The quotes you provided didn’t say what you are saying. Wouldn’t matter anyways would it? You’ve made up your mind. If he’s not a Matthewite he’s not Orthodox right?
HIEROMONK SERGIUS AND HIS CELL
- A former Valaam novice, Priest-monk Sergius Irtel was drawn to Alaska from Paris by the hope of being involved in the establishment of a New Valaam Monastery. At the request of his bishop, Fr. Sergius was instructed to order Fr. Gerasim to leave his cell, and then he was to occupy Fr. Gerasim's place. Fr. Gerasim refused to leave the post to which he had been assigned by St. Herman. The people of Ouzinkie and Kodiak gathered a petition of 250 signatures (nearly everyone in the village), demanding that Fr. Gerasim be allowed to stay in New Valaam. Seeing that church politics had unfortunately put them at odds, Fr. Sergius went to live in the beach house on Monks' Lagoon. It was there that he penned his sketchy memoirs of life on Valaam in the 1920's and '30' and the monks' struggle to defend the Old Calendar against the renovationists. He compiled a contemporary Valam Paccicen and corresponded with Valam monks in Finland. He bequeathed aim work to the St. Herman Brotherhood.
Later his cell attendant built him a small cabin calling it the St. John the Baptist Skete of "New Optina"- on the south shore of Spruce tana.
When Fr. Sergius saw the location of the cell, he insisted that the cell be moved some thirty or so yards from the beach to higher ground. He was quite insistent on it, and the laboring brother had no choice but to rebuild the cel on the higher site. Fr. Sergius act later proved to have prophetic insight for in the tidal wave of 1964, had the cell remained where it was, it would have been washed away and claimed by the ocean. However, having been moved to the higher site, the cell remained untouched by the flood, and to this day it remains standing. In this cell can still be seen the coffin in which he slept and the monatic inscriptions on death written on the walls in just such a manner as he had previously seen in the cells of the desert-dwellers on Valaam. He thus transported that monastic fervency to this Alaskan island.
Fr. Sergius continued here in a severe ascetic life of intense fasting and prayer until, having contracted tuberculosis, he was forced to move to a warmer climate. The rest of his life was spent in Mexico, as a fool-for-Christ.
He died as a Schema-bishop on November 8/21, 1996, having taken the name of his Valaam elder, Hieroschema-monk Theodore (+1939).
What this book leaves out is he came to live and he passed away at the Abbey. They did get the Year correct. You are right Sava, they left the MP in the 60s and Elder Theodore wasn’t involved in all that at that time and the Abbey hadn’t even been acquired yet. He was with ROCOR and he wasn’t happy where he was and Vladyka John visited Elder Theodore when he was in Texas and asked him if he wanted to come with him since he didn’t like where he was. Elder Theodore immediately said yes.
ROCOR tried to have social services take him away at some point and the doctor who examined him said he was in perfect health and was saying he wanted to go back home. Which he did and lived out the rest of his years here. He actually told Vladyka John that he seen the direction ROCOR was heading… Meaning towards capitulating to the MP… So, to say he was a “World Orthodox/Sergianist” is absurd.
I have spoken to multiple people who personally knew Elder Theodore not to mention the Orthodox Word and this Book Monks Lagoon from Platina all affirm him to be a great ascetic and a Holy person. He was a contemporary of some of the greatest Saints of recent times and was highly respected. I don’t understand why anyone would have this attitude towards him and be so quick to be scandalized. Are we Orthodox Christians Or Pharisees?