holy Synod with the understanding that they

would be further reviewed in the ongoing development of policies and procedures for the Holy

Synod:

Resolution 1 – LOCUM TENENCY

Be it resolved this day, May 3, 2011, by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America,
meeting in the City of Chicago, IL, pertaining to Article VI, Section 8 of the Statute of the OrthodoxChurch in America which states “In the event of a vacancy in the office of diocesan bishop, a locum

tenens, appointed by the Metropolitan, shall convoke and preside over the Diocesan Assembly

whose sole purpose at this time shall be the election of a new diocesan bishop,” that the Metropolitan

shall appoint a locum tenens from among the other hierarchs of the Synod and not himself, so as not

to burden the Primate with supervision of multiple dioceses.

Resolution 2 – the Officers of the Church

The Holy Synod affirms Article II, Section 7, m, which places within the competence of the Holy

Synod the “appointment, upon the recommendation by the Metropolitan Council, of the Chancellor,

Secretary, Treasurer and other officials whose competence or service extend beyond the boundaries

of a single diocese.” The Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America is distinct and separate from

the chanceries of the various dioceses, including the Diocese of Washington DC. At this time, it is

understood that the Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America is located at 6850 N. Hempstead

Turnpike, Syosset, NY 11791. It is resolved this day, May 3, 2011, by the Holy Synod of the

Orthodox Church in America, to understand “and other officials…” in the Statute cited above to

mean and encompass the chancery staff and membership of the various offices and departments of

the OCA which function under the authority of the Holy Synod, the Metropolitan being the presiding

officer of the Synod. The officers of the Orthodox Church in America are confirmed by the Synod

upon recommendation of the Metropolitan Council and are dismissed from service by the Synod

upon recommendation of the Primate, as their service is to all the dioceses of the Church. Thus the

chancery of the Orthodox Church in America is understood to be the Synodal Chancery, the other

hierarchs, including the Metropolitan, having their own diocesan chanceries.

Resolution 3 – the Permanent Lesser Synod

Be it resolved this day, May 3, 2011, by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America,

meeting in the City of Chicago, Il, in accordance with Article II, Section 6 of the Statute that the

Lesser Synod be considered the executive committee of the Holy Synod and empowered to meet

every second month to exercise oversight of all matters except those excluded by Article II, Section

7, c, of the Statute of the Orthodox Church in America on behalf of the entire Synod. The

membership of the Permanent Lesser Synod shall consist of the Metropolitan, the Secretary of the

Holy Synod and two other hierarchs elected by the entire Synod. The Lesser Synod is charged with

oversight of the execution of policies and decisions of the entire Synod and those of the Metropolitan

Council blessed by the Synod. As Primate, the Metropolitan shall be the chairman of the Permanent

Lesser Synod. The Metropolitan, as the Chairman of the Synod, shall seek and receive prior

agreement of the Lesser Synod for all programs and initiatives relating to the external and internal

affairs of the Church. The Lesser Synod also exercises oversight of the officers of the Church and

its various departments and offices on behalf of the whole Synod. The term of service on the Lesser

Synod shall be for a period of one year.

Resolution 4 – the Chancellor

Be it resolved this day, May 3, 2011, by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America,

meeting in the City of Chicago, IL, that the Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America is the

chief of operations of the Synodal Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America and is accountable

to the entire Synod of the Orthodox Church in America. He manages the day to day operations of

the Synodal Chancery, the other officers, departments and offices of the Church.

Episcopal Matters

HEARD:

In closed session, the Holy Synod considered several episcopal matters.

Officer’s Reports

Report of Treasurer

HEARD:

Melanie Ringa, OCA Treasurer, presented her report (attached).

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod heard the report of the Treasurer and thanked Melanie Ringa for her work.

Report of Secretary

HEARD:

Fr. Eric Tosi, OCA Secretary, presented his report (attached).

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod heard the report of the Secretary and thanked Fr. Eric Tosi for his work. The Holy

Synod will review the agenda for the upcoming All American Council in Seattle.

External Affairs

HEARD:

Fr. Leonid Kishkovsky of the Department of External Affairs presented his report. He addressed

several issues within the internal life of the Orthodox Church in America and summarized recent

developments in world-wide Orthodoxy.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod heard the report of the Department of External Affairs and thanked Fr. Leonid for

his work.

Meeting with SMPAC

HEARD:

The Holy Synod heard a presentation from the Sexual Misconduct Policy Advisory Committee

(SMPAC). The SMPAC reviewed their expanded white paper and the requested documentation for

it, both of which had previously been presented to the Holy Synod. They offered their thoughts on

several specific cases now under review and expressed their deep concern for the proper and

unequivocal implementation of the current Policies, Standards and Procedures of the OCA on all

levels of the Church and in all cases.

They spoke of the critical need for the Holy Synod, the clergy and the faithful of the Church to be

educated in the proper response to allegations of sexual misconduct and noted their great concern

over a prevailing attitude which prefers the ignoring of these problems or hopes for theirdisappearance.

The SMPAC assured the Holy Synod that their documents and their concerns were soely a means to

document lessons learned, not to bring accusations against any individual person or organization.

They expressed their fervent desire to receive the Holy Synod’s assurance, not only that proper

policies are put in place, but most importantly that they be followed.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod thanked the members of the SMPAC for their presentation and for their dedication

and commitment to the critical matter of clergy sexual abuse. They also expressed their gratitude for

their professional advice and counsel in these matters and asked for their continued guidance to the

Holy Synod.

The Holy Synod acknowledged the errors and failures documented and pledged to both continue

their review of the SMPAC report and to address any of the failures and weaknesses so that they are

not repeated in the future.

The Holy Synod also made several requests of the SMPAC to provide concrete aids so that the

hierarchs might better educate their clergy and faithful in these matters and to help them better

evaluate and respond to cases of sexual misconduct.

Interview of Episcopal Candidates

HEARD:

The Holy Synod interviewed two potential Episcopal candidates.

Board of Theological Education

HEARD:

Bishop TIKHON presented the report of the Board of Theological Education (BTE) and presented

for approval the candidates for ordination to the diaconate. Other matters related to theological

education were discussed.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod approved the candidates as presented by the Board of Theological Education.

Clergy Matters

HEARD:

In closed session, the Holy Synod considered several clergy cases.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod acted on the clergy cases presented. The actions taken will be reflected in the

official clergy changes prepared by the Chancery office.

Clergy Awards

HEARD:

Fr. Eric Tosi presented the list of clergy awards from the Diocesan Hierarchs.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod reviewed the list and approved those clergy who had been presented for awards.

Lesser Synod

HEARD:

In accordance with the adopted resolution on the Lesser Synod, the Holy Synod discussed the filling

of those position.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod elected the following members of the Holy Synod as members of the Lesser Synod:

Metropolitan JONAH, Chair

Bishop NIKON

Bishop TIKHON, Holy Synod secretary

Bishop BENJAMIN

SMPAC Report

HEARD:

The Holy Synod heard the request of the governance committee of the Metropolitan Council that it

be provided a copy of the SMPAC report. The Holy Synod also heard a report concerning the

improper distribution of the report.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod blessed the OCA legal committee to receive a copy of the SMPAC report.

The Holy Synod instituted a spiritual court to investigate the alleged distribution of confidential and

sensitive documents to unauthorized recipients.

SIGNED:

His Beatitude, JONAH, Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America, and Canada,

Chairman

His Eminence, NATHANIEL Archbishop of Detroit, and the Romanian Episcopate

His Grace, NIKON, Bishop of Boston, of New England, and the Albanian Archdiocese

His Grace, TIKHON, Bishop of Philadelphia, and Eastern Pennsylvania, (Secretary)

His Grace, BENJAMIN, Bishop of San Francisco, and the West

His Grace, ALEJO, Bishop of Mexico City, and the Exarchate of the United States of Mexico

His Grace, MELCHISEDEK, Bishop of Pittsburgh and Western PA, (Interim Chancellor)

His Grace, MICHAEL, Bishop of New York and New York and New Jersey.

His Grace, MATTHIAS, Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest.

His Grace, MARK, Bishop of Baltimore, Administrator of the Diocese of the South

His Grace, IRENEE, Bishop of Quebec City, Administrator of the Archdiocese of Canada

OCA Truth NO HOMO Officially the Orthodox Party Line

2011-05-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

There is no a moral equivalence between a blog writer or editor and the clerics of the church. The ethical standard for editorials pale in comparison to the homilies of clerics. When priests and hierarchs intentionally mislead the public about the particulars they do betray the public trust. The fact that deception was rooted out is not the cause of scandal or disloyalty. At a minimum the OCA Truth could have acknowledged that the writers of the blog which sought truth and not propaganda were key players and operatives and therefore needed to remain anonymous. This was not done they crafted the site in such a way as to try and remain above the fray like some lowly secretary who is afraid of possible reprisal from others in power. When those in the power positions however use these tactics they are purposefully misleading and engaging in immoral and unbefitting slander and deception veiled beneath of thin vaneer of self righteous piety and indignation. It leads to comments like Faith Skordinski who points how the unique heritage that the OCA has cultivated in which "not taking action was 'enabling the OCA’s personality-based management behavior rather than insisting upon accountability and policies.'” OCA Truth

"If the scores of emails obtained by OCANews confirmed that Fr. Fester and Metropolitan Jonah are behind the campaign of disinformation and propaganda at OCATruth.com, they reveal other presences behind Fr. Fester, directly influencing the Metropolitan’s words and deeds to chilling purpose." OCA News. I can't speak to whom the real whistle blower at the OCA is and how Mark got the emails and the information on the hidden agendas. He appears to be trying to at least shed some light on the plague and for this his service is being marred. I know that those at OCA Truth seem to want nothing more then to disparage Mark and dismiss the years of service his because he opened the curtains. Now, suddenly, those who have know about his lifestyle are offended and unable to remain idle. All this because of homosexuality? He was gay enough before, not an advocate for gay rights, respectfully silent, all the while allegedly sinning in the shadows. Now things have changed first Hopko writes his book which could be titled NO HOMO then Mark attempts to change the church through pressure and a grassroots upsurge to have the hierarchs serve other then themselves to seconds. Now Mark is a flaming embarrassment. It makes me wonder what is it really about. Why does the OCA Truth (blessed by Met. Jonah) who openly inserts himself into these sensitive issues on the national stage cautioning clerics and the military repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell? Does it seem that they 'prostest too much'.

Interesting very interesting. And what does Orthodoxy say about deception, neglect, abuse, theft, adultery, pedophilia, and gossip. If the laity stop flocking to the confessional or the OCA at all it is because the house divided against itself cannot stand. The hierarchs are so busy quoting legal charters of a secular federal law or the canonicity based on the day the wind blew they have taken their eyes off the mark. Their greed has overcome them and their envy blinded them with some sick sincerity. OCA Truth has already uttered the dreaded concerns that Moscow might consider the OCA's (PROVISIONAL) Autocephaly debunked. ROCOR has put a wrench in this for sure.

Bishop Innocent Who First Exposed the OCA Remembered

2011-05-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

This story crossed my facebook news posted from Fr. John Peck. According to Fr. John "Nine years ago, Innocent of Anchorage, later of Hagerstown, fell asleep in the Lord on Pascha, St. George Day, his patronal feast and the anniversary of his ordination. A fearless defender of truth, he began to unravel the corruption in the OCA. He was buried in a funeral home while the Holy Synod met less than an hour away. Not one bishop attended his funeral. Memory Eternal"!

I have decided to post the page from Orthodox Research Institute so that he is remembered in more then one place. The folowing is the complete article as it appears on that site.

SYOSSET, NY -- On Tuesday, May 7, 2002, the Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America was informed that His Grace, Bishop Innocent [Gula], Retired Auxiliary to His Beatitude, Metropolitan Theodosius, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in Alaska on Bright Monday, May 6.

Born in Hazleton, PA on August 20, 1949, the son of George and Elizabeth [Baka] Gula, Bishop Innocent received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Psychology from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, in 1971. In 1976, he received a Master of Science degree in Religious Education from Marywood College, Scranton, PA. The following year he graduated from Saint Tikhon Orthodox Theological Seminary, South Canaan, PA, where he served as editor of the Tikhonaire and president of the student council.

He was ordained to the diaconate in Feburary 1979 and to the priesthood the following May. In 1980 he established Saint Gregory of Nyssa Church, Seaford, NY. Three years later he was appointed Administrator of the Annunciation Monastic Community, Tuxedo Park, NY, where he was instrumental in initiating and directing retreat programs and served as an instructor of liturgics in a diaconate program. He also served as rector of parishes in New York City and New Jersey prior to his assignment as chaplain to the Community of the Holy Myrrhbearers, Otego, NY in 1990.

In 1994 he was appointed chaplain and Dean of Students at Saint Herman Orthodox Theological Seminary, Kodiak, AK. The following year, he was elected Auxiliary to Metropolitan Theodosius, Locum Tenens of the Diocese of Alaska. His consecration to the episcopacy took place at Saint Innocent Cathedral, Anchorage, AK on September 15-16, 1995.

In March 2001, Bishop Innocent was relieved of his duties in Alaska and subsequently retired from active ministry. Funeral Services are scheduled to take place in Hazelton, PA on Monday May 13, 2002. The Bonin Funeral Home, Hazelton, PA is in charge of arrangements. Burial will be in the family plot at St Mary's Church Cemetery, Hazelton, PA.

Religious Freedom? Not a Notre Dame

2011-05-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

Mark Stokoe OCA News Reports OCA Truth Deletes

2011-05-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

I have taken a day or two breather from the intrigue that is the OCA and wow tons has happened. Apparently Fr. Joseph Fester if not actually shown the door, had it was opened to him and that corporate walk out is a done deal. The unofficial 'official' mouth piece for all things OCA, the website OCA Truth during an early morning post May 2nd that Fr. Joseph Fester, former Chancellor of the Diocese of the South and Dean of the Metropolitan’s St. Nicholas Cathedral in Washington DC had been “released”. That entry has since been yanked from the Internet and other even less official reports indicate that he was simply “relieved of duty”.

There seems to be plenty of blame to go around. Even the FBI has been brought into the conflict. There are propped up theoretical law paradigms for all to consider. One quick note if there is any correspondence electronic or otherwise at a workplace any and all correspondences including voice mails, texts, instant chats, address books, contact information and emails are the property of the company. It is naive to assume otherwise. They have equated private and confidential as classified "under the seal of the confessional". The writer then requests that we all pull any such information out of "respect for the sacred bond of trust between a priest and his spiritual children". Well to me that is a dog and pony show. It is a head game and just an appeal to destroy evidence of unethical behavior and questionable judgment of leadership and those who seek to support such efforts. If the seal of the confessional was violated indeed then that is the jurisdiction of the victim, an advocate and spiritual court.

