gphadraig wrote:The Hegumen's reproach made two people think a little more carefully.
I think today we tend to forget how easily honour can be brought into disrepute, and a "reputation" attained even when we don't intend this.
Open and frank discussion about this is certainly lacking, and I applaud the Hegumen for it.
Even Orthodox young people dislike being chaperoned- often for 'innocent' reasons. But they get used to it. They have no choice in this family! 
"As long as it depends on Monothelitism, then Miaphysitism is nothing but a variant of Monophysitism."
George Australia wrote:I think today we tend to forget how easily honour can be brought into disrepute, and a "reputation" attained even when we don't intend this.
And usually started by people like this man who see evil and dirt in the most innocent of actions.
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They say that I am bad news. They say "Stay Away."
TomS wrote:And usually started by people like this man who see evil and dirt in the most innocent of actions.
Sad but true!
We advance more in the spiritual life if we don't spend so much time wondering what other people get up to in private.
Speaking as a parent though, it's not a matter of not trusting my children (although an adolescent can sometimes behave like a hormone with feet), but it is a matter of protecting my children's reputations from the gossip coming from the dirty minds of others. I think the Hegumen could have had a similar concern for his own spiritual children.
"As long as it depends on Monothelitism, then Miaphysitism is nothing but a variant of Monophysitism."
TomS, You could not be further from the truth. He is a priest-monk and has lived when started his monastery in the greatest deprivation and poverty. One without side. Typically he will really challenge some small thing but when a penitent goes to him with some 'great' sin he is truly a gentle father in Christ. I think you missed his point altogether. A shepherd protects his flock but does not do this either by jumping to conclusions nor by exhibiting a benign complacency.
We are so careless, its only a small thing, it does not matter. And before long the small things become a habit, a landslide and we are lost. One takes great courage to bear one's soul and admit a grave sin, some exhibit all the classical signs and symptoms of shock. Here the shepherd tends to the sheep that was lost and is found.
As another poster so clearly puts it, how easily a reputation or mischief are done by this who look but do not see or hear yet do not understand.
Orthodox6 wrote:Ebor,
Have you been watching "You've Got Mail"? That line sounded like Meg Ryan's account of the butterfly descending the bus to go buy a hat at Bloomingdales!
Orthodox6
No, I've never seen that movie. Perhaps I'll rent it some time. Do you recommend it? I think that I'm recalling a bit on wandering threads from an old "Kevin and Kell" cartoon strip. 
It's a web cartoon that's been around for about 9 years by Bill Holbrook, who also does "On the Fasttrack" and "Safe Havens" in the papers. It has lots of jokes about computers and online fora among other things. http://www.kevinandkell.com/
It's one with anthropomorphic animals. Kevin is a large rabbit who used to run the "Herbivore Forum" and now runs a ISP called Harelink. He married Kell a widowed fox who used to work for "Herdthinners, Inc" a corporation of predators. The biggest computer software company is "MicroTalon".
Ebor
