Comments Posted By Jane Rachel

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Guest Editorial: Dysfunction in the OCA

Meh. Thinking it through, I’m really far more frustrated with the bubbling, stinky pot of goo and with the cooks responsible for the mess, than I am with the stirrers of the pot, including these self-appointed watch-dogs, The “Sons of Job.”

» Posted By Jane Rachel On November 2, 2012 @ 8:55 pm

George Michalpoulos and his blog are fighting the battle, honestly. No hairs on the back of the neck there. Maybe disagreements, but no icky feeling.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On November 2, 2012 @ 8:07 pm

Your posts seem odd to me, and especially when you claim to be “sons” of the Holy Prophet Job. As if you have any idea what he went through, or as if you anonymous people have the right to connect yourself with him and call him your “Father.” Listen, I’m sorry but who do you think you are? Hairs raise up on the back of my neck when I actually take the time to read what you are writing. It feels like you used Archbishop Job’s name first, not the Prophet Job’s name. Why not call yourselves the “Sons of Habakkuk”? No, you chose “Job.” It is pretty darn clear to me that you want to link yourselves to Archbishop Job first. After all, HE was the big SAINT and even a martyr, according to 99% of OCA parishioners who didn’t listen to those who spoke out opposing him and Wheeler and Mark Stokoe, etc., etc. Oh, yes, he prostrated himself in front of Bishop Nikolai. You wrote about that, didn’t you? As if he was the big martyr and Bishop Nikolai was the one who should have prostrated himself before Archbishop Job? And by the way, what WAS up with that?? Did you ever wonder that if Bishop Tikhon is telling the truth about Bishop Nikolai, and that if you don’t believe what he says then you have to believe that he is lying? What were the real reasons?

I just can’t think along a multitude of lines. Either something is true and someone is telling the truth, or something is a lie and someone is telling a lie. I don’t go back and forth that way.
No, I believe you speak out of both sides of your mouth, whether you realize it or not. Take a stand, but don’t repeat old news as if it were new news. Using Archbishop Job’s name will give you readership. Good for you. But then, when you are called on the carpet for using Archbishop Job’s name as the source for your “group, which is growing, oh goody!, you then invoke the name of the Holy Prophet Job, who went through more than you ever did or ever will, of this I am sure.

As if no one has been saying these same things publicly for almost seven years. So, you like it that Archbishop Job asked the Big Question: “Are the allegations true or are they false?” Many years ago, when that question was first asked, and for years afterward, Bishop Tikhon stated as fact, as did Monk James and maybe, maybe one other, though I don’t know who, that the allegations against Fr. Robert Kondratick were false. Absolutely false. So Bishop Job had his answer long ago. Why did he ride on that wave and lead all his priests to whatever the heck they all did? Yes, it still bothers me.

How well do you really understand what has been going on in the OCA, so that you feel confident you can come forward with all these allegations? Are you sure? Why re-write it all? Why not just quote those who have already said it before?

And where or when have you ever been falsely accused, or paid the price like the Prophet Job and Fr. Robert Kondratick and Bishop Nikolai did, so that you can justify using the name of the Prophet Job as the source of your ramblings? If you want to use the name of Archbishop Job as your Man, then you had better take a deep breath first, before you do that, and really think about whether what has been written about him is true or not. I sure would.

Still gets under my skin when I read claptrap in the guise of truth.

Oh gosh, as long as I’m on a roll, I want to say this: I am sorry about what happened to Metropolitan Jonah. But all that was just added scabbiness on top of what happened before he came along. Unless what happened before is dealt with openly and unless some good leaders come forward to lead the OCA and make right what was wrong, what happened to Metropolitan Jonah will never ever be made right. You can’t make right stick unless the wrong underneath it is made right first.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On November 2, 2012 @ 5:53 pm

Sons of Job: The Canons Prohibit the Bishops from Voting at Parma

Your Grace, “when Father Robert Kondratick is re-instated and serves his first Divine Liturgy, and when Bishop Nikolai is able to grace the episcopate of a different Local Church”….yes, that will be a fine day, indeed, and about time! I can’t handle Martinis, but definitely, I’ll enjoy a glass of homemade apple wine or oatmeal stout in their honor.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On November 5, 2012 @ 11:36 am

Wasn’t Archbishop Job associated with the Masons? I know he received some kind of award from them at one time, in Chicago. It’s probably not googleable now. Does anyone know why? At the time, I wondered, but then I supposed he was just being polite.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On November 3, 2012 @ 6:04 pm

Dear loh,

At least it wasn’t a concentration camp they threw him into, know what I mean? A week or two of just about anything short of something truly unbearable is endurable for anyone, no matter how sane. I doubt Metropolitan Jonah would want you to make more of it than it actually was.