There are claims that there was not enough to take Fr. Joseph to spiritual court and yet time and time again the OCA has looked the other way. One such case would be Archpriest Peter Tutko who was 'granted retirement' in lieu of addressing his breaking the confessional, allegations of sexual indiscretion, and embezzlement. When locals tried for decades to get help Tutko was shielded by Arch Bishop Dmitri of the South who was blinded by his personal affection (no pun intended) for the disgraced priest. Later in his tenure the local Dean wouldn't answer letters or telephone calls. He was later defrocked for having relations with female parishioners. He and his Matuska believed they where sanctioned by God. The newest Dean grew up under the charisma of Tutko and didn't proceed further with investigations. The OCA did eventually a year later put a priest with one week experience in that parish which dwindled to 3-4 families. The OCA also eventually assisted the parish negotiated $400,000+ debt owed to a loan shark which resulted from arrangements make by Tutko.

So corruption was not confined to Syosset or the north. The small parish has since stabilized and refashioned itself.

Back to today...there have been retractions in the form of deleted entries and sentences that haven't made the final cut as it were. This story like many in the OCA are all about sources. "Sources in Chicago later confirmed that decision of the Metropolitan".

After much postering and cock fighting we will have to stay tuned to see if the chicken did in fact cross the road. For the record all confidential correspondences reposted here were taken directly from published sites public sites.

Patriarch murder plot merged with Ergenekon case in Turkey

2011-05-05T18:18:00.000-07:00

İsmet Rençber is charged
with attempting to assassinate
Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew.

Hurriyet Daily News Story Reposted here:

İsmet Rençber is charged with attempting to assassinate Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew.

The trial of a man accused of plotting to assassinate Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew has been merged with the first Ergenekon coup-plot case pending at the 13th High Criminal Court.

At the last hearing of the attempted-murder case, prosecutor Selim Berna Altay requested the two cases be merged, saying there are both legal and actual connections between them.

The man accused in the assassination plot, Ismet Rençber, did not attend that hearing, held at the Istanbul 9th High Criminal Court, but his lawyer Melissa Aslanözcanan asked for the cases to remain separate.

The court ruled in favor of Altay’s argument, meaning the next hearing of Rençber’s case will be held at the 13th High Criminal Court. He is facing a prison sentence of between 7.5 and 15 years on charges of “being a member of armed organization.”

The indictment includes an anonymous notice sent to the Istanbul Governor’s Office that describes alleged plans for the assassination of six rabbis and says Rençber has been chosen for the assassination of the Istanbul patriarch.

Ergenekon suspect Gürbüz Çapan has been accused of organizing the attempt on Bartholomew’s life.

According to the indictment, released following an investigation, police discovered that Rençber had made some phone calls to find the numbers of various rabbis, who he then called and asked for a job. The calls evoked suspicion among the rabbis and synagogue officials filed a complaint against Rençber, according to police reports.

Police arrested Rençber, who is from the eastern city of Kars, upon his arrival in Istanbul on June 23, 2010.

Rençber, who was arrested at the home of a relative in Istanbul, told police during his testimony that he “hated Jews” but denied intending to kill members of the Jewish community.

Ergenekon is an alleged ultranationalist, shadowy gang accused of planning to topple the government by staging a coup, initially by spreading chaos and mayhem in society. It is an alleged extension of the “deep state,” an unofficial organization within the state that has operated beyond the authority of elected governments since the beginning of the Cold War.

Case against plot to kill Patriarch Bartholomew merged with Ergenekon

2011-05-05T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today's Zaman Article posted here for your convenience. A case filed against a plot to assassinate the İstanbul-based leader of the world's Orthodox Christians has been merged with the ongoing case into Ergenekon, a suspected criminal network charged with plotting to overthrow the Turkish government.

The merger decision came on Thursday during a hearing of the trial into the plot to kill Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew. The trial is being heard at the İstanbul 9th High Criminal Court. The only suspect in the case, İsmet Reçber, who was released last December pending trial, was not in attendance. During the hearing, prosecutor Selim Berna Atay requested the merger of the case with Ergenekon, which is being heard at the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court, on the grounds that there are legal and evidentiary links between the two cases.

The court accepted the request and the two cases have been merged. Reçber, a carpenter, was facing up to 15 years in prison. The man was arrested after an anonymous letter was sent to authorities claiming that Ergenekon suspect Gürbüz Çapan had planned the assassination and chose Reçber to carry out the killings.

The plot to kill Bartholomew is thought to be part of the Cage Action Plan, a subversive plot allegedly devised by military officers that sought to undermine the government through the assassination of non-Muslims and other acts of terror. The Cage plan was allegedly drawn up at the order of Ergenekon. Cage plan documents specifically call the killings of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, Catholic priest Father Andrea Santoro and three Christians in Malatya an “operation.” An anti-democratic group within the Naval Forces Command behind the Cage plan had intended to foment chaos in society with those killings, but complained that the plan had failed when large segments of society protested the killings in mass demonstrations.

During an interview in 2009, Bartholomew said that “dark forces planned to use minorities to overthrow the government, as revealed in the investigation into Ergenekon.”

Based in İstanbul, the spiritual leader of the world's approximately 300 million Orthodox Christians was referring to the revelations of the Cage plan. “When the Cage plan was revealed, we thought the raid could be part of that plan,” he said. “At the time we thought that they were just trying to scare us.” Patriarch Bartholomew said he is grateful to the security forces, which uncovered the “dark plans.” “It is a very satisfactory development that the police and prosecutors have been revealing those dark plans so those responsible can be captured and tried.”

Paschal Homily of John Chrysostom The Gold Standard Truly

2011-05-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

Paschal Homily of John Chrysostom
If anyone is devout and a lover of God, let them enjoy this beautiful and radiant festival.
If anyone is a grateful servant, let them, rejoicing, enter into the joy of his Lord.
If anyone has wearied themselves in fasting, let them now receive recompense.
If anyone has labored from the first hour, let them today receive the just reward.
If anyone has come at the third hour, with thanksgiving let them feast.
If anyone has arrived at the sixth hour, let them have no misgivings; for they shall suffer no loss.
If anyone has delayed until the ninth hour, let them draw near without hesitation.
If anyone has arrived even at the eleventh hour, let them not fear on account of tardiness.

For the Master is gracious and receives the last even as the first; he gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, just as to him who has labored from the first.
He has mercy upon the last and cares for the first; to the one he gives, and to the other he is gracious.
He both honors the work and praises the intention.
Enter all of you, therefore, into the joy of our Lord, and, whether first or last, receive your reward.

O rich and poor, one with another, dance for joy!
O you ascetics and you negligent, celebrate the day!
You that have fasted and you that have disregarded the fast, rejoice today!
The table is rich-laden; feast royally, all of you!
The calf is fatted; let no one go forth hungry!

Let all partake of the feast of faith. Let all receive the riches of goodness.
Let no one lament their poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed.
Let no one mourn their transgressions, for pardon has dawned from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the Saviour’s death has set us free.

He that was taken by death has annihilated it!
He descended into Hades and took Hades captive!
He embittered it when it tasted his flesh! And anticipating this Isaiah exclaimed: “Hades was embittered when it encountered thee in the lower regions”.

It was embittered, for it was abolished!
It was embittered, for it was mocked!
It was embittered, for it was purged!
It was embittered, for it was despoiled!
It was embittered, for it was bound in chains!

It took a body and came upon God!
It took earth and encountered heaven!
It took what it saw but crumbled before what it had not seen!

O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown!
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen, and life reigns!
Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in a tomb!

For Christ, being raised from the dead, has become the first-fruits of them that slept.
To him be glory and might unto ages of ages. Amen.

Pacreatic Cancer Healed Mount Athos

2011-05-02T19:11:00.001-07:00

Christ is Risen Christos Anesti Beruit Shopping Mall THE BEST

2011-05-02T19:09:00.001-07:00

Bullfrogs, Toads, Extremists and the Gestapo

2011-05-02T17:14:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah, I am writing this entry to a broad audience no doubt, but I wish you to pay particular attention. To question an others Faith is to condemn. I ask you how can we as a church discount the tragic state of the OCA who has spent the better part of 30 years calling other jurisdictions bigots and old world despots while child sexual abuse and fiscal improprieties reached all time highs? How do we address an anomalous 'sect' which has inflated by more then ten times its size, wealth and statical data, overstated its influence and place on the American stage while marginalizing scandal after scandal?

So how is the good Christian to act and respond? First we need to voice our concerns, our fears and protect the helpless and those whose faith might be scandalized. Then it takes a heterogeneous group of individuals from all walks of life to weigh in and git ur done. This affords the checks and balances that are so sorely needed in this circumstance of systemic catastrophic malignancy. I am not talking about any form of congregationalism but the Church proper is comprised of laity and clerics.

If I remain politely in the background then I too wish for my own comfort not to engage in the problem. I must take personal responsibility and use the talent God has given me also. Being forthright and outspoken is a blessing.

How do we as Orthodox Christian continue to be authentic and committed to our Lord an stewards of the Church without cleaning house? The OCA has for decades laid claim to sole legitimacy in these new or barbarian lands while slandering the Ecumenical See and manipulating its relationship with Mother Russia. It cooked its books with regard to membership in an overt attempt to be perceived as being the true fishers of men, appeasing the catechumens and newly converted heretical notions of a Great Commission. By proclaiming this revival within the Orthodox community they wished to usurp, in the court of public appeal, the hierarchs of other flocks of well working 'ethnic' jurisdictions. The OCA paraded its Made in America Saints in record time. This was a skillful way of shaming to silence, individual concerns, with this unequivocal endorsement by the Spirit.

So now let's examine how we are called to live and pray. How can we claim to pray and be a servant of God if we live with indifference sin? When have we compromised our Sacred Tradition by an overblown sensitivity for public discourse, civility and polite niceties? How can we defend perpetrators, pedophiles and thieves without safeguarding victims and bystanders? Don't we believe the truth will set us free? We are expected to drown in our own vomit, the violent result of a healthy body expelling poison fed us regularly from the leadership. As for the good intentions of the humble abbot Met. Jonah has been a lose canon from the beginning and his minions are now getting restless. What do rats do when the ship goes down? They run. We the faithful and laity are expected to tolerate the most sinful states without exorcising the evil which is moving through the ranks.

Let's not tolerate or remain quiet any longer.

tolerate or support verbally and physically attacking or intimidating individuals
tolerate or support sexual abuse or misconduct
tolerate or support mistreating of women, minorities or children
tolerate or support tolerate or support criminal activity or immorality of any kind

The degree to which we look the other way or get side tracked on nuances and not deal with the cancer that has plagued this church how can we claim to pray rightly to believe rightly to love rightly. Obedience first to Christ then to men and then only God's select not self appointed despots.

Sound Theology doesn't permit us to bury ourselves in denial. Please review the extremist tactics itemized for your review and ask yourselves if this sounds like the approach of the OCA. I believe it does and that reality is very troubling.

Jewel of Christ Constantinople Istanbul

2011-05-02T14:08:00.001-07:00

Osama bin Laden is Dead: What, no Virgins?

2011-05-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

Osama's first words in the next world:
"What do you mean: no virgins, just bacon"?

OCA Truth Playbook "Team Jonah"

2011-05-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

LET'S REVIEW: Laird Wilcox on Extremist Traits

1. CHARACTER ASSASSINATION.

Extremists often attack the character of an opponent rather than deal with the facts or issues raised. They will question motives, qualifications, past associations, alleged values, personality, looks, mental health, and so on as a diversion from the issues under consideration.

2. NAME-CALLING AND LABELING.

Extremists are quick to resort to epithets (racist, subversive, pervert, and so on) to label and condemn opponents in order to divert attention from their arguments and to discourage others from hearing them out. These epithets don't have to be proved to be effective.

3. IRRESPONSIBLE SWEEPING GENERALIZATIONS.

Extremists tend to make sweeping claims or judgments on little or no evidence, and they have a tendency to confuse similarity with sameness. The sloppy use of analogy is a treacherous form of logic and has a high potential for false conclusions.

4. INADEQUATE PROOF FOR ASSERTIONS.

Extremists tend to be very fuzzy about what constitutes proof. They tend to project wished-for conclusions and to exaggerate the significance of information that confirms their beliefs while derogating or ignoring information that contradicts them. They tend to be motivated by feelings more than facts, by what they want to exist rather than what actually does exist. Extremists do a lot of wishful and fearful thinking.

5. ADVOCACY OF DOUBLE STANDARDS.

Extremists generally tend to judge themselves or their interest group in terms of their intentions, which they tend to view very generously, and others by their acts, which they tend to view very critically. They would like you to accept their assertions on faith, but they demand proof for yours. They tend to engage in special pleading on behalf of themselves or their interests, usually because of some alleged special status, past circumstances, or present disadvantage.

6. TENDENCY TO VIEW THEIR OPPONENTS AND CRITICS AS ESSENTIALLY EVIL.

To the extremist, opponents hold opposing positions because they are bad people, immoral because they simply disagree, see the matter differently, have competing interests, or are perhaps even mistaken.

7. MANICHAEAN WORLDVIEW.

Extremists have a tendency to see the world in terms of absolutes of good and evil, for them or against them, with no middle ground or intermediate positions.

8. ADVOCACY OF SOME DEGREE OF CENSORSHIP OR REPRESSION OF THEIR OPPONENTS AND/OR CRITICS.

This may include a very active campaign to keep opponents from media access and a public hearing, as in the case of blacklisting, banning or "quarantining" dissident spokespersons. the goal is some kind of information control. Extremists would prefer that you listen only to them. They feel threatened when someone talks back or challenges their views.

9. TEND TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES IN TERMS OF WHO THEIR ENEMIES ARE: WHOM THEY HATE AND WHO HATES THEM.

Accordingly, extremists may become emotionally bound to their opponents, who are often competing extremists themselves. To behave the opposite of someone is to actually surrender your will to them, and "opposites" are often more like mirror images that, although they have "left" and "right" reversed, look and behave amazingly alike.

10. TENDENCY TOWARD ARGUMENT BY INTIMIDATION.

Extremists tend to frame their arguments in such a way as to intimidate others into accepting their premises and conclusions. To disagree with them is to "ally oneself with the devil," or to give aid and comfort to the enemy. They use a lot of moralizing and pontificating, and tend to be very judgmental.

11. USE OF SLOGANS, BUZZWORDS, AND THOUGHT-STOPPING CLICHES.

Extremists generally behave in ways that reinforce their prejudices and alter their own consciousness in a manner that bolsters their false confidence and sense of self-righteousness.

12. ASSUMPTION OF MORAL OR OTHER SUPERIORITY OVER OTHERS.

Most obvious would be claims of superiority. Less obvious are claims of ennoblement because of a special relationship with God, membership in a special "elite" or "class," and a kind of aloof "highminded" snobbishness that accrues because of the weightiness of their preoccupations, their altruism, and their willingness to sacrifice themselves (and others) to their cause.

13. DOOMSDAY THINKING.

For extremists, any setback or defeat is the "beginning of the end!"

14. BELIEF THAT IT'S OKAY TO DO BAD THINGS IN THE SERVICE OF A "GOOD" CAUSE.

Extremists may deliberately lie, distort, misquote, slander, defame, or libel their opponents and/or critics, engage in censorship or repression , or undertake violence in "special cases." With extremists, the end justifies the means.

