To Whom It May Concern:
Whatever your problem is, I don’t want to hear about it. I resent having to discuss you on my blog . But now that you have catapulted yourself into a public figure, I can’t avoid it. People have a right to talk about you and talk about you, they will.
If this is what you wanted, to be a rock star in the eyes in the Church for being a whistleblower, you failed miserably. You grossly miscalculated your situation.
Characterizing your sex life as a “secret needing to be revealed”, shows your limited understanding of your circumstances and your over all lack of clarity about what you’ve done.
You will not be championed by most, if any, in the Church, as some kind of “truth teller” because you lied to everyone around you for 16+ years. If past history points to the future, you’re lying now.
Frankly, the whole thing turns our collective stomachs.
Why tell the entire world? What can we do about your sorted life? We cannot undo it for you. We can’t make it better. It is too late to knock some sense into you. How could you possibly think your admission could make things better for you or for the Church?
You’re not even taking responsibility for your part in this, which is significant because for over a 16 year period, you cheated on your husband with a hierarch of the Church, if you are to be believed.
Just saying the words, “I take responsibility” doesn’t begin to cover it.
When you chose to disclose what I’m hoping isn’t true, you outed yourself. You are a woman who cheats on her husband with someone who is not available to her. If he made a pass at you, as you claim, why didn’t you just say you’re flattered, but no.
Didn’t your 7 years as a nun or your time in the Church teach you to keep your skirt down?
IF what you said is true, you should have reported it to the one person who needed to know: the patriarch. He should be the one to decide how much should be disclosed to the Church.
Not you.
One thing you left out, and it’s an important piece of this puzzle, you were born in 1962. In other words, you were not some innocent ingenue who needed protecting when you engaged in the unseemly activity you described.
You were a 38 year-old, semi-Catholic, semi-Orthodox, MARRIED woman, with 4 children!
You know who did need protecting? Your, then, young daughter. To mention your daughter’s name who loves you and thinks of you as her hero, is so selfish I can’t even begin to express how wrong this is. She may be an adult at this point, but she is still your daughter.
Did you even think of what this public “confession” would do to her? People are going to look at her on-line tribute to you in 2008 and think, “That poor young woman. Here her mother is sleeping with a hierarch and she still thinks her mother is a hero!”
She told the world what a hero you were when you were sneaking into hierarch’s residence and jumping into bed with him. She must be mortified.”
She’ll probably say differently, because that’s what kids do to protect their parents, but you made a liar out of her when all she wanted to do is tell the world how much she loved you and looked up to you. Of course she didn’t know you were up to at the time. But she does now, thanks to that hellacious letter you wrote. You opened your innocent daughter to scrutiny that will probably follow her the rest of her life.
Is this what is in your heart?
What mother does that? Is this what she forgave you for? Did she READ the letter you circulated before you sent it? I wonder.
How is she going to forgive you for telling the whole world what poor decisions you have made?
Your reckless disregard for anyone but yourself and how your very public admission will affect your entire family; all 4 of them, assuming they’re all still alive, God willing, is reprehensible.
The Internet tracks everything, which an older, educated woman in her 60s should know. It tracks who your family is by name. Perhaps now would be a good time to make the effort to suppress your name from appearing in the White Pages and mylife. You might want to also remove the name of your employer, if, in fact, you still work for the County. Safeguard the Children will probably not want you as a poster child for their cause either. And then there is prabook.com, the Catholic Church, and the VIRTUS program whatever that is. Probably everybody and their brother is doing searches, as we speak, and your children’s names are popping up everywhere.
As you said, what you did has a “. . . a ripple effect on the Church and the greater community.”
I don’t think you have a clue as to the damage you have done to you own life and to the Church, trying to destroy another human being; why? Because you were jealous of all these other women you thought he had. To reassure you, he never gave me any vibe that he was open to anything with anyone. I never heard any of my friends talk about him either, friends who have been in the Antiochian jurisdiction for many, many decades.
No, madam. You were the first an ONLY person from whom I ever heard anything like this. Seems to me that if a guy were looking, he’d be giving off that “I’m open to possibilities” vibe (which he didn’t do); the vibe he was picking up from you, apparently.
