I was going to post my final thoughts regarding the recent series of interviews I conducted with Gail Sheppard. They generated a lot of interest (which is good). Also, I am gratified how most of you responded in a civil manner regarding what were clearly scandalous events.
Those thoughts will have to wait until a later day, I’m afraid to say. For now I will say that I was less than pleased by some of the criticisms. While I have no problem with criticism made in good faith, I do have a problem with some people who questioned her motives. I was exercised as well by those who couldn’t believe that there were miscreants in the Church who could possibly harm a woman. But the most scorn I have is reserved for those who believe that we must necessarily avert our eyes and retreat into quietude.
In other words, to (yet again) continue to sweep things under the rug.
Folks, as you can see from the picture above, that’s not an option anymore. That is the door to Gail’s apartment. As you can see, somebody tried to force open her front door. This was the second attempt in 48 hours to let Gail “know” that they knew where she lived.
For those critics who did not take her seriously, who didn’t want to believe her story: shame on you. And for those rogue elements who were not pleased to see her back in Tucson and who continue to wish her harm, I am warning you to back off. Now.
As a life member of the NRA, Gail finally took my advice and purchased a gun. I told her to shoot first and ask questions later. And she’s a good shot;
I saw the results of her range practice the other day (go to her facebook page if you don’t believe me).
As they used to say in the Old West: better to be tried by twelve than carried by six.
’nuff said.
Fr Antony Gabriel just sent me a “ Friend Request “ on Facebook which is very odd . He has to know how I tried to help Gail and he knows that I was at Palm Desert. This entire story just gets creepier every day .
Absolutely disgusting and appaling!
I always get misty-eyed when another gun gets adopted into a good home. I pray she never needs to use it.
Me too.
I pray to God sooner or later, the people doing this to Gail are caught and criminally prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
There is no picture visible on my screen.
Rats. I don’t see the picture of the door. 🙁
It’s time to become Polymachus! Pump up that gonadotropin and make some puppies with your heifer. That’s the only way to promote Orthodoxy! GM, A&P, Greece and GAO all went broke over pensions (ie abortions). Only those with three or more children have any right to complain about immigration because w are importing children to pay pensions. Alva Myrdal invented social security as a form of population control, so folks wouldn’t have kids to care for their old age. Guess what, Social Security is a ponzi scheme. Don’t go believing the misanthropic viro-mentals.
It is like the mafia! This breaks my heart.
Not only did Stephend and I receive friend requests from Antony Gabriel, so did George. What are the odds that someone who never met any of us would randomly submit friend requests to 3 people, during the span of a single week, who have been critical of the strong-arm tactics employed within the Antiochian Archdiocese
Dear Gail and George:
Whoever is ‘friending’ you on Facef**k is a sick puppy, and possibly dangerous.
I have a bad feeling about this stuff and I don’t do Facebook at all except with my kids.
Why not send a direct reply to (Fr) Anthony telling him and his ilk to butt out!
Just wondering. Sticks and stones can batter down my door but words can harm me spiritually.
My prayers for you all, and for the good folks on the Ant. Arch.
Jim of Olym;
You have everything backassward. Words can’t harm us spiritually, if we don’t allow them to.
1.George DID warn the people harassing Gail to knock it off. Did you not read everything?
2. As far as I know, there is no law against anyone requesting someone to friend them on Facebook. I don’t use Facebook, but that’s just me. There is quite enough temptation on line, as it is.
3. One may suspect a priest of being behind all this, but to accuse him publicly or privately is to set oneself up for a lawsuit.
Personally, I think Gail was a bit naive, thinking that she could somehow get a ruling Metropolitan to resign. This in no way
justifies the harassment that she had undergone or is undergoing.
Perhaps Gail should have gone to 20/20, 60 Minutes, or Dateline. Sure, that would have resulted in bad publicity for the church, but the world around us is hardly in love with us as it is.
Eastonian Slovak, I have said this so many times so forgive me for screaming it to everybody now: I WAS NOT ATTEMPTING TO GET METROPOLITAN PHILIP TO RESIGN! I don’t recall if I even used the word “resign.” I said he needed to secure the status of our bishops and “step down” (that’s the term I think I used) from his role as head honcho, sole decision maker, etc. After I sent the letter to him, I copied my bishop, Bishop Mark, and Bishop Basil to give them further excuse to back away from the table.
To be fair, I can see how that can be interpreted as “resign”, this probably accounts for some of the mayhem……….
Sorry Gail for all you have suffered
You didn’t deserve it even if you had been more blunt
What happened to free speech
And voicing our concerns!!
