Comments Posted By Nikos

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Laurie Paffhausen, May Her Memory Be Eternal

Carl,

You have outdone yourself with your non-answer answer. Come on, still blaming others? We know that is the new OCA way, but you can do better than that. And your simple “no” to Mr. Osborne about Mark being openly gay and you don’t condone it, but this isn’t a man who is in civil politics where one might be able to suggest that what a man or woman does in his or her private life is of little or no concern to the electorate. Mark is a “statesman” a “voice of the OCA” according to your assessment, yet he is living a life that is directly contrary to the teachings of the Church.

He has lived this life since his days at seminary, while he worked in Syosset, while he represented the OCA at Syndesmos conferences, as a diocesan council member, metropolitan council member and self-appointed watchdog for the OCA. He is a person who has decided for himself what is right and wrong for others while he has applied the teachings of the Church to himself selectively.

Maybe these are some of the inconsistencies brought to light here and other places that have made Stokoe “famous.” More like “infamous” and now it appears he has abandoned the OCA at St. Paul’s in Dayton? Has anyone seen Mark recently?

» Posted By Nikos On November 24, 2012 @ 6:55 am

Stokoe the statesman of the OCA? That is curious since Mark and his companion no longer attend St Paul’s in Dayton – at least the last three months according to their priest Fr. Bobosh.

I guess since his work in the OCA is finished since according to Stokoe the OCA
Time of Troubles are over, he and Steve can move on to the Greeks or Antiochians and help them get back on track like the OCA.

» Posted By Nikos On November 23, 2012 @ 12:34 pm

Yes they are all around Thomas and I have spoken to many of them and came to the conclusion that RSK was the scapegoat. Wheeler and Stokoe were settling scores with RSK, Theodosius and Herman. They had many willing helpers in their quest to get back at RSK. They seem to have won since they are in and he is out, but in the process they killed the OCA.

» Posted By Nikos On November 22, 2012 @ 9:16 am

I hope so, Nicole. Remember, +Jonah was and is a kind man and a true monk. In that both +Tikhon and +Jonah are the same. I pray these qualities will be enough for the new Metropolitan. They were not enough for the last.

» Posted By Nikos On November 20, 2012 @ 3:39 pm

I would pray that Metropolitan Tikhon has the good charitable and Christian sense to lift the prohibition of Metropolitan Jonah from setting foot in St. Nicholas Cathedral in DC for one day for the sake of the grieving family. This would be a much better thing to do instead of when Metropolitan Herman was asked by the then suspended Protopresbyter Rodian Kondratick if he could have his suspension lifted for one day so that he could bury his mother at St. Tikhon’s. That request was denied. What a bitter thing to do then. May +Tikhon learn from that mistake and not make it again with +Jonah.

Memory Eternal to the handmaiden of God, Laura, departed this life.

» Posted By Nikos On November 20, 2012 @ 10:18 am

Extra! Syosset Reports of Deal Struck with Met. Jonah Not True

Carl,

You are whistling pass the graveyard with your attempts to justify the STINKBOMB letter. It was full of lies and character assassination. If this shows unity of the OCA synod, no wonder the OCA is a sinking ship.

Here is a scenario, the synod apologies for the letter, apologies to +Jonah and stop trying to lower the bar of what leaders of the Church are called to be.

» Posted By Nikos On January 10, 2013 @ 11:44 am

Coming from you, I take what I said as a positive in hitting a nerve which causes you to vomit. Keep dreaming MS. It seems to be a good escape for you.

» Posted By Nikos On December 20, 2012 @ 1:02 pm

Helga,

You are correct in noting that our dear Lord Chancellor Jillions earned a PhD in NT. Funny that no Orthodox institution ever hired him?SVS passed on him. That Orthodox Institute in England he was associated with was a flop while he was there. He ended up teaching at a Uniate school in Canada!

But, you are right, he has a PhD. Pretty soon Tosi is going to have one too. Doesn’t that make us all feel so much better?

But, everything is fine now. All is well.

» Posted By Nikos On December 20, 2012 @ 7:51 am

Christine

Call your respective MC member and ask him or her to tell you. Or call Fr Tosi and ask him to share that information. As Secretary, he should give you that information. Transparency and all that, right?

516-922-0550 Syosset phone number.