Again. why didn’t you say, no? That would have saved us all a lot of grief. Where did you think the relationship could go?
It’s bad enough that you take so little responsibility for what you did, but to drag your children into this sorted tale is truly unforgivable. In addition, you published name after name after name of prominent people in the Archdiocese. Are you trying to convince people what a stellar Orthodox Christian you are because you rubbed shoulders with other Orthodox Christians? They had nothing to do with why you chose to behave the way you did. By mentioning them you sullied them, not elevated yourself.
No one needs to be part of this journey of yours. You should have gone to the patriarch, not a purported felon on the board, and confessed your sins to him which you seem to think are minimal.
No one buys the “I am not asking for anything but to leave me alone and don’t contact me anymore. ” Have you ever heard of call blocking?
No, you want something. To ruin his vocation? (Talk about “cunning and predatory.”) To leave those of us who depend on his leadership out to dry? MONEY? I have the same question for you as I wrote last week. Why now?
Why do you have to drag down the entire body of Christ with details we don’t need to know? A self-professed, educated (and apparently worldly woman) should know some things should not be fodder for discussion in polite company. This is the worst idea you have ever been talked into, because it is obvious you were coached.
The tape you provided is proof of nothing. Anyone could fake something like that. But either way, we shouldn’t be privy to it. All these details should not have been laid at our feet. I do not need the details of your sex life. You said, “Sexual sin is complex and physical, but secrets, lies and humiliation are psychological.” Ya, think? “The spiritual harm does not fall on just you or even just me, but on the entire body of the Church and its members.” You got that right.
I am disgusted by what you did. Your letter is like a bloody accident I can’t unsee. Not because I don’t think there should be consequences, (pending an investigation), but I would have been good with a general announcement of what those consequences are going to be, minus the detail. And trust me on this, I will do everything within my power to keep you from getting one more dime from the Church for your stupid, stupid behavior. As a single woman with 4 children, you did pretty well landing in Glendale, an upscale community in So Cal, with enough money to go to school and get your master’s degree.
Let that be enough.
If what you’re saying is true (big IF in my mind) no one made you sneak over to a guy’s private residence and jump into bed with him for 16 years. You deserve absolutely nothing for that.
I do not respect you one iota. I do not believe you one iota.
Gail, I totally agree with you on this one.
OID is starting to remind me of Pokrov.org but with the underlying agenda much more apparent.
I think so too.
I had the exact. same. thought.
The word “grooming” was one of their favorites as I recall only the context was children, not grown women.
Orthodoxy in Dialogue with Satan (OIDWS — an honorific acronym doing justice to their LGBTQIA+ acronym agenda) only tears apart conservative-valued clergy. Maybe there is validity to parts of Helena’s story as pasted across OIDWS. However, of all the clergy scandals they could choose to spin (and there are some doozies out there), they have chosen to focus their attention on this one for the one reason, as OIDWS writes, Met. Joseph has prohibited his clergy from attending same sex marriages. Lord Jesus Christ, come quickly.
Unbelievable.
Kavanaugh 2.0: Antioch Edition
If?
Well, let’s see…considering the source …OiD….
Reminds me of what my dad told me while he was attending the Univ. of Chicago Law School on the GI Bill after serving in Korea – [Tank Commander, awarded the Silver Star, Purple Heart, among others] and WWII before as Capt. with the 82nd Airborne also a Master Paratrooper]
A poster was on the classroom wall, it said: ‘If you have the truth, argue the truth; if you don’t have the truth, argue the facts. If you don’t have the facts, attack your opponent’s character and credibility.’
So, it goes.
Doxa to Theo, John D.
The Complaint:
“I ate my cake.
I want my cake.
It’s not fair!“
Just because her motives might be less than honorable does not excuse the metropolitan’s role in the affair, if it is true. If the allegations turn out to be true, his lack of self-control would open him up to blackmail. In the OCA scandal of the early aughts, apparently blackmail material of a sexual nature against the metropolitan there also had a role. If the affair did occur, both parties have culpability and not just the woman for not having “[said] you’re flattered, but no.”