Every single veteran of war I’ve ever known (and I’ve known many and been married to one), didn’t make a big deal out of their experiences. I think this was because they didn’t think what they did was much compared to the ones who died or were badly injured or were prisoners of war. Just sayin’.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On November 2, 2012 @ 10:06 pm

“Just ask the Ben Lomond guys.”

Don’t worry, Ben Lomond wasn’t the first time, or the last, that “they” closed ranks on anyone who threatened their scene. Groovy.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On November 2, 2012 @ 7:42 pm

Seems like you could google “Wojcik” and spell his name correctly.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On November 2, 2012 @ 7:40 pm

The Narrative Continues to Fail

My apologies to the person called “Helga” here for that unnecessary remark. Forgive me, Helga, I was being a noo-noo head.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On November 9, 2012 @ 11:18 am

“Helga” is a man? That is creepy. Well, I am a woman, for sure and my middle name is Jane… But I don’t contribute the way Helga does. I am reading through her/his posts with a different perspective right now. Helga, tell us the truth… are you really a man?

» Posted By Jane Rachel On November 6, 2012 @ 3:23 pm

Guest Editorial: “Sons of Job” Call for New Leadership in the OCA

Yes, there is proof. .Lessseeee, Mark Stokoe was not only a leader in his parish. He is very deeply responsible for a lot more. As you KNOW, Mark Stokoe was a big leader in the OCA. Everyone followed him as if he was GOD. Mark Stokoe helped lead the OCA into a deep, dark, descent into hell (please, please read Charles Williams’ novel, “Descent into Hell.”) Mark Stokoe is a homosexual and lives with his partner, Stephen Brown. Mark Stokoe’s mother’s obituary is proof because it states that Mark Stokoe’s partner is considered by Mark’s family to be her son-in-law. Get with the program. Jeez. I’m sad, Mark Stokoe. I am so sad.

Father Ted Bobosh’s wife sued him for ABUSE? Are you certain of this? What is he doing being a leader???? I am so glad I’m out of the OCA and so sad about it, I find it hard to bear.

BLEAH.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On October 13, 2012 @ 5:37 pm

How Not to Win Friends and Influence People

Andrew M…. Thank you for your comment. Like.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On October 26, 2012 @ 6:53 pm

Father John, do you think it’s okay for church attendees to drink coffee before Divine Liturgy? I saw people doing that as if it were no problem, and not only that, but I got the feeling that it was “allowed” by their leaders. I was taken aback by it, couldn’t understand it. Along the same lines, speaking of the principle rather than the object, the reason for having no pews, I feel, is this: We are standing in a place where the veil between heaven and earth is as thin as it gets. Should we dare to sit down in that space if we can stand? I couldn’t care less whether there are pews or not. The reason for not eating or drinking anything (if we are able) before partaking of the Eucharist also makes sense to me. On the other hand, if you MUST eat or drink something, or if you MUST sit, or if it is written down in a canon somewhere to sit during a certain prayer, go ahead and do it. The principle is within, not without.

The “travesty” that the OCA has become is in the leadership, or rather, some or even a small percentage of them, and these men are in the high places. Nothing new there. Many here, who belong to the OCA and who comment here, including bishops and priests and monks, nuns, and lay people, are doing their best, their absolute best, to speak out against that corruption, loudly, and in any way they can. They want the OCA leadership to be full of good, solid, moral people.

There is also corrupt leadership in the high places in every single religious place, including your Antiochian Church. Nothing new there. It’s going to happen as long as we are on this earth. So when you say, “Concentrate on your own problems and leave us [good guys implied here] alone”, as if “yours” is better than “ours,” makes me cringe, a bit. “We” are not different from “you.” We are all in the same boat. Even those outside the Church are also living one lifetime on this ship. And, thinking about it, I would add that subtle, inner, hidden corruption in leadership is far more dangerous and scary, and at least as evil if not more evil in the eyes of God, who sees the heart.

“Your” ship is not automatically better than “our” ship. Your leadership is not more blessed by God, or more Orthodox. I would not personally use a Church in another part of the world, or one five miles away from where I live for that matter, as my guide as to what is Orthodox or not.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On October 26, 2012 @ 9:22 am

More Narrative Fail: The OCL Weighs In

Stephen King wouldn’t make something like this up. I think Archbishop Job was living in a la la land if he thought “The Shining” could hold a candle to this reality… including his very own, personal reality. Get Archbishop Benjamin help before he dies alone in a parking lot. Make that, “Archbishop Benjamin, get help before you die alone in a parking lot.”

