From the "paradosis" list...
from Sunday's monastery news (Dormition Skete):
"This Sunday, the Sunday before the Feast of Saint
Peter and Paul, Archdeacon Peter was ordained to the
holy priesthood by Archbishop Gregory. Father Peter
has been a monk here for six years. He was tonsured
to the Great Schema three years ago, and shortly
thereafter ordained to the deaconate. He is takes
care of the mounted icon production here at the
skete, and through the help of God, tries to keep
our computers and telephones working. Please pray
for him that God will help him tend our flock well
for our Master Christ."
I wonder if the suspended bishop (who informed
his flock that he would not be obeying his
Metropolitan's order to cease liturgizing and
ordaining, since, as Fr George always says, "Obedience
is life") has ever asked his Master Christ if He
blesses throwing Fr Dionysi and Matushka Christina and
their children---including a little girl who suffers
from epileptic seizures---into the street, reneging on
a promise to sell them (for one dollar) the deed to
the house they were occupying, which he owns as if
owning the souls of its inhabitants. The suspended
bishop extols himself as a strict observer of the
canons (though everyone who knows his history also
knows he has broken MANY). He is Orthodox according to
his definition, allright---but is he CHRISTIAN? Why
couldn't a Christian say to the priest and his family,
"Even though you disagree with me, even though you
dared to utter in my domain even one word that did not
completely shore-up my high opinion of myself, I will
keep my word. Stay in the house. And pray for me, a
sinner"?
Here is the suspended bishop's first message to
his flock about what transpired with Metropolitan
Valentin (again, from this Sunday's monastery news):
"As many of you know, and some of you don't know,
Metropolitan Valentine has made a very vicious and
slanderous attack against me (Archbishop Gregory).
After all that we have done for him, he has
determined that I am unfit to govern a diocese and
lead souls to salvation. Previous to this attack, I
had made a report to the Synod about Metropolitan
Valentine's actions after his heart operation.
During his stay here, we learned of some of his new
ideas, and reported these to the Holy Synod. These
ideas consist of the Metropolitan thinking that he
can rule America from abroad through an unworthy
priest, that he may receive clergy and lay people
into the Church without Holy Baptism, that he can
enter my diocese and steal whatever monks and
clergymen he wishes; and all of these, of course,
are uncanonical and punishable offenses if not
corrected. We are waiting to see if the bishops in
Russia are going to act upon my formal accusations
against the Metropolitan. We will keep
you all informed."
Even if Metropolitan Valentin turns out to be
espousing a false ecclesiology (which is likely), the
suspended bishop neglects to APOLOGIZE to the
ROAC-America flock, saying something like, "You know,
I built this guy up as if he were THE confessor in
Russia, when I really had no way of vouching for him.
I misled you. I was just so excited to get into ROAC
and begin to exercise my sway over all those thirsting
souls awaiting my commands and insights. I was so
eager to guide you all to Heaven that I refrained from
viewing this synod critically---something I admit is
unusual for me, since I DO have a history of
mercilessly criticizing every other traditionalist
synod on Earth. I even went so far as to write on this
list that 'I could vouch for Metropolitan Valentin's
honesty when he was with the MP'---an institution I
otherwise vituperated every chance I could get,
calling it a Graceless counterfeit of the Church, so
how anyone could really be honest in it for 30 years
is beyond me. I just so needed M Valentin to be my
way out of the Kallinikites, who refused to give me
the advancement you all can see I deserve. I and my
disciples hammered anyone who had even a moment's
hesitation over Metropolitan Valentin's authenticity.
After all, in hesitating about M Valentin, they were
questioning MY discernment, which is legendary, no? I
set up the ROAC website and made it look like I could
honestly show a pedigree that began with St Andrew and
ended with M Valentin, St Philaret being his immediate
predecessor. Okay, I fudged that a little bit, but
only to win souls. And now my Metropolitan---whom I'd
been calling 'our beloved Metropolitan' for two
years---is telling me I'm unfit to govern a diocese
and lead souls to salvation. Even though I disagree
with him about many things, he is right about THAT: I
am not fit to lead souls anywhere, since I myself too
often do not know where I am headed. I see things the
way I NEED to see them---and I will often go along to
get along, despite my self-exaltation as a pillar of
pure confession. (For instance, I blessed Br John of
Dormition Skete to write an article in the Chaffee
County Times [Colorado, Tuesday, June 17, 2004, p. 12]
that described Buena Vsita as "a center of a major
branch of the Eastern Orthodox Christian religion,
whose adherents number over 300,000,000 worldwide."
Of course I most certainly did NOT believe that the
ROAC was a branch of World Orthdxoxy---I KNEW it to be
THE Russian Orthodox Church and World Orthdoxy to be
NOTHING---but I allowed my novice to convey this false
information in order to get the good people of
Colorado to believe that we are not fanatics. Also,
when my novice writes that I am "the head of the
American Diocese" of ROAC---all right, so he LIED. We
at the Skete lied about alot of things.
So I'm sorry. Forgive me. I've decided to live
out the rest of my life as a simple monk, without
authority over any soul but my own, in obedience to
whatever bishop will condescend to take me---though it
cannot be any from the GOC, since I have said on this
list that I do not believe the state church of Greece
went into schism in 1924, and every GOC synod (except
Kyprian's, which is FAUX) teaches that this is so.
Who knows WHERE I'll wind up? But please, forgive
me."
Of course I doubt the suspended bishop will ever
utter these words; indeed, I doubt they'd even cross
his mind.