That said, as it stands, we have an allegation, but no established facts. In the #metoo era, it has been forgotten that the accused are innocent until proven guilty. The notion that a woman’s accusation is self-proving without evidence, without corroboration, is a resurgence of the dark passions which animated lynch mobs of the Jim Crow era. If the metropolitan were a black man, the flaws of the “believe her” mentality would be clear.
That he co-owned two homes with this woman is highly irregular but not probative of an affair. For all we know, the co-ownership is not an effect of an affair, but the cause of her allegation, part of an attempt to wrangle sole control of the properties.
We do not have all the facts yet, but OiD is already calling for the metropolitan’s removal from his post. That is premature.
The facts, as they were presented, are looking more and more as I expected, ie suspicious.
Agreed. Where is the evidence of coownership, for example. OiD has no credibility.
Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.
We can talk about the email because it’s out there, but don’t assume anything else because we don’t know.
Again, we should never have been dragged into this at this juncture. The person who distributed all this is not someone who is credible.
“In the #metoo era, it has been forgotten that
the accused are innocent until proven guilty.”
Biden Says We Must ‘Believe All Women’
– Except The Woman Who Accused Him
https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-says-we-must-believe-all-women-except-the-woman-who-accused-him
No wonder Justice went blind!
Idiots.
He seems pretty well-housed and well-kept for a man who preaches abstinence, humility, and frugality from the pulpit.
The fact of the matter is this: if this accusation were made against a regular, ol’ parish priest, +JOSEPH would have suspended the priest regardless of the accusations or finger pointing until an ecclesial court could be called (which is ironic considering the moralizing tone of +JOSEPH’s letters to his clergy).
This obviously hasn’t happened as +JOHN has that authority, and in my opinion, would have been the wisest course of action.
Instead, we have a letter published by the Metropolitan equating this as an attack on the Church itself.
The accusation isn’t and is simply reveals an illusion of grandeur that many of these bishops have. There isn’t a grand cabal of people somewhere in dark corners, with brandy snifters and cigars at hand trying to bring down the Antiochian Archdiocese.
Most people in America have no idea what Orthodoxy is. Most would say, “What’s an anteeee-oak-eeee-an?” And they certainly don’t really care about the drama produced by a jurisdiction that hasn’t really come to terms with its own obscurity and increasing irrelevance.
Interestingly, there was a complaint by a parish up around the San Francisco area. Their priest was molesting kids. After he was notified, Metropolitan Joseph took care of the situation within 24 hours.
Just FYI, we’re hearing things behind the scenes that point to his innocence so let’s not assume anything.
I could not have said it any better. I hope that “Jezebel” who forgot to sign her last name on her email gets to read this article. Everything stated here is exactly my view about this this woman and salacious OID. Pure trash!
Why do people want to focus on this drivel? Yes, human beings sin. There are processes within the Church and under the law to sort out the worst behavior. I see no reason not to ignore the whole thing insofar as it is possible and avoid the Peyton Place dynamic. It’s a distraction at best.
Gail, I completely agree that she was coached. My guess is by OiD. They gun for anyone who isnt up for turning the Orthodox Church into Episcopalianism with Huumus.
Now, do I “believe” the accusation? I dont know. Do I think its plausible? Probably. Is she innocent in this? Absolutely not.
We attend an Antiochian parish. We didn’t hear this there, but when we did, I googled it.
The only source of the story I could find was Heresy in Monologue.
They tried this with Fr. Josiah Trenham and it failed spectacularly. I’m not holding my breath.
SOMEONE is behind that OID website, and whoever they are they are enemies of the Church. They know it, and we should know it too. It is the tactic of the enemy to take down people on personal and/or sexual sin. It’s an old trick used to control those in power. We need to be less naive and more proactive when identifying and neutralized our enemies. We are not powerless. We must fight evil in all forms.
If the allegations are true, it would be a “pox on both houses” type situation. As trite as it is to say, it takes two to tango. The devil may tempt us, but God gave us free will.
I’ll continue to wait for the facts of the case to come out. Yes, she was older and should know better. But never underestimate the power of spiritual authority, and the ability of predators to sense and prey on the most emotionally vulnerable. With such a power imbalance there is no true “consent.” Coming from the Catholic Church – where most don’t realize far more adults are manipulated into sex by clergy than children, some states have now passed laws making it a form of statutory rape – it’s something I’ve really studied in effort to understand.
