Catholic Theologian Converted to Orthodoxy

Gabriel Bunge, OSB, he converted to Orthodoxy… wither thou goest, Fr Gabriel? Remember, appearances CAN be deceiving… do keep the Uniates in mind. SVS publishes his books… a hint of theological squiffiness, at the least. That child “John” of ad Orentem is in orgasm over this… that’s a sign that this is probably phony. Caveat emptor!

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A well-known Swiss theologian, Monk Gabriel Bunge, converted from Catholicism to Orthodoxy. On 27 August, on the eve of the feastday of the Assumption, he attended services led by Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk, the head of the MP Department for External Church Relations of Moscow Patriarchate, at The Icon of the Mother of God “The Joy of All Who Sorrow” parish in Bolshaya Ordynka. For more than 30 years, Fr Gabriel was a hermit-monk in the Swiss mountains. He was received into Orthodoxy prior to the start of the service proper at the Moscow church. “You were Catholic, but were Orthodox in your heart. Today, before the All-Night Vigil, you converted to Orthodoxy, which was natural”, Metropolitan Hilarion said, noting that Fr Gabriel’s embrace of the Orthodox faith was the “fruit of a long spiritual journey”, according to the website of the DECR. Vladyki Hilarion gave him an icon of the Godbearer, “The Joy of All Who Sorrow”. Metropolitan Callistos Ware of Diokleia (EP) also served at the Vigil, who has taught at Oxford for more than 40 years, Metropolitan Hilarion was his pupil 15 years ago, learned from him, Metropolitan Callistos was his faculty advisor. Metropolitan Callistos said that the EP thought highly of Fr Gabriel’s theological works, and said, “[I hope that] the cross of the Orthodox Christian, which he has taken on himself, doesn’t prove too heavy for him”.

30 August 2010

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=37144

Editor’s Note:

This is the first news of the Boy Wonder in about a month… my view is that it’s not sinister in the least. Like everyone else, he was taking an “August Holiday”. All of the irreverent and waggish sorts in Moscow are expecting a new “composition” from him… be on the lookout… his new “work” is probably in the hands of his “ringer” right now.

As for this “Catholic theologian” becoming Orthodox… there isn’t enough information given to make a coherent conclusion. It could be that HA is bringing in a sincere convert… it could also be that he’s bringing in a turncoat… since both are equally probable, they cancel one another out, which means that reasonable observers are left flummoxed. Is it a white horse with black stripes? Is it a black horse with white stripes? We’ll need more (and better) information before we could issue any sensible opinion (what information I’ve been able to scare up shows him to be a firm, resolute, and unshakable papist). All the usual suspects who are in awe of the non-existent “Eastern Church” (especially that nappy-wearing convert “John”) are in unwarranted ecstasy over this. It’s certainly “interesting!” Is this a shot across the Pope of Rome’s bows or is it a kowtow before his “infallibility?” We’ll have to wait and see…

One of the interesting points in this is the participation of Callistos Ware. He has a well-merited reputation for dottiness and dodginess (to put it mildly)… he has made odd statements on female ordination, for instance. To know that Ware was Alfeyev’s tutor at Oxford casts doubt on HA’s academic credentials, does it not? Some friends of mine believe that the Boy Wonder was “sent to the woodshed” by KMG… inviting his old mentor to Moscow would fit that… he’s smarting and wants the presence of old protectors about him. It’s an “interesting” fact… why would Ware come to Moscow? For certain, it didn’t happen without permission from Metropolitan Yuvenaly Poyarkov, His Nibs’ unsinkable satrap for Moscow (if the Boy Blunder didn’t do so, Vladyki Yuvenaly will feed him a big shit sandwich, and boy oh boy, is HA ever going to have to take a BIG bite). Things are never boring in Orthodoxy!

BMD

Editor’s Further Postscript:

A waggish priest wrote me:

This guy wasn’t received by His Holiness at Christ the Saviour… this was on Alfeyev’s own nickel… it may be unsanctioned by higher authority.

If so… one can see why the Wonder beat feet to New York… I can say that the reception of this rather minor and inconsequential figure didn’t merit a photo spread on patriarchia.ru (there was only one very small tatty image posted with the article)… telling point, that.

BMD

30 August 2010. Points from My Correspondence

There have been interesting things in my correspondence lately. The italics are my original e-mail; ordinary type is any commentary on same…

BMD

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It’s quite a hot potato! All my RUSSIAN sources use “Assumption” in English. Sorry… I’ll follow general journalistic practise here. A Russian journalist friend told me, “I wish to be understood, not ‘correct’”… I agree. Orthodox are a small portion of my audience… so, I guess you can see where I’m going. I’m not “preaching to the choir” like most Orthodox voices on the Net. Let’s agree to disagree… our goals differ. Pass me the bottle and take a friendly snort yourself. Of course, people don’t always agree… none of us need be disagreeable about it.

