Religious cults in Orthodoxy

[joasia]

Hello Forum,

I came across some websites that were addressing Orthodox extremism as cults. Of course there is the famous St. Anthony Monastery with Fr. Ephraim, which was on their local news a few years ago. I can see how people with worldly views will consider their children brainwashed because they want to live a monastic life. And of course, the tainted extremism of that monstery can give a negative understanding of monastism.

But, that aside, there's another website, of a former, Ephraim novice that posted characteristics of cults and listed some things that I agree could be an underlying perspective of a cult, but then he also suggested changes of lifestyles like fasting for Christmas for 40 days as a form of mind control because he was expected to do it when he became a catecumen. I also was told that and accepted it naturally. Of course, there are changes we should make when we accept God in the Orthodox faith. It is a change for the better; to set our goal towards doing God's will. But, these people consider it an oppression.

I was just wondering if anyone here knows what these people who rejected the proper Orthodox tradition are going through. It's as if they were given the key to a spiritual life and then were somehow completely destroyed by it. There's also a blog by a woman who now opposes anything taught by the Orthodox faith as if it was all mind control.

All the things we talk about here, about spiritual warefares, are twisted into some kind of cultish brainwashing by these people. Why do they miss the point? Is there something we can offer them in their state of confusion?

These are just my thoughts.

Joanna

[Pravoslavnik]

Joanna,

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  I don't know the particulars about the websites and monasteries that you mention, but my thought is that there may not be a single answer to your question.  No doubt, there are some Orthodox monasteries and parishes where abuses have occurred.  The Pokrov.org site, for example, has profiled documented cases where abuse of parishioners and/or monastics have occurred.  Where grace abounds, the Evil One will attack, and there have always been tares among the wheat in the Church (and certainly OUTSIDE of the Church!)  As for the misunderstanding of Orthodox praxis and asceticism, it is commonplace in our modern world.  One of the most ridiculous, yet popular, movies that I have seen in recent years was [i]Like Water for Chocolate[/i], about life in a traditional French town during Great Lent.  Of course, it is a Roman Catholic setting, rather than being Orthodox, but the entire film was a sort of glib mockery of traditional Christian asceticism.  Passion finally triumphs over forbearance in this film, whose producers apparently lack any understanding of traditional Christian praxis and the purpose of Lenten fasting...

 The central issue here is the glorification of the passions in modern Western culture, in contrast to the Orthodox concept that we need to free ourselves from our passions.  Ironically, many modern intellectuals might praise Buddhism, including the Buddhist concept of overcoming the passions, yet ridicule the same concept in traditional Christianity.  Speaking from personal experience, I had to be painfully [i]taught [/i]by my Spiritual Father, and my own stumbling, that the passions lead to suffering.  Conversely, I had to be taught that suffering can, in fact, lead us to draw closer to God.  

 The life of St. Akakios, the desert monastic, may be a good example for the websites about "abuse" experiences in monasteries.  St. Akakios was physically abused by his Spiritual Father for many years, but achieved salvation through long-suffering and obedience.  It is an interesting "case."  Most of us would never advise a person to remain in an abusive relationship, but in St. Akakios's case, his obedience accomplished his sanctification.

[GOCPriestMark]

One of the most ridiculous, yet popular, movies that I have seen in recent years was Like Water for Chocolate, about life in a traditional French town during Great Lent.

Perhaps you are mistaken about the title of the movie about Great Lent in France? "Like Water for Chocolate" takes place in Mexico and is 'R' rated.

[Catherine5]