As for VIRTUS, it is a mandatory program implemented by the Catholic Church to train all church and parish staff who might have contact with children in how to spot signs of a pedophile or sex abuser. I went through it shortly after I became Catholic in 1999. It was life changing. When I was young teenager, I babysat for a couple of years for the children of an extremely friendly, charming man I came to regard as a friend – until at the end he made a very serious attempt to seduce me, thankfully did not force me but afterwards heavily guilt-tripped me, as if it was my fault, in a way that was very damaging and set me on a very different, unhealthy trajectory in life that did not alter until a couple decades later when I became a Christian.
During that VIRTUS training, we watched a video of convicted pedophiles in prison discussing their methods. To my horror, I recognized every single tactic my abuser had used on me. Every single one. Realized this a pattern. And then thought: we didn’t go to the police. My dad was out of the country and my mom didn’t know what to do. What if there were other victims, because of our inaction? What if I wasn’t the only one?
Sometime later, unable to get the thought out of my head, I decided to look my abuser up online. Turns out he had been arrested only a year earlier possessing 1000s of images of child porn on a couple computers at home. I then interviewed with the detective on the case, and he told me they were certain he’d had many victims like me, as he’d been a very popular and trusted girls’ sports coach for many, many years and was well-regarded in our town. And he was very glad I’d come forward.
I cannot tell you how life-changing it was to realize it was not my fault, I had been victimized, and by someone far more sophisticated and knowledgeable than I was, who really knew how to take advantage of me. I felt absolved and freed. Had it not been for VIRTUS, I might not ever have made that realization.
So, I don’t know what the truth is here with the metropolitan. I am not going to assume he’s guilty, but I am also not going to assume the woman is either stupid or lying. We don’t know the facts, and sexual manipulation and abuse of adults by clergy, including married women with children, is a very real thing. I’ve heard many of those stories and it’s heartbreaking and infuriating to know how predators use their religious office to take advantage of the vulnerable.
I had a similar experience with a high school coach. He fixated on me and I thought “I” was doing something wrong.
I went to the mall after school one day and he pulled up beside me. He wanted me to get in his car with him. I made some excuse and from that point on he targeted me. He wouldn’t let my boyfriend and me into a school dance. He told the entire football team that if anyone asked me out they would be off the team.
Again, I thought I had done something wrong.
I got to thinking about it just a few years ago and it hit me, “of course there were other girls.” So on a webpage for my high school during the time I went there, I asked if any of the girls remembered this coach.
5 girls responded, but not with their names. They each had their own stories about how this coach tried to molest them.
He was a pillar of his church and the father of several girls. Of course he’s long since dead.
I felt like I had to do something about it, so I called the police and told them the story. Girls today are probably a lot more savvy than we were then, but that detective called my high school and suggested they hold an assembly telling kids they would absolutely listen if they came forward to the administration with similar concerns.
They also told them, “You’re never the only one.” Never.
Wow, sick. I’m sorry that happened to you, too – and very glad you took action once you were mature enough to realize what had really happened. It takes courage to do that.
And yes, girls today can be savvier, but they’re also just so much more highly sexualized, and at younger and younger ages. I was a young teenager in the 70’s, long before the internet, and really, really innocent. I didn’t even know it was possible for a married man with a wife and children of his own to be interested in a girl like me that way! I mean, the night he did it, he was driving me home from having just babysat for them. I’d just changed his children’s diapers, said goodnight to his wife – and this! The effect was shattering, monstrous, and long-lasting.
I believe Orthodoxy in Dialogue will be served with yet another lawsuit pretty soon… Apparently they haven’t learned the lesson taught by the last legal filing against them for slander. There is a whole lot of context missing from this saga, and I’m giving Met. Joseph the benefit of the doubt and keeping him in my prayers. (And Gail, I love this piece. Am totally with you.)
I find the well deserve defense given to Metropolitan Joseph quite interesting. So far 16 comments, all in defense.
What I find interesting is if this ratio in defense of Metropolitan Joseph would be the same if some woman, or man, came out with same accusations(especially property partnership) of the GOA Archbishop, or the Greek EP?
