Fallen Angel
Fr Vladislav Provotorov
1990
Fr Vladislav was part of an Exhibition of Christian Artists at the hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in 1998… this man is no “unknown”… meaty stuff, no?
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The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race, or his holy cause.
People haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause, but also by nursing a fanatical grievance.
To most of us, nothing is as invisible as an unpleasant truth. Though it is held before our eyes, pushed under our noses, rammed down our throats… we know it not.
A preoccupation with the future not only prevents us from seeing the present as it is, but often prompts us to rearrange the past.
A ruling intelligentsia, whether in Europe, Asia, or Africa, treats the masses as raw material to be experimented on, processed, and wasted at will.
Eric Hoffer
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It’s interesting what has happened over at ocanews.org. As all of us know, Mark was incommunicado from 29 May to 13 June. NOT A WORD on the Frankie and Joey Show. NOT A WORD on the Bobby K payout. NOT A WORD on the Koumentakos payout’s provenance.
However, now, one sees plenty of wind on the so-called Episcopal Assembly; indeed, virtually all his posting since his return has been on that dead-end topic. It must have gotten great coverage in the REAL Orthodox press in the Orthodox countries, huh? I can report to you that it passed unnoticed in all major Russian media outlets, especially those that make a practise of commenting on Church news. Friends report to me that it passed unnoticed in major Greek, Romanian, and Serb media outlets as well. There’s a reason for this… the EP dreamed up this conference to bolster its claim to have jurisdiction over the entire Orthodox diaspora (defined as the area outside of the traditional territories of the 14 legitimate and recognised Local Orthodox Churches). Why does Stokoe keep beating this particular “dead horse?”
Firstly, in his contempt for you, he refuses to post on any current OCA corruption. Some told me, “He’s taken an oath of secrecy as a member of the Metropolitan Council”. Let’s leave to the side the obvious comment that such an oath runs counter to both “transparency” and to what the Church actually teaches. If Mark Stokoe wishes to abide by the Masonic secrecy of the so-called MC, he should abandon his website, or, lacking that, he should make an open and honest public statement declaring that its new purpose is to defend JP and autocephalism at all costs. Don’t hold your breath waiting for him to do either… it’s unhealthy, it’s undignified, and it’s funny as all hell to all about you. He wishes, freely and without coercion, to abide by the secrecy rule of the MC Treehouse. Therefore, he isn’t a journalist, he’ll keep things secret if it favours his fellow travellers and confrères, and he’ll stamp on the face of anyone who threatens the autocephalist project. In short, Mark Stokoe is a true believer, as Eric Hoffer defined it. Look at the quotes from Hoffer cited above… when one applies them unflinchingly, not only to others, but also to oneself, it’s chilling… and Mr Hoffer meant it that way!
The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race, or his holy cause.
People haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause, but also by nursing a fanatical grievance.
This is a damning indictment of Stokoe… look at his fanaticism on autocephalism and Schmemann’s notions. That means that Stokoe’s willingness to abandon the pursuit of truth and honesty in favour of “a mess of pottage” was no fluke… it illustrated his basic and true self. It’s why he’s willing to stamp on anyone opposing his dream without mercy.
As for me… I’m only an ordinary sort, prone to all the faults of l’Condition Humaine. Is the MP the all-Good Ahura Mazda opposed to Stokoe’s all-Evil Ahriman OCA? Of course, not… the MP is a human institution, full of its own faults and shortcomings. Nevertheless, it has one thing going for it… it isn’t run by a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals hag-ridden by the notions of a long-dead guru. Say what you will, I’d rather have a creaky and wheezy machine run by an ordinary hutsky-klutsky lot over a notional Potemkin Village run by the keen, earnest, and zealous. Those running the former would leave one alone… the latter would pursue you and plague you with scorpions “for your own good”. No choice, eh?
To most of us, nothing is as invisible as an unpleasant truth. Though it is held before our eyes, pushed under our noses, rammed down our throats… we know it not.
No comment necessary, is there? I’d say that I had 250,000 reasons to apply this one to Stokoe…
A preoccupation with the future not only prevents us from seeing the present as it is, but often prompts us to rearrange the past.
Again, only a simple comment. If you wish the truth of this, you need only look at the website Orthodox History, and Stokoe’s defence of such. What does this tell about Oliver Herbel? I would argue that it tells us a great deal… NONE of it good.
A ruling intelligentsia, whether in Europe, Asia, or Africa, treats the masses as raw material to be experimented on, processed, and wasted at will.
This is self-explanatory… look at the bootless talk of “reform” on Stokoe’s website. Note well that they do not tell you the results of Schmemann’s reforms… the OCA of today is anywhere from 40 to 60 percent its size in 1965 (arguably the date when ADS and the SVS swine seized control of the Meropolia/OCA). I submit that ADS’s inane policies led directly to most, if not all, of this loss. Do attend to the fact that most of his worshippers are recent converts, with heterodox formations and no “institutional memory”. None of the SVS/Syosset/HOOMie/JP True Believers is fazed over the fact that NO solid figures for Metropolia/OCA membership exist. NONE. IF they allowed facts to intrude, it might impinge upon their cultic imaginings. It might even point up the failure of the Renovationist Experiment run by Paris and SVS. Therefore, in their eyes, it’s discounted… “We’re the ‘Illuminati’, bringing light to the benighted masses”.
This sounds too harsh to so many of you… well, whether you like it or whether you don’t, Mark Stokoe has shown his true colours. HE USED YOU. He used you to get a seat on the MC. THAT is one of the nastiest and most reprehensible forms of abuse. What angers me most is how he used the nasty situation of the legal case surrounding Krisiti Koumentakos to advance his agenda. He used the pain of the Koumentakos and Patico families to advance his cause… then, when Stokoe gained his “political” plum, he turned around and supported Bobby K. When Stokoe refused to hinder (or even publicise) the payoff to Bobby, he stamped his boot with full force on the faces of everyone in the Koumentakos and Patico families. “So sorry… it’s just business… it ain’t personal”.
EVIL… that’s what I call that. EVIL. Anyone who defends Mark Stokoe participates in his evil. At the least, we now know what the autocephalists are capable of… it isn’t the MP that wishes to rehabilitate Bobby… it’s the OCA apparat! Note well that a certain set in the ROCOR supports this. Go back and reread a sentence that I used above… “We’re the ‘Illuminati’, bringing light to the benighted masses”… they see themselves as “Lightbearers”… do look up the Latin for “Lightbearer”. Now, THAT’S a meaty reflection… look it up, think on it, and apply it to my sentence… it shall tell you what to do.
Barbara-Marie Drezhlo
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Albany NY
Editor’s Postscript:
A friend sent me the following. It needs no commentary from me… you don’t mess with what works, no? Here it is:
Like you, it disturbs me that Mark Stokoe hasn’t said a peep about Kondratick, Koumentakos, two former metropolitans appearing at STS, etc. I’d think that he could have at least posted news articles about the events, so that the matters could be commented on by readers. I also agree that the secrecy associated with the OCA Metropolitan Council is a disturbing counterpoint to the idea that the OCA’s problems are all in the past. So much for transparency….
Voices from Russia 
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