This was in the context of a discussion on whether should use “Assumption” or “Dormition”. My view’s simple… the latter is “Orthodoxese” not understood by the non-Orthodox, furthermore, in normal translation to English in Russian sources by native Russian translators (I ignore the usages of Anglosphere translators, as their idiosyncrasies are informed by whatever faction they belong to), the former is the preferred usage. The reason that konvertsy, in particular, are so nasty on this point is that they are “preaching to the choir”, not only not reaching the non-Orthodox, but also non-cognoscenti Orthodox, as well (this obvious especially in such children as Dreher, “Gavriil”, Orr, Oliver, and “John” of ad Oriente). The majority of my readers are non-Orthodox… therefore, I opt for comprehension over “correctness”. This is a point on which grounded Orthodox Christians can disagree without harming Church Unity.

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Fr Vsevolod is a STUMP PULLER. Do note that the Renovationists NEVER mention him, although he is His Nibs’ closest advisor and confidant, his Éminence Grise, as it were. Fr Vsevolod’s an UNPERSON. Why, one of the SVS fanatics accused me of inflating a “minor and inconsequential figure”. Do watch out… there are people at Jordanville besides Psaryov who agree with the SVS people… they’re all defending their turf as the present ship of Russian Orthodoxy in the USA goes down (the present OCA and ROCOR are both past their usefulness… and Hilarion Kapral knows it (perhaps better than the rest of us)).

Indeed, if one looks at the writing of Renovationists, one notes that Fr Vsevolod is “missing in action”, as are figures such as Andrei Kuraev, Mark Golovkov, and Dmitri Smirnov. One reason is that the SVS cabal refuses to translate and disseminate real news from Russia, it comes filtered to the “true believers” through dishonest mediums such as Alvian Smirensky (he called Deacon Andrei, “the head of the Orthodox skinheads”, for instance) and the Orthodox Forum (Harry Coin belongs to the rebel OCL and another moderator worships at New Skete)… but, then again, Smirensky’s roots are in the Parisian gang, so, that’s no surprise, is it? Note well whom they DO pump up… Aleksandr Men and Hilarion Alfeyev. If one were to take the so-called Orthodox Forum as gospel (Harry Coin’s little internet soapbox only reaches about a thousand discrete “users”), why, everyone believes in Renovationism, Aleksandr Schmemann is the most popular theologian in Moscow, and all Orthodox agree that a married episcopate is the way to go. In short, the Renovationists lie about Fr Vsevolod. He’s not in the English language Wikipedia, but he’s in the Russian edition. Here’s an enlightening sentence:

Имеет репутацию человека, интеллектуально близкого патриарху Московскому и всея Руси Кириллу.

He’s reputed to be intellectually and personally close to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all the Russias.

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Чаплин,_Всеволод_Анатольевич

Now, ask yourself a question… “Why do SVS and the Orthodox Forum wish to minimise this man, who appears to be the closest confidant to His Holiness?” I think that if you answer it honestly, it’ll be enlightening. Also, ask yourself, “Why don’t ROCOR sources quote him as readily as they should?” That’ll also be enlightening… both the OCA and ROCOR are past any semblance of usefulness, and those who are part of the ruling apparat of both are VERY nervous and jittery, so much so that to hint at this situation is one of the most taboo and verboten subjects in Orthodox discourse in the diaspora. It’s clear that neither the OCA nor the ROCOR are long for this world… what’ll replace them? I haven’t the foggiest notion, truly. Nevertheless, the edifice is unstable and ready for instant collapse (much like the USSR in the August Events). Don’t be fooled… institutions can stumble on for years, if there’s no precipitating incident, especially if the institution involved has total control of information sources. This is true of both the OCA and the ROCOR… efforts such as this one are minimised by “official” sources, trust me… they’re demonised as “unchurchly”. So, one can see that the causes for the obvious dezinformatsiya about Fr Vsevolod are rather deep… and it tells us much about ourselves… none of it good. As that is so, I fear that most will simply avert their faces… “it’s for the good of the Church, after all”. THAT, I submit, is the prime reason why I believe that the fall of the OCA and the ROCOR is going to be sudden, without warning, and complete (much like the August Events, no?). It’s why one CANNOT make any predictions or even coherent plans for the future. We’re all waiting for Dzerzhinsky to fall off his pedestal in Lubyanka Square…

BMD