15. EMPHASIS ON EMOTIONAL RESPONSES AND, CORRESPONDINGLY, LESS IMPORTANCE ATTACHED TO REASONING AND LOGICAL ANALYSIS.

Extremists have an unspoken reverence for propaganda, which they may call "education" or "consciousness-raising." Symbolism plays an exaggerated role in their thinking.

16. HYPERSENSITIVITY AND VIGILANCE.

Extremists perceive hostile innuendo in even casual comments; imagine rejection and antagonism concealed in honest disagreement and dissent; see "latent" subversion, anti-semitism, perversion, racism, disloyalty, and so on in innocent gestures and ambiguous behaviors.

17. USE OF SUPERNATURAL RATIONALE FOR BELIEFS AND ACTIONS.

Some extremists, particularly those involved in "cults" or extreme religious movements and claim some kind of supernatural rationale for their beliefs and actions, and that their movement or cause is ordained by God. It's surprising how many people are reluctant to challenge religiously motivated extremism because it represents "religious belief" or because of the sacred-cow status of some religions in our culture.

18. PROBLEMS TOLERATING AMBIGUITY AND UNCERTAINTY.

Extremists exhibit a kind of risk-aversiveness that compels them to engage in controlling and manipulative behavior, both on a personal level and in a political context, to protect themselves from the unforeseen and unknown. The more laws or "rules" there are that regulate the behavior of others--particular their "enemies"--the more secure extremists feel.

19. INCLINATION TOWARD "GROUPTHINK."

Extremists, their organizations, and their subcultures are prone to a kind of inward-looking group cohesiveness that leads to what Irving Janis discussed in his excellent book Victims of Groupthink. "Groupthink" involves a tendency to conform to group norms and to preserve solidarity and concurrence at the expense of distorting members' observations of facts, conflicting evidence, and disquieting observations that would call into question the shared assumptions and beliefs of the group.

20. TENDENCY TO PERSONALIZE HOSTILITY.

Extremists often wish for the personal bad fortune of their "enemies".In each instance their hatred was not only directed against ideas, but also against individual human beings.

21. EXTREMISTS OFTEN FEEL THAT THE SYSTEM IS NO GOOD UNLESS THEY WIN.

For example, if they lose an election, then it was "rigged." If public opinion turns against them, it was because of "brainwashing." If their followers become disillusioned, it's because of "sabotage." The test of the rightness or wrongness of the system is how it impacts upon them.

OCA Truth Considers Stokoes Homosexuality Newsworthy

2011-05-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

Robert F. Kennedy wrote:

"What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents."

I find it utterly reprehensible for those touting the virtue of another to have privately think, publicly state and then have the audacity to publish the comments quoted directly from OCA Truth. This is gossip regardless of the truth as it serves absolutely no other purpose then to embarrass, discredit, hurt and dishonor a person who disagrees with circumstances which are in rightly question.

This writer at OCA Truth who claimed on the one hand to recognize its irrelevancy sees fit to point out every unseemly detail. He speak about Mark's spiritual guide and discounts his commitment to the Great Church. This writer while claiming to be above moral impunity by not giving out the actual street address of Mark tells everyone how to find his residence and parish. This is sleazy intimidation tactics and it speaks far more to the sinister plots and networking at OCA Truth then Mark.

I do not defend homosexuality or sexual behavior outside of its blessed space: the marital bed. However I am more concerned with what others are hiding about there own health when they point to the leper in the room as justification for such grotesque finger pointing. The following are the traits and tactics utilized by political extremists. Please see my next entry for an in-depth breakdown.

OCA Truth:
"Mark Stokoe is openly gay and lives openly with his partner. Both of them are active in their OCA parish, which is pastored by Stokoe’s fellow Metropolitan Council member, Fr. Bobosh. Like many Orthodox Christians, I have known about Stokoe’s domestic arrangement for a while, but declined to make it part of this discussion, partly because I wanted to stay focused on the arguments, and partly because I didn’t want to “out” Stokoe, out of respect for his privacy. In the past week, however, I have learned that he is not in the closet at all."

"It is possible that Stokoe and Brown are living together in chastity, as Orthodox teaching demands, but on public evidence, Stokoe’s own family considers the pair to be married in some sense (“son-in-law”), which does not suggest to me that they’re living like brothers. I could be wrong. But I don’t think I am wrong."

"Furthermore, I’ve confirmed that Stokoe and Steve Brown share a home in Dayton, Ohio. Stokoe’s address (which I’m not going to post here) can be confirmed via anywho.com. There are several Steve Browns in Dayton, none of whom match that address. But if you look at Federal election donation records, which I stumbled across online, you can find a Steve Brown living at that address who gave money to political campaigns, the most recent one in 2010. I’m not going to link to them here, because again, I don’t want to put their address online. If you want to confirm this for yourself, though, you can do so in less than five minutes on the Internet."

"I have a problem with an Orthodox Christian who is so morally compromised working so hard – and so effectively – to conspire to overthrown our Metropolitan. Before Stokoe tries to remove the speck from the Metropolitan’s eye (by, in effect, removing his head!), he should get his own moral situation in order."

"Again, I say this not to judge Stokoe’s private life – which is between him and God and his confessor — but with regard to his public life as an influential lay leader in the OCA. He is on the Metropolitan Council, as is his parish priest, Fr. Bobosh. As an anonymous OCATruth reader wrote in an open letter we published to Fr. Bobosh, who heads the ethics committee of the MC, quoting the MC Handbook: 'It is an honor because an invitation to serve [on the MC] is an affirmation that the Church, whether expressed by the Dioceses or the All-American Council, is willing to entrust a significant part of its future to the judgment, work and resources of the persons elected. The Church can bestow no greater honor than to offer such a trust to an individual it deemed worthy.'"

From: Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko cc: Holy Synod of Bishops

2011-05-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

March 19, 2011

The blunders of disorganization, corruption and ineptitude that had plagued the OCA is clearly noted and delineated by Fr. Thomas Hopko's in his letter addressed to the Metropolitan and the Metropolitan Council. It is impossible to attempt character assassination of this notable figure so perhaps someone will take the helm and stop distracting members with concerns about ethnicity and jurisdiction and start cleaning their own house; something which is long over due and which might actually help.

Your Beatitude, Reverend Fathers,

Brothers and Sisters,

Glory to Jesus Christ!

I ask Your Beatitude's blessing.

Given the present condition in our Orthodox Church in America, the hour has clearly come for Your Beatitude and the Metropolitan Council to insist upon a carefully organized and in-depth analysis and discussion of what happened to our beloved church that has resulted in:

• the financial scandal we are suffering

• the financial crisis we are now facing

• the divisions in the Holy Synod and the church we are now witnessing

• the lack of communion and communication we are now enduring

• the anger, frustration, depression and outright cynicism among the clergy and informed lay people we are now experiencing

• the disagreements that exist among us about the nature of episcopacy, authority and decision-making in the church (including our disagreement about the relationship between bishops, priests and lay people, the function of Orthodoxy in a pluralistic democratic society and the significance for our church of the 1917-1918 All Russian Church Council)

• our church's failure to integrate our archdioceses and dioceses into one cohesive, fully cooperating, ecclesial body

• our church's failure to be a powerful and effective force for the administrative and structural unity of Orthodoxy in North America

• a synod of Bishops that refuses to respond to questions and requests of the faithful, including a formal appeal of 70 highly respected senior priests

• a synod of Bishops that appears to have no need for the counsel of others in the church, including the church's priests, monastics, scholars and thinkers

• the reluctance and often outright refusal of some bishops to speak face to face with their priests and people about church doctrine, liturgical practices and parochial, pastoral and personal problems

• the failure of our bishops to meet together, and the priests to meet with each other, for the purpose of giving an account of their ministry, receiving and answering questions, and fostering unity of teaching and practice

• the impossibility to get a serious discussion on practically any church issue among the church's bishops and priests, and between the clergy and lay people

• the ordination of men to the clergy and the appointment of people to church positions lacking the ability needed to conduct their ministries fruitfully

• the absence of a system of formal performance assessment, continuing education and 'on the job training' of our clergy and church workers

• our church's failure to care for its trouble clergy and their families

• the virtual reduction of church life among many clergy to liturgical services and ritual practices, with uncritical imitations of old world practices and subjective alterations of our received rites and texts

• the virtual reduction of supra-parochial church life to liturgical services, ecclesiastical celebrations and social events

• our church's failure to attract American born Orthodox young people to our seminaries and monasteries (for if we did not have the converts, those born abroad, and the clergy children that we do in our seminaries and monasteries, we would have almost no seminarians and monastics at all!)

• the failure of our seminaries and monasteries to interact and cooperate with each other as a matter

of normal policy

• our church's failure to support and foster a vibrant monastic and missionary movement

• the disagreement among us about how our church and its parishes, institutions and faithful members should relate to non-Orthodox people, especially to Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians of various kinds

• the confusion among us about how we are to deal as a church and as individual believers with contemporary social, political, military, economic, sexual and bioethical issues

• the misrepresentation in and outside the church of its statistical figures (such as that our church has 400,00 members when less than 30,000 identify themselves as members)

• dioceses that have fewer members than their cathedral churches alone had 50 years ago

• the point where a church of 200 people is considered to be large

• the loss of the influence and respect that our church and many of its leaders once hand among Orthodox and non-Orthodox in North American and abroad.

These are just some of the most obvious issues and conditions in our church that require detailed, study, analysis and debate. Why are things the way they now are? Why do our bishops, clergy, and lay people think and act as they do? What has happened? How did it happened? Why has it happened? And what should we do about it?

An in-depth study and debate on such questions as these will hardly be pleasant or easy. But it must be done. And it must be long, serious, free, candid, patient and charitable. The life of our church, and indeed, our eternal lives with God, depend on it.

Your Beatitude and respected members of the Metropolitan Council: Please do whatever it takes to see that such a study and debate take place. Do it for the clergy and lay people who elected you. Do it for our whole church, especially our children and grand- children. Do it for the people desiring to join the Orthodox Church. And do it for all Orthodox Christians and, indeed, for all Christians and all people who are suffering in their own ways as we are now suffering in our dear Orthodox Church in America.

I ask for your forgiveness and prayers.

May the Lord's Will be done.

Yours in Our Saviour,

Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko

cc: Holy Synod of Bishops

Death, Dying, and Euthanasia Fr. Stanely Harakas

2011-05-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

Since the long suffering of my father-in-law with emphysema advanced care directives, DNR, POA, health care agents and alike became the dreaded conversation and even the unspoken preoccupation. The discussions themselves were veiled in superstition and may have been perceived as the ultimate betrayal. Honest questions regarding the Church position and private ethics about what actually constitutes appropriate medical inventions at all cost to keep the (person) body alive and the juxaposed position of comfort measures only for someone who has no hope for improved health can divide families. When is a 'good death' distinguished from euthanasia? What is unreasonable or invasive?

Father Stanely Harakas the premier Orthodox mind and person on the subject draws clear distinctions and is helpful for families and individuals going through end of life issue and even post mortem as we (they) move through the mourning and grief process. Guilt, fear, anxiety, loneliness, and loyalty can cloud sound judgement and understanding I firmly assert that Father Stanely who himself personally has had to address such issues is the foremost authority.

Father Stanely Harakas:

The traditional definition of physical death is "the separation of soul and body." Such a definition is not subject to objective observation. Thus it is not within the province of theology to determine the medical indications of death and the onset of the dying process. However, in reference to the terminally ill person, certain distinctions can be made. Physical life is generally understood to imply the ability of the person to sustain his or her vital activities. Physical death begins when interrelated systems of the body begin to break down. Death occurs when the systemic breakdown becomes irreversible. It may well be that physical life and death are events in a continuum in which it is impossible to discern when the dying process actually begins. Nevertheless, the bias of the Church and the traditional bias of the medical practitioner (cf. Oath of Hippocrates) is to do everything possible to maintain life and hinder the onset of dying and death. The medical use of drugs, surgical operations, and even artificial organs (mechanical kidneys, lungs, hearts, etc.) are considered legitimately used when there is a reasonable expectation that they will aid the return in due time to normal or close to normal functioning of the whole organic system.

The special case arises in that it is now medically possible to keep the body "alive" with a complex array of artificial organs, medications, transfusions, and the like. Under these conditions it may not be feasible to expect, with any degree of probability, the restoration of the organic functioning of the body. When, especially, there is no evidence of brain activity in conjunction with the systemic breakdown, we can safely say that the patient is no longer alive in any religiously significant way, and that, in fact, only certain organs are functioning. In such a case there is no moral responsibility to continue the use of artificial, means. It is of interest that the Prayer book of the Eastern Orthodox Church includes a whole service devoted to those in the process of dying. In the case of the individual whose death is prolonged and attended by much "struggling to die," the key sentence in the prayer calls upon God to separate the soul from the body, thus giving rest to the dying person. It asks God "to release your servant (name) from this unbearable suffering and this continuing bitter illness and grant rest to him" (Mikron Euchologion, p. 192).

However, it must be emphasized that this is a prayer directed to God, who, for the Orthodox, has ultimate dominion over life and death. Consequently, the preceding discussion in no way supports the practice of euthanasia. Euthanasia is held by some to be morally justified and/or morally required to terminate the life of an incurably sick person. To permit a dying person to die, when there is no real expectation that life can sustain itself, and even to pray to the Authorof Life to take the life of one "struggling to die" is one thing; euthanasia is another, i.e., the active intervention to terminate the life of another. Orthodox Christian ethics rejects the alternative of the willful termination of dying patients, regarding it as a special case of murder if done without the knowledge and consent of the patient, and suicide if it is permitted by the patient (Antoniades, II, pp. 125-127). One of the most serious criticisms of euthanasia is the grave difficulty in drawing the line between "bearable suffering" and "unbearable suffering," especially from an Eastern Orthodox perspective, which has taken seriously the spiritual growth that may take place through suffering (Rom. 8:17-39).

Ethical decision making is never precise and absolute. The principles that govern it are in a measure fluid and subject to interpretation. But to elevate euthanasia to a right or an obligation would bring it into direct conflict with the fundamental ethical affirmation that as human beings we are custodians of life, which comes from a source other than ourselves. Furthermore, the immense possibilities, not only for error but also for decision making based on self-serving ends, which may disregard the fundamental principle of the sanctity of human life, argue against euthanasia.

Generally speaking, the Orthodox Church teaches that it is the duty of both physician and family to make the patient as comfortable as possible, to provide the opportunity for the exercise of patience, courage, repentance, and prayer. The Church has always rejected inflicted, and unnecessary voluntary suffering and pain as immoral; but at the same time, the Church also has perceived in suffering a positive value that often goes unrecognized in the "logic of the world."

The only "eu-thanasia" (Greek for "a good death") recognized in Orthodox ethics is that death in which the human person accepts the end of his or her life in the spirit of moral and spiritual purity, in hope and trust in God, and as a member of his kingdom. True humanity may be achieved even on a deathbed.

From: For the Health of Body and Soul: An Eastern Orthodox Introduction to Bioethics

OCA Truth, OCA News, Dreher, Fester and Met. Jonah (Oh My)

2011-04-30T22:08:00.000-07:00

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.