Forgive me, Gail. I had no intention of adding to your grief.
I believe that I expressed on this very site, in great detail, and with no conjecture whatsoever, the very real manner by which Met. Philip Saliba manipulated and coerced SVS to abide by his wishes. I have not received a friend request from Fr. Antony Gabriel. I am unimpressed with the odds. There is a group of about five psychopathic murderers around the state of CA over the years who, for one reason or another, swore to enjoy watching my slow death if they ever run into me. It takes all kinds, I suppose. It was during the 2nd year of working in prison that I decided I wouldn’t live my life as if I was in prison. I will not cross the street to avoid anyone, and I fear no one. “They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but stays for ever.” (Ps. 124:1)
Don’t forget to also get concealed security cameras inside and outside your home. They may be brazen enough to not wear masks, and then, boom, you’ve got their faces for the cops.
Mr. Michalopulos,
I find myself, again, carefully “negotiating” in my own mind the specific words I will use to address you, lest you choose to dress me down, shout me down, or pass this on to your entourage. I repeat myself that this is a remarkably sad and unprecedented situation that, unfortunately, is of your creation. But for now, let me acknowledge your authority and prerogative without question.
You have issued this thread as an “instead of” your intended summation, and have chosen to blame and bemoan those individuals – no one in particular, mind you, but “you rat bastards know full well who you are” – and ruined everything. This is a cheapshot in my estimation because 1) you emphatically stated the matter was over, and 2) you are so shortsighted as to accept no responsibility for your own contribution to the outcome for which you complain, and I will explain.
You lost control of this “narrative” from the beginning by abdicating your responsibility as the moderator. In fact, you became a part of the “story,”: “Gail contacted me blah, blah, blah time ago and trusted me to assist her…” You lost any sense of objectivity; you lost any sense of “neutrality” and otherwise the necessity – the duty – of a moderator to advocate for anyone and everyone participating on this site and in this discussion, whether you agreed with them or not; you took comments not about you personally, responding, “Gail won’t mind me saying…” or “Gail won’t mind me defending her…” or even commenting on a comment, “But that doesn’t contradict anything Gail said…” You took the liberty of criticizing and even condemning a conversation to which you were not a party; and you granted full editorial privileges to Gail, when a few years ago, when you complained in a post that you were so backlogged with reviewing submissions, and I offered to help you, you were polite but firm that only you were allowed. And this all concluded in what I considered was a tag-team attempt to bully Fr. George into an interview, referring to him as “disingenuous.”
I am most certainly not not questioning your motivations nor your intentions. But I am telling you directly that you were angry, meanspirited, vindictive, controlling, and preferential to those who were supportive of you. All of which should have been signs to you that you were over-invested, had crossed the line and “joined” the story you trying to tell, and in the end detracted from what you were intending to accomplish.
I also repeat my self that I do not regret a single word I stated, in good faith, in this whole “narrative.”
I of course must disagree. I have offered Fr George ample opportunity for an interview.
Dr. Stankovich,
I must respectfully disagree with you. If anything, George was overly nice to posters like me. I admit I have great respect for George’s integrity and intelligence. As a result of these interviews, my respect for George has only increased. He convinced beyond all doubt of the veracity of Gail’s story. George is an intelligent man, and is more familiar of the situation than anyone else. I am at the point that at his word alone, I take his viewpoint very seriously. That is not to say we don’t agree on every subject, but he most certainly has great credibility with me. I don’t think he lost control of the narrative at all. Gail’s experiences have really opened my eyes to the reality that is the Antiochian Archdiocese, and the despotism of Metropolitan Phillip. No layperson should ever be subjected to the brutality that Gail experienced ( and continues to experience) at the hands of some of Metropolitan Phillip’s flunkies.
Dr. Stankovich, you are a much better man than I could ever hope to be. I deeply regret all of the foolish, stupid words I wrote. Not only do I regret them, but I’m deeply ashamed. George gave me more than a fair shake for which I am deeply grateful. I also feel deeply repentant and remorseful. I’m not a teacher, but I give both George and Gail a capital A for integrity, truthfulness, and Christian love.
George,
First of all, have a very safe, enjoyable, and insightful trip. If I may, as you know, many things trouble me. I try to be an independent thinker, and ask tough questions; things that perplex me.
For a long time, I have been of the opinion that a person can’t really understood Christian without first being extremely knowledgeable about Judaism. For example, when Christians speak of tithing, I believe they don’t have the faintest idea what they are talking about so we must look to Judaism for illumination. I’ve been studying Judaism for a long time. It is no exaggeration to say I know about Judaism than everyone combined on this forum.