» Posted By Nikos On December 20, 2012 @ 7:34 am

MS tells us that “it is finished.” Of course these are the words of our Lord as he gave up his spirit on the Cross. And yet, we also know that his death on the Cross was not the end of the story. The resurrection was still to come.

And so, dear brother, although in your mind, “it is finished” with regards to +Jonah and the direction of the OCA, the final chapters have not been written. And how ironic that others in the past, like Metropolitan Herman advised us that “it is finished” when your pal Stokoe was bringing things to light. He didn’t stop when he was told to finish his “work.” Now Stokoe and you, and others of your brethren tell us “it is finished” the “time of troubles” are over.

Well, it is not over and it will not be over until the sins perpetrated against +Jonah are rectified by the bishops who lied or at the very least, misrepresented the facts, as the basis for his removal.

The time for resurrection is at hand, but it may be that those who killed +Jonah will need to go to their own Golgotha first so that their respective ministries and the life of the OCA can be resurrected.

» Posted By Nikos On December 19, 2012 @ 12:38 pm

SARCASM ALERT!

The “Chancellor’s diary” we are afflicted with all too often is a symptom that Fr Jillions believes he has a right and duty to “teach” us from his sage wisdom. I am not sure when he took upon himself that self-appointed duty.

I would much rather hear from +Tikhon than the lord chancellor of the OCA. However in keeping with the long tradition of the OCA, they keep their Metropolitan’s at arms length from the flock and give us a man who by virtue of his title thinks we actually care what he writes. (Alas, a reason for the disposal of +Jonah who tried to buck that tradition.) Another example of Syosset arrogance.

But then again, if the OCA chancellor wasn’t writing his daily thing nor rifling through clergy files looking for miscreants, all the while ignoring his own pastor who for years has lived with another man, I suppose he wouldn’t have much to do. If he wasn’t imposing himself on the Church like he did when he showed up at the Assembly of NY/NJ expecting a place of honor, thank goodness his appearance was treated with polite recognition but nothing more, the poor soul would be hard-pressed to earn his $150K salary.

But lest we forget he has told us that , “all is fine” in the OCA now.

» Posted By Nikos On December 17, 2012 @ 12:32 pm

Ah, Bishop Mark, the stealer of emails, the co-hort of Mark Stokoe, the back-stabber of Met. Jonah, the opportunist who is moving into the diocesan bishop’s residence in So. Canaan as he now tries to wiggle his way into the OCA Diocese of EPA.

Clergy and laity beware. This man is not worthy of the diocese of EPA.

» Posted By Nikos On December 11, 2012 @ 10:12 am

Helga,

SVS once Fr. Hopko took over as dean the school went into an ACOA syndrome. It is only now pulling itself out of the projection of Hopko’s demons onto the students and facility of the seminary. His tenure there as dean was a disaster and his removal as dean, oh, sorry, his retirement, that is the PC version, was necessary. He may have been Fr. Alexander’s son-in-law, but he was never even close to being a true successor to him.

I think the new leaders at the seminary are trying very hard to secure it from the stormy OCA seas around it. The school needs to survive even if the OCA goes under the waves.

Fr. Alexander and Fr John were like comets that blazed across the theological sky and burned white hot while they were with us. Now is the time for sober reflection on their teachings. What was right, what was not, and what should survive going forward. This is normal but to some the mere mention of questioning their thought is anathema. There is an old Russian saying that translates into English like “Trust but verify.” Always a good approach and one underway as we look at the legacy of these two men.

» Posted By Nikos On December 11, 2012 @ 10:07 am

Another who swears full faith and fidelity to Mark Stokoe. Sheesh. Glad the Holy Spirit was officially in Parma, according to you and Fr.Hopko because I guess He wasn’t in Pittsburgh according to the same great sage of telling us where the Holy Spirit is and isn’t.

Honestly I don’t know who is more full of themselves, you, Stokoe or Hopko. Birds of a feather, I suppose.

» Posted By Nikos On December 8, 2012 @ 7:03 pm

Another non-answer answer by Stankovich. You really are the poster boy for the new OCA. Live inside the bubble of your own information. Pretty soon you will start quoting your own posts are proof-texts of reality. Anyone want to know what the OCA is going to turn into? Follow Stankovich’s posts. Classic.