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.”

"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.”

Conspiracy Theories No More Fr. Joseph Fester and Rod Dreher Outed?

2011-04-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

More times then I care to detail I have been personally accused of being small-minded, slanderous and paranoid. Now unequivical evidence of my claims of conspiracy and hidden agendas on the part of OCA leadership and the Orthodox Internet Pentarchy (now six) either through explicit compliance or through a willful denial has surfaced. Mark Stokoe has aquired and published 'alleged' emails from Fr. Joseph Fester OCA Chancellor DOS and current head priest at the cathedral in D.C and Rod Dreher who runs the Belief Net. I am currently reviewing the emails so I will say more on them in my next posting. The lay, clergy and hierarchs wishing to lead the Orthodox in America have engaged in all sorts of strategic extremist tactics. The OCA machine with their non-official media groups have started to reframe the debate and have doubled their propaganda efforts and revisionist history.

Until now the OCA has played the shell game in an attempt to disassociate itself with non-official organizations. The OCA leadership by not condemning such extremism is using these groups as an extension of their operation. In my next blog I will post the 'alleged' email correspondences expose the degree to which this coup on Orthodoxy in America has metastasized throughout the official and unofficial OCA representatives and their Internet media outlets.

Mark Stokoe has jumped ship and for that they intend on marginalizing him and discrediting his reporting. I'm sure defamation suits will incur. We should note that while the OCA has been demanding apologies for breaking the story on Met. Jonah's respit and subsequent reporting they have been frantic trying to regain a stronghold and distract the populous.

Reader be aware when visiting orthodox websites noted in previous blogs entries which are essentially commonly-owned-or-operated, collectively-promoted, mutually-motivated, misleadingly-traditional-and-accomplished Orthodox ministries. In reality these are propaganda businesses. Their sole purpose is to re-educate, disorientate and motivate their readers to adopt there heretical theologoumena, uncanonical orthodox theology, and hyper vigilant personal intentions.

OrthodoxWiki http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/

Orthodox Christian Laity http://www.ocl.org/
American Orthodox Institute http://www.aoiusa.org/

Orthodoxy Today http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/

Orthodox Net http://www.orthodoxnet.com/
OCA News http://www.ocanews.org/

OCA TRUTH http://www.ocatruth.com/

Simply take the time to review and scan these sites and you will understand that they are not objective reporters but editorials of a very narrow destructive vantage. Visit their pages listing their supporters and Board Members and Staff. While watchdogs like me have had to underwrite all the expense of my work They have made full time careers pushing their books, audio pod casts and speaking stipends. We have a radio station whose line up endorse these same individuals, an Orthodox Speakers Bureau that endorses some of the most unsound topics and discredited clerics and speakers seeking to legitimise itself through parasitism means. This propaganda is filtered and passed out for the consumption of all. Most interestingly, though distant from any impartial mission statement and not close to objective Orthodox ecclesiastic or theological interests, these Internet businesses collaborate intimately with business partners most of whom are not Orthodox and do not share any semblance to or prerogative with our Holy Tradition.

Stay tuned for the email correspondences mentioned above in the following post.

Kalo Pascha Seasons Greetings

2011-04-23T17:35:00.000-07:00

2011 Patriarchal Proclamation for Pascha

2011-04-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

+ B A R T H O L O M E W
By the Mercy of God
Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
To the Plenitude of the Church Grace, Peace and Mercy
From the Savior Christ Risen in Glory

Beloved children in the Lord,Once again, in a spirit of joy and peace, we address you with the delightful and hopeful greeting: “Christ is Risen!”

The occurrences and events of our time may not seem to justify the exultation of our greeting. The natural destruction caused by seismic tremors and oceanic swells, together with the lurking devastation from possible nuclear explosion, as well as the human sacrifices resulting from military conflict and terrorist action, reveal our world to be in horrible torment and anguish from the pressure of the natural and spiritual forces of evil.

Nevertheless, the Resurrection of Christ is indeed real and grants to faithful Christians the certainty – and to all humanity the possibility – of transcending the adverse consequences of natural calamity and spiritual perversity.

Nature rebels when the arrogant human mind endeavors to tame its boundless forces endowed by the Creator it its seemingly insignificant and inactive elements. In considering from a spiritual perspective the grievous natural phenomena that plague our planet repeatedly and successively in recent times, we appreciate and acknowledge the belief that these are inseparable from the spiritual and ethical deviation of humanity. The signs of this deviation – such as greed, avarice, and an insatiable desire for material wealth, alongside an indifference toward the poverty endured by so many as a result of the imbalanced affluence of the few – may not be clearly related to the natural occurrences in the eyes of scientists. Yet, for someone examining the matter spiritually, sin disturbs the harmony of spiritual and natural relations alike. For, there is a mystical connection between moral and natural evil; if we wish to be liberated from the latter, we must reject the former.

Our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, the new Adam and God, constitutes the model for the beneficial influence of a saint on the natural world. For Christ healed physical and spiritual illness, granting comfort and healing to all people, while at the same time bringing calm and peace to stormy seas, multiplying five loaves of bread to feed the five thousand, thereby combining the reconciliation of spiritual and natural harmony. If we want to exert a positive impact on the current negative natural and political conditions of our world, then we have no other alternative than faith in the Risen Christ and fulfillment of his saving commandments.

Christ has risen and given new life to the perfect ethos of humankind, which had darkened this ethos. Christ became the first-born and pioneer of the regeneration of the world and the whole of creation. The message of the Resurrection is not empty of meaning for the quality of human life and the balanced function of nature. As we completely and profoundly experience the Resurrection of Christ in the depth our heart, our existence shall favorably impact upon all humanity and the natural world. The natural sciences may not yet fully have underlined the relationship between the regeneration of humanity and the renewal of creation, but the experience of the saints – which should be the aim our own experience – confirms the experientially proven fact that, indeed, a person reborn in Christ restores the harmony of the natural world disturbed by sin. In Christ, the saint can move mountains for the good of the world, while the sinful person, who opposes the ways of God, can shake the earth and raise destructive waves.

Let us approach the sanctity of the Risen Christ in order, through His grace, to calm the natural and moral waves that trouble our world today.

May the grace of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, beloved children in the Lord. Amen.

Holy Pascha 2011
+ Bartholomew of Constantinople
Fervent supplicant for all
before the Risen Christ

What Turks Don't Tell

2011-04-14T08:28:00.001-07:00

Symrna 1922

2011-04-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

Liberty or Death 600 Greeks Defeat 10,000 Ottoman Turks

2011-03-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

Imbrahim Pasha sent the following letter:

June 21, 1827

Most noble Abbot and the priests and monks of the Great Cave.

We inform you that we arrived four days ago at the plain of Kalavryta with the effendi Imbrahim Pasha. We have many arms and are much prepared for the siege of the Monastery of Mega Spelaion. We await soon cannon balls and bombs and many sappers also, so that after one or two days we shall begin the siege of the Monastery and the places round about. Therefore, we ask you to spare your Monastery which aforetime had not been destroyed, but now might be destroyed. Indeed, many more ignorant than you have come and submitted to our effendi and saved their villages, and many people and their life and possessions. You, who are more intelligent than they, are able to consider matters even better.

I shall write you no more; you will also be informed by the letter of my friend Fotilas, who shall himself advise you.

Abbot, consider that this uprising of the Romans will come to no good, therefore, as a sensible man, consider well that you will not end well, but be conquered. Know that what we write, we write at the orders of our most high effendi; answer to us what we have written.

Sami Effendi

Segneztipe effendi

The Abbot and monks of Mega Spelaion responded with the following letter:

June 22, 1827

Mega Spelaion

Most sublime leader of the Ottoman forces, Hail.

We have received your letter and have read it. We know that you are in the plain of Kalavryta for many days and have all the means to wage war. It is impossible for us to submit, because we have vowed on our Faith to become free or to die fighting, and as long as we exist we cannot break this sacred vow to our fatherland. However, we advise you to go wage war somewhere else. If you come here to war against us and you conquer us, the evil thing is not great, for you have only defeated clergy. But if you should be defeated by us, which is our sure hope in our impregnable position with the help of God, it will be to your shame, and the Hellenes will take heart and hound you everywhere.

Such is our advice, and you, as a wise man, do what is to your advantage. We have letters as well from the parliament and the Marshal Theodore Kolokotronis stating that if needed they will send us much aid, soldiers and supplies, and that either we will be freed quickly or die according to our sacred vow for the fatherland.

Damascene, Abbot

and the other priests and monks with me.

Tomos on Autocephaly Things That Make Us Go HMMM

2011-03-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

On 22 February 2011, the Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission, convened to consider the agenda of the Pan-Orthodox Council, began its work at the Orthodox Centre of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Chambesy, Switzerland.

The last session took place in December 2009. The results of the Commission’s work should be submitted to the 5th Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference. The time of its convening will be fixed after the preparatory work is completed. The Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conferences were held in 1976, 1982, 1986 and 2009.

The session is chaired by Metropolitan John of Pergamon, Patriarchate of Constantinople. The delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church. Led by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR), includes Archbishop Mark of Berlin, Germany and Great Britain, Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia; archpriest Nikolai Balashov, DECR deputy chairman; and the interpreter Anatoly Churiakov.

Delegations of the fourteen Autocephalous Orthodox Churches take part in the session.

The Commission began its work with a prayer; Metropolitan John presented an introductory report; and a cable requesting blessing and prayers was sent to the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches. Heads of the delegations greeted the participants.

Metropolitan Hilarion conveyed wishes of successful work in the spirit of love and mutual understanding from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

Metropolitan Jeremiah of Switzerland presented a report on the questions on the agenda.

The Commission, which is to consider the contents of the Tomos on Autocephaly and the manner of its signing, as well as the topic of diptychs, will work till February 26.

Preparatory Commission: Tomosa Autokephalia

2011-03-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

MEĐUPRAVOSLAVNA PREPARATORY COMMITTEE

Chambesy, 21 to 26 February 2011.

S A P O W T E HE E

In the center of the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambesy, in Geneva, met on 22 to 26 February 2011. The Preparatory Commission Međupravoslavna Holy and Great Councils of the Orthodox Church.

The Commission was chaired by HE Metropolitan of Pergamon g. John, a representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and its secretary was the Metropolitan Swiss g. Jeremiah, Secretary for the preparation of the Holy and Great Council.

Međupravoslavna Commission had for the course of completing the study questions autokefalije and ways of its declaration, and the question of Orthodox diptychs.

1. The Commission, after introductory words Eminence Chair and introductory remarks, the Secretary of the continued examination of issues signing Tomosa autokefalije, which remained unfinished since its last meeting.

After a long discussion on this issue was not a unanimous decision. Since, according to the current regulations, decisions must be made unanimously, the agreement on the issue and how it autokefalije declaration has not been achieved and what still remains unfinished.

2. The Commission is jointly discussed and the topic of Orthodox diptychs and examined its various canonical and ecclesiastical aspects, from time described the practice of the Orthodox Church on this matter and unanimously expressed the opinion that the obligations imposed in the future be made diptisi unique in the Orthodox Church, as a tangible expression its unity.

The Commission has described the criteria as they apply to the present, to enter and sort some of the Church in the sacred diptychs.

The Commission has examined the application of the Churches of Poland and Albania on their uniform ranking of the holy diptisima all autocephalous Orthodox Church, the Church of Poland which precedes the (Albanian), and has proposed certain adjustments to the diptychs of the Orthodox Church.

The Commission has examined the application:
a) Most Holy Church of Georgia, on her elevation to sixth place in the holy diptisima all Orthodox Churches;
b) most holy Church of Cyprus, on her elevation to the more sacred place in diptisima;
c) as notable distinction between the sacred diptisima some churches, which refers to the inclusion of pan-Orthodox Churches which are not recognized as autocephalous.

The Commission has established the impossibility of finding unanimously acceptable solution with respect to these issues.

Metropolitan John of Pergamon,
Chairman

Translated by G. Gajic, archpriest
Delivered: Metropolitan
Montenegro and the Littoral
Littoral, a member of the Commission

http://www.spc.rs/sr/saopstenje_medjupravoslavne_pripremne_komisije

Ecumencial Patriarch Explosion at Fukushima, Japan

2011-03-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

Agiographo Elias Damianakis, Archon Maestor

Ecumenical Patriarch Message In Full

Message on the nuclear explosion at Fukushima

It is with burdened and painful heart that the entire world is witnessing the drama of the tragic earthquake, which over the last days has afflicted Japan and cost numerous lives of our brothers and sisters. Moreover, it is with much anguish and sorrow that we behold the related devastation in the Land of the Rising Sun as well as in other nations of the Pacific. Every corner of the planet is offering prayers both for the repose of the departed souls and for the support of those who continue to be grieved and imperiled by the ensuing seismic tremors and ferocious tsunami. Lamentably, yet another calamitous consequence has struck the region with the explosion of the nuclear plant at Fukushima, rendering still more frightening the recent nightmare in Japan.

The disastrous ramifications of this event will become more evident over the next days. Of course, with regard to the earthquake, no human response is adequate. The causes and results eclipse human words. Nevertheless, with regard to the explosion of the nuclear reactor and the aftermath of a nuclear adversity, there is indeed a response that we are called to make. With all due respect to the science and technology of nuclear energy and for the sake of the survival of the human race, we counter-propose the safer green forms of energy, which both moderately preserve our natural resources and mindfully serve our human needs.

Our Creator granted us the gifts of the sun, wind, water and ocean, all of which may safely and sufficiently provide energy. Ecologically-friendly science and technology has discovered ways and means of producing sustainable forms of energy for our ecosystem. Therefore, we ask: Why do we persist in adopting such dangerous sources of energy? Are we so arrogant as to compete with and exploit nature? Yet, we know that nature invariably seeks revenge.

From the Ecumenical Patriarchate, we raise fervent prayers for our beloved Japanese people for the trial and tribulation it currently faces, while at the same time passionately appeal to all those responsible for a reconsideration of the nuclear policy of nations throughout the world.

Assassination Attempt On Ecumenical Patriarch

2011-03-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

Assassination Attempt on Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Prevented

March 9, 2011 - 17:12 AMT 13:12 GMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Turkish police have prevented another assassination attempt on Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, according to the Austrian catholic news agency.

The Turkish police have arrested two suspects aged 17-18. The assassination attempt was planned in the Fanar district, where the residence of the Patriarch is located.

According to representative of the department for foreign church relations at the Russian Orthodox Church Igor Yakimchuk, Turkey is a huge country and there are extremists.

Expert of Carnegie Moscow Center, professor Alexey Malashenko believes that, most likely, Islamists are engaged in the assassination attempt, who are much more radical compared to incumbent Prime Minister of Turkey Erdogan.

