Comments Posted By Geo Michalopulos
Displaying 211 To 240 Of 1,672 Comments
The situation is how shall we put it? fluid.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 11:52 pm
That’s a very good point, Pro. I was noth aware of the intricacies involved in this. Makes sense though: I always understood that the ROC doesn’t hold Lefty in all that high regard.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 7:26 pm
Could be Mel.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 6:25 pm
Seraphim, a very sober analysis. And wise counsel. If things go badly in Miami, then it will truly be over. To borrow Seraphim’s analogy, it would be as if the Luftwaffe had won the Battle of Britain.
Keep your eyes on Bp Benjamin. Not only is he an architect of the coup, he will usher in a very brand new day for the OCA should he get the white klobuk. (Assuming that there’s going to be an AAC in 2014.)
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 5:51 pm
This Is Far from Over: Get Religion Weighs In
Carl, can we ask you to publish the results of your latest medical examination? Why won’t you? Sounds like you have something to hide.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 17, 2012 @ 11:56 am
I’m not following you Harry. I’m just reading the CYA report and know that it’s incoherent. Read my critique. Tell me where I’m wrong.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 17, 2012 @ 11:53 am
“…which was conveyed to me by…”
Context is everything.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 16, 2012 @ 6:36 am
Not so. Read my earlier postings. It doesn’t take a majority in an institution to be beholden to this sin. It doessn’t even take a plurality.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 15, 2012 @ 7:42 pm
Yeah, that about sums it up.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 12, 2012 @ 12:07 am
H&O, you are right about one thing: good Christians don’t act like this. And their shepherds should follow the canons.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 2:13 pm
Excellent ideas! see how wonderful it is when the Brethren support each other!
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 1:48 pm
Fr John, please forgive me for what follows as I mean no offense at all. It is in the spirit of just straight talk, nothing more. What you suggest is what has gotten us into the state we are in. Quite honestly, it is illegitimate (as is this entire episode). Why do I say this? Because the Lesser Synod (at the very least) broke all the canons dealing with how to operate in a conciliar manner. This is now a proven fact given that they admitted this in Bp Matthias’ letter. Even if HB were guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors and heresy on top of that, the fact that no due process was involved here makes everything that follows from these meetings invalid.
I could go on: there is the probability of coercion (again, illegal).
Regardless, it is simply unacceptable to expect the Royal Priesthood to behave like children who must trust their shepherd when these self-same shepherds have behaved in an egretious manner. I’m sure that you and your parish council have higher standards of transparency than what is on display here.
Again, I meant no offense.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 1:45 pm
These are all excellent ideas. Being in the DOS, I’m going to suggest (since we don’t have a head tax) that the entire remittance from the DOS to Syosset be put in an escrow account until this issue is resolved.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 1:18 pm
I like your style Eowyn!
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 1:12 pm
Niko, this is all so disturbing (and unnecessary). Bp Matthias is definately one of the good guys on the synod. I think what he did to Stokoe was above-board, fair, and discriminate. It’s too bad he got caught up in this feeding frenzy. For what it’s worth, my sources who can stomach La Drezhlo’s site warned me that s/he wrote that s/he was going to “go after Moriak [sic].” There was an intimation that there was paper trail against Bp Matthias.
I’m curious if those two (Stokoe/La Drezhlo) have formed an alliance.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 1:11 pm
thank you, Ana. And a hearty ANAXIOS as well!
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 1:03 pm
Harry, Diogenes, if true, how do you feel about your precious American church now? I hope you like the taste of baklava and having your children dance in ethnic food festivals.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 12:06 pm
Catherine, there is the very slim possibility that you may be right. (I highly doubt it but I’ll play along with you.)
You made two assertions: please back them up. (1) In what way was His Beatitude acting in such a way as to “destroy” the Church? and (2) are you on the Metropolitan Council? How would you know that “everybody” on the MC was in favor of this action?
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 12:04 pm
Chris, that’s the last thing they want. I mean, if they have something, even a minor thing that Jonah may have mishandled, they can’t bring it out and expose to the light of day because that will create a horrendous precedent.
Why? Because we have a culture of uber-secrecy in the episcopate. Why? because we are dealing with is the sin of sodomy.