» Posted By Nikos On December 7, 2012 @ 9:55 am

Dear friend Michael,

Why not contact Met. Jonah and ask him if that part of his speech was of his writing or given to him with the ultimatum that he either read it and do what it says or face retirement/removal as Primate. This is not living in pretest, these are the facts. It is up to you my friend to live with such a reality. God and history will be the judge of all these actions.

» Posted By Nikos On December 4, 2012 @ 7:52 am

Sadly, such a letter will never been sent because the OCA is run by lawyers, who wrote the Stinkbomb letter to begin with, written to justify not explain, to punish, not heal. The synod must take full responsiblity for allowing it to be published, and they will not admit their grievous mistake. Why? Because they think they are right and did no wrong. That is how much in prelest they are under.

In light of this, the OCA will continue to be afflicted by its sin toward Met. Jonah and like one who does not confess his or her specific sin without qualification, the OCA will be wounded and open to additional spiritual infirmity. Like a person, a Church can’t grow spiritually until it confesses its sin and repents.

» Posted By Nikos On December 1, 2012 @ 1:49 pm

Carl,

The list you produce is not as impressive as the list for +Herman’s installation. I doubt that +Tikhon will have as good a turn out as +Jonah but for sure he will not have a list of bishops coming close to +Herman.

» Posted By Nikos On November 30, 2012 @ 8:31 am

Carl,

You are backing a dead horse. The OCA will not be able to get out of its own way. I wish all the best for the new Metropolitan but he is inheriting a broken Church and there is nothing in his background that would lead one to believe that he has the skills to right the ship unless he makes bold moves to cut from the dysfunctional OCA and chart a fresh and new course. The OCA is in a free fall and the latest unforced error of Jillions to link the OCA with the opinions of Mark Stokoe, Mark Stokoe who has not shown his face in his home parish for the last two months, now being the spokesperson for the OCA?

The utter ineptness of the OCA now having three former Metropolitans? What Church in the Orthodox world has three former Primates still alive? Moscow will not relent in its disappointment and being embarrassed by the actions of her daughter Church. But there is no one to blame now. The OCA according to Stokoe has ended its TIme of Troubles, so all new ones can’t be blamed on anyone else but those who are in charge, including Jillions who is either so naive or cunning to allow Stokoe to stick it to the OCA’s Mother Church by his childish comments.

No, things will not be peaceful in the OCA unless +Tikhon takes a firm hand and changes course, and I doubt that is why he was elected by the synod to be a change agent.

» Posted By Nikos On November 21, 2012 @ 3:15 pm

Jason,

The “rehabilitation” I was referring to was his friendship with +Jonah over many years and his sponsorship into the OCA by +Jonah. The good monk Gerasim needs to be taught that he no longer is loyal to anyone but the synod. I did not mean to insinuate that he had done anything morally wrong, except be a friend of +Jonah, which in itself can be a very dangerous thing these days!

» Posted By Nikos On November 17, 2012 @ 12:49 pm

Carl,

Thank you for your kind reply. One of the things that distinguished Archbishop Dmitri of blessed memory was that in spite of what was going on in Syosset while he was the bishop of the South, he pretty much followed the saying, “What goes on in Syosset stays in Syosset.” He worked very hard to insulate the DOS from Syosset and only called on their good offices when it was necessary. That was also part of what he instilled in his clergy in the South. As he use to like to say, “Tend to your own knitting.” In other words, stick to you work in the parish and let me deal with the synod and Syosset.

Whoever the next bishop of the South is, in this current climate of overreach by the MC and the Synod into the internal affairs of dioceses, such an approach will not be, how shall I say, a preferred quality in a potential bishop on the synod. In particular, the mission creep of the MC is a totally new thing in the OCA’s history, SMPAC, Ethics, Crisis and other various committees. All of this blurs the lines of responsibility between a diocesan bishop and the syosset/mc axis thus, I would suggest making it more difficult for a diocesan bishop, like Archbishop Dmitri to keep his diocese insulated from what he considered nonsense and distraction from the missionary work of his diocese.

In theory you are correct, a new metropolitan makes little difference in the day-to-day life of a parish in any diocese, however the next bishop of the South will be expected to dictate the decisions of the synod in a much more forceful manner than Archbishop Dmitri ever did or believed he should.