With respect to the assassination attempt, several Turkish papers referred to a Catholic priest, Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and three protestants, including a German missioner, who were killed by young people aged 16-20, Sedmitsa.ru reported.

an indigenous, multi-ethnic, missionary Church, laboring to bring Orthodox Christianity

2011-03-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

A PASTORAL LETTER TO THE CLERGY, MONASTICS AND FAITHFUL OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA ON AUTOCEPHALY

To the Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America:

Forty years ago, the Orthodox Church in America received its autocephaly from the Russian Orthodox Church and soon after glorified the first North American saint, our Venerable Father Herman of Alaska. The Holy Synod of Bishops gives thanks to Almighty God for the prayerful intercessions of St Herman and of all the saints who shone forth on this continent and likewise celebrates and affirms the gift of autocephaly. By the grace of God, this great gift was the result of a long process of reconciliation between the Metropolia and the Moscow Patriarchate, whose relations had tragically gone astray, a gift which still stands at the heart of our ecclesial life and serves as the basis for understanding ourselves.

At the same time, much has transpired in the past forty years within the life of the Orthodox Church in America. A most significant event took place on May 25th-27th of this year with the convening of the first Episcopal Assembly for the region of North and Central America. All of the hierarchs of the Orthodox Church in America participated in this historic gathering of the canonical Orthodox Bishops of this region. Our Holy Synod is grateful to His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who wisely undertook the task of convening the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan Orthodox Conference in Chambésy, Switzerland in June of 2009. This Pre-Conciliar Conference resulted in the establishment, with the blessing of all the Orthodox Patriarchs, of an Episcopal Assembly for our region which has as its goal the “swift healing of every canonical anomaly” [Message of the Patriarchs 3.12] and the working out of a solution to Orthodox administrative unity on this continent.

This event, as well as the recent dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, has provided us with an opportunity to enter more fully into the pan-Orthodox process in North America. As such we have reflected on how we understand our life and work and how these can become a means for greater and deeper interrelationship with the other Orthodox Churches as we move towards authentic unity through the process of the Episcopal Assemblies.

As we reflect upon the past forty years, we affirm the following principles:

1. We understand ourselves to be an indigenous, multi-ethnic, missionary Church, laboring to bring Orthodox Christianity to all citizens of this continent.

2. We affirm that our historical reality derives from the Russian Orthodox Church and that we have humbly received and faithfully maintain the inheritance of the Russian Mission of 1794, the Diocese of Sitka in 1843; the Diocese of San Francisco in 1870, and its relocation to New York in 1907, and the Autocephaly of 1970.

3. As directed by the Tomos, we live as other self-governing Churches do: electing our own bishops and Primate, without confirmation by any other Synod, maintaining inter-Church relationships with all other Churches; and consecrating our own chrism.

4. As envisioned in the Tomos, we believe that the autocephaly given to us will be fully realized when the promise of Orthodox unity in North America is fulfilled, and the OCA together with all the Orthodox faithful in North America become one united Autocephalous Church of America, recognized by all other Orthodox Churches.

5. We commit ourselves to work within the Episcopal Assembly in order to realize the goal of unity.

We express our gratitude to all the Patriarchs for their care and ask all of the clergy, monastics and faithful of the Orthodox Church in America to be of one mind and one heart to offer thanksgiving to God for the gift of the Church, whose mission in this world is to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the people of North America. We ask the clergy and faithful to pray that we be worthy of the heritage of the saints who shone forth in North America in building up the Body of Christ, fulfilling these words of Scripture: “Speaking the truth in love, may [we] grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)

Asking God’s blessings on all the flock,
THE HOLY SYNOD of the ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA
The Most Blessed JONAH
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada
Locum tenens of the Diocese of the Midwest
Locum tenens of the Diocese of the South
The Most Reverend NATHANIEL
Archbishop of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate
The Right Reverend NIKON
Bishop of Boston, New England and the Albanian Diocese
The Right Reverend TIKHON
Bishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania
The Right Reverend BENJAMIN
Bishop of San Francisco and the West
Locum tenens of the Diocese of Alaska
The Right Reverend ALEJO
Bishop of Mexico City and the Exarchate of Mexico
The Right Reverend MELCHISEDEK
Bishop of Pittsburg and Western Pennsylvania
The Right Reverend MICHAEL
Bishop of New York and New York and New Jersey
The Right Reverend IRENEE
Bishop of Quebec City and Administrator of the Archdiocese of Canada
Archimandrite MATTHIAS (Moriak)
Bishop-Elect of Chicago and the Midwest
Nativity Fast, 2010

Met. Jonah, Fr.Alex Garklavs, Paul Bodnar, Fr. Andrew Jarmus, Fr. Michael Tassos, Fr. Dennis Swencki

2011-03-04T06:48:00.000-08:00

The reading is from Zechariah 8:15-17

"...These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace, do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, says the Lord."

The OCA has never acknowledged that it needs to regularize its protocols traditionally in accordance with the rest of the Orthodox world. If you don't look within there is no healing and no correction. In the case of Church leadership that means that there is a wake of untold destruction in the lives of real people, actual families with cosmic results.

Moving on and attempting to provide another narrative is no way to take corrective action for the betterment of the Church. The reality of what is and has been is discrediting, unseemly and grotesque. The repeated inclination to look to stuff the past down the memory hole is unacceptable. Pretending that all is well or that no actual "wrong doing" to actual people has happened is not repentance and not forgiveness. The crux of the matter the corporation that is the OCA is riddle with corruption. All the corrective action in the world, all the formal reprimands, bailouts, payoffs and hush money with their backdoors deals doesn't fix anything. These approaches with teh golden parachutes perpetuate scandal while increasing the carnage.

The OCA as an organizational body (pun intended) has deep seeded pathologies which need direct counsel and assistance. It is time that the people sanctioned the business of the church. Can you imagine tolerating another corporation to function in this way? Can you imagine tolerating it and not objecting? Can you conceive of anything more vile then a group of churchman hiding their corruption behind a veneer of holiness?

Be very cautious of the advice that we the faithful should avert our eyes for pious reasons. Quite the contrary we should seek to root out evil where we find it. If I sin I hurt myself and a very small circle of people if the Synod sins and manipulates the broader church then the destruction is greater. Everyone who has tried to censure me and my news discovery wish to either bury their heads in the sand or desire to pursue ungodly ends behind closed doors in private meetings.

Review the executive position turnover rate within the previous four years. Chancellor (Fr. Alexander Garklavs) "resigned"; Secretary (Paul Bodnar) dismissed; Treasurer (Fr. Michael Tassos) resigned; Director of Communications (Fr. Andrew Jarmus) position eliminated; Controller (Fr. Dennis Swencki) position eliminated; Met. Jonah on (administrative) leave of absence; the only remaining active officer: Fr. Eric Tosi, Secretary (who during a telephone conversation with me had no words to explain the current situation the morning Greek news broke the story).

The initial criticism of my reporting regarding the current course of events proved not to be so incorrect. In actuality I under estimated the brokeness, the conflict and the chaos. The meat of the matter is that many have vowed their loyalty to one side or the other and to that extent that they may have "perjured" themselves. Scape-goating the Greek press or the blogosphere won't change what is wrong. A open and public confession is the only way to out the prideful power hungry demons.

When you constantly re-draft the map you eventually end up on the wrong course knowingly or unwittingly. This debacle should be celebrated and we should not kick a gift horse in the mouth. The fact is that there is so much going on that is unbecoming and poisonous to the flock. The hierarchs in this instance would be hard pressed to demonstrate how their personal ambition reflects their pastoral care for the flock. While hierarchs push and shove each other with their self righteous indignation the flock is left unattended. The gig is up boys. How will the OCA continue amidst the scandal the law suits the glossing over all the unrighteousness. There is a systemic problem with this which can be traced back to its indolent inception. Thankfully I don't have a horse in this race. I do wish all the faithful of the OCA the very best and I hope that God cleans house truly.

Turkishness in Full Force Armenian and Greek Beware

2011-03-03T07:03:00.000-08:00

"I am a Greek American woman. My mother is a Greek American woman. My grandmother is a Greek woman from the island of Lesvos who became an American citizen because she wanted to. My mom's dad was a Greek Turk who became an American citizen after fleeing Turkey with his life. My dad is a Greek American man. His parents are Greek Turks who became American citizens because the country they were born in did not like Greeks, Armenians or Orthodox Christians or Christians. His mom and her seven sister's were hidden in a well while the Turks ransacked, murdered and raped other people in their village. The Turks burned the earth to the sea to kill as many people as they could and the ones the fire did not kill the army did and the one that made it and lived is the reason why I am here. And some of you ask why I want Religious Freedom in Turkey. My Family sacrificed there lives for their heritage and their faith. The blood that courses through my veins is special and rich with history that I do not want to forget. Because of Bishop Savas, Angela and Elias I think I am finding my voice. We talk about Post traumatic stress disorder of men coming home form war today. WE SHOULD SUE THE PANTS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY FOR WHAT THEY DID TO OUR FAMILIES. they owe us big time".

--Helen D. Limberakis Sampsonis

PUBLIC MINUTES THE HOLY SYNOD OF BISHOPS Contradict Met. Jonah's Sermon

2011-03-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

Excerpts from the: PUBLIC MINUTES OF THE WINTER RETREAT OF

THE HOLY SYNOD OF BISHOPS

OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA

La Fonda Hotel, Santa Fe, New Mexico

22‐24 February, 2011The Holy Synod’s Concern for the Health of His Beatitude, Jonah

HEARD:

The Holy Synod discussed matters affecting the primatial service of His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH. Holy Synod members affirmed their love and obedience to the Metropolitan and reminded him that love and obedience are also reciprocal between the Metropolitan and the Holy Synod. There must be mutual obedience.

Metropolitan JONAH was asked to absent himself from the meeting.

Discussion followed.

Metropolitan JONAH returned to the meeting.

DECIDED:

The Holy Synod took the following actions and reviewed them with His Beatitude:

1. The Holy Synod accepted Archpriest Alexander Garklavs’ resignation as Chancellor effective immediately.

2. The Holy Synod expressed concern for the Metropolitan’s health. Once again they affirmed their love and concern for him and their earnest desire to see him succeed. After further discussion, the Holy Synod determined that a sixty day Leave of Absence for His Beatitude would be beneficial. Metropolitan Jonah accepted to do so. The Synod asked him to request to do so, as it would be better seen that he acknowledged the need for this. Metropolitan JONAH then requested a Leave Of Absence for not less than 60 days during which time he would see a physician and devote himself to his own spiritual and physical health without concern for the burdens of the primatial office. This could include a time of retreat at a monastery. His Grace Bishop Benjamin asked if he was ready to make this decision or if he needed additional time and the Metropolitan said he did not need more time to make the decision.

3. The Holy Synod appointed Archbishop NATHANIEL as Administrator of the OCA for the length of His Beatitude’s leave.

4. The Holy Synod appointed Bishop MELCHISEDEK as interim Chancellor.

5. The Holy Synod relieved His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH from his responsibilities as Locum Tenens of the Diocese of the South and appointed Bishop NIKON Locum Tenens of the Diocese of the South with Bishop MARK continuing as administrator.

6. The Holy Synod relieved His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH from his responsibilities as Locum Tenens of the Diocese of Midwest and appointed Bishop TIKHON as Locum Tenens of the diocese of the Midwest with Archimandrite MATTHIAS continuing as administrator.

HEARD:

Bishop BENJAMIN conveyed to His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH, the above decisions of the Holy Synod. He noted that these decisions were made out of love for His Beatitude and out of concern for the spiritual and physical health of the Primate.

The members of the Holy Synod emphasized that it was their desire for His Beatitude to sincerely take this time to address issues of his well‐being so that he could most effectively fulfill his responsibilities as Primate of the Church.

Metropolitan JONAH thanked the brothers for their concern and acknowledged that a leave of absence would be beneficial and noted that he had not had much time off since his election as Primate.

Bishop TIKHON asked His Beatitude if he needed any time to reflect upon these matters.

Metropolitan JONAH declined and confirmed that he would abide by the counsel of his brothers.

DECIDED:

A. The Holy Synod accepted the request of Metropolitan JONAH for a leave of absence for 60 days.

B. Bishop MICHAEL will meet with Archpriest Alexander Garklavs on Friday to convey to him that the Holy Synod accepts his resignation. He will also meet with the other members of the staff and inform them of the above developments and appointments.

SYNTHEOPOIESIS † ΣΥΝΘΕΟΠΟΙΗΣΗΣ Jn1034

2011-03-02T05:43:00.000-08:00

To the writers of the former JN1034 blog and then Syntheopoiesis who have faithfully, for years, shared the love that is God and the mystery that is faith, your presence is required of you.

I know that we have lost one of our fathers but we must continue the cause of liberty and love. We must bond together to fend off the coup of the Internet Pentarchy. If you are unable to maintain a blog please contact me directly (you know how) to assist me in taking up the armor of God and defeating the enemies of the Church.

Preaching Reaching Teaching

2011-02-28T20:08:00.001-08:00

etiquette rules for the gentle spirit and tender hearted

2011-02-28T18:13:00.000-08:00

actual murders, bombings, confiscations, imprisonments, closures and intimidation

2011-02-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

Some readers which to imply that there is a moral equivalence between pointing out anomalies and discrepancies in protocol with the abandoning an oppressed Church. This is what we know today. There are actual murders, bombings, confiscations, imprisonments, closures and intimidation akin to the Gestapo. We wish to compartmentalize our feelings and concern about such matters to the point of a schizoid pathology. The churchmen in the United States wish to institute a gag order on freedom of expression and free press. They denigrate the character of activists who wish to ignite a sense of urgency amongst fellow Orthodox Christians in America who have become too comfortable in their affluence and freedom.

There are many well wishers for sure but of what value are all these well wishers who don't speak up and speak out. There is no shared sacrifice among Orthodox Christians here in the United States despite jurisdiction. The liberty of which we all enjoy is not afforded our fellow Orthodox Christians overseas. The reality of the circumstance as it stands currently is that an overwhelming number of Orthodox Christians resign their support to encouraging the Ecumenical See to move to Greece or Washington D.C. It is an interesting and demoralizing proposition.

Are these same individuals recommending that the Jews leave the Holy Land? Should we yield and forfeit all Christian footholds in all Arab or Islamic nations? Just how has the Ecumenical Throne oppressed anyone in the United States or anywhere for that matter? How is it that all the enlightenment or the only enlightenment 'worth saving' is on the American shore? The covert strong arm tactics of the OCA like AOI can attempt to defame the character of the Mother Church but she has proven that she is not ready to lead. Their history is riddled with corruption, fiscal impropriety, sexual misconduct and now this inability to reconcile one Met.'s respit. These are the facts. It is unhealthy to presume that silence is a solution. A robust healthy discussion and public confession is the best way to brainstorm solutions.

Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission Completes Its Work

2011-02-28T08:24:00.000-08:00

[Is it mean-spirited to point out that the OCA is not represented? No. It is a fact.]

"On 26 February 2011, the Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Commission for the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church completed its work at the Orthodox Centre of the Patriarchate of Constantinople near Geneva.

Representatives of the fourteen Autocephalous Orthodox Churches took part in the meeting chaired by Metropolitan John of Pergamon, Patriarchate of Constantinople. The delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, led by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR), included archbishop Mark of Berlin, Germany and Great Britain (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia); archpriest Nikolai Balashov, DECR deputy chairman; and interpreter Anatoly Churiakov.

