28 August 2014. Some OCA Whispers in the Loggia

_______________________________

Well, kids, there’s buzz that Maymon wants to sell the Diocese of E PA digs in South Canaan and move to Philly. He can’t stand living in rural PA. Poor baby! It was good enough for Bishop Kip! It was good enough for Herman… it shows good sense, it’s cheaper to live up there, and it’s in the midst of the people. Perhaps, that’s why the Anglo bastard wants to leave… it’s in the midst of people that he holds in contempt. He was nothing but trouble for the Antiochians and he’s turning out to be nothing but a pain in the ass for the OCA. A local told me:

Can you see those coal-crackers like Kowalski driving to Philly every week?!

NO WAY! NO HOW! Any road, NEPA is the cradle of our Church. It’s full of WONDERFUL folks. Maymon is an ungrateful and self-centred bastard… NEPA is a special place… full of special people. Hell, I wouldn’t mind retiring there myself. Where was the Metropolia’s first Sobor? Mayfield! This Anglo SOB doesn’t know that in his bones and he doesn’t care. He should stop this immediately and issue an apology to his people. Every time that I think that the Anglos have grown some sense, shit like this happens. It’s why they’re hated by many ethnic folks… they’re “oh so much more better” than we are, and they let us know it in so many ways. For Maymon to leave NEPA is spitting on our heritage. We came out of the mines and mills, not the country club! He deserves a Cossack horsewhipping for this.

On a lighter note, Dickie Wood surfaced on Facebook in civvies. That doesn’t mean anything of itself… many priests do that in their “off hours” (like the late Metropolitan Nicholas Smiško going off to the International to have a friendly brewsky or two). However, it’s set tongues wagging, and I’ve heard it from several… it doesn’t mean anything of itself… but do keep your eyes n’ ears peeled.

BMD

 

Advertisement

11 July 2014. A Blast from the Past… Bishop Kip… One of the Finest Men to Wear the Crown…

Bishop Kip with two generations of priests… Fr Dmitri Ressetar (left) and Fr Daniel Ressetar (right)… now, that’s old-school Orthodoxy

______________________________

I remember reading in the commboxes to Mark Stokoe’s blog some time back that some upstart konvert called Bishop Kiprian Borisevich a “cruel man”.  Nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone in NEPA respected and loved Bishop Kip. NO EXCEPTIONS… no way, no how. Bishop Kip knew how to “bish”, and no one, but no one, dared cross him after he’d decided something. That’s the way it’s ‘sposed to be, kids… bishops aren’t supposed to be convicted pervs (like Storheim)… bishops aren’t supposed to be driving under the influence (like Peterson)… bishops aren’t supposed to be siccing lawyers on the Synod (like Paffso). NO! Our bishops should follow Bishop Kip’s example… they should concentrate on being pastors who live with and for their flocks. Bishop Kip found himself in the interwar Polish state and served as a priest during the time of its persecution of Orthodox Christians. He fought the papists, along with his brother (Archbishop Varlaam Borisevich), who was also a priest. His brother was a Confessor of the Faith, imprisoned by the Polish papist authorities for defending the Church (do note well that the modernists and konvertsy don’t know this nor do they bother to find it out). All the oldtimers and everyone from the old families respects Bishop Kip’s memory (as well we should).

We’ve fallen… and we refuse to get up. We shouldn’t look for nostrums amongst the heterodox or amongst the Greeks… all that we have to do is to follow the good example set by our forebears. ‘Nuff said…

BMD

28 May 2014. St T’s on Memorial Day… It Was a Nice Day

______________________________

This was the outdoor liturgy at the St T’s Memorial Day Pilgrimage on Monday. The pic doesn’t do justice to how many people are there… many are out of the shot, being to the right of the pavilion. It’s not as many as there was in the 80s, but that’s the trend now, but its been stable for the last few years. St T’s has been around since 1905… it’s the oldest Orthodox monastery in the USA. A lot of the Russian Orthodox people in the Northeastern USA show up and there’s as much socialising as there’s worship. Sometimes, it seems like half of NEPA‘s there.

BMD

Annual Memorial Day Pilgrimage at St Tikhon Monastery Begins

______________________________

The sweet smell of incense and the harmony of male voices filled the St Tikhon of Zadonsk Monastery church, as Russian Orthodox priests and bishops welcomed visitors to the small religious community in rural Wayne County. The pilgrimage draws people from all over the country who come to visit the monastery to pray, ask for mercy and healing, and venerate the icons and relics of Russian saints. This year marks the 110th pilgrimage. Julia Voytovich and two of her friends drove all the way from Lublin WI. Though the three wanted to see the pilgrimage again for the first time in several years, a main reason for their visit was to surprise Mrs Voytovich’s son, Steven Voytovich, who in August started a position as dean of the seminary. She didn’t tell him she was making the trip. Voytovich told his mother, “I was very surprised. Thank you for making such a long drive”.

The monastery is also home to a theological seminary. The pilgrimage includes a commencement ceremony for the 15 graduating students. One of those graduating is Fr Ignatius Gauvain. Originally from Minnesota, Father Gauvain moved into a house owned by the monastery and worked in information technology to support himself and his wife as he studied theology. He said, “I have desire to use those skills in a ministerial way”.

History runs deep at St Tikhon, the oldest Russian Orthodox monastery in the USA. However, the people who live and work there have also embraced modernity in some ways. The monastery’s bookstore features a coffee shop, local ice cream, and free Wi-Fi. Inside the church, tradition reigns. The clergy sang Vespers and Matins asking God for mercy and blessings. Pilgrims knelt and kissed the icons of St Anna, St. Tikhon, and the Resurrection. Bishop Michael Dahulich of New York and New Jersey said, “The purpose of these icons is (the saints’) wishes for us… that we would come closer to Christ”. The clergy expect around 1,000 pilgrims on Monday, when there’ll be an anointing ceremony at the monastery bell tower. Veneration of the Wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God of Taylor will also be Monday.

For the full schedule click here.

For more on the monastery click here (it’s NOT in the English language Wikipedia… the konvertsy and SVS are too lazy, I guess).

24 May 2014

Brendan Gibbons

Scranton Times-Tribune

http://m.thetimes-tribune.com/news/annual-pilgrimage-to-st-tikhons-begins-1.1691929