I don’t think a free-thinking independent styled bishop like +Dmitri is what the new OCA is looking for and certainly the idea of a free-thinking independent +Jonah going back to the South as a diocesan bishop has been rejected. A tip off as to the expected attitude for the next bishop down here?

» Posted By Nikos On November 17, 2012 @ 12:18 pm

Yes, including +Jonah, the crazy. +Jonah the fat. +Jonah the unhealthy. +Jonah the loner. +Jonah the impossible. All nicely digitally crammed down the throats of the OCA until he became a caricature.

Now we have +Tikhon, the ????? Hopefully the peacemaker, the uniter, the compassionate, the leader. or +Tikhon the safe, +Tikhon the can’t make a decision, +Tikhon the weak, +Tikhon the easy to manipulate.

I think we will know pretty quickly where +Tikhon is by the decisions he and the synod make. Already it appears that +Mark (Maymon) will be the administrator for the Diocese of Eastern PA.

ALERT TO ALL EPA CLERGY- Change your email passwords daily.

» Posted By Nikos On November 15, 2012 @ 8:25 am

Well, Carl, there is no breathing room any longer in the digital age. Accountability and transparency are immediate. Stokoe started it and this and other digital outlets should continue to put the metal to the petal. Remember, we are all accountable every minute of every day and breathing room, like trust is earned.

I will give no quarter to decisions made for the sake expediency and self-preservation. True leaders lead with courage and without regard for their personal well-being. The OCA leadership continues to be in a time of testing and in a councilar Church they should expect it. Don’t you agree?

» Posted By Nikos On November 14, 2012 @ 3:22 pm

George,

History will be the measure of how to answer that question. I pray that the Orthodox Faith can sink deeper roots here, but there are no guarantees. Visionary leadership is always what is needed. Clergy and laity are starved for that here in the USA. They want to be led, they want to believe, they want to sacrifice, but they need leaders to follow.

As uncanonical as our parallel jurisdictions are here in North America, at least people will have a choice to follow those leaders who inspire them. Bishops make a huge mistake by thinking that by virtue of their respective offices that people will follow. In that they should be reminded that Christ makes all things new, and that they too need to be renewed and not sitting on their laurels. Christ is the only one who can say in total truth, “What have you done for me TODAY?”

» Posted By Nikos On November 14, 2012 @ 10:46 am

Carl,

There are no guarantees , as you well know, that the DOS will continue to grow. I hope that it does but the South was in the unique position since 1978 to be in a demographically growing part of the nation with a bishop who’s heart was for missions. It is one thing to take advantage of that and quite another to revive dying parishes. I agree with you 100% that no Church can survive unless it has an aggressive mission-planting attitude. Sadly in the other dioceses of the OCA since 1978 those efforts have not emulated the DOS, but that is not to say that it can’t. It will take strong leadership by diocesan bishops willing to think beyond the here and now and plant communities where the shifting demographics can benefit from new missions. It will mean closing other parishes that have died. Needless to say, the OCA is not the only Orthodox Church that is actively planting new missions. As in other things for the OCA the unknown is if its seminaries will be able to produce the needed number of new clergy to fulfill a full-throated mission-planting plan. All these things are interrelated.

The South is still dotted with many very small communities but headed by missionary clergy who sacrifice much to be on those front lines. Sadly I know of at least two groups of folks who would like to start new missions in the south but are reluctant given the actions of the OCA in recent years. The OCA will have to deal with that reality of rebuilding trust. They will have to stop their internal “cannibalism” as one high-ranking Greek priest observed. That will take time and while that is happening other jurisdictions without the internal machinations of the OCA will not wait. In the end the more new communities planted by any jurisdiction bodes well for Orthodoxy in this land, but the OCA has a long way to go to regain a measure of stability for such reluctance on the part of would-be OCA mission plants to be overcome.

History teaches that there are no Orthodox Churches in Asia Minor, where once it was a bedrock of Orthodox witness. But like the Church in Albania, new growth can take place as it has under the inspirational leadership of Archbishop Anathasios. Visionary, inspirational leadership is the legacy of Archbishop Dmitri of blessed memory. It will take that those types of qualities for the OCA going forward and time will tell if it has such men to be such leaders.

