______________________________
I had an interesting colloquy with a few of my correspondents. I took the following from that… but not exactly, as I don’t wish to “out” my friends.
BMD
******
Them:
Potapov wanted unity with Moscow… is this a ploy to infiltrate Moscow using ROCOR elements? This suggests that the Washington thinks that Moscow is even more stupid than they are!
Me:
Firstly, remember 1991… ROCOR stabbed the motherland in the back. Yes, Washington does think that the Centre is that stupid. I think that Potapov believes that he’s VERY clever, but he’s a known quantity to both sides. He’s a suka, in Russian terms. He’s one of the most affluent priests in the ROCOR and many believe that he has access to US government money (he was/is a middle-level US federal bureaucrat). Don’t forget, he was nasty to Patriarch Aleksei Ridiger when he came to Georgetown. Again… remember the 90s… Potapov and Lebedeff, in particular, are hiding their all-too-real views and actions of the period… do recall how they supported Rusantsov and Pashkovsky. Yes… I think that most would say that Potapov is a Langley asset (Radio Liberty is a well-known front organisation… he’s worked with them for years to undermine the Motherland). It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that he’s part of the chess match between the CIA and the SVR. However, if so, he’s only a pawn… not even a knight… but he’s still in play. My take is that Potapov is the sort that works both sides of the street, but such sorts always stumble in the end… Potapov is an Aldrich Ames, not a Kim Philby (I believe that he sold himself out to Langley for a house in the Maryland burbs and an upper-middle income).
Lebedeff realises what’s going on… do note his sphinx-like silence. It’ll be like when Brookline went down… Lebedeff duly knifed them in the back. He’ll do the same to Potapov… Lebedeff is very intelligent, but he’s the closest thing to a “mafioso in a riassa” (in terms of loyalty, not thievery)… “It ain’t personal, it’s only business”. He’ll knife Potapov without a blush… he did so to Brookline, Podmoshensky, and Vitaly, after all. However, he’s a party-line man, and that makes him FAR less dangerous than Paffhausen is. Paffso is a True Believer. Paffso is a disciple of Gleb Podmoshensky (we all know the dirty little story about him, don’t we?)… GP and Rose went off into the woods to found a monastery without any monastic formation beforehand. I think that Paffso’s up to something in Georgia (Joe Fester, one of his dogsbodies, is in Georgia now, why, no one knows). The Georgians did take in those squiffy nuns that California Fats brought to Maryland. I think that Fats is getting ready to jump to the Georgians.
Them:
I don’t trust Potapov at all. He’s in love with himself. I do trust Lebedeff because he admits that he made mistakes. Shevkunov is close to Potapov. Is he spying on him or is he simply naïve?
Me:
Shevkunov is VVP’s confessor… but he’s also tied in with Marat Gelman’s bunch that hangs out at the Vanil Restroran. “Is he spying on him or is he simply naïve?” I think that it’s a little of both. After all, HH REFUSES to make him a bishop, even though he has powerful friends. Remember how he commissioned a rank neophyte konvert to translate Unholy Saints (badly). A book that was powerful in Russian turned into a treacly mess in English. Please, be careful… Potapov isn’t all-powerful, but he has more money than most priests do, and you know what that means. He and Fatso have formed a coalition. On another topic, the disrepair at Jordanville is shocking. What are they spending their money on? A few “public places” are kept up, but the rest is rotting away. SAD!
******
This is my opinion… it reflects my views alone, not those of any other organisation or of any other person. Unlike the konvertsy, I speak for myself, I don’t wrap myself up in the mantle of the Church (“The Church teaches X… the Church condemns X”). I find their stance contemptible… what about you?
BMD
Voices from Russia 
27 June 2014. A Discussion on a Well-Known Priest
Tags: Aldrich Ames, Christian, Christianity, Eastern Orthodox Church, Georgia, Kim Philby, Marat Gelman, Moscow, Moscow Patriarchate, OCA, Orthodox, Orthodox Church in America, Orthodoxy, Paffhausen, political commentary, politics, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, ROCOR, Russia, Russian, Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, United States, USA
______________________________
I had an interesting colloquy with a few of my correspondents. I took the following from that… but not exactly, as I don’t wish to “out” my friends.
BMD
******
Them:
Potapov wanted unity with Moscow… is this a ploy to infiltrate Moscow using ROCOR elements? This suggests that the Washington thinks that Moscow is even more stupid than they are!
Me:
Firstly, remember 1991… ROCOR stabbed the motherland in the back. Yes, Washington does think that the Centre is that stupid. I think that Potapov believes that he’s VERY clever, but he’s a known quantity to both sides. He’s a suka, in Russian terms. He’s one of the most affluent priests in the ROCOR and many believe that he has access to US government money (he was/is a middle-level US federal bureaucrat). Don’t forget, he was nasty to Patriarch Aleksei Ridiger when he came to Georgetown. Again… remember the 90s… Potapov and Lebedeff, in particular, are hiding their all-too-real views and actions of the period… do recall how they supported Rusantsov and Pashkovsky. Yes… I think that most would say that Potapov is a Langley asset (Radio Liberty is a well-known front organisation… he’s worked with them for years to undermine the Motherland). It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that he’s part of the chess match between the CIA and the SVR. However, if so, he’s only a pawn… not even a knight… but he’s still in play. My take is that Potapov is the sort that works both sides of the street, but such sorts always stumble in the end… Potapov is an Aldrich Ames, not a Kim Philby (I believe that he sold himself out to Langley for a house in the Maryland burbs and an upper-middle income).
Lebedeff realises what’s going on… do note his sphinx-like silence. It’ll be like when Brookline went down… Lebedeff duly knifed them in the back. He’ll do the same to Potapov… Lebedeff is very intelligent, but he’s the closest thing to a “mafioso in a riassa” (in terms of loyalty, not thievery)… “It ain’t personal, it’s only business”. He’ll knife Potapov without a blush… he did so to Brookline, Podmoshensky, and Vitaly, after all. However, he’s a party-line man, and that makes him FAR less dangerous than Paffhausen is. Paffso is a True Believer. Paffso is a disciple of Gleb Podmoshensky (we all know the dirty little story about him, don’t we?)… GP and Rose went off into the woods to found a monastery without any monastic formation beforehand. I think that Paffso’s up to something in Georgia (Joe Fester, one of his dogsbodies, is in Georgia now, why, no one knows). The Georgians did take in those squiffy nuns that California Fats brought to Maryland. I think that Fats is getting ready to jump to the Georgians.
Them:
I don’t trust Potapov at all. He’s in love with himself. I do trust Lebedeff because he admits that he made mistakes. Shevkunov is close to Potapov. Is he spying on him or is he simply naïve?
Me:
Shevkunov is VVP’s confessor… but he’s also tied in with Marat Gelman’s bunch that hangs out at the Vanil Restroran. “Is he spying on him or is he simply naïve?” I think that it’s a little of both. After all, HH REFUSES to make him a bishop, even though he has powerful friends. Remember how he commissioned a rank neophyte konvert to translate Unholy Saints (badly). A book that was powerful in Russian turned into a treacly mess in English. Please, be careful… Potapov isn’t all-powerful, but he has more money than most priests do, and you know what that means. He and Fatso have formed a coalition. On another topic, the disrepair at Jordanville is shocking. What are they spending their money on? A few “public places” are kept up, but the rest is rotting away. SAD!
******
This is my opinion… it reflects my views alone, not those of any other organisation or of any other person. Unlike the konvertsy, I speak for myself, I don’t wrap myself up in the mantle of the Church (“The Church teaches X… the Church condemns X”). I find their stance contemptible… what about you?
BMD