There’s not much for the minstrel to tell you… everybody’s out at the dacha, dontcha know…
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Well, kids, this is the slowest time of year for any kind of Church news. However, some items are going to follow this paragraph. EVERYBODY’S out at the dacha (or its Western equivalent). HH is at Peredelkino, soaking up the rays. There’s not going to be much major news until autumn, not only on the Church front, but on the political one as well. The period between Victoria Day/Memorial Day and Labour Day (or Victory Day and the Day of Knowledge, to use a Russian reference) is always the slowest period for this website, as not much happens in the dog days of summer… of course, there are exceptions like the South Ossetia War in ’08, but the general rule holds.
It’s especially difficult to post domestic Church news, as so many of my contacts are away from home on holiday or at camp, making stories difficult to vet. However, one of the interesting things “out there” is that his own bishop turned in Ruark, the priest nicked out in CA for alleged nasty doings with kids. It’s NOT confirmed… but if true, it’s an interesting nugget. As Philip Saliba has the best intel net in all of American Orthodoxy, it might mean that he’s gotten wind of what’s coming down with Storheim, and he wanted to act before anything stuck to him (after all, Saliba’s political instincts are nonpareil). Yes, I’m well aware that Cappy and Mel at Pokrov had the goods on Ruark previously. Unfortunately, the bishops ignore them, and try to hide the doings of clerical pervs, just as their RC counterparts do. However, Joseph did move, move quickly, and (reputedly) maybe blew the whistle on his own priest. That’s news, in anyone’s book. Now, the question is, “What about Storheim?” That’s still up in the air… but the fact that the Crown offered a plea doesn’t speak well for the OCA.
Fathausen’s infatuation with the so-called ACNA (Anglican Church of North America) isn’t only in violation of the Mother Church’s break with Anglican groups, it’s also unwise because the ACNA is virulently opposed to Rowan Williams, and SVS just creams its jeans over Williams. In short, JP just opened up another wound that he needn’t have done. When one adds this in with Dickie Wood’s defiance of JP’s orders to go to Manton, it’s a pretty little kettle boiling away. That’s the last thing that JP needs… to have SVS join his opponents. In any case, the fight between Anglicans isn’t ours and it’d be best if we kept out of it entirely. In fact, it opens up the avenue that JP’s really an Episcopalian who never fully converted; a waffler who’s still contaminated with the Branch Theory (declared a heresy by the Church, the opinion on it was written by HH when he was still a Metropolitan). By the way, one of the odd practises at Manton is having a communal silent “Jesus Prayer” for 20 minutes at the beginning of Vigil. That skates rather close to the heresy of Imyaslavie, and they should stop it.
As for the OCA Diocese of the South, I received the following:
The Assembly scheduled for July in the Diocese of the South was cancelled… Bishop Nikon said Fr Gerasim wasn’t properly vetted and will be questioned by the Holy Synod of Bishops this fall.
There’s no other info out there on this except for the official handouts. Wonder what this means vis-à-vis Maymon and his status? Perspirin’ minds wanna know…
One of the things that won’t die is JP claiming that he worked for the MP Publications Department and that he was a novice at Valaam. Both are bald-faced lies. Firstly, I remember getting mailings from Platina in the early ‘90s begging for money for Russky Palomnik. There was no mention of it being tied in with the MP; it was a completely autogenetic project of Podmoshensky (GP). In any case, JP spent about a year in Russia. Where did he get the money to do so? He didn’t get any from GP… he was always broke. The MP didn’t have any money back then… they were pulling all sorts of scams to keep the Church alive (hey, that happens sometimes). JP was in his early thirties, and he just gallivanted off to Russia… most normal people are too busy with work to spare more than a few weeks, to be frank. As for Valaam, all my Russian contacts are unanimous… he wasn’t a novice there, he was a guest.
Peter Gillquist is dead. He never did amount to much, did he? Here’s an exchange between a friend and me (I’m in italics):
Peter Gillquist died. He of “bringing all the Protestant sectarians into the Antiochian Archdiocese” fame. I’m expecting much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth from certain konvertsy circles. The tributes should be on the morbid side. Certain folks just can’t light a candle for someone, say a prayer, or ask for a Pannikhida to be served. They have to wallow in their grief. You know exactly what I’m talking about.
I met him… greasy self-important SOB. Nevertheless, you say a prayer and hope that they do well at the judgement.
I met him, too, and I agree with your assessment. He was like a used car salesman.
I got this on Storheim:
The Winnipeg Court dismissed the Bishop’s pretrial motion yesterday. Not sure what the motion was but probably to dismiss the charges for whatever reason. I’m trying to find out more.
That’s it on Seraphim… it means that it’s still chugging through the system.
Got this (and it’s all that I have) from an MP source on the Blunder. It would explain why he’s in HH’s doghouse:
In Dublin, he “concelebrated” with the Catholics at the Eucharistic Congress; it caused quite a scandal.
Interfax has mostly been dry… just the Pussy Riot trial dragging on interminably and the usual appointments and housekeeping. I won’t waste your time with that. Trust me, nothing major is up until September or October. Until then, keep an eye on your parish’s resources and don’t let anyone sweet-talk you into signing them over to JP or the bishop. JP’s out of ready cash, and I hear that he’s using Perich to raise it. Do have a care… otherwise, enjoy the summer… that’s why God gives it to us.
Barbara-Marie Drezhlo
Saturday 7 July 2012
Albany NY