The Commandment says to keep the Sabbath holy. Okay, we celebrate Sunday in honor of our Lord’s resurrection. Christians know nothing about keeping the Lord’s Day holy. We go out shopping; we handle money, and watch sports on Sundays. That’s not keeping Sunday holy.
Did you know that Orthodox Jews are forbidden to drive on the Sabbath? They have to walk to their synagogue. They can’t flip on a light switch. They can’t handle a penny. No talking on cell phones, watching tv, cutting toilet paper or anything associated with work.
We can learn a great deal from Orthodox Judaism. Things like how to read the Old Testament, how to properly keep the Lord’s Day, how to give money to worthy causes, why tithing has been abolished. and many other things that are pleasing to God. You said that the Judaism practiced today is different than when Jesus walked the earth. The only difference is that the Temple has been destroyed. The Judaism that is practiced today is the same Judaism of the Pharisees. I recommend that everyone read the Babylon Talmud, and the other writings of the Jewish sages. It can only make a person a better Christian. I’m not talking about Jewish practices, but learning from Jewish wisdom.
George,
The Greek Orthodox Church is so stinking greedy it’s pathetic. They have a one million dollar deficit in their new budget. They’re unfaithful, immoral stewards. They can easily cut enough fat out of their budget that there is no deficit. The laity must demand this of the Church. Instead of this Leadership 100 crap, stop blowing money. No one should give the church one time until the church gets its house in order.
I really think it’s long past time to remove the tax exemption from churches. These churches don’t pay taxes, and, yet , these wolves in sheep’s clothing can’t pay their bills. The Son of Man had nowhere to lay His holy head, but these heresiarchs fly first class and stay in first class hotels. The church’s problem is not lack of income, it’s flagrant, lavish overspending.
Constantinos, I disagree. The local Baptist Church has a mission budget 10 times the size of of the Stewardship and Evangelism budget of the GOA. Having ones “house in order” means something different to every person; thus, there will always be a be a disgruntled group in every parish. It is our responsibility to give. As I have stated before, Jesus did not discourage the widow from giving even though He had strong reservations about the leadership and practice of the temple.
Johnkal,
There are many worthwhile charities that could be beneficiaries of your time, talent, and treasure. The church is by no means the only worthy recipient of your money. Why not spread it around? Why not give directly to those who are in need?
I hope you have an excellent life insurance plan because, if, heaven forbid, anything should happen to you, the church won’t be around to help your family in direct contravention to the gospel. If you give to the poor, you are giving to God. I don’t want to see wealthy hierarchy, wealthy churches, and poor parishioners.
Many churches and priests are guilty of the sin of simony. I say to these predatory pimps: Keep your greedy hands out of my pockets. Just preach the gospel, and stop asking for handouts.
Johnkal.
One thing I always do is look at the time of a person’s post on Monomakhos. Your post says 11:57 AM. By the timing of your post, I would have to conclude that you either don’t have a job or you are posting on company time. I look at when Dr. Stankovich posts, and it is readily apparent to me that he works long hours because he always posts late in the evening or early in the morning. I look at the time of Dino’s posts, and I say to myself, there’s no way possible that he has a job. You and Dino both have preached the tithing heresy. It is remarkable to me that those who preach “giving” don’t seem to have jobs. How do you explain it?
Costa, its called retirement. By the way, please read my posts about giving rather than responding to what you think I am saying. I do not preach tithing, rather sacrificial giving with tithing as the goal. Agreed, there are many worthwhile charities to which one can give but none of these charities distribute the life-giving sacraments. However, the easiest excuse to find is the one not to give.
Johnkal,
I have studied tithing in depth,and am utterly convinced it is heresy. It binds a person to legalism and the law. Tithing should never be a goal. It was abolished with the New Covenant. A person doesn’t need to make excuses since it is between God and that person alone. I just don’t like the idea of another person telling a someone that they should give more. If someone talks about an “excuse not to give,” he is not living in the real world. I have never in my entire life met a generous person tell other people they should “give more.” Christ said His yoke was easy ,and His burden was light. I guess the tithing pimps did not get the message.
Costa, interesting that you call the practice of tithing a heresy when Jesus promoted the practice in Luke 11:23 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
Johnkal,
Please!! You’re being unserious. He said that to Old Testament Jews under the law. We have the New Covenant. Christ affirmed the law. So what? Big deal! It has nothing whatsoever to do with Christians, and it wasn’t addressed to Christians. If you want to bind yourself to the law, knock yourself out. I don’t care what you do.