Tribalism will destroy universal Orthodoxy. Not so much in the structural, organized business sense, as their assets, and government ties are too great, but for sure their greatest asset, the laity, will be lost to them.
Well, most if not all are not Antiochian if that’s what you mean. I would say an equal number are men vs. women. No one has given him a pass. – You seem to believe he is guilty. I think the rest of us 16 people want to hear it officially. – The discussion about forgiveness has nothing to do with this situation. It has to do with, well, forgiveness.
Yes, if the same accusation had been made against Archbishop Elpidophoros, the responses on this sight would be totally different — hands down!
And you know this because. . .???
I don’t disagree with you. Papman.
If Elpidophoros had otherwise earned a similar degree of love and respect by his deeds I suspect this would not be the case, but alas…
Credibility, whether deserved in an individual case or not, is an earned quality.
As a convert I am trying to figure a few things out. On this blog I have read a few choice tidbits about sexual behaviour concerning 2 bishops. One was in Paris with Bulgarian studs and one is here in the states and is the AB. Nothing has happened to either one. They are both still clergy. No big hue and cry from the laity. Protestant churches would have defrocked them months ago. All I can figure out is that this is no big deal in Orthodox life.
Now this case, has driven everyone nuts. . So far everyone has stood up for the bishop and none for the lady involved and have basically blamed it all on her for 1) entering into an alliance with this man for 16 years, and 2) reporting it, at least in the manner in which she did. She should have known better. Really? He is the one who should have known better. And it is not like this was a one night stand we are talking about.
It takes two to tango.
I kind of hate to have you here, Lina. You shouldn’t have to be dealing with this. You should be just enjoying coming into the Church.
This situation is much deeper than the two people mentioned and the reasons are not what they seem. We’re not defending Metropolitan Joseph. I’m not sure we have to. Those of us who have been around for awhile have seen this kind of set up before and it always has to do with old world politics.
Orthodoxy in Dialogue trash blog is about forcing the Orthodox Christian Church to accept LGBQT sexual perversions as “normal” – as heterosexual. Please study the OID blog in depth. The author of the blog uses salacious sensationalism through the his posts to dismantle Orthodox Christianity. The author of the OID blog is using the woman who wrote the email to make his point about the holiness of monogamous LGBQT sinners.
LGBQT is being used politically worldwide to fracture and destroy Christianity. Do you get it? LGBQT is a political tool of the global cabal. So, there are two things going on in the OID blog- the email about a heterosexual affair ( we await the outcome of an investigation) and the the goal of author of OID and his minions to tear down the laws of our Father.
The author of the OID blog appears to enjoy writing about “digestive tract” sexual encounters it seems to me. His entire blog is about the “goodness” of LGBQT sex. He works for Satan. Read each of his posts. Find out who donates to his blog and who they are! Look deeply!
I agree with you 100%!!!!!
Lina, I have to agree with you here. It does take two to tango. And it is disheartening that few have come to her defense. It is suspicious to me that she comes out now, so publicly, especially on so questionable a website as OiD. It is that latter piece that raises a red flag.
Having experience with words being turned around to use as an attack on the person doing the reporting of the “offense” only keeps women (and men) silent. I know this first hand. I’ll say this, it took guts for her to put down on paper what she alleges occurred. The truth will come out one way or another. God will not be mocked. Of that we can bet on.
RE: “. . . it took guts for her to put down on paper what she alleges occurred.”
That’s one way of looking at it.
George
I do not assume, nor believe he is guilty of said accusations. How could I know, until the Metropolitan speaks of the accusations.
Forgiveness is a given for a Christian. Then again they(the accuser and Metropolitan) do not need my forgiveness, nor 99% of those who read/comment on this blog.
Please forgive my misdirection with the forgiveness discussion.
I just felt some “tribes” and Tribe leaders are given more of a pass than others, according to the favorite flavor/favor of said blogs, one might read. I admit your blog at least tries to fair and balanced, but IMHO, that cant be said of most who comment here.
Please understand I have no favor with the GOA. In fact I am a man without a parish. Since 2020, lets just say I am tired of pinching my nose, and looking the other way. To your credit your blog, and Hellenscope blog have opened my eyes. I just don’t see much difference in all the jurisdiction/tribes in Orthodoxy.