» Posted By Nikos On November 14, 2012 @ 10:41 am

Carl,

It would seem that everything that Fr. Fester was warning others about came true. +Jonah was removed and the OCA has been taken in a totally new direction. You may not agree with how he said it, I certainly don’t either, but what he said was not false. So, it is time to stop blaming others, it is time for the new OCA to stand on its on two feet. Fr. Hopko was sorry for the way he said what he said to Fr. Fester but he was not sorry he said it. Two sides of the same coin. Both fighting for what they thought was best for the Church.

Fr. Fester’s mistake was trusting and fighting for his bishop against a tide that showed its motivations by threatening +Jonah that either he got rid of Fester in DC or +Jonah would be removed. Well it looks like that succeeded on both fronts. Fr. Fester was an easy target, it took more time for +Jonah to be disposed of by the synod.

Now it is up to them.

» Posted By Nikos On November 14, 2012 @ 10:00 am

Rod,

You are correct in your assessment. The OCA now can only blame themselves for how the OCA will progress. It can also bask in its victory in changing their direction. No more blaming +Jonah or Kondratick or whomever else. It is their ballgame now. The only loose end is how the OCA will treat +Jonah. That is the wildcard and the OCA would be smart to close that chapter with respect ASAP.

» Posted By Nikos On November 14, 2012 @ 9:32 am

The choice of the synod was clear for several weeks. Metropolitan Tikhon was the perfect choice, he is passive, he does not move quickly on matters, he will not do anything without the consent of the synod, he will be a figurehead Primate. I don’t say that in a pejorative sense, just an observation based on his past performance as a diocesan bishop.

The election of +Tikhon now sets in motion the next moves including where +Mark (Maymon) will end up. My sense is that he will be the front-runner for the vacant see of Philadelphia. He and Fr. Atty of STS are very close friends and it would be a good fit for Maymon and Atty to be reunited. Atty continues as dean of STS, +Mark becomes diocesan bishop of EPA and dean of STS. Does he have the support of the clergy and laity of EPA to be nominated? Time will tell but look for his rehabilitation to continue and for him to be in higher profile in that part of the OCA.

The next move now is for the DOS to get a new bishop. I think that the synod will move with some haste to get that part of the OCA under control with a bishop who will be in the mold of a supporter of the new synodal run OCA. Gerasim may be the odd man out because of his previous ties with +Jonah, however he too is undergoing rehabilitation under the tutelage of +Benjamin so his litmus test will be if he will be a synodal team player.

The Midwest is still up in the air with the return of +Matthias anyone’s guess. I think it will be a very tricky road for him to return to the see of Chicago, but if he does return he will certainly be a compliant hierarch on the synod.

As far as how this election will be viewed around the world, especially in Moscow still depends on how the synod deals with +Jonah. Nothing has changed there. If they stick it to +Jonah, Moscow will not be on board and have already sent the message three times to the OCA that unless +Jonah is handled with respect, all bets are off going forward on how Moscow will view the OCA.

+Tikhon will try and be a peacemaker. He will try and do nothing to add any more fuel to the smoldering fires that still exist in the OCA. He is not an inspirational figure like +Jonah. He will be extremely careful maybe to the point of frustration with the Syosset staff, but I would guess they are happy with the choice of +Tikhon who will not make any changes in Syosset staffing of any importance.

+Tikhon is making plans already to move to Syosset which means that +Mark (Maymon) will have to find another place to live. His time there is short and he will be slotted for another assignment. Again, I think EPA is the obvious choice because it kills two birds with one stone, the vacant see and the situation at STS.

Life will go on, the OCA is now on a new course, a course that will do little to stem its numerical decline, but the tradeoff is business as usual. Bishop Michael will return to New York and New Jersey licking his wounds from a stinging rejection from the synod in not being their choice. I don’t think he got even a single vote from the synod. Time will tell.

» Posted By Nikos On November 14, 2012 @ 9:12 am

He did not. The vote went forward and Tikhon won. And, that’s all she wrote!

» Posted By Nikos On November 13, 2012 @ 6:51 pm

And the White Hat Goes To…

Not in Greece 123. You need to know more before you write. Otherwise you sound like an OCA supporter who thinks the way they do church is the way everyone is suppose to act.

» Posted By Nikos On November 12, 2012 @ 3:38 pm