Dear LatinTrad, Johanan, Joseph, Lounger, Methodius and Nicholas:
God bless you all!
Thank you for the welcome. What a difference as opposed to the Indiana or Paradosis lists, where our subscription to the list sounded all the alarms for the ecumenical clergy to go on full alert.
Lounger wrote:
Thank you for your post. I really wonder why so many people are filled with demonic hatred towards Bishop Gregory for fighting heresy and calling a spade a spade, to coin a phrase.
In my experience, the vast majority of people who actually dislike Bishop Gregory have never spoken to him. Most have heard some form of innuendo, such as myself at 17 years of age, but have no concrete fact that they can base their opinion on. If one cannot base his negative opinion on fact, all that is left is passionate anger.
As a young man, I recall an episode in one ROCOR monastery I stayed in for a few weeks, where the monks implored me not to ask the abbot any questions about Bishop Gregory. My youthful soul was zealous to know the truth about the situation, and so I kept on asking. I had never seen the abbot loose his temper until that time, which lasted for quite a while. Believing every syllable he told me, I frankly asked him at the end why Bishop Alypy didn’t depose Bishop Gregory. The reply was a cool, “Bishop Alypy is a weak Bishop.” I couldn’t understand why the abbot had Vladyka Gregory’s icons all over his monastery, both prints and hand-painted ones. I insisted that he never buy anything from Dormition Skete again. J
This mentality stayed with me for some time, until my family had an opportunity to visit Denver when the Bishop came. When I saw Bishop Gregory (then Fr. Gregory) sitting to the Bishop’s right, I assumed that this man must be the infamous Fr. Gregory. I forewarned my parents that this was the man I had told them about, etc. When my parents approached Vladyka Gregory to ask for his blessing, my father, who is legally blind and has cerebral palsy, attentively listened to Vladyka. Then in a most compassionate manner, Vladyka advised my father to endeavor as much as possible not to be a burden on anyone. My father received this heartfelt advice with a profound bow, and a sincere thank you, assuring Vladyka that he would endeavor to fulfill this, which would lessen the burden on the whole family. This is exactly what my father needed to hear at that moment.
When I saw this exchange from a distance, my heart sank, for I knew at that moment that my parents loved Vladyka Gregory.
From that time on, my father, in his typical Irish sense of humor, did not cease to mock my criticisms of Vladyka. I remember with joy his affectionate humor!
Not too long after that, I came with my spiritual father to the Skete with great nervousness. Little did I know, my priest was coming to ask for forgiveness for joining in a conspiracy to criticize Vladyka Gregory to the Synod. I stayed here for one whole week, which had a profound impact on me, after my priest returned to Colorado Springs.
After two days, ruminating over in my mind all the rumors I had heard, in my childish manner I simply asked Vladyka if he was going to do something, anything, to me (I was thinking something traumatic). When he started to laugh, so did I, and for the next three hours I explained to him all that I had heard about him. It was like a revelation to hear the other side of the story. But when he showed me a letter from the abbot I had formerly heard criticize him so vehemently wherein this priest apologized profusely for slandering Vladyka, then I understood how men I respected could fall into the pit of lying and slandering. From that day on, I strove to never believe any kind of rumor about anyone without firsthand knowledge.
I have written this very personal story about my life, because I suspect that there are other people here who have experienced something similar. Unfortunately, they have not had the opportunity to sit down next to Vladyka’s easel and hear “the rest of the story”. Perhaps I can help.
I would be willing to discuss with anyone here anything they’ve heard about Bishop Gregory honestly and objectively, without taking offense at the crudeness of the accusation. God knows that when people become desperate, there is no limit to the abyss of ideas which they are capable of circulating.
We in the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church have nothing to hide from anyone, thank God, which is something very rare in these times.
In Christ,
+George, hegumen