Then again, “laws for thee, but not for me” is that not the new way of world today not just in religion, but especially in politics? Look no further than laws applied to Republicans but not Democrats, or leftist crimes, compared to those same crimes done by the right.
IMHO, so long as Orthodoxy continues to partner up with their governments or the globalist, or heretic/atheist believing billionaires, then, well then ,what’s the difference?
Sorry I digress yet again.
Correction: parts of Orthodoxy.
The actions of the few does not define the whole. Please return to the Church and receive the sacraments as soon as you can.
Basil,
Thank you for your concern/advice.
To which I must reply, respectfully.
The fish rots from the head first.
Right now Orthodoxy is at a cross roads. It is ironic that it parallels the United States political situation. Lies upon lies. The corrupt accusing the innocent of the exact crimes they commit. Laws, sins, traditions, relaxed and/or ignored. Something has to give, and when the dust settles, I will re-examine my return.
I understand history repeating itself, my family roots has lived thru it, and I keep it my heart, to at least learn from it. Orthodoxy has been under the yoke of evil governments before, Muslim, Communist, etc. I will not judge Church leaders whose own heads, and those of their families were threaten with bullets to the head, or a sword to the throat, but for sure their decisions were not in the best interest of the Church, and the laity. But now, the mighty dollar seems to motivate more than the sword of the past.
We have witnessed, and hopefully learned much since Trump became President, and most especially the events after 2020. We are witnessing the birth of something very evil coming into the world, and I am not 100% sure the leaders of Orthodoxy will be on God’s side. Our own government will not even protect our children from abuse, as the medical industry lusts to chop up our children’s private parts for profit. At the same time ironically, abortion is overturned, and our archbishop speaks from both side of his mouth?!!!
For decades children were secretly abused, in many case under the protection by the world’s largest churches.
NOW! The abusers openly have begun to hurt and abuse little children, under the protection of our government, and large corporations and those who raise a voice are declared, “trans phobic”, or anti this or that, even racist and haters.
Orthodox leaders are players and partners with their governments. Hell, the so called first among equals, and the archbishop of America are Turkish citizens. Whose bread must they butter? I will not butter theirs.
RE: “We are witnessing the birth of something very evil coming into the world,”
I would argue it isn’t coming into our world, and has been here and is growing expeditiously. Good people are now standing out of the way so you’ll see it in the hope you will reject it.
In the grand scheme of things, +JOSEPH is a relatively obscure and uninfluential individual in the face of American spirituality. I don’t think this scandal is evidence of the First Horse of the Apocalypse or anything really wicked, at all.
Orthodoxy isn’t as important as people think it is. It’s a moribund religion and an obscure denomination in the face of American religious culture.
To quote Saruman, ya’ll are just lesser sons of greater sires.
Thank you for your opinion, Mr. “Orthodoxy isn’t as important as people think.” We Orthodox will take your opinion under advisement!
Gail:
I think you and George might soon discover that these men that you all dress up like Byzantine emperors and hail them, asking God to make them live forever are really in the end…just men.
They are flawed and probably because of their power, make them more prone to, as they say in elementary school, “bad decisions.”
Lord Acton once said, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Since +PHILIP, the Antiochian Archdiocese as done what many Arabs have done in their past – prop up strong men. +PHILIP loved to pretend as if he were Hafez al-Assad. +JOSEPH is simply following suit.
The way I see it the chickens are just coming home to roost.
Of course, they are all flawed! You don’t know much about me, do you?
No, Metropolitan Philip did not “prop up strong men.” He did precisely the opposite because he didn’t want the opposition or the competition. In spite of his desire, however, there were a few men who exceeded his expectations which is why he whacked them all down as auxiliary. Now that he’s gone, they are coming into their own.
‘Lord Acton once said, “Power corrupts and
absolute power corrupts absolutely.” ‘
No he did not. What he wrote was:
“Power tends to corrupt
and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
And were it true that “power corrupts”,
Gandalf would have taken the Ring,
as also would have Galadriel.
Apologies for the over-bold text.
