You are brilliant, Fr. Mark! I am praying for every blessing for you because you are unafraid to state the obvious truth, and in a very succinct way which strikes right to the heart of the matter. Yet you also expressed humbly. I know you would not support my ideas, but I appreciate reading a refreshing comment.
I fear that demons obscure the ability of many Orthodox and many Americans to think and speak clearly. I was hoping the True Orthodox on this site would have much more spiritual clarity than those in other venues.
Clearly this warped Mr Cristidis seems demonized.
Fine if nobody at all agrees with my ideas, and I apologize for making Fr Anastasios and anyone else upset. That was not my intention at all.
But take a little closer look: perhaps it's the devil's agenda working through unnamed parties to silence me here. WHO on earth would keep chasing me like this, twisting my words, deliberately overlooking my long long posts here promoting TOC unity, which i have done for years - way before finding this forum. [He also skips over my NFTU post suggesting a commission of experts from various jurisdictions be set up to study obstacles to a better coordination. This was shot down by the editor there in a classic example of the "NYET mentality" widespread under Soviet Communism. This means people leap assert their authority to block a new suggestion, closing the case with: "It can't be done! Impossible!"
Instead of an open minded reasonable "Hmn, why not think about the idea and transform it into a plan which CAN work? Or at least TRY? What does anyone have to lose by batting around ideas?" ]
The devil does not want TOC cooperation in any form; the devil devides [mispelled deliberately] - truly this is a classic tactic, used constantly by the KGB since Cheka times to isolate people who seem to pose a threat in some form to its goals. The devil chases them into a corner, pelts them with stones, and tries to get the rest of the susceptible crowd to join in.
Weak souls succumb. Strong ones see clearly the trap and refuse.
Take a look at Mr Cristidis' posts. As I recall, they contain no spiritual content: nothing edifying about God or His Saints.
Instead, they tend toward the mundane, inane or else mockery.
Why does he want me off of the -- to-me -- prestigious Euphrosynos Cafe so much that he tries very hard to embarrass me before everyone. Let God be my judge, not this person who sounds like a psycho to me personally! If you all like him and are up in arms against me, I am happy to leave here.
But not without pointing out that I've seen it before that this type can focus all attention on somebody else's supposed errors to force them onto the defensive.
But in reality, maybe we should see what would turn up from an inquest into the record of this Grand Inquisitor's understudy. He sounds like a mixed up teenager who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and is trying to make up for his low self esteem and inadequacies up by attacking a victim.
I finally tracked down some of my articles from The Christian Science Monitor's archive. However, the system for online archives seems not well set up to locate all - for the CSM and other daily newspapers I checked.
At this point though, I would prefer not to have my full last name known to Mr Cristidis and his crew.
I'm glad I don't live anywhere near Florida, or he would undoubtedly be harassing me in person!
When I lived near a parish, almost every day, I attended either the morning Liturgy or the Vigil - sometimes for my favorite Saint's days, both - in addition to Saturdays and Sundays.
Does this man who seems more like a pesty kid even attend a church? That explanation sounded thin. Is it time to turn the tables back on him - especially since he is vengeful - let's see what HIS accomplishments are in life.
Because this FAQ from the Monitor contains interesting insights into the US press even a CENTURY AGO! - so what is it like by now?! -
I am posting it for insight into the media:
Is the Monitor a religious publication?
No, it’s a real news organization owned by a church – The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., USA. Everything in the Monitor is international and US news and features... In an age of corporate conglomerates dominating the news media, the Monitor’s combination of church ownership, public-service mission, and commitment to covering the world (not to mention the fact that it was founded by a woman shortly after the turn of the 20th century, when US women didn’t yet have the vote!) gives the Monitor a uniquely independent voice in journalism.
How does the Monitor compare to other media outlets covering international news?
Unlike most US news organizations, the Monitor does not rely primarily on wire services, like AP and Reuters, for its international coverage. We have writers based in 11 countries, including Russia, China, France, the UK, South Africa, Mexico, and India, as well as throughout the US.
Why does the Christian Science church own a news organization?
One answer might be...:
"Consider this case. It is 1907. An elderly New England woman finds herself being targeted by Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World. She is 86 years old and holds some unconventional religious beliefs that she expounds in a book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The book becomes a bestseller, making her wealthy and a well-known public figure.
The New York World decides she is incapable of managing her own affairs and persuades some of her friends and her two sons to sue for control of her estate. Although Boston and New Hampshire newspapers and major wire services interview this woman and find her competent, the New York World is unrelenting. The lady in question finally is taken to court where the case against her is dropped.
And the next year this woman, Mary Baker Eddy, founds The Christian Science Monitor.
Given her experience with the press, it is not all that surprising that she sets as the Monitor’s goal 'to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.' In one of life’s little ironies, Joseph Pulitzer went on to endow the Pulitzer prizes for journalistic excellence.
Mrs. Eddy had been thinking about a newspaper for a long time before 1907. Way back in 1883 she wrote:
'"Looking over the newspapers of the day, one naturally reflects that it is dangerous to live, so loaded with disease seems the very air. These descriptions carry fears to many minds, to be depicted in some future time upon the body. A periodical of our own will counteract to some extent this public nuisance; for through our paper we shall be able to reach many homes with healing, purifying thought.'"
... in March 1908, eight months before the paper’s launch: Mrs. Eddy received a long letter from a local journalist and Christian Scientist, John L. Wright. In it, he told her he felt there was a growing need for a daily newspaper that 'will place principle before dividends, and that will be fair, frank and honest with the people on all subjects and under whatever pressure' - a truly independent voice not controlled by 'commercial and political monopolists." End of FAQ material.
You see? Sharp Americans were aware of the stranglehold ALREADY THEN exerted on the press by the forebears of the Trilateralists, etc.
The Monitor's motto was spiritual-based - which Mr Cristidis could do well to employ in his own words-
"TO INJURE NO MAN, BUT TO BLESS ALL MANKIND"
NFTU has the opposite of this spirit. If I have criticized them it is not meant to reflect negatively on the editorial board of this site; it's clearly my own view.
If Mr Cristidis, their primary spokesman, can come here and discredit me, then I should ALSO have freedom of speech to point out that their mode is not fitting to such a concept, which should be absolutely elementary for Orthodox as it's a truly Christian sentiment.
Thinking this through, I say that I would endorse Joanna Higginbotham's Remnant Rocor blogspot way before NFTU, because she presents serious articles which give us material of value. I have stated over and over that i don't like Cyprianism but aside from those parts, she makes a very conscientious effort to dredge up more scholarly finds for example about the MP and the KGB.
Not only am i not bothered by the exclusion from NFTU posts; I stated long ago that I won't even look at the place any longer as it breathes a very poisonous atmosphere. Anybody else is free to do whatever they want. I'm speaking for myself, no one else.
Finally: I sent one of my online Monitor articles to Konstantin P., the remarkable expert on the Soviet era, author of the anti-union book so praised by Prav. He wrote me back just now that I had analyzed the Red Army and Soviet tactics very accurately. That indeed is a huge compliment to me. That was only one article, too; I have lots more on such serious topics.
Others may be attuned with the rants of Mr Cristidis which bless NO ONE and seek to injure with invisible arrows. That is why I would never look at his site or any of the remarks against me of his supervisor. They sound like they could be brother and sister, they speak the same way.