Meagan S, SarahR Attack Rocor, Fr JohnWhiteford

[Barbara]

This article from Texas Monthly doesn't seem to copy so I'll post the link.
It's from the April 2024 issue.

Could this be Sarah Riccardi-Swartz's revenge for that strong book review that Fr John Whiteford [Rocor-Mp] wrote against her book -?!
She is apparently professionally friendly with the author of the article, Meagan Saliashvili.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-polit ... ight-wing/

Picture from the article of Fr John Whiteford at his St Jonah of Manchuria parish near Houston Texas


This picture is described as a parishioner at St Jonah church. Notice how THIS person in a less than flattering attitude is singled out to be featured. Purpose apparently is to make the parishioners look like dangerous cult figures or at minimum, zombies.

[Barbara]

Surprisingly, the magazine's photographer came up with a good photo of the parish rector. This is the picture at the very top of the article. However, the author picked out the most unpleasant biographical facts to highlight from Fr John's autobiographical essay, "A Pilgrim's Podvig".

Yet, despite every attempt to make Sarah Riccardi's "Reactive Orthodoxy" seem repugnant, in fact, the publicity about the St Jonah of Manchuria parish may actually attract a wealth of new members due to the word spreading thanks to this article !

Likewise, same trend nationwide with Rocor-MP. Probably a few TOC's may benefit as well.
If nothing else, the lookups on the internet about Fr John may turn up the Debate March 4, 2024 with Fr Joseph.
 

[Barbara]

Already, many have responded with ire and mocking to this bizarre piece with no real purpose except to poison public minds against the conservative Orthodox.

One example is a site called Pascha Press which wrote a rebuttal to the two women "religion researchers" :

"Their MO [modus operandi] is to ingratiate themselves into a targeted ROCOR church, take advantage of people's kindness at coffee hour, then create twisted "articles" about how horrible everyone is."
Sarah Riccardi Swartz and new Sith apprentice Meagan Clark Saliashvili" < Their pictures [which i could not copy over to this site] were put together with the words "NOT ORTHODOX", etc
AND a rueful warning was issued: "Don't give an interview to these two, especially you're Rocor"

I think if any of us who are savvy about the internet, social media sites [not I, unfortunately!] go to bat to support the victims of this nasty campaign, it will help.

Already Sarah Riccardi was complaining about the responses she got which were negative. She pretended that this was due to the following categories of disdainful replies to her smug post about "the compelling" Texas Monthly article - no doubt, in order to inflame the anger of the liberal left on behalf of poor, brave Meagan and herself, fighting off these roaring lions all by their lonesome selves.
 
  "Want to see the kind of antisemitism, misogyny, and hate researchers of far-right Orthodoxy deal with?"

If it's so terrible to be a 'researcher of far-right Orthodoxy', she can stop right away !
 

[Barbara]

A Texan named Melissa Fryzel wrote a pointed reply to article author Meagan Saliashvili :

"Would be great to see unbiased reporting on your part. Why did you target the men? Are you a feminist with passive aggressive issues? We can help you repent from that.

Why are you basing your invalidated conclusions on random cherry-picked web content rather than actual work being done in Texas by those of us that are boots on the ground under our Dean? ..Back off Fr John and come after me, woman to woman, sweetheart. If you want to know what ROCOR laity are doing in the ACTUAL world, IN TEXAS then [?] me - AN ORTHODOX STUDIES STUDENT UNDER FATHER JOHN.
This is what is really happening in Texas through his “right-wing followers.”

Not the nonsense you are trying to spread.
I’m very disappointed, but expect nothing less from a Harvard Grad, frankly."

[Barbara]

An Orthodox American man named Michael, I think, wrote the following retort to Meagan Saliashvili in relation to the Texas Monthly article :

"Saliashvili is a Georgian surname, I can only assume she is Georgian. So, she should know firsthand that being far right is not incompatible with Orthodoxy at all.

And most Georgian churchgoers are much further right than the average American “Orthobro.”

Very subversive indeed"

It's possible that Meagan is married to a man from the country of Georgia, since her middle name is given as Clark, which sounds more like a maiden name.
But who knows ?
I think there is no information easily findable on the internet to clarify the question of where the name comes from one way or the other.