The Commission, which task was to elaborate questions for the agenda of the Pan-Orthodox Council, continued to consider the issue of signing the Tomos of autocephaly. As a long discussion has not led to the unanimous decision, the necessity of further studying of the issue of autocephaly was recognized.

The Commission discussed the issue of diptychs, considered canonical and ecclesiological aspects, described the current practice of the Orthodox Churches and the criteria of including the Churches into diptychs and the order of the Primates’ names in them and also noted the necessity of compiling the uniform diptychs of the Orthodox Church.

Also considered was a wish of the Polish and Albanian Orthodox Churches to reach uniformity in regard of the place of their Primates in diptychs of the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches. The Commission suggested to take these requests into account and to consider proper changes in diptychs.

The requests of the Georgian Orthodox Church concerning its sixth place in diptychs and of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus concerning a higher place of its Primate in holy diptychs were presented at the meeting. Consent has not been reached either on this issue, or on the differences in holy diptychs of some Churches due to the lack of Pan-Orthodox agreement on the number of the recognized autocephalous Churches.

Under Art. 16 of the Rules of the Pan-Orthodox Pre-Conciliar Conferences, documents on all issues on the agenda shall be approved unanimously".

The Silent Partnership OCA and AOI

2011-02-28T07:11:00.000-08:00

I am called to speak out I have been given a spirit of boldness while others a greater aptitude for meekness. If I serve as the lone voice and watchdog trying speak truth to power then so be it. I do not summon the monk to the podium nor should anyone expect less then a blunt "call it as you see it" approach from me. Visitors of this blog and my facebook know what they will get. I take umbrage with those who opt to critisize my passion while doing nothing to expose religious oppression and what amounts to the abandonment and indifference to our Holy See. I do not see anyone else out there making the stance as bluntly as I do because each of us has our own calling. Perhaps many are silenced by there own personal interests. I have put my ministry before my personal interests.

The Archons fight the good fight in the European Union Courts. The officials of the Ecumenical Patriarchate write journals, encyclicals and give academic lectures on the topics. I run marathons and speak about civil rights violations. These topics are serious and intense. I embrace who God has made me and I fill a gap in the public square as much as I can. The OCA has become a focal point for me because the leadership refuses to disavow their supporters who engage in extremist tactics like character assassination. They refuse to discredit the Orthodox Internet Pentarchy which pushes the OCA's hidden agenda and cause: to cease control by the crippling and the ultimate vanishing of the Ecumenical See. Although they are certainly ambitious they are not adequatly adept as they are unable to manage a retreat and reflective time for their Metropolitan. The OCA with its subversive supporters have set their sights on an American Patriarchate and are willing to "recede" or "diminish" so long as the Ecumenical See abandons its post and "cut and runs" like Antioch.

As always true to form these uniquely American Churches with their distinct ethnos grab for funds, the infrastructure, and the clout of various of GOA NPO ministries. For example SCOBA with its Ministries are essentially and undeniably the firstborn fruits of the GOA. These other jurisdictions pathologically project contempt for their own ineptitude, failings, financial short falls and internal discord. While former hierachs of the OCA were looting the treasury, the future custodians cleaned up the accounting and set the sights on power; shoring up their position and linguistically hijacking and controlling the rhetoric as their agenda moves forward. Meanwhile the GOA developed all the flourishing ministries of SCOBA while almost dismissing but certainly marginalizing the OCA; who seemed perpetually embroiled in scandal; or defending their irregular past to explain away their illegitimacy with new resolutions and sweeping statements. The OCA machine with their non-official media groups have started to reframe the debate and have doubled their propaganda efforts and revisionist history. Just read their Strategic Plan for the Orthodox Church in America.

Recap: These groups reflecting the cowardice demonstrated by the Patriarchate of Antioch which fled Turkey for Damascus; seeks to impose this model on on the Ecumenical Throne. They are completely deluded lamenting the collapse of SCOBA while getting into bed with Muslims by encouraging the exodus of Christians. Amazingly AOI and OCA supporters suggest His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch become a U.S National that is ethnopheletism at its best.

Sorry to disappoint but the Orthodox Internet Pentarchy is akin to gnats and nothing more then a nuisance. The OCA leadership by not condemning such extremism is using these groups as an extension of their operation. They remain seeminlgy above the fray while covertly giving the green light. I will see that their plans foil and will expose then whenever and where ever I can. I am not intimidated by the propaganda and have the endurance, stamina, fortitude and inclination to do so. The civility that you seek in me if you reflect, you will find that it is exactly what disgusts all of us about politicians who speak lovely platitudes but fail to serve. I am direct and honest. Seek out the meaning the context and the implication of what is being said and less so about the format or stylistic differences.

Met. Jonah Reflect This I'm Not Biting

2011-02-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

The homily Met. Jonah offered his flock and the greater Orthodox Church seemed thin veiled to me. The official talk speak seemed to be pushing the party line as it were. Are we really expected to believe that this was the best plan the Synod could come up with to find a way for Met. Jonah to find solace. There was considerable shuffling of official responsibilities, overtures of public assurances and the restating and affirming of the lines of authority. All this for simply managing the logistics of one vacation and respit. This retreat and time of personal reflection comes as an imposition to the church at large as it has been mishandled to the point of a worldwide debocle and is a public relation nightmare. The Met. wished to blame internet sources for this confusion but it stems from his office and the Synod. It demonstrates a lapse in discernment and ability to manage responsibility. I believe that the initial Greek report was correct of which the OCA wasw not yet prepared to present or package for mass consumption. This would explain the lag from the OCA regarding the official public statement about what transpired.

If we are actually expected to accept there is nothing more to this then a desire for prayer and retreat why not simply clear his calender and dedicate himself privately. This is a lot of pomp and circumstance to manage andhas proven logistically extremely challenging just for the OCA to confirm nothing has changed. A sidenote to this leave of absensce Met. Jonah glossed over the termination of his chancellor.

For an institution that claimed itself competent and appointed in the most unique sense to lead the Church in America this akward circumstance doesn’t foster any confidence. When hierarchs are running off for down time and ‘retreat’ and are scrambling to assure their flock that there is no fire where the smoke billows is laughable. Unlike Met. Jonah, His All-Holiness has super fatigue resistance blessed by God to always be ready to attend to his flock and not entrust his flock to hired hands. I know that many will attack me for being unseemly by ‘judging’ or questioning the timing and the entire fiasco an obvious cover up as prayer has become the ‘sacred cow’ beyond any reproach. Of course I want hierarchs to pray and to meditate but I don’t expect them to disrupt the entire Church to do so. If this was planned I find that possibility (very remote) far more disconcerting then if there was a blow out and everyone is taking hiatus. Regardless I find the whole dilemma unfortunate, unnecessary, attention seeking and disorganized. I believe that they are in way above their heads. I can only suppose that Met. Jonah will return with some Damascus moment or prophetic word or his return will be completely unnoticed.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH Explains Away Alligations

2011-02-27T12:21:00.001-08:00

His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH Addresses the Faithful of the Archdiocese of Washington from Archdiocese of Washington on Vimeo.

Speculation: Cause for Met. Jonah's "Leave of Absence" (suspension)

2011-02-26T18:37:00.000-08:00

The extreme movement of the OCA leadership to solidify their autocephaly with the unspoken intent of an American Patriarchate from the American Fronteer has shown Metropolitan Jonah the door. It would appear that the Synod is frustrated with Met. Jonah's improved relations with Moscow and this continued statements which openly acknowldge the temporary or transitional status of the autocephaly of the OCA. Unfortunately for Met. Jonah personally his public statements that the OCA "can dissolve" is not shared by all the highest levels of the OCA. They do not wish to accept it is ONLY a transitional "medium" an anomoly which is acknowlsged in their organizational documents and sometimes as their"oral tradition" appears to indicate. In more recent history anyone who is even moderately versed in church protocol and organization understands that ROCOR is NOW the ONLY approved extension of the Russian Church; thus making ROCOR the obvious repository for all OCA parishes and institutions. During this time of transition to a united American Orthodoxy as yet to be defined the OCA as Met. Jonah acknowledges must decrease so that others can increase. And his Synod has decrease Met. Jonah's presence for sure.

My next point unfortunately will read as a side note but it is the core of the matter in actuality the uniformity of the expression of the Faith as discussed by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios during his address at the Episcopal Assembly are essential to unity and to the Faith.

(1) Some jurisdictions receive persons from roman Catholic and certain Protestant bodies into Holy Orthodoxy by baptism and chrismation, some by chrismation alone, and some merely by confession of faith.

(2) Some jurisdictions receive Roman Catholic clergy converting to Holy Orthodoxy merely by vesting, while others ordain.

(3) Some jurisdictions recognize all marriages performed outside Holy Orthodoxy as being real marriages (though certainly not sacramental) whether performed for an Orthodox or non-Orthodox, while others recognize no marriages performed outside Holy Orthodoxy whether performed for an Orthodox or a non-Orthodox.

(4) Some Orthodox jurisdictions bury suicides under certain circumstances, while others forbid the burial of suicides under all circumstances.

(5) Some jurisdictions bury a person who was cremated with all funeral rites in the church temple, others permit only Trisagion Prayers of Mercy in the funeral home, and some forbid any prayers anywhere for a person who was cremated.

(6) Some jurisdictions recognize civil divorce as complete and sufficient for ecclesiastical purposes, while others do not recognize civil divorce at all and insist on Ecclesiastical Courts.

(7) Some jurisdictions have in the past accepted clergy suspended or even deposed by other jurisdictions.

And this list is by no means exhaustive. This means there is serious work ahead, and this may not sound very appealing. Some of us may wish to avoid this difficult work and settle for easy pronouncements about unity, but the Gospel compels us otherwise.

The Hierarchs of this 'new world' demand their props their 'liberty' in the shadow of their rebellion disgrace the likes of Holy Tikon. We are bound by our moral code, honor and true church membership.To be sure, this Pharonite will not cut and run. This Greek-American is Greek Orthodox. The Ecumenical Throne cannot be distinguished and somehow removed from the Orthodox Church as Greek cannot be removed from the Orthodox faith. This is the true Church. Is it really too much to ask our clergy spent their tenure as a priest learning the language of the Bible and the church fathers? We expect immigrants to learn English but we accept ignorance and stagnation from our shepherds who would have us exchange excellence or mediocrity. Pitiful.

THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL OF HALKI HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

2011-02-26T18:02:00.000-08:00

United States of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 111th CONGRESS, 2nd SESSION

Vol. 155 Washington, Thursday, November 18, 2010 No. 19

Senate

THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL OF HALKI

HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

OF MARYLAND

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, a year ago this month I was privileged to again meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I. His impassioned call for support for the reopening of the Theological School of Halki promoted me to introduce S. Res. 356, a bipartisan measure calling upon the Government of Turkey to facilitate the reopening of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Theological School of Halki without condition or further delay. As we approach the 40th anniversary of the forced closure on that unique institution by the Turkish authorities, I renew my call for the Government of Turkey to allow the seminary to reopen.

Founded in 1844, the Theological School of Halki , located outside modern-day Istanbul, served as the principal seminary of the Ecumenical Patriarchate until its forcible closure by the Turkish authorities in 1971. Counted among alumni of this preeminent educational institution are numerous prominent Orthodox scholars, theologians, priests, and bishops as well as patriarchs, including Bartholomew I. Many of these scholars and theologians have served as faculty at other institutions serving Orthodox communities around the world.

Past indications by the Turkish authorities of pending action to reopen the seminary have, regrettably, failed to materialize. Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdog 0an met with the Ecumenical Patriarch in August 2009. In an address to a wider gathering of minority religious leaders that day, Erdog 0an concluded by stating, ``We should not be of those who gather, talk and disperse. A result should come out of this.'' I could not agree more with the sentiment. But resolution of this longstanding matter requires resolve, not rhetoric.

In a positive development this August, the authorities in Ankara, for the first time since 1922, permitted a liturgical celebration to take place at the historic Sumela Monastery. The Ecumenical Patriarch presided at the service, attended by pilgrims and religious leaders from several countries, including Greece and Russia. Earlier this month, a Turkish court ordered the Buyukada orphanage to be returned to Ecumenical Patriarchate. If the transfer of the property occurs, this would be another welcome development, potentially paving the way for the return of scores of other church properties seized by the government. In 2005, the Helsinki Commission, which I chair, convened a briefing, ``The Greek Orthodox Church in Turkey: A Victim of Systematic Expropriation.'' The Commission has consistently raised the issue of the Theological School for well over a decade and will continue to closely monitor related developments.

Yesterday's release of the 2010 Report on International Religious Freedom is a reminder of the challenges faced by Orthodox and other minority religious communities in Turkey. I urge the Turkish Prime Minister to ensure respect for the rights of individuals from these groups to freely profess and practice their religion or beliefs, in keeping with Turkey's obligations as an OSCE participating state.

The 1989 OSCE Vienna Concluding Document affirmed the right of religious communities to provide ``training of religious personnel in appropriate institutions.'' The Theological School of Halki served that function for over a century until its forced closure nearly four decades ago. The time has come to allow the reopening of this unique institution without further delay.

OCA, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Hellenism, Orthodoxy, Racism

2011-02-26T14:43:00.000-08:00

"Hellenism as the best expression of Orthodoxy will never be forgiven us."

I proudly will wear the badge of forthrightness in defense of the Mother Church and Orthodoxy, unworthy as I am. I will remain a watchdog against those who would gladly see the Ecumenical See vanish into the mist of the past. I have done and continue to do what is unpopular here in the comfort of the United States although I've been cautioned to "Agree quickly with your enemy while you are in the way, lest he take you before the magistrate and the magistrate turn you over to the jailer."

The only weaknesses of the Patriarchate is with those here in America who choose to do nothing, who choose to make nice with those too comfortable to really care. As an ardent supporter of the Ecumenical Patriarch, especially in his ministry of assisting the other Churches in witnessing to the unity of our faith to turn a blind eye, or a deaf ear, all in the name of civility is to be an infidel. I have never suggested that by simply the virtue of a bloodline someone is a faithful Orthodox Christian. In fact His All Holiness emphatically and repeatedly releases statements which condemns unequivocally any notion of phyletism.

Lastly it is a complete diversion and a waste of time to attribute all criticism to bigotry, racism or 'judgement'. This is simply a rhetorical tool meant to shut down discussion. There is a patriarch for America; the church has already provided him. he need not change his zip code to lead. The idea that a [separate] patriarchate is the inevitable end result for all countries is silly. All should be well aware that the GOA is hardly 'ethnic' for example Met. Isaiah, Met. Methodios, Met. Nikitas (to name just a few) etc. In fact many of the other Met. have been in the Americas for decades and are barraged for their Greek accents.

The difficulties in America stem from the false assertions of the OCA and its irregular and provisional autocephaly, the distorting of canon 28 to somehow not apply to the Americas or to Russian expansionism. There is more effort expended to discredit or religate the Phanar to the past then to encourage or build up relations. This tension and conflict is unique to the U.S why? Because of Greeks? No because of irregularities, illegitimacies and a proactive Internet pentarchy who fancy their own ramblings to church position. This propaganda machine has set course for destruction seeking their own ambition and their understanding of Orthodoxy for America before the Church Herself.