I thought that was the movie's name too when I read that, but it's just "Chocolat", a film made in the millenium year of 2000: a bad sign for at least the decade or so to follow. It's about a half-Mayan unwed mother who invades a nice, conservative French village and poses as the "liberator" from all conservative Church rules. She opens of all things a chocolate shop right across from the village Church during the season of Lent. She flaunts her disrespect for the pious villagers by audaciously keeping it open on Sunday.
One could say that it's really obnoxious way to tear down the Catholic [or let's say Orthodox Church by analogy] Church with a supposedly pretty witch-doctor type. For she laces the product with strange Mayan ingredients [perhaps akin to drugs] to make the chocolate "irresistible" to all who fall for the trick and consume it.
To me, it's all a visual outplay of the devil trying to allure souls off the path to their salvation. The film shows the devil won over the complete town, that none could withstand the temptation of the chocolate.
Chocolate is a symbol to me anyway - some will disagree - of darkness, as it's known to be highly addictive, loaded with horrible poisons for one's health.
There's caffeine in it, on top of all the concentrated sugars, fats and cocoa.
I happened to have just come across a popular doctor's protestation that chocolate is actually good for the health - but to me that's like the devil's working through the allure of the chocolate selling temptress in this movie.
The movie might have had a little interest and dynamic tension if a few people were strong enough in their ascetic life to say no, but the film depicts even the toughest as succumbing in a humiliatingly ignoble way. A terrible message for the family audience of this ostensibly PG-rated movie. I think it should be sentenced to roast in "reel hell"!
If chocolate is an easy outer symbol for addiction - all the myriad ones rampant in these decades in the Western world [never heard of any of them in the religiously conservative areas of the Middle East or South Asia, for example], then I would suggest - though it's none of my business - that we all boycott chocolate as a sign of our attempt to remain firm against every temptation by the Devil. If anyone really loves that toxic substance which damages the heart, bloosdstream and liver, then why not specifically offer the difficult sacrifice to God!
Like what Pravoslavnik said about purification of the soul through suffering for God.
Maybe there's no connection, but Middle Easterners and other more traditional peoples have lived happily with little or no chocolate consumption; these people do not suffer from addictions or many of the strange syndromes of today, such as ADD, or much worse ones like Multiple Personality Disorder.
Food for thought!!

[Pravoslavnik]

Father Mark,

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  Yes, you are correct.  The French film that I was referring to is [i]Chocolat[/i], not [i]Water for Chocolate[/i].  I noticed today that the screenplay was written by a Jew named Jacobs, and produced by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, two other Jews.  Here is part of a review from the Amazon.com website that says it all:

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
With movies like Chocolat, it's always best to relax your intellectual faculties and absorb the abundant sensual pleasures, be it the heart-stopping smile of chocolatier Juliette Binoche as she greets a new customer, an intoxicating cup of spiced hot cocoa, or the soothing guitar of an Irish gypsy played by Johnny Depp. Adapted by Robert Nelson Jacobs from Joanne Harris's popular novel and lovingly directed by Lasse Hallström, the film covers familiar territory and deals in broad metaphors that even a child could comprehend, so it's no surprise that some critics panned it with killjoy fervor. Their objections miss the point. Familiarity can be comforting and so can easy metaphors when placed in a fable that's as warmly inviting as this one.

Driven by fate, Vianne (Binoche) drifts into a tranquil French village with her daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol, from Ponette) in the winter of 1959. Her newly opened chocolatier is a source of attraction and fear, since Vianne's ability to revive the villagers' passions threatens to disrupt their repressive traditions. The pious mayor (Alfred Molina) sees Vianne as the enemy, and his war against her peaks with the arrival of "river rats" led by Roux (Depp), whose attraction to Vianne is immediate and reciprocal. Splendid subplots involve a battered wife (Lena Olin), a village elder (Judi Dench), and her estranged daughter (Carrie-Anne Moss), and while the film's broader strokes may be regrettable (if not for Molina's rich performance, the mayor would be a caricature), its subtleties are often sublime. Chocolat reminds you of life's simple pleasures and invites you to enjoy them. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description
Nominated for 5 Academy Awards(R) including Best Picture, Best Actress (Juliette Binoche -- THE ENGLISH PATIENT), and Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench -- SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE), CHOCOLAT is the beautiful and captivating comedy from the acclaimed director of THE CIDER HOUSE RULES! Nobody could have imagined the impact that the striking Vianne (Binoche) would make when she arrived in a tranquil, old-fashioned French town. In her very unusual chocolate shop, Vianne begins to create mouth-watering confections that almost magically inspire the straitlaced villagers to abandon themselves to temptation and happiness! But it is not until another stranger, the handsome Roux (Johnny Depp -- SLEEPY HOLLOW), arrives in town that Vianne is finally able to recognize her own desires!

[Kosmas]

Is it considered irregular if not outright cult-ish for monasteries to display photographs of living Elders in kitchens and sleeping quarters?

Thank you.

[joasia]

Kosmas,

Do you have pictures of your family, on your selves? I have some of specific situations. Why are living pictures culti-sh? The pictures are a form of honor and an expression of love for that person. But, if you are told that you must have that picture in your cell(apartment or home) otherwise you are being disobedient then I would think that this insistance of having the picture is cultish. It's not the picture that is wrong, but the attitude of the person or people which make it seem sinful if you don't accept it.

This is an interesting question though. Would you be willing to elaborate on your thoughts? Afterall, this is the topic and I think it's important for people to hear about pitfalls of extreme Orthodoxy.

Joanna