Hieromonk Elia Rejected by the ROAC, Officially

[Justin Kissel]

Actually, I was thinking of the ROAC America main site...

[尼古拉前执事]

I will leave that up to Father George to answer.

[Tizzi]

I know Fr. Elia and he is being misrepresented on this board and elsewhere on the internet. I called Archpriest Shirkoff (is that right?) and asked him personally about Fr. Elia. He expressed great concern that Fr. Elia had been alone for so long. Also, he mentioned that Fr. Elia was entirely right in claiming that he was part of ROAC. However, since then, Fr. Elia has ceased to claim this. All he got was phone calls, assurances, confusion, etc. He asked for official papers, etc. but they never came. Finally he abadoned the effort.

I am not Orthodox, and I do not have a horse in this race. I am however, an inquirer and met Fr. Elia because he is nearby. He is (possibly overly) concerned with freemasonry in the church, and he does have some differing ideas. However, he is not a heretic. He is not insane. How many saints (and I'm not calling him one) of the Church would have been hauled off to mental institutions by the modern world? He is in intense pain, he has been castigated (falsely) on the internet by men who should know better. . . . Is he innocent? Is he sinless? Are any of us?

It is pitiful to me that so many in this thread have derided a man they possibly have never spoken with at length. That they have taken for "truth" certain documents that were issued not of malice but of misunderstanding (speaking of those from Metr. Valentin). Since I am not Orthodox, and Fr. Elia will not say it, I will: The Colorado faction of ROAC is wrong and wrong-headed. They are disturbingly hostile, and they should repent in saccloth and ashes.

tizzi

[尼古拉前执事]

Tizzi, you are not Orthodox but claim to know that Father Elia was right and that others were wrong. I have called and emailed Father Elia. I also talk to Metropolitan Valentine regularly. Perhaps you should take your own advice and speak to the bishops in Russia and the ROAC priests in Colorado at length?

[Tizzi]

I did not claim I was right about Orthodox doctrine or anything else concerning dogma. I am right about the misrepresentationg of Fr. Elia. It was claimed the he authored a website critical of Bishop George. Where is it? It has since been found that the website in question was authored by someone else. It is instances like this - charges that are erroneous and misleading - which lead me to question how he has been treated. I called the archpriest in New Jersey - someone who had legitimate papers claiming that he accepted clergy into ROAC in the US. He assured me that Fr. Elia was part of ROAC, that the misunderstanding would be worked out, etc. However, it seems that certain people would not have it worked out. Now, it is too late.

As for as Fr. Elia claiming to be part of ROCIE. I'm not sure about this. I know he asked his webmaster to remove all references to ROAC. It may be that the document in question is old. Fr. Elia does not build his own sites.

I am going to be Orthodox - God willing. I ask for your prayers. This whole episode with Fr. Elia is disheartening.

tizzi

[尼古拉前执事]

Dear Tizzi, may God guide you. You are right, the whole thing is disenheartening. The other site was built for Father Elia as was his current site, they were just made by different people. Father Elia also used the Paradosis list to attack as well and then claimed to many that he never posted there, yet the postings came straight from his email box and could not be faked due to the verification systems in place. Father Elia was not accepted into ROAC because of his own actions and not the actions of anyone else.

[Tizzi]

If I'm not mistaken, the person who made the website in question was quiet adamant about it being his and not Fr. Elia's. As for as the Paradosis list - I've been on lists for quiet awhile now, and I know it is not hard to fake an email address. If you would provide verification that indeed the email address was traced to his ISP in Mississippi, then you may have a point. If he says he did not post on Paradosis, I will not doubt it until it is proven otherwise.

tizzi