I did not mean to shout…
Gail,
I pray those who love Christ, will not be fooled by the evil one.
I struggle with my views, but how can my own eyes deceive me?
Sheep will always be led to the slaughter, but now so will those who resist, but, some things are worst than death. I pray we choose wisely! Those with families it is even tens times worst, and nerve-racking what direction and decisions we must make.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on us sinners. Blessed Theotokos save us!
God can be trusted.
George and Gail! Welcome back!
Gail you are very wise. I never thought of it that way. I pray you are correct!
George! Yes of course! Matthew 16:18, applies forever. But, if 14 out 15 primates go the way of the “reset world”, “cat food” will become of the 1% who follow true Orthodox Christian clergy, and most importantly truly follow Christ.
Again, like the first followers of Christ, fed to the lions in the new world order coliseums. Most likely digitally destroyed into oblivion, cast out yet again. History repeats?! Later, will New Rome re-invent us yet again?
Thanks, Dino. Good to have you back as well.
Dino, as Andrew Jackson said: “one man with courage constitutes a majority.”
The Church will never fail. It cannot. Even if 14 out of 15 primates go all globo-homo there will still be at least three bishops in the world who will continue to preach the faith.
George
I do not assume, nor believe he is guilty of said accusations. How could I know, until the Metropolitan speaks of the accusations.
Forgiveness is a given for a Christian. Then again they(the accuser and Metropolitan) do not need my forgiveness, nor 99% of those who read/comment on this blog.
Please forgive my misdirection with the forgiveness discussion.
I just felt some “tribes” and Tribe leaders are given more of a pass than others, according to the favorite flavor/favor of said blogs, one might read. I admit your blog at least tries to fair and balanced, but IMHO, that cant be said of most who comment here.
Please understand I have no favor with the GOA. In fact I am a man without a parish. Since 2020, lets just say I am tired of pinching my nose, and looking the other way. To your credit your blog, and Hellenscope blog have opened my eyes. I just don’t see much difference in all the jurisdiction/tribes in Orthodoxy.
Then again, “laws for thee, but not for me” is that not the new way of world today not just in religion, but especially in politics? Look no further than laws applied to Republicans but not Democrats, or leftist crimes, compared to those same crimes done by the right.
IMHO, so long as Orthodoxy continues to partner up with their governments or the globalist, or heretic/atheist believing billionaires, then, well then ,what’s the difference?
Sorry I digress yet again.
The issue is not guilt or innocence, nor is it about forgiveness, although we’ve talked about it all. The issue is the timing. Why not then when it was reported by her husband as she, herself, acknowledges? If he is guilty and shouldn’t be a hierarch, why didn’t they take him out then?
What’s changed?
What’s changed is he is not the obedient servant of Metropolitan Philip anymore. He’s his own man and doing a pretty good job of it.
They don’t like that.
Gail,
very well said!
Privacy and free speech are mutually exclusive, as Alito showed in Dobbs. The Greek word for privacy is cognate with idiot, because only useless idiots care about privacy. Recall the colonial exhorters. This is why we don’t ban junk mail like Germany. Swiss Bank Privacy hails from the nazi era. Your voting history (when not what) is public information – unions can look up your party (ie not GOP) before helping you. You can look up your neighbor’s property tax payments so you can argue your bill is unfair. It’s the American Way!
I’d have to agree that privacy went out the window with the Patriot Act, followed by Google and the world it ushered in.
I’ve never commented here but I have to say this. I am astounded by the narcissism of the man who runs OiD. He really believes his posts “compelled” the Patriarch of Antioch to issue a statement and that his website is the “gatekeeper” for the Archdiocese. If it were not for Monomakhos, I wouldn’t have the first idea who this guy is! I imagine the majority of Orthodox Christians are in the same boat. “There but for the grace of God…” but still it’s mind boggling.
All of us bloggers received this story before that despicable website and that guy was the only one to take the bait.
The man is a homosexual, so one of the most extreme kinds of narcissist.
Matthew D., OiD is the biggest tragedy, and joke out there in terms of Orthodox blogging. As someone else stated before, it should be called Heterdoxy in Dialogue. Unfortunately, there are those Orthodox that will get themselves ensnared in its evil mindset, because they are either weak-willed or just plain clueless. We should pray for them!
