Apostasy from Love

[Alexis in Alaska]

Slava Isusu Christu!

Lord, Bless!

It amazes me that Christians, Orthodox or otherwise, are so hell-bent on destroying each other; I suppose it endemic of the age in which we live; that if someone does not exempify perfection he or she is crucified. Traditional Orthodox always talk about apostacy. What about an apostacy from love. What about love. Is love just some sentimental Protestant concept or is it something we Orthodox have a handle on? Even Jesus Christ loved his Apostles after they deserted Him in favor of public acceptance before Our Lord' crucifixion--The Beloved of the Lord, John being the only Apostle staying with his Lord at the foot of the Cross. Vladyka GREGORY is a bishop. And I will tell you most bishops have their eccentricities and may not fit a cookie cutter image of what a hierarch should be. But Vladyka GREGORY has held the witness of traditional Orthodox Christianity firm; and his contribution to Orthodox Christianity in America is immense. This is demonstrated with his iconography and the wonderful and faithful Orthodox books the monastery prints: not to mention his many kindnesses and succor to sinners such as myself. I am amazed after all Vladyka has done for the small ROAC mission in America that they would stab him in the back; what a sheisty Jewish thing to do. Ugh.! :ohvey:

May the Lord have mercy on us all! Amin!

Lord, Bless!

In Christ God,

Alexei

[CGW]

I don't know about stabbing in the back. The more I hear about this, the more I come to find out that there have always been questions about Gregory's fitness for ordination of any kind. And there have always been problems with his refusal to submit to the discipline and obedience, which he even now defies. By his own proclamation he is ordaining men in Bulgaria; there are pictures to prove it. And yet he has been forbidden to do so, pending judgement.

By the standards of my church, he is not a bishop. My church, of course, means nothing here. But his kindly words to you, passed across thousands of miles, are not the only testimony here. It seems that virtually everyone who has been his superior has objected to his conduct and has tried to bring him into line, apparently largely without success.Don't you see that your testimony pales against theirs?

[Justin Kissel]

Alexei

The guy apparently helped you out and you feel some emotional attachment to him, so I don't want to say anything that will offend... but... I think you'll look at this whole situation once you have been removed from it for a few years, and can look back on the whole scandal a bit more objectively. There are many skeletons in Archbp. Gregory's closet (which continue to be hidden from view up to the present--e.g., in his response the the Ukaz, Fr. John skipped right over two jurisdictions that Archbp. Gregory was in, so as to make his witness look more firm)... we are all sinners, and should try to avoid judging... but it's hard to do so when people keep pushing it into our face. Do you not realize that your cheerleading is making us come to a point where we must judge His Grace, since you are forcing the issue upon us? Some of us would like to wait and see what the Synod decides, but people from both sides keep promoting their own cause, and it puts those of us watching from the sidelines into a position where we are tempted (and almost forced, because of our sinful tendency to judge our fellow man) to think about and judge the people involved. If everyone would just deal with the facts, and stop saying "so and so has done so much" and "so and so is a pillar of Orthodoxy" this process would be a lot better off!