According to Christian tradition, there are four sins that cry out to heaven:
1. willful murder (Cain and Abel; Gen 4:1-16). This includes abortion btw.
2. Sodomy (Gen 19:5),
3. Oppression of the poor, especially widows, orphans and strangers (Exod 22:20), and
4. Defrauding laborers of their wages (Deut 24:14).
Numbers 3 and 4 are definately in play. By withholding Jonah’s paycheck from him, they are are doing #4, but they are doing #3 as well (given that he is the only support for his elderly parents and sister).
What is driving them to do this? Number 2. Because they are terrified of their own secrets being exposed, they must hang the sin of “noncompliance” or some such transgression around the neck of the scapegoat.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 12:00 pm
Greg, have you had any takers yet for the Sex Czar position?
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 11:45 am
This Is Far from Over: Catholic Online Weighs In
Daniel, is your father a theologian? I may think that the last 15 minutes of Blazing Saddles is the greatest cinematographic experience in history, that and 50c will buy you a cup of coffee.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 7:42 pm
I like that! Ephialtis for Eric!
“O xein, aggelon Lakedomoniois, oti tidai kimetha, tis koinon remasoi –pithomenoi!”
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 11, 2012 @ 7:32 pm
To bad they don’t have the Sex Czar and his trusty sidekick Clergy Cop in place yet.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 10, 2012 @ 7:41 pm
Bingo. Diogenes/La Drezhlo’s hated “converts.”
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 10, 2012 @ 5:02 pm
It’s not that they didn’t realize this Fr Hans, it’s that they didn’t care. Or worse, they were hostile to this type of Christian witness.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 10, 2012 @ 4:58 pm
This Is Far from Over: The Chicago Tribune Weighs in
Brian, read Jonah’s letter carefully: he uses the words “conveyed to me,” regarding the “unanimous” vote. Not only does that cast doubt on the facticity of its supposed unanimity, but it mercifully leaves an escape hatch out for any of Jonah’s critics who wants to take it. This would include Jillions. He can always say, “well they told me that this was unanimous.”
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 14, 2012 @ 5:20 pm
One of the thoughts that has dominated my mind recently was the same type of injustice and evil was inflicted on St Nektarios and St John Maximovitch. In time, both of their Churches repented but the cost to both men and to the faithful was incalculable.
Jonah is in many ways like the Patriarch Joseph was was hated by his brothers and left to die in a well.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 10, 2012 @ 4:45 pm
yes indeed, that’s what I mean by “scandalized.” How many missions will not form now? How many good men will not be ordained? How many people will leave their parishes for calmer waters?
As for those of us in the South, I don’t think things are as dire as they are in the other dioceses. We shall see –and watch and pray.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 10, 2012 @ 4:40 pm
Harry, institutions don’t fall overnight. Byzantium retrenched to its walls and survived for a century. Nevertheless, it was obvious to all that it was over, the population had shrunk to 50,000, entire city blocks had returned to farmland, the economy was in the doldrums, etc. The only thing that held the Turks back was their inability to breach the walls. Once gunpowder was invented, it was over.
Do I see a way out for the OCA to survive and maintain its autocephaly? Yes I do but the answer would require good judgment and some well-placed backroom deals with certain parties. But the principals are so invested in their mythology that they won’t do it.
There’s a Byzantine precedence for this: weeks before the walls were finally breached, the Senate was debating serious topics like what color the Virgin Mary’s eyes were. After all, this was the city of Constantine, it would never fall, it could never fall.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 10, 2012 @ 4:35 pm
«« Back To Stats PageDunno. It’s possible that Moscow saw that even with a dozen Jonahs on the synod, the internal structure of the OCA as epitomized by the Syossett/MC axis is beyond repair. It’s been my realization for a few months now that the MC is superior to the Synod. And with a vicious people who relentlessly stabbed their primate in the back and threatened his pay and with sycophants invoking the name of Schmemann, Kirill just decided to just pull the plug.
If people are dead set on killing themselves, the only prudent thing to do is get out of the way.
» Posted By Geo Michalopulos On July 10, 2012 @ 4:27 pm
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