Recently, Buck Johnson, host of Counterflow, assembled a panel to discuss the recent hub-bub about Orthodoxy on the internet.
As you may know, this blog, among others, was caught in the crosshairs. As for Gail and myself, we were caught completely unawares.
Here’s the thing: Orthodoxy has positively exploded on the Internet. All of a sudden, the Orthoblogosphere, a word which I’ve been using for quite a while (and which I may have coined: my memory is hazy at this point), is most definitely “a thing”. And it seems to be everywhere.
What most of us didn’t know was just how big a thing it was. You know the names. And you know it’s a growing phenomenon when big-time Evangelical and Catholic podcasters are sitting up straight and taking us seriously.
So Buck decided to take this controversy head on and for this, he must be thanked. Rounding out the panel were Fr Turbo Qualls, Lt Col Alex Braszko (Ret), and myself. (I can’t say enough what an honor it was to be included on this panel.)
A great time was had by all! We hope you enjoy Part I of “The Peaks and Valleys of Online Orthodoxy”.
Great video!
Monomakhos is very much a ministry, I’m very happy that priest nudged you to start the blog. There is no telling how much good Monomakhos has done over the years and the various schemes in the Church that have been stopped due to it being broadcast here (and Helleniscope, etc.)
There are analogous blogs in Roman Catholicism (Taylor Marshall, Rorate Caeli, etc.), but, because of how the structure functions, there is no way for those blogs (or even top cardinals) to enact change. Orthodoxy is not like that and because the laity have a voice, and have a duty, to protect the Church, blogs like Monomakhos are crucial. I can guarantee that devious plans have been thwarted by the works of Monomakhos. Thanks be to God.
Thank you, Petro!
Excellent! Critical thinking vs Discernment was enlightening for me. Thank you for putting it into words.
I enjoyed Father Turbo’s plain speak. Refreshing and easy for this dullard’s mind to follow. 🙂
Watched the video. I visit Monomakhos everyday. I thoroughly enjoy your articles. I have learned a lot here. Thank you both for all the hard work you put into hosting this blog.
Thank you, Jane, for being here with us.
George & Gail, I’d be interested to get your take on this. I know former Roman Catholics such as myself are watching this slowmo implosion:
For those who aren’t aware of the inner-workings of Roman Catholicism, this “Synod of Synodality” is essentially a Vatican II 2.0.
The first link is an over of what this RC synod actually consists of, and the second link is what this will all look like on the ground floor, starting with Germany.
This is going to greatly hasten the rapid decline of Roman Catholicism as it essentially delegates authority to synods of bishops. In Orthodoxy this is how we have always functioned, not so in RCism. For those that don’t know, RC bishops synods are notoriously liberal, and now the laypeople will have a say. So in a country like Ireland, who voted wholesale for abortion and gay marriage, laypeople along with their liberal bishops conference, will get to vote.
Get ready for Episcopalian 2.0
As this relates to the Orthodox World, I have a feeling this is intended to shift power away from the Vatican and make RCism more Synodal in the way that Orthodoxy is, perhaps this was the plan between Frank & Bart.
Thanks for posting — I look forward to listening to this!! Hope to someday also meet Buck (and you guys as well!) — he lives not too far from us here in Texas.
Definitely agree that Monomakhos provides a valuable service to English-speaking Orthodox Christians, in particular to issues relating to Orthodox Christianity in North America. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that we Orthodox Christians in North America are but a tiny fraction of Orthodox Christians worldwide — yet (forgive me if this sounds prideful) I think proportionately, we are among the most engaged Orthodox Christians and purposeful about our faith. After all, it’s pretty tough to be Orthodox Christian in a land where the culture swims in a post-protestant, post-Calvinist sea most of the time…. It seems like it’d be easier to be Orthodox Christian in St Petersburg or Thessaloniki where there are Orthodox parishes everywhere and the Orthodox Christian roots are so deep.
Been reading this blog off and on for probably more than a dozen years…. it was largely thanks to information that I read here about 10-12 years ago when the OCA was jettisoning Metropolitan Jonah — whom I thought/think is fantastic leader for Orthodoxy in North America — that I decided (when moving back to Texas at that time) to support a nascent ROCOR mission in our city instead of going back to the established OCA parish.
Nothing against the OCA at all — I love it and that’s where the real beginnings of my purposeful Orthodox faith began to take hold more than 30 years ago now. But I thought that getting rid of Metropolitan Jonah was a bit too much, a bit too dramatic, and completely nonsensical. But God allowed it to happen, for reasons I will probably never know, I suppose.
Anyway, that nascent ROCOR mission from a decade ago now has a beautiful new temple…. so our city now has one more Orthodox parish to add to the list! Like was highlighted in that recent article in the WSJ this past week about Orthodox faith in North America, our parish is more than 50-70% made up of everyday American “converts.”
Thanks again, George and Gail, for all that you do for the English-speaking Orthodox Christian community in America!
Thanks, for all you bring to the blog, FTS. Always look forward to your comments.
And thank you, FTS for your faithful readership and thoughtful commentary!
Thank you for sharing this video discussion. It is so heartening to listen to men who love the Lord & are not embarrassed or ashamed to say they talk with their spiritual father and follow his guidance.
Listening to Fr. Turbo was like drinking from a fresh water well. Finally, a priest who speaks plainly, truthfully, without fear and so that I understand all of his words. NICE! I will be searching for his podcast.
George and Gail, I have read Monomakhos from the time I was inquiring into the Church. I am grateful for the time and hard work you put into it. I love reading it. Sometimes I get a little lost because I’m not the brightest crayon in the box, but I come back often.
Keep up the good work & may it (and you both) be blessed.
Thank you, Athanasia. We love Fr. Turbo, too. He and I are old acquaintances from our former parish in CA. I like to tell people I knew he was going to be a priest before he knew he was going to be a priest! I even told him that. He is just one of those special people.
I took a cross country road trip from CA to the east coast when ‘rona first started in 2020, I stopped in KC and stopped by St. Mary’s and met Fr. Turbo, he gave me a lot of hope in that crazy time and between him and Jay Dyer they are the reason I never feel for any of what was going on.