Constantinos, total change of subject. Back to Baseball. The recent spate of MLB players being charged with all sorts of bad thoughts based on old tweets. Saw an interview with one of the moral thought police in which it was specifically said that the “culture of Major League Baseball is toxic and it needed to be destroyed.”
Guess as to why? Baseball is the only sport that is all male on the playing field: players, managers, coaches are all male. That cannot be allowed. The nature of the game is such that there will never be a bona fide player who is a woman. Sure an elite woman softball pitcher can strike out elite MLB hitters from the softball distance, once, but the elite hitters would eventually adapt and hit them hard and probably kill a few of the pitchers. From baseball distance a woman who is not PED or genetically enhanced will ever be able to throw hard enough or with enough precision to consistently get out major league hitters. They do not have the speed or the arm strength to play defense against male players.
Saw a video of Jennie Finch (best softball pitcher ever) pitching to Barry Bonds. He flat out told her she would never strike him out. His strategy was simply to foul off every one of her pitches. She threw a few to him and that is exactly what he did. He was on every pitch and did not try to kill it. With enough pitches, he would have eventually hit one somewhere.
So what to the anti men groups do–set out to destroy the game by calling out the thought police.
My advice to baseball players every where–learn your clichés and practice them on Twitter. Or better yet, don’t be a twit at all.
I mean if Nuke LaLoosh can do it, anybody can.
Mr. Bauman,
Baseball is still the national pastime, People should stay off Twitter. So far, it has been a very exciting season.
Johnkal.
You talk about “sacrificial giving.” Just this morning I was reading an article in Real Clear Politics about the fact that 80% of the American people live from paycheck to paycheck. I was also reading in another article that large numbers of people in California live at or below the poverty level.
When you factor in all the money we pay in various and sundry taxes, most of the American people are in serious economic trouble. In this day and age, the general population cannot and should not “sacrificially give” to anyone. They have all they can do to take care of their own families which is their primary responsibility. You must be frugal and fiscally responsible in your own affairs.
If you read The Richest Man in Babylon, you would know your must pay yourself first. The first ten percent of what you earn is yours to keep. You must save ten percent of your gross income for starters with the goal of increasing your savings to half your paycheck. Ben Franklin said,” Plow deep while sluggards sleep.” I can’t say it enough: you must take of your family first.
I am in favor of revoking the tax exempt status of all religious organizations. It’s a racket. There is not excuse for religious institutions to be subsidized by the American people. There is no financial transparency from all these churches, therefore, the government must impose honesty on these institutions. I hate to see the churches engaging in racketeering. The priests and churches in America desperately need to suffer persecution so they can get over themselves. I read about the financial and spiritual abuses by religious institutions and it nauseates me. The church refuses to set a godly example so they must be subjected to the harsh realities of life just like everyone else. Johnkal, you are totally brainwashed by toxic religion. I say all this as an alert, discerning Orthodox Christian.
If the government revoked the tax free status of churches and church property, do you think the boondoggle of what is supposed to be a shrine to the glory to the Hellenes, St. Nicholas Shrine, would have ever been conceived?
Costa, it was Jesus who commended sacrificial giving in the story of the widows mite. Everything we have belongs to Him and we are called to give a portion back to Him. You quote your secular sources an I will stick with scripture when it comes to giving.
Constantinos has gone beyond self-parody.
Unfortunately, Costa may be right.
Most of the priests in America are decent hard-working men who sacrifice themselves for their calling. Just because there’s a few tares among the wheat, i.e. certain hierarchs and financial crooks who have contributed to the current crisis, doesn’t mean that the entire church deserves persecution.
On “the heresy of tithing,” Saint John Chrysostom has this to say:
Fr. John Whiteford’s article here also makes strong case: http://orthochristian.com/100595.html
The fact that Constantinos openly apostatized a couple of weeks ago suggests that his views should not really be taken seriously.
We have one thing in common with St. Paul—lots of Greeks behaving badly
Basil,
I know who you are, and you have no credibility with me. You are a priest who preaches the tithing heresy. You haven’t the faintest idea what you are talking about. Most of the priests are hard working? Don”t make me laugh. Why don’t you use your real name? You are a classic example of what’s wrong with Orthodoxy. It’s priests like you who make people atheists. You are the antithesis of what a priest should be. Before you throw stones at others. look at your own house. In my opinion, you should be defrocked. By the way, I don’t take you seriously at all.