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 21, 2012 @ 8:35 pm

Gotta Give Credit Where Credit is Due

Ahem… er… AMEN, AMOS!!!

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 18, 2012 @ 8:51 pm

Memo to Syosset: Retired or Not Retired? That is the Question

Not that it matters, but I almost always like your posts, Lex Caritas.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 18, 2012 @ 8:41 pm

YAY! Father Patrick is finding something helpful!

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 18, 2012 @ 8:40 pm

LIKE!!

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 18, 2012 @ 8:38 pm

I don’t agree with “Helga”!!!!! Leave ‘em! Just don’t put them at the top of the page now that you have already done that. And RELAX!!!! )))

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 18, 2012 @ 8:37 pm

I agree with Father James!! !!!!

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 18, 2012 @ 8:35 pm

An Open Letter to the Orthodox Church in America

M. Stankovich, good friend of Eric Wheeler, wrote about Eric Wheeler:

“I heard you fool some of the people some of the time, some of the fools part of the time…” and then he goes on to say in a sideways way that those who know Eric weren’t fooled. What does that mean? NOTHING?

Who did Eric Wheeler fool? The entire OCA (except those who know him)?

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 20, 2012 @ 7:06 am

He is still living “chastely” with his gay lover.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 20, 2012 @ 6:52 am

His exact words were that they were living “chastely.”

Well, THAT’S a relief, isn’t it, George?

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 18, 2012 @ 11:00 pm

Nope, but I like your good sense and the fact that you post your real name, Lola J. Lee Beno. It’s a nice name.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 18, 2012 @ 8:59 pm

Heracleides, speaking to a fellow artist, I am glad you are around. TYVM, indeed.

P.S. I vote “YES” to Heracleides. He sez it as he sees it. You may not like it, but you can tell him so. Do not edit Heracleides.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 18, 2012 @ 7:45 pm

And Now for a Word from One of the “DC Nuns”

The letter has been readable online in the tiny Orthodox online pond for several years. It’s been known for several months that Bishop Nikolai wrote it. That makes everyone who has read the letter responsible in part for not reporting it and/or pushing for an investigation. Doesn’t it?

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 14, 2012 @ 8:03 am

Gail, exactly. Children. I was actually almost completely unable to act other than to do what I did. It’s a long story. But Archbishop Benjamin must be investigated. According to Monk James there is proof, then. Huh. Pokrov, if you are reading this, listen up. As you know, Bishop Nikolai admitted that he did IN FACT write that letter, and you have known he wrote it for more than a year now, because Mark Stokoe himself posted those stolen emails and phone conversations, wherein Bishop Nikolai told Father Joseph Fester that he wrote it. It is really shameful and hypocritical, Pokrov, that you did not push that investigation. Better get busy.

MILLSTONES!!!

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 13, 2012 @ 4:37 pm

I asked George to delete this but he didn’t see my email message to him, so it got posted. Took me all night to decide to delete it, and here it is. Well, so be it. Feels odd, letting that truth come out. Not sure it helps anyone, though. I got tired of all the comparisons, and “clean up your own house” business. If one man stands and thanks God he is not like THAT man, then that first man is better off just looking within, at what makes him think he’s better. He’s not better, and we are ALL in the same boat. It’s called humanity.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 13, 2012 @ 11:44 am

Well, I did it too. It was an Antiochian personage, not clergy, but at the tippy top of the ranking with the most well known Antiochian clergy. I know for a fact about what he was looking at on his computer, and when I told his clergy (and, also, my OCA priest), they did nothing. When I asked them later they denied it, saying he had denied it and therefore, it was OVER. It was not over with me, but I backed down, for personal, self-protective reasons. I was shut down, silenced and that was that. Shame on me.

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 12, 2012 @ 10:00 pm

I have a few questions for Bishop Tikhon or for anyone who might be able to answer. Is it known without doubt by those in the know that the letter Bishop Nikolai wrote to Archbishop Benjamin, which was later put up on the internet, is true? And if a computer guy found the evidence on the hard drive of the computer, is the evidence still in existence or was it destroyed? If destroyed, why? If not destroyed, why didn’t Bishop Nikolai bring it forward to the proper people who could take action? Why didn’t Bishop Nikolai present that evidence? If he did present the evidence, who stopped him? Why didn’t something result from that? It’s APPALLING. If it’s true, then why is Archbishop Benjamin still in office? And, finally, was what he was looking at illegal? Sorry to ask but it’s important, and I didn’t do it. How can anybody keep going in such a hornet’s nest of lies?

» Posted By Jane Rachel On September 12, 2012 @ 8:06 am