American Internet Pentarchy

2011-02-26T14:11:00.000-08:00

Panheresy Is the Fathers of All Lies —

The Specious, Isolated, and Apathetic

American Internet Pentarchy

The following is a small selection from the Jn1034 blog:

"Readers visiting these five commonly-owned-or-operated, mutually-promoted, collectively-motivated, seemingly-traditional-and-accomplished Orthodox propaganda businesses are urged to do so with caution. Since none is an official Orthodox Church initiative, each business depends, in full measure, upon the good faith and belief of their readers to validate these websites' exclusive social opinions, heretical theologoumena, unorthodox theology, and hypervigilant personal intentions.

OrthodoxWiki                                 http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/
Orthodox Christian Laity                 http://www.ocl.org/
American Orthodox Institute           http://www.aoiusa.org/
Orthodoxy Today                          http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/
Orthodox Net                                 http://www.orthodoxnet.com/

If one scans each business' website, paying attention to Board Members and Staff, their fulltime careers and employers, a pattern of common names appears. Most interestingly, though distant from any impartial mission statement and not close to objective Orthodox ecclesiastic or theological interests, these five Internet businesses collaborate intimately with the following business partners (most are not Orthodox and do not share any semblance to or prerogative with our Holy Tradition)."

OCA Refashions Congregationalism

2011-02-26T13:51:00.000-08:00

Using the body of Christ as its shield the OCA with its open-door format welcomes all to drink the cool aid elixir settings the tone for the loving embrace (choke hold) of the OCA's mass undertaking to hi-jack the discussion of Orthodoxy in America. It slanders all peoples of non-American culture.

The OCA has refashioned the congregationalism of their former faiths. "Within this Eucharistic context the OCA strives to be both hierarchical, with authority rooted in mutual love, and conciliar, with clergy and laity working together for the life of the world and its salvation." Why do I say former faiths because the OCA is overwhelmingly a church of converts.

While the OCA wishes to rant about jurisdictional anomalies and canonicity concerns they continue to intentionally plant mission outposts which satellite thriving Greek Orthodox parishes. Rather then seek out the unchurched or under-served they poach membership. They feed stereotypes and disgruntled visitors. More to the point they intentionally engage in overarching other jurisdictions and interweaving OCA parishes amongst GOA parishes. It would appear at least for the moment, a suspension within the OCA of conscience for canonical concerns. A leave of absence if you will.

Additionally members have misunderstood the zeal of the convert for wisdom; like youth who envision a world without hunger yet have never grown a single fruit or paid a single debt. Likewise too many if their clerics come from the ranks of converts who failed to pastor in their former sects. They are still infected with an anti-papal sentiment, anti-establishment and in a last ditched attempt to show the Pope and Catholicism, they have a 'religious' conversion outside the Papacy. They now unconsciously refuse foreign patriarchates fighting old battles which do not apply.

The OCA leadership and membership alike continue with the phronima of the Great Commission faulting 'the Greeks' for not proselytizing, in the way the OCA with their limited understanding has commanded. The OCA has distorted the sharing of the Gospel which demands the suspension of good sense and practice. What they do differently then their heretical counterparts is reject the Greek. They find it offensive and outlandish to their sensibilities to expect clerics to learn the language of the New Testament. God saw fit to bring His son at a time when linguistically the Lord's message could most widely be received, at a time when language had reached its zenith; and we reject it and marginalize it finding it an offense! Even heritics-hetrodox (protestants) reference the Greek!

In their rush to lead they have fore-gone the surety of a proper Orthodox catechism, seminary study or training!!! Thousands of people where assimilated into the orthodox faith without any appropriate pastoral direction. Are we succumbing to political pressure to make nice and include everyone?

If exceptions are being made then it is assumed they are done for the overall economia of the church. I don't know if caving to disorder or an ambush is well and good. What makes this more interesting is the OCA's consistent posture that the EP is somehow misguided and disconnected. Canon 34 is occasionally referenced, cherry picked, and without reference to future concern about addressing Canon 28 irregularities, the Golden Tomos, or the provisional status of the OCA's autocephalous status. The fact is that it is absent from diptychs.

While former hierachs of the OCA were looting the treasury, the future custodians cleaned up the accounting and set the sights on power; shoring up their position and linguistically hijacking and controlling the rhetoric as their agenda moves forward. Meanwhile the GOA developed all the flourishing ministries of SCOBA while almost dismissing but certainly marginalizing the OCA; who seemed perpetually embroiled in scandal; or defending their irregular past to explain away their illegitimacy with new resolutions and sweeping statements. The OCA machine with their non-official media groups have started to reframe the debate and have doubled their propaganda efforts and revisionist history. Hiding behind the pure cloak of service it seems only like the OCA is helping themselves to second helpings. Gross.

The notion that the OCA is the indigenous church in North America is ludicrous in fact sadly the only indigenous 'church' (to use the term loosely) is the Church of Mormon.

Given the choice between leaving my Mother Church and following a makeshift assembly of lesser hierarchs I'll have to pass. The Mother Church is the foundation for the faith, the keepers of the faith: time tested, esteemed and established by our Lord. The OCA leadership is but a hiccup in the history of our church and will either come to its senses and get on board with the whole of Orthodoxy or it will fail to even be a footnote 100 years from now. If that offends don't let the door hit you on the way out.

OCA Spin Doctors Account:Down One Chancellor with One Met. on Sabbatical

2011-02-25T15:54:00.000-08:00

SHHHHHHH don't look behind the curtain. Of course there is no discord (hardly). One chancellor gone and one meditating Metropolitan. Clearly the OCA business as usual. Only they awoke to find ROCOR with the keys to the rectory.

Legitimacy is not begotten by rebellion as it leads to irrationality, chaos and madness. Perhaps Met. Jonah does truly require a respit from his post; time enough to consider that his church is reaping what it has sown. Is the OCA yet again with this sabatical creating new protocols of anomaly to forgo the hard work of a robust dialogue on issues of independence, territories and revisionist history.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate has withstood many trials, tribulations, heresy, war and oppression proclaiming with all vigor the One True Faith. It has continued throughout the millennium with an inner strength and resiliency. Orthodox Patristic Theology has never been lost or forsaken. The Ecumenical Throne has never forsaken the unchanging teachings and Theology of the Church. There is no innovation and therefore no room for error. Despite resent claims by splinter groups in the United States the Ecumenical Throne has maintained the Orthodox ethos completely and has embraced the variety of wonderful ethnic expressions of it. Some Orthodox groups in the U.S have failed to assimilate their own thinking into the Orthodox Traditions.

This most recent attempt by the OCA to begin anew without proper authority may find itself completely confounded and hopelessly lost. This attempt to start over by its own judgement is riddled with danger. Too many OCA church leaders and lay people from several jurisdictions discuss Orthodoxy and the course of the Orthodoxy with a nearsightedness. Their premise is convoluted due to their narrow and limited understanding of Orthodoxy. There are several Orthodox jurisdictions who are in fact experiencing an identity crisis and wish to drag the established Orthodox community into the mud. Their belief speaks more to their own uncertainty and far less to the state of the Mother Church. The recent comments and direction of the OCA is restricted to their own attempts to stop corruption within their own ranks and is indicative of their own division. There is a strong underground, a culture of people who are pushing this American patriarchate in theory and in practice that he must come from the American fronteer.

Discussion and discourse is part and parcel of the social square. We should not shy away from intellectual dialogue and scrutiny. The OCA with its official memorandum is the equivalent of a well crafted propaganda piece. My blog is an honest account of what is thought about the turbulent past and present anomalies that comprise the OCA. I shutter to think what Met. Jonah would do if he had a flock of like 350,000,000 and was persecuted for his faith. The OCA got the Met. they deserve and prayed for.

This is how retired bishop Tikon explains the muddle: "Those belonging to Local Churches which do not impose " leaves of absence" on hierarchs, as does the OCA , I should have explained that it is a de facto suspension without recourse to legality , i .e ., the canonical bases and requirements of such . It is a kind of would- be-pious ruse in order to circumvent such legalities , canonical bases and requirements. It has an unpleasant history in the OCA/Metropolia . In some cases the OCA Synod resorts to this kind of ad hoc suspension when "out of court settlement " or "plea- bargaining " fail to produce a "voluntary" retirement . I would like to prevent any irresponsible gossip about a coup undertaken to prevent the Metropolitan from putting his house in order."

P.S I wish to affirm that news is not gossip and a summary not speculation; just as official statements are not necessarily truthful.

Bishop Tikon Explained the Confusion OCA Gibberish

2011-02-25T12:16:00.000-08:00

"Those belonging to Local Churches which do not impose " leaves of absence" on hierarchs, as does the OCA , I should have explained that it is a de facto suspension without recourse to legality , i .e ., the canonical bases and requirements of such . It is a kind of would- be-pious ruse in order to circumvent such legalities , canonical bases and requirements. It has an unpleasant history in the OCA/Metropolia . In some cases the OCA Synod resorts to this kind of ad hoc suspension when "out of court settlement "
or "plea- bargaining " fail to produce a "voluntary" retirement . I would like to prevent any irresponsible gossip about a coup undertaken to prevent the Metropolitan from putting his house in order."
+ Tikhon'
Bishop . OCA . retired

Update: Synod Places Met. On Leave

2011-02-25T10:06:00.000-08:00

The details are slow coming and the speculation continues to mount as the oca.org remains silent. Discord between Met.Jonah and his supports and staff has forced the hand of the Synod to place him on leave. Reports of the actual time frame has varied from 45-60 days. Such a sabbatical is unheard of and has been poorly planned as the laity are left to defend or accuse. Perhaps Met. Jonah will go as did Archbishop Spyridon of the GOA.

Currently Archbishop Nathaniel serves as the senior hierarch is named Temporary Administrator. O.K. so he is the acting CEO of the corporation as it were.

The Greek website Romofea.org was the first to report this story and remains a reliable and trustworthy source. It is clear that the facts are still coming in and that this situation has been brewing for sometime. Interestingly even retired Bishop Tikhon of Los Angeles chimed in on the Internet stating “Metropolitan Jonah.... has been given the “Bishop Nikolai’ treatment------mandatory leave of absence".

What remains painfully clear is that Met. Jonah's flock and field hands are unhappy with his comments that 'they must lessen or others can increase'.

Met. Jonah OCA Resigns Possible Causes

2011-02-25T07:41:00.000-08:00

Possible Realities for an Unexpected (Alleged)Resignation of Metropolitan Jonah.

Illness is always a possibility and all pray that it be furthest from the truth. I wish him health and many years. The reality is during bait and switch scenarios declining health is sited to appease and sequester the masses. Again I personally wish him good health.

Another possibility is that he was not forceful enough for his own base. That he may be perceived as placating the other Orthodox Jurisdictions too much. To those: Many will beat their breasts, stamp their feet and lament that Met. Jonah fell short of their subversive agenda. Former Met. Jonah supporters who deny the ecclesiastic reality on the ground, are either subversive forces against universal pan-Orthodox unity, or they're simply delusional. The facts are valid and given as an universal Pan-Orthodox decree held to be true by every Orthodox Church: “The primus inter pares, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Mother Church, holds the diaspora in its ancient hands with the most modern of touches”.

Leadership of all Orthodox Churches throughout the oikoumene have declared, and are in agreement reaffirming the seniority of the Greek Archdiocese, as the Exarchate of the Ecumenical Throne, over all jurisdictions in America. All Orthodox jurisdictions in the USA have not only accepted this pan-Orthodox ecclesiastic reality via participation in SCOBA and most recently in the Episcopal Assembly, but also they affirm its necessity. Even Met. Jonah by his attendance as a rank and file bishop at the Episcopal Assembly recognizes and acquiesces to the primacy of the Greek Archdiocese-Constantinople over the OCA. In June 2009 Met. Jonah explored the fate of his own jurisdiction: "Thus, the OCA’s charter and vocation is for it to disappear: it is kenotic" (http://www.oca.org/news/1864).

Another scenario is that Met. Jonah commences a schematic church which I pray for the welfare of Met. Jonah and perhaps he has reverted to his former mindset and plans to set up his own shop as it were. Transcripts for the "talk" offered by Metropolitan Jonah in Dallas at the Pan Orthodox vespers on April 5, 2009.

Key quotes referring to His All Holiness:

"There are those there, in the old world... Who are ignorant of our Saints"

"We surrender the freedom that we have embraced as American Orthodox Christians to a Patriarchate still under Islamic domination."

"I would submit if we wanted a Pope we’d be under the real one."

"the true indigenous Orthodox Christians of our land"

"I don’t think the holy fathers in the Phanar understand"

"not to some kind of alien ideology, not to some nationalist or imperialist ideology from some forgotten empire, not the imposition of foreign customs and the submission to foreign despots."

"There are those there that say that there was no canonical Orthodox Church in the North American until 1924 until the establishment of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Greek archdiocese. Excuse me."

"Seven months ago I was still an abbot in a monastery in northern California. Just a few months ago I was made Metropolitan and I had no idea, really, what the scope of Orthodoxy is in America. And, now I’m beginning to get an idea."

"is not about some kind of international organization where we look 8000 miles away for some source of canonicity."

“There is an American Orthodox Church. Leave it alone.”

Another possibility is that he was canned as it were. Perhaps they couldn't just get along. A final word there is a scandal brewing and the OCA laundry will no doubt flap in the wind.

Metropolitan Jonah Resigns Syosset Clueless

2011-02-25T07:37:00.000-08:00

OCA headquarters in Syosset New York reacted initially with surprise and a complete unawareness of the alleged resignation. Further up the food chain however there was no official denial of the allegations of Met. resignation. There only seemed to be the lacking in an official handling of the matter.

The real question is the OCA moving.

Flash - resigned the Chief Metropolitan Jonah OCA

2011-02-25T06:51:00.000-08:00

"Exclusive - According to exclusive information «Romfea.gr», a few hours ago he resigned the Chief of OCA Metropolitan Jonah of America.

Give that same information indicates that the governor is Prince Archbishop Nathaniel of the Romanian Episcopate of the OCA.

Finally, noting that the new head of the OCA will be elected during the Inter-American Meeting of the OCA in the autumn".

http://www.romfea.gr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7372:-oca-&catid=13

A more reliable translation:

"According to proprietary information available to Romfea, Metropolitan Jonah resigned a few hours ago the head of the OCA.

The same source of information that gave the... news to Romfea indicates that Archbishop Nathanail of Romanian Diocese of OCA will preside over the OCA in the immediate interim.

Finally, it should be noted that the new leader of the OCA will be elected during the Synodal Meeting of the OCA next autumn [2011]."

Ronald McDonald House and St. John The Divine

2011-02-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church

Fr. Nicholas' inspirational bible verse for today is, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble….” – Psalms 46:1-3 Friends, if you are going through a difficult or challenging time right now, I want you to lean on our God. He will always give you the strength to go through the storms of life. Be encouraged knowing that the sun always shines after every storm. Have a great Friday and God bless.