Costa, tithing is not a “heresy”. Nothing that the OT teaches –and which the NT Church accepted as normative–is, or can be, a heresy.
If anything, tithing is merely the first step required for true sacrificial giving.
As for what follows is not addressed to you Costa specifically but to those Orthodox who think along these lines: “tithing is not what we teach, we owe God everything”.
OK, let’s parse this shall we?
If we accept this premise (and if we can use a sports analogy), then we can think of “everything” as a home run. Well, before you can get to home base you must pass first, second and third bases. QED, if we owe God “everything” then we certainly owe Him a tithe.
So let’s stop the nonsense of tithing being unimportant. (And I address this to priests and bishops who peddle this nonsense in order to soothe the feelings of their wealthiest parishioners who only give sacrificially when it comes time to put their name on the new building addition.)
George,
You are a good man, and I respect you but you couldn’t be more incorrect in what you have written about tithing. You don’t understand the Old Testament,and the early church never accepted tithing as normative. Read the Didache. Tithing is part of the Old Testament law of Moses ,and is irrelevant for Christians. Watch youtube,, and see charlatans like Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland say repeat after me. ” I will pay all my tithes, blah, blah blah.”
People who preach tithing are false teachers and charlatans. There is no group more generous than the Jewish people. You need to read Maimonides Laws of Giving Tzedekah in the Mishna Torah. That is the gold standard of giving.
Tithing directly contradicts Christ’s teaching about not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing. It also directly contradicts the entire book of James. If a man has to send his wife out to work to make ends meet, he has no business tithing to his local church. Let him take of his family first.
If you are going to keep the law of Moses( which was never money anyway), you are required to keep the entire of Moses. In the council of Jerusalem, James never said the gentiles were to tithe. He said the gentiles didn’t have to keep the law of Moses. The early church never thought to ask for tithes. Perhaps, Jesus never told them.
Tithing is evil, it puts a crushing burden on the poor, and is a get rich scheme for greedy preachers. Now, I must return to my businesses. I don’t take lunch breaks, but I had a spare second so I’m responding because I’m so angry,otherwise I wouldn’t waste my valuable time on such foolishness.
The Priests and Bishops should be examples of sacrificial giving, of which tithing is the standard. Only then can they ask their parishioners to be faithful stewards.
I wonder what Costa gives to his community, if anything. I am certain he has many excuses to not give.
Mr. C, there are only four types of heresy: false teaching about the Persons of the Holy Trinity; false teachings about the nature of the Church; false teachings about human nature; false teachings about salvation.
Into which of these categories does the “heresy of tithing” fall and how is it a falsification of that particular area and the Patristic and Conciliar evidence of it?
If you are unable or unwilling to articulate how and why it is a heresy then you need to retract your statement and ask for forgiveness.
Basil,
I love the threats . “Woe to him…” Priests are hard working ? Then why are you posting at 10: 57 AM? That’s work time!! Get a real job like the Apostle Paul.
You’re a very ill man, Constantinos.
You don’t know who I am, I’m not a priest, and you know nothing of my working hours either.
Basil,
Since you are obviously not a doctor, it may be a good idea for you not to try to diagnose another individual. May I suggest you save your snarky comments for someone who cares? By the way, what are your working hours? If you worked for me, I would fire you in two seconds for laziness and posting on company time. I tend to believe that you don’t work. If you do work, you do not work anywhere near hard enough.
Talmudism is to old Judaism as Calvinism is to Orthodox Christianity.
Constantinople,
The Talmud, the commentaries on the law, by various rabbis is all about “building an fence around a fence around a fence around the law,” to the point where, as Jesus told the Pharisees, the law becomes a burden. One of my favorite examples: Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother’s milk. Pretty straight forward; you don’t get to cook a baby goat or sheep in its own mother’s milk. That’s cruel and heartless. It might also be the traditional Canaanite meal for some idol, I don’t know. Now the fence: you don’t get to eat dairy and meat in the same meal. Now the second fence: you have to have separate sets of dishes for meat and dairy foods. The third fence: you have to have separate sinks or dishwashers for these sets of dishes. Do you see how burdensome this is becoming? Are you telling me that every Friday night or Saturday night, depending on which day we observe a Sabbath rest, I have to guesstimate how much toilet paper my family will use for the next day and tear it off the roll and lay it out in a neat pile because otherwise it will be ‘work’ that breaks the Sabbath and offends God? Jesus’s body resting in the tomb on Holy Friday was the ultimate fulfillment of the Sabbath rest, because on Holy Friday Jesus, the new Adam, redeemed mankind from sin and death, recreating his nature which had fallen away from his original creation in Paradise. For us the Sabbath is fulfilled, completed, accomplished. We now observe the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week. Yes, it is good to observe this day in gathering to worship and joy in our risen Lord all day instead of “church first and then we can shop / play.” I remember when no stores were open on Sunday and I think we were they better for it. But we don’t live in small villages anymore (most of us) within walking distance of our church and we really should try to reinstate Sunday family dinners or suppers without having the burden of having absolutely everything prepared in advance. By the way, does the Talmud consider opening the refrigerator door or turning on a faucet to bed ‘work?’