There have always been sites like that, unfortunately.
Was she right in emailing the entire bot and archdiocese., probably not. But unless you’ve had dealings with these things you should know how easily they get swept under the rug or hushed. To say that had he been reported before he would’ve been removed is ridiculous. These kind of relationships (hetero and homo) are so common to think otherwise you are in complete denial. It’s only now in this era that because of internet and viral posts that these problems are being brought to light and addressed. There’s no more hiding.
If you really knew said people, you wouldn’t be surprised when certain things come out.
Vibes are hardly a judge of character.
It is everywhere: government, Hollywood, the business world, anywhere that there is a matrix of power, there are Diabolical Narcissists, both homosexual and heterosexual, looking to leverage sodomy or fornication into power, even if that power is never explicitly wielded, and is used only as a source of Narcissistic Supply. And it isn’t exclusive to homosexuals. There are women who chase and try to seduce priests – they are referred to as “chalice snatchers”. These women luxuriate in the thought that a priest, when given a choice between being a priest of Jesus Christ, and having sex with them, chose to have sex with them. Thus, the woman “beats God”, and sadly today, some of them go out of their way to make sure that no one forgets it. There are women who chase married men. Homewreckers. There are women who chase powerful men within the business world to advance their careers. There are women who chase rich men. Golddiggers. There are women who chase men of a different nationality in order to gain citizenship to said country. Mail order brides. There are women who chase mentally retarded professional athletes. Kardashians.
Author: Ann Barnhardt
Anyone see the new and threatening post from OID dated 9/02/22
https://orthodoxyindialogue.com/2022/09/02/the-metropolitan-joseph-scandal-the-final-outrage/#more-21563
Why read that crap? He has no inside information.
It was a new letter from Metropolitan Joseph prefaced with a threat from the author of OID.
A threat???
Anyone here find the irony in the bisop’s letter where he says NOT to listen to gossip, the columies (this website!!) etc. and to withdraw and shun them. Your bishop is saying to shun OiD AND this website! You don’t see yourselves that way, right? LOL
What bishop’s letter?
You mean the note to the Board of Trustee on Metropolitan Joseph’s letterhead that was penned by Fawaz El Khoury, AKA “The Fawz,” honorary member of the Board of Trustees who later turned into the Vice Chair by whatever means he had at his disposal, I guess. The guy who sold the clothes from the donation boxes for the poor.
I would suggest depriving the story of oxygen for three reasons:
1) it’s irrelevant to anything important and the processes within the Church and at law will handle it regardless of the gossip, and
2) there’s a continuing coup d’etat in the US and a proxy war in the Ukraine between the US and Russia which actually do matter; and
3) giving it oxygen demeans us all as gossips.
Met. Joseph sent out a letter yesterday saying he’s leaving today for a meeting on the matter with Patriarch John on Sept. I am glad to hear it: https://antiochian.org/regulararticle/1326
Kind of an aside, as I’m staying neutral and assuming nothing (though glad to hear you guys are hearing good things about the Metropolitan behind the scenes): With respect to clergy sexual relations with other adults outside of marriage, the clergyman always bears greater responsibility even when the relationship is “consensual.” Both for the reason I mentioned in a comment above, his greater spiritual authority and the power imbalance that creates between him and anyone else (why some states have now passed legislation making such relations statutory rape on the part of the clergy, as there is no true consent with such an imbalance, same as with therapists and counselors with their clients).
But also, and more seriously especially for a bishop, because of his spiritual responsibility to God for the salvation of souls. He has essentially assisted in the misleading and destruction of a soul rather than its salvation – and he will be held accountable by God for this in the end, the Church Fathers are crystal clear on this in the strongest possible terms. They urge such sinful priests to quit the clergy rather than continue handling sacred things even angels do not dare to touch, or they will face the dreadful wrath of God in the end.
For that reason, for the sake of his soul, I do truly hope the Metropolitan is innocent of these charges.
This letter was also posted on 9/2/22 on the trash OID blog prefaced by a strong statement by the author of the article. They plan on going after Met. Joseph. Awful!!!
Thanks, Jane. I’ll take a look at it.