Run for Religious Freedom Marathon Stats

2011-01-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

Cause: Run for Religious Freedom

Participant: Damianakis, Angela

Event: Walt Disney World Marathon Jan. 9, 2011

Female 42 yr. old

Distance: MARATHON 26.2 miles

Clock Time 4:27:32

Chip Time 4:23:01

Overall Place 3702 / 13522

Gender Place 1054 / 6267

Division Place 177 / 951

Age Grade 55.1%

5 Mile 48:12

10 Mile 1:37:30

Half Split 2:09:46

20 Mile 3:18:42

O.K. everyone this wasn't a personal record but it is completed. Please know there is always another marathon to take our cause to the streets. Please remember to donate through paypal is you believe this a worthy cause.

Run for Religious Freedom Marathon 2011

2011-01-07T20:20:00.001-08:00

Run for Religious Freedom Marathon 2011 in upon us. What I hope to accomplish with this inaugural event is to empower a grassroots effort and telegraph bodly the message: We are tenacious, dedicated and persistent. Although we live the world seas away, we care about religious freedom and the right of our spiritual leader the Ecumenical Patriarch to be afforded all civil and human rights endowed to each of us by our Creator.

Stepping out despite my weakness or inexperience will provide a most valuable tool. It has already changed how I approach challenges in life. This is faith: the gap between ability and accomplishment. This training, this basic running rule, has shown me how to apply Biblical principles in everyday life. In the end we all must ask ourselves whom do we really serve in our behavior, by our conduct, with our effort; there is where our heart is. So I'm will lace up and get moving!!!

I will Dig Deep and shake the lead out.

Defrocked Priest Converts to Sect

2011-01-05T09:01:00.000-08:00

Background: To protect the family of this defrocked priest I have changed his name and voided overly specific dates and parish names. I discuss the facts which are pertinent and which serve to complete the picture of the deplorable state of the end of his priesthood and his joining a christian sect.

In the late 1980's, Sam enrolled at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology graduating with honors. Sam served as a member of the Sexual Misconduct Advisory Board for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOA).

While Pastor at his California GO Parish, in 2002, he was granted permission from his bishop to sit on an interfaith Clergy Sexual Misconduct Review Board charged with advising the local bishop on policies related to clergy sexual misconduct.

After few years of service Sam resigned in a formal letter to his congregation, in which he acknowledged having ”strayed from faithfulness” to his wife, resulting in divorce. While Sam was never accused of sexual contact wtih minors he refused to comment whether the person or persons with whom he has sexual relations where part of his flock.

Sam was suspended from the priesthood in 2007 and was defrocked in 2008.

On November of this year 2010

Sam posted this on his Facebook status "For three and a half years ... Cathedral has been my spiritual home. It welcomed and cared for me in time of greatest need. It’s the place I stand authentically before God. Today, with a thankful heart, I was received into the Anglican Communion & Episcopal Church at a blessing service...".

What stuck me as sad and obvious state of personal defeat for Sam he received 15 'like' comments from his 'friends'. And many comments of congratulations. I can't really explain what welled up inside of me what I read prominent Orthodox church members falling over themselves to congratulate him.

I chose rather to reach out in a message:

"it was fortunate to stumble across your Facebook status. Elias would wish you warmest regards himself but he is in Brussels at the Religious Freedom Conference. I know many people close to you have offered their encouragement. i wish you the very best. you are thought of fondly here in our humble home. I will pray for your comfort and solace".

Sam's reply "Thank you and please extend by appreciation to Elias...best...S"

My follow-up "Will do. I'm sorry for your difficulties but more so that you didn't find what you needed in the Holy Orthodox Church. How have you been what are you doing with yourself now? How is your family life? On a lighter note, my new blog has its official kickoff today i hope you visit and comment often!"

Sam's reply "Angela... Thanks for reaching out...I'm happier and more at peace with God, self and others, than ever in life. I'm the Executive Director of the Interfaith Council. Very fulfilling and relevant work. Spending long overdue time as a quality dad. Living and authentic life. Fascinating blog...I'm glad that you are undertaking this VERY needed project!"

THEN Sam's anger and resentment which sits just below the surface emerged. The end result I was 'defriended'.

Later that same week Sam posted this Facebook status prompting my seeking his council. "DUE TO THE OVERWHELMING RESPONSE, RESERVATIONS FOR .... 13th Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Prayer Breakfast ARE NOW CLOSED...."

Christ is in our midst. I am interested in finding out from you with your broad knowledge base and understanding of orthodoxy (proper) and Protestant denominations why you think orthodox rallies, youth events, seminars and other events including service attendance tend to be a low representation of actual numbers. Why do you think other sects have stronger turnout.

I believe orthodox Christians are on even footing intellectually and are statistically more educated; have higher wages and strong family values. Orthodoxy also have the fullness of the faith so why the shortfalls? Thank you for your help.

In His service,

Angela

Sam's initial RESPONSE:"Crunch time at work...glad to help after the holidays...m

Ps. Sects is not a pc term"

ME: Sam whenever you can. I'm not concerned with PC as an appropriate mandate for private or public speech. PC speech is too arbitrary speaking little about an issue and more about cultural fads and trends based on geopolitical climates.. I'm interested in truth and understanding.

God bless and Happy Thanksgiving.

Sam starts to escalate. RESPONSE: "I don’t consider myself to be part of a sect, in the same way that I don’t believe that the Orthodox Church has exclusive right to the kingdom. Exclusivity precludes the possibility for relationships with the other and is probably the reason that the Greek Orthodox Church and community continues to function in a ghetto".

ME: Now Sam that was spiteful. Exclusivity of the Kingdom how did you get there? God will save whom He wishes. I personally believe based on the church history dogma was basic tenants of the Faith (of which you are familiar) what saves those who seek outside the Faith are those aspects which are in common not contrary.

Sam slams the door in classic protestant form RESPONSE: "Thanks for reaching out. I really don't think that I can be of assistance to you.

Blessings to you and your family."

Sam

ME:Blessings to you also please know that my initial email I the thread was to gain insight. It was for my benefit not yours. I'm not trying convince you of anything. You know Orthodoxy doesn't function like that. If you lost confidence in the church because of your short comings (which we all have and all have to come to terms with) then you have chosen the long way and unlike others who think. Congratulations are in order I'll simply note your overwhelming pain and disappointment and light a candle for you. I'm not trying to offend or anger you. You chose rather to sling mud. After your second email I went to the dictionary and sect would apply. I'm disturbed that you would say that the Greek Orthodox Church is in the ghetto is that what you found when you professed the faith. I'm sorry your pride infected you that you somehow blame the church for your pain. The prodigal first had to find his condition to be lacking so much so that be returned as a hired hand.

If I don't hear from you again I'm sorry for your loss which is apparent.

Turkish Cabinet Minister Official Visit to Ecumenical Patriarchate

2011-01-03T10:01:00.000-08:00

ANKARA, Turkey - A senior Cabinet minister on Monday became the highest-level Turkish official to visit the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in more than half a century, symbolizing government pledges to address problems of religious minorities and strengthen the country's European Union membership bid.

Turkey for decades has ignored demands of the Patriarchate due to mistrust stemming from rivalry with Greece. But Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc's visit coincided with government promises to consider reopening a seminary that trained generations of Ecumenical Patriarchs and returning properties confiscated by the state to Christian and Jewish minority foundations.

Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, is striving to join the European Union, but faces criticism that it discriminates against non-Muslim citizens and Alevis, a Muslim minority sect. The European Commission's 2010 progress report cited restrictions on the training of clergy and other religious practices. The Islamic-rooted government seeks to promote religious freedom, loosening tight state controls that are a legacy of Turkey's secular founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Arinc entered the Patriarchate from a side gate and passed by a decorated Christmas tree in the rain-washed marble courtyard before sitting under an icon of Jesus Christ together with Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Dogan news agency video showed.

The main entrance remains welded shut out of respect for Patriarch Gregory V, who was accused of conspiring against the Ottoman Empire and was hanged from it in 1821. Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, was the capital of Christian Byzantium before falling to Muslim Turkish forces in 1453.

Two ministers visited the patriarchate in the past two years, but Arinc is the highest ranking government official to visit since Prime Minister Adnan Menderes in 1952. Menderes was later hanged after a military coup.

"Today is a very happy day for us," said Bartholomew. "It has strengthened our hopes."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government recently "surprised" the Patriarchate by granting Turkish citizenship to 14 senior clerics from North and South America as well as Hong Kong, South Korea and Crete and separately returned control of a 19th-century orphanage to the Patriarchate, said Father Dositheos Anagnostopulos, a spokesman for the Patriarchate.

About eight more clerics were still waiting for Turkish citizenship, a requirement for anyone who succeeds the elderly Bartholomew.

The patriarch had complained to Erdogan in August that the closure of the Halki seminary in 1971 prevented raising new leaders for the church and made it difficult for the dwindling Greek community of several thousand to produce any candidates.

"It is our duty to meet the just demands of our citizens who have lived in this country for centuries," Arinc said. "We will try to meet them from a legal point of view."

He stressed that no decision has been made yet but the government was "determined" to give rights to minorities.

Turkey's government is also taking steps toward the return of property confiscated from minorities in the 1970s. But it is not clear whether they would be allowed to reclaim property that has been sold or whether they would be compensated for the loss of such properties.

Bartholomew hailed the government's reforms as "openings for democracy and further westernization of Turkey" but said the measures fell short of expectations.

"They are not 100 per cent satisfactory. We expect new and more progressive steps on these issues," Bartholomew said. "Of course, we expect the reopening of the seminary. It is the 40th anniversary of its closure this year."

The Halki Theological School on Heybeliada Island, near Istanbul, was closed to new students in 1971 under a law that put religious and military training under state control. The school closed its doors in 1985, when the last five students graduated.

"The visit by the deputy prime minister to our Patriarchate has both excited us and raised our hopes for a solution to our problems," said Laki Vingas, a member of the Greek Orthodox community.

Halki Seminary Re-opening Underconsideration Ankara, Turkey

2011-01-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

Turkey says it is considering Orthodox demand to reopen seminary after 40-year closure. The Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey says it is considering a demand by the Istanbul-based Orthodox Patriarchate for the reopening of a seminary that trained generations of Ecumenical Patriarchs.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc says "we will try to meet them from a legal point of view." He spoke Monday during a courtesy New Year visit to Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians.

Bartholomew hailed Turkey's overtures toward minorities as "openings for democracy and westernization." He said he hopes the seminary can be reopened this year, 40 years after its closure.

Turkey recently granted citizenship to several senior clerics at the church — a requirement for the aging Bartholomew's successor — and separately returned control of a 19th-century orphanage to the Patriarchate.

Content Provided By Canadian Press.

Metropolitan Paisios, Bishop Vikentios and George Michalopulos

2010-12-31T15:49:00.000-08:00

Many headlines read: "Metropolitan Paisios of Tyana and Bishop Vikentios of Apameia are Officially Out". The key term is officially. It implies ever so subltly that there must be the unofficial position. There has been a lot of mudd slinging since this story broke. My greatest objection has been with the National Herald and other news media agencies who have failed to provide a good working English translation of this story. This is an affront to all Orthodox Christians here in the United States where the official language is English. This catastrophe at Saint Irene Chrysovalantou Sacred and Patriarchal Monastery in Astoria, NY is of concern to all believers. It brings to light undercurrent of concern that this kind of corruption may be a systemic problem in the church and the broader more persistent and chronic approach to splitting the Church along linguistic lines. Both are errosive and abominations of paramount importance.

As for the protocol of the investigation and the Synods conclusions I find little cause for such pandering and concern. The Ecumenical Patriarchs decision to conduct a full scale investigation beginning with in depth interviews at the Phanar and then censoring Metropolitan Paisios of Tyana and Bishop Vikentios by remanding them to Greece is not scandalous. It was to prevent the tampering of evidence and of possible victims. The Synodical Delegation was then sent to review the matter on site in Astoria, NY. They gathered information made the necessary inquiries and without delay returned to the Phanar to report their findings.

This investigation did not in any way impede or supersede the investigation of law enforcement on the city or federal levels. I believe that the allegations of sexual misconduct and fiscal mismanagement are in fact true on some level. The only unbelievable part of this nightmare is Bishop Vikentios' assertion that he was either unaware or remaining in protest of such improprieties.

Metropolitan Paisios of Tyana and Bishop Vikentios are indefinitely suspended from any ecclesiastical responsibility or privilege. They cannot even serve as altar boys. How this is a cover up is a remarkable assertion. It would appear that the witch hunt was begun befure the investigation had even commenced with the character assassination of the investigators themselves. Met. Nikitas has been the target of such bashing and slander that it is unfathomable that the slingers of such mud can consider themselves advocates of anything good.

We as a people of Faith should never use hate speech, assert our bigotry, racism or homophobia in a pitiful attempt to somehow equate such malign evil with virtue. Race, Citizenship, Jurisdiction, primary Language, Religious Affiliation, Intelligence or Sexual Orientation have little, if anything, to do with sexual abuse or misconduct.

Unanimously Decided to Suspend Paisios and Vikentios

2010-12-18T21:13:00.000-08:00

The road to hell is paved with ...

"It is hereby announced that the Hierarchs of the Throne in our City gathered for an extraordinary session today, December 17, 2010, and revisited the issue which has arisen at the Patriarchal and Stravropegial Monastery of St. Irene Chrysovalantou in Astoria, New York, unanimously arriving at the decision to suspend indefinitely both Metropolitan Paisios of Tyana, former Abbot of the Monastery, and Bishop Vikentios of Apameia, its former Deputy Abbot, from every clerical function".

I have refrained from posting further articles on this scandal even when prodded by other bloggers. I wanted to wait to hear the decision from the Phanar. I was resolute in affirming that the Patriarcate would not harbor any offender and would address the matter with all wisdom and courage. Much to the disbelief of others this proved to be true. Although formal allegations were not disclosed, the Phanar did the responsible thing and after reviewing the investigation essentially refused the resignation of Met. Paisios and suspended both he and Bishop Vikentios indefinitely.

This will prevent them from furthering to poison the water hole as it were. This internal investigation proved more fruitful then the one conducted in New York by the police officials or even the Feds. I would venture to say that pressure to sequester witnesses by the community, simply well covered tracks or the technicality on statute of limitations has thus prevailed. Of course the case is not yet closed to my knowledge so I can only assume the investigation will continue. Interestingly, defrocked priest and self proclaimed iconographer George Lemonakis has crept back to the shadows as has is chums.

To those who were drooling at the bit to disparage the Ecumenical Synod 'boo hoo'. To those too cowardly to come out and state their concerns but only slug innuendo and gossip "fatta" (eat it).

Austrian MP Ewald Stadler adresses Turkish Ambassador

2010-12-03T20:58:00.001-08:00

Only Through Action Are We Freed to Act

2010-12-02T20:25:00.000-08:00

Smyrna 1922

2010-11-29T19:21:00.003-08:00