Amen! The stores, the employees, and indeed everyone who, whether for reasons of faith or mere inability to shop, was forced to take a break from incessant consumerism and rediscover our humanity.
Father Gabriel keeps PMing me and asking why I have not responded to his “ Friend “ request.
This is all very odd ;not frightening ,but very odd .
I’ve been thinking about listing my observations about Palm Desert which was very scary. It was sort of a combination of The Last Days of Pompeii and The Maf Hatter’s Tea Party.
Please do so
Can’t you just block him? I don’t know how all that works.My sons know, but I won’t bother them with this BS.
The fact that these people are using Tony Soprano-like tactics to intimidate people like you and Gail(and George, apparently), speaks more about them than anything else. If you and Gail had done something wrong to them, they simply could have taken legal action against you. The fact that they didn’t says that certain things about them would have been exposed had they done so.
What is sad is that if such people continue to act in such ways, someday one of their victims may take the law into his own hands and call on a real Mafia type for justice as did the funeral director at the beginning of Godfather I.
OK, I’ll bite….
Has anyone seen a picture of Gail’s door yet? If so, what identifies the damage with the controversies being discussed here?
Love,
Fr. George
Father, George,
I don’t have your contact information so I just sent an email to your parish requesting it. When I receive it, I am more than happy to put your mind at rest. In the interim, please withhold judgment regarding the veracity of my claims, as I have never given you a reason to doubt what I’ve said here or anywhere else. To suggest otherwise is unChristian.
Fr George, I trust that the evidence Gail gives you will put the matter to rest. It should.
I received numerous photos and documents from Gail which I am not prepared to characterize yet. When I tried yesterday to ask her some questions via the email address from which her messages came, I got a bounce-back message saying the address was no good.
I’ve had the email I used to send you those pictures for decades. I would just try it again.
Forgive me, Gail. I had no intention of adding to your grief.
Estonian Slovak, no forgiveness necessary. I greatly appreciate the support I have received from you and so many others.
Gail I hope all is well. I have not seen a post by you in a while, and just thought of you. Prayers and peace to you sister.
The same for me as well. Gail can please be kind enough and drop us a line to let us know you are well? Thank you and God bless!
Dino, I’m in Russia with George and several others. It’s been an overwhelming experience. This is our last day in St. Petersburg. We head home tomorrow. I highly recommend Father Ilya Gotlinski’s tours. Because of him, we’ve seen and done it all. Appreciate your prayers. We have prayed for all of you.
Great news Gail! Thank you for your prayers! A safe journey to all in your group!
Greatly Saddened, you have probably seen the comment I wrote to Dino. Thank you for thinking of me!!! Saying prayers and asking for intercession for all of you.
Gail … Thank God you are well and happy to hear in Russia with George and others. Wishing you a safe return trip. God bless!
Welcome Home Gail! Hope you had a spiritualy uplifting and enjoyable trip to Russia with George and others!
Dear all who read this blog,
I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Father Antony Gabriel over the past month or so. I’ve spoken with him by phone, been in touch with him by email, and am an avid reader of his Facebook page, where he posts links to his God-inspired videos. He is one of the finest, wisest pastors I’ve known. He wrote the notes for the Book of Acts in the Orthodox Study Bible, and he is a well-known author and much-loved priest. Most of all, he loves God and is a true servant. “You shall know them by their fruits,” and this man and his wife have borne much fruit in their 57 years of marriage. I guess that’s enough said, and I could say more, but it’s better to use few words and speak the truth than to use many that are full of sound and fury but signify nothing. See for yourselves:
https://www.facebook.com/antony.gabriel.1656854?ref=br_rs
Anything you can name that prompted you to reach out to him? – Tell him George would like to interview him. He does interviews so maybe he’ll be interested.
Gail,
I just notice he has a youtube page called